Strength Training: Getting started

When I taught boot camp classes my goal was to help others stay fit and get a great challenging workout. Now I’m working hard with the help of the trophy wife diet to get back into shape after an illness that left me needing to lose 30 pounds to get back into that boot camp shape.  But I have also added another goal.

A Strength Goal is a Sculpting Goal

A lot of us focus on losing weight…this potential trophy wife wants that too, but I also want to feel strong. So I also have added a strength goal to my fitness and weight loss goals.  I want to be able to do a pull-up by my birthday this June.  It’s a realistic goal as long as I continue to put in the work.  So along with plenty of fat burning cardio, I’m also making sure to work my muscles with strength training – Picking up the weights for many women can be scary.  They worry about getting bulky.  Most of us (big most) don’t have the body composition to get manly bulk. Muscle training (weight lifting) can actually help us sculpt our shape. Think of your waistline whittling down.  It will be great to lose the fat but even greater to see a little 6 pack underneath. The definition we call a 6 pack is actually those strengthened muscles peaking out at you. 

Not sure how to get started  - you can hire a trainer for one or two private classes to give you a few lessons, grab a book or two from your local library or my favorite way to get started – go to a fitness class where strength training is part of the class.  You learn while getting a full workout and you’ll be more likely to get a full workout in a class rather than working out on your own.  Don’t worry they will start out with 3-5lb weights and you can move up from there. Track your progress as you workout. As I'm working on that pull-up goal I have to slowly learn to lift my body weight. So using a machine like the lat pull-down (get a worker at your gym to point it out) machine. Each week I want to add a little more weight eventually moving up as close to my body weight as I can handle. But that's my goal. your goal may be to handle lifting a few grocery bags without getting winded. That's a great goal to start with.