The Dumbbell Didn't Do It!

As women, we love our cardio, fitness classes, and yoga but did you ever think that just maybe all those forms of exercise just aren’t enough, or even worse, TOO much?!  Would you believe me if I told you that most women workout WAY too hard in hopes to get the body they want, but in reality all those hours on the DREADmill are working completely against you!

I don’t have enough time or space on this blog to get into how big of a role diet plays into developing the body of your dreams. So what I will focus on is how a balance of cardiovascular interval training, learning how to lift the right amount of weight, and the importance of days OFF will help create an efficient fat burning machine without adding man muscle to our cute feminine frames.

The  Myths -

Over the years, we have completely misconstrued the notion that those lumps of iron would make us “bulk up” and that hours of cardio was the only way to shed extra pounds.  The harsh reality is that these misconceptions are the reasons women feel defeated.

Our poor dietary choices, excess cardio and/or workouts, and lack of recovery in between workouts can lead to high stress hormone levels and/ or not enough nutritious calories. Combined, these create the perfect storm for plateaus and stored fat aka “bulk”.

The Truths-

The most important thing to understand is that our female bodies are not designed to build huge amounts of muscle mass.  Our hormones do not provide us with enough testosterone to build those crazy big muscles guys dream of.

If you’ve already started weight training and feel like you’re bulking up this may be what you are feeling: When you start lifting heavy enough weights to build muscle, the muscle develops under your fat. So over time, if you build muscle but don’t decrease your body fat you’ll feel like you’re getting bigger. What you’re missing is that those beautifully “toned” muscles are hiding under that ugly” bulky” fat. Those amazing muscles are your key to creating a better metabolic engine to burn off that unwanted fat!

Moral of the story, don’t blame it on the dumbbells but understand the importance of BALANCE.  A fitness routine should not just be hitting the elliptical everyday for an hour, but should have even days of weight training, interval cardio and rest.  If you challenge your body with new weight training exercises and honor its need to recover then you will start to feel and SEE yourself leaning out and letting your lovely toned muscles shine through!

Let your Beautiful Strength Shine on!!

Try this Upper Body Workout this week!!