Tough routine!
If you’re still working up to it, throw in a minute or two of jogging in place or jump rope when you need a break, then keep going: as long as you’re still moving, it counts!
Give this routine a try & repeat it 2-3 times. You can feel confident calling it a day after, I promise. :)
Getting Started
So today will be my first entry to document my fitness journey. For the past 6 years it seems that I’ve “fallen off the wagon” time and time again. I havent journaled about fitness and hopefully, this will help me stay on track… HOPEFULLY.
One good thing about “falling off the wagon” is getting back on. And boy, when I’m on the wagon, I’M ON IT. It’s those times that being in the gym is addicting. And though I hate cardio… REALLY. HATE. CARDIO…I get in there and “git er done”. It’s also those times when I feel the best about myself. I have a routine and love going in the gym and seeing those same familiar faces. For the most part, I don’t know any of their names, but we smile at each other and exchange pleasantries. We respect each other for the work that we do when we’re in there. It’s a comaraderie that doesn’t require that we know each others names. It’s comfortable. I refer to each of them in my own special way… “The Mexican dude that comes in after 6”, “The dude with the small legs and HUGE upper body”, “Bald khaki shirt dude”, “Dude that wears the wife beater”, “Chic that sings”, “Spikey haired dude”, “Chic with the purple shorts”… they all have names in my head that identifies them and makes them part of my “gym family”. (And apparently, all their names have ‘dude’ or ‘chic’ in them) I wonder what my name is…what THEY call ME. Hm…
The bad thing about “falling off the wagon” is… well… everything. For me, even the term “falling off the wagon” evokes visions of Laura Ingalls in her dads horse drawn buggy literally falling off the wagon. (Not good. Not good at all) In terms of fitness though, falling off the wagon means that I gain weight, get careless about what foods I put in my body, lose muscle definition and start making excuses as to why I can’t get to the gym. And just like poor Laura Ingalls, it’s not good. Not good at all.
So anywho, I’m moving towards a better me. A me who refuses to fall off that dang wagon again. And hopefully, journaling this journey will help me be that girl that I KNOW I can be. As a side note, “journaling this journey” sounds strange when I say it in my head.
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| — | We Can Do This |
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| — | We Can Do This |
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| — | We Can Do This |
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| — | We Can Do This |
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| — | We Can Do This |
boyswanna-be-her: fitvillains: To those of you with 5-15lbs to “lose”: it’s not all about the weight or the number on the scale. In most circumstances, it’s actually body composition that needs to change - losing fat and losing weight can be two different things.
Many of you contact me asking how to lose 5lbs, or tell me that you don’t necessarily want to lose weight, but just “tone” up. “Toning” is a buzz word for building strength and muscle: because some women tend to balk at the idea of gaining muscle, a new word was required to get them to on board “Toning”, “Tightening”, “Flattening” “Leaning”, “Sculpting”, “Firming”, “Targeting”, “Defining”, = ALL “female friendly” buzzwords for gaining strength and building muscle. ALL of them. The answer is, and will always be, resistance training and a cleaner diet. If you’re at a normal and healthy weight, it’s not about cutting calories or restricting: it’s about putting the right nutrients in your body, cutting processed & chemical foods OUT and filling up on loads of veggies & lean protein. You don’t have to eat less per se: you need to eat smarter and fuel your body. Your body LOVES it, trust me!
For your workouts, your priority should shift away from steady state cardio, which can burn away the “toning” if you over-do it (see how I swapped toning for muscle?). Strength, resistance and challenging intervals are your ticket, and should be the focus. Steady state cardio isn’t bad, but it’s not something you should be doing every workout. H.I.I.T training, and cardio intervals during your workouts are short quick ways to burn fat while preserving muscle.
Focus on workouts that challenge your body: strength training, resistance training, weight lifting, balance work, yoga, etc. Don’t stick to the same old thing, and work a bit smarter: use more than one muscle group at a time, take minimal breaks when doing circuits, and push yourself: the harder you push, the shorter your workout can be. To get the body you want, AND KEEP IT, you need to lift & lift heavier than you’re used to. And once you get used to that amount of weight, you need to increase the challenge.
Train smarter and towards your goals!
xo
Many of you contact me asking how to lose 5lbs, or tell me that you don’t necessarily want to lose weight, but just “tone” up. “Toning” is a buzz word for building strength and muscle: because some women tend to balk at the idea of gaining muscle, a new word was required to get them to on board “Toning”, “Tightening”, “Flattening” “Leaning”, “Sculpting”, “Firming”, “Targeting”, “Defining”, = ALL “female friendly” buzzwords for gaining strength and building muscle. ALL of them. The answer is, and will always be, resistance training and a cleaner diet. If you’re at a normal and healthy weight, it’s not about cutting calories or restricting: it’s about putting the right nutrients in your body, cutting processed & chemical foods OUT and filling up on loads of veggies & lean protein. You don’t have to eat less per se: you need to eat smarter and fuel your body. Your body LOVES it, trust me!
For your workouts, your priority should shift away from steady state cardio, which can burn away the “toning” if you over-do it (see how I swapped toning for muscle?). Strength, resistance and challenging intervals are your ticket, and should be the focus. Steady state cardio isn’t bad, but it’s not something you should be doing every workout. H.I.I.T training, and cardio intervals during your workouts are short quick ways to burn fat while preserving muscle.
Focus on workouts that challenge your body: strength training, resistance training, weight lifting, balance work, yoga, etc. Don’t stick to the same old thing, and work a bit smarter: use more than one muscle group at a time, take minimal breaks when doing circuits, and push yourself: the harder you push, the shorter your workout can be. To get the body you want, AND KEEP IT, you need to lift & lift heavier than you’re used to. And once you get used to that amount of weight, you need to increase the challenge.
Train smarter and towards your goals!
xo
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| — | The Tumblr Gym |
