So sometimes I get asked what is the best way to lose weight - and a lot of the time I tell them that to lose it you gotta lift it. Muscle weighs more then fat, yes...so you might not see a huge difference on the scale but it is guarenteed that you will feel differently...your clothes will fit differently...and it is going to take up a helluva lot less space on your body then Mr. Fat.
When I train at the gym I lift - and I lift heavy. As heavy as I can...and a lot of women are intimidated by this because they think that you are going to end up looking like one of those muscular male body builders but that is simply NOT the case...women are built differently, it is physiologically impossible for us to build muscle like our male counterparts because we do not have the amount of testosterone that they do.
So if you eat clean & train dirty - you will realize that this is the secret to weight loss success. It ain't easy - nothing ever is...so you are going to leave the gym soaked but for some reason women are still intimidated to pick up those dumbbells. It was said before that if you used light weights that they didn't do anything for you but now studies show that if you want to use those 3lb dumbbells you can...BUT...you are going to have to do your repetitions to the point of failure. Meaning that you are going to have to pump out reps and work your muscles to fatigue to the point where you can't do another one without good form.
If you can do 30 reps...then maybe it is time to rethink that weight you're using to something heavier.
My new training log that I have designed and made up has helped me out a lot this past week...I am probably going to be even more surprised once I am three or four weeks in and see a considerable difference in the weights I pick up on a day to day basis. Of course this is also going to depend on my mood, what I ate that day...how I am feeling, etc. But it is still nice to see that my body is kicking ass.
I mean, I am a little top heavy at the moment after gaining some weight, the lower body isn't too horrible...lol. But I know that the strongest part of my body are my legs. I call them horse legs - they don't look like horse legs...I don't think, lol. But they are rather powerful. I will be the first one to admit that I have NO upper body strength whatsoever ~ I can't even do one pushup! But this log book is going to help me keep track of my progress.
Now for a man this may not seem impressive that I can leg press 135lbs but I sure as hell am. I can kick over a person, basically (hahaha).
I have a strong back that can hold it's own at 85lbs but it is apparent that when it comes to my arms/shoulders/chest, I am not in good shape...only being able to do between 10-30lbs...well, that is a helluva lot more then some women can do...but I would like to do more then that. And it really all depends on what exercise I am doing. Machines help me out a little bit {dip @ 70lbs} but free weights are a bit more difficult {20lbs - 10lbs each}. So I have still a bit more work to do.
But this isn't really a post about my progress but rather letting you know that you CAN lift just 10lbs if that is what you are comfortable with...but you gotta pump out those rounds to the point where your arms/legs/whatever, feel like they are on fire and you can't do another one without sacrificing proper form. Because if you don't do that, then chances are you aren't going to see much of a difference with regards to increasing your strength & endurance as well as weight loss.
Lift heavy {or as heavy as you can} and lift hard.
-S.*
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