Train for the Body You Want

Women, I have a bone to pick with you. Whenever I walk into a commercial gym, the number of women pounding away on a treadmill or worse, sitting on some machine hoping the fat will ‘vibrate’ away, overwhelms me. Some women are on the right track by picking weights, but even then, I see few women using them properly. Usually, I see them lollygagging between machinery, with no focus or structure to their workout. Most women look just as pretty after their workout as they did when they started – a telltale sign that you’re doing something wrong. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re going to spend your time getting in shape, you might as well make good use of your time, wouldn’t you say? How do we melt fat and get toned sexy curves? I can assure you that they ways I just mentioned are not the right answer.

 

fat loss workouts

 

Now, before I start talking about resistance training, let me make it clear that women will NEVER be able to get ‘bulky’ like men do. This is because women don’t naturally produce enough of the male hormone, testosterone. Often, when I talk to women about resistance or weight training, they tell me the reason they don’t do it is because they fear they will look like a beefy male bodybuilder if they pick up a weight. PLEASE ERASE THIS MYTH FROM YOUR MIND! Yes, it is possible for women to look manly; as I’m sure many of you have seen in muscle mags. However, this is only possible with a little…’help.’ Trust me when I say that that won’t be your end result if you just try to add some curve enhancing muscle to your physique.

 

fat loss workouts
You will NOT look like this with proper training.

 

Now that I’ve made that clear…

 

Let’s talk about challenging training. Muscle growth occurs when muscle tissue is damaged through challenging weight training. Your muscles rip and tear, and as your body repairs these rips and tears your muscles become bigger and stronger. When it comes to sculpting a great figure, it is vital to progressively overload your muscles in order to see progress. One way to do this is to increase the amount of weight you lift as often as possible. This is why many people find is useful to keep a notebook with records of all your weights.

Ideally, you want your last 2-3 reps to be a struggle. It shouldn’t be impossible, but it should be very difficult. These 2-3 reps are where the most ripping and tearing of muscle fibers occur, and therefore where you’ll yield the most results. At the end of the day, the most important rule to follow is to remember that the higher the intensity of your workout, the more your body will respond and change. That being said, although the actual weight that you’re lifting is important, the sequence of exercises, rest periods, and volume work are all equally important, and all ways to make your workout more challenging.

 

fat loss workouts

 

Now, ladies: if you haven’t been using the correct training methods so far, don’t worry. A lot of women are simply unaware of the most effective training methods to use and that’s why they spend their time pounding away on a treadmill or ‘vibrating’ their unwanted fat away. BUT now that you’ve become enlightened, I hope you’ll put this info to good use and incorporate challenging training into your regime. Trust me when I say you won’t be disappointed! (But maybe a little sore…)

Here’s a fun circuit you can do right at home that will be WAY more effective than 30 min at a snail pace on the treadmill:

Warm up 3 min with full body dynamic stretches (that is, range of motion movements of all limbs)

30 work/10 seconds rest (transition):

1.    Burpee

2.    Push ups

3.    DB row (2 arms)

4.    Jump rope

5.    Plank

Repeat this circuit up to 5 times for a quick 20 minute killer workout.

Cool down with 2-3 min of stretching.

Need ideas on proper training? You’re in luck…check out my program for just the right combination of resistance training and cardio (in the form of HIIT – high intensity interval training) to sculpt and tone your body into the body you’ve always wanted.