Girls, get off the elliptical!!

     Sometimes when I really need motivation and I'm just feeling lazy I start browsing through my fitness board on Pinterest or watch Youtube videos on fitness transformations. Today I seem to keep running into articles and videos about the one thing girls do wrong when it comes to losing weight and getting fit. Oh my, I just realized how true it is that there is a big misconception on how to lose weight. Of course there are so many conflicting ideas out there about fitness. This is about girls and how we are stereotyped to only focus on cardio. There's this idea that cutting back on calories and running for an hour on the treadmill is going to get you ready for bikini season. You can't expect to get fit by just doing cardio. Cardio does burn fat faster, but it will not transform your body. I do cardio with my weight lifting, but I don't run on the treadmill for an hour.

     I keep myself moving by doing martial arts type exercises or HIIT exercises. Weight lifting= more muscle. Without it and just cardio, you'll drop weight but might look flabby and not toned. I'm not saying don't do cardio, I'm saying less cardio and add in more weight training. Weight lifting= more muscle and
more muscle=more fat burn (the more muscle you have on you, the more fat you burn throughout the day when you aren't even working out). This is part of the reason why it is easier to maintain once you are more fit and have built quite a bit of muscle.

     So pick up weights! And no not the 3lb. weights. In order to decide on a good amount of weight to lift, you want to be able to lift for no less than 10 reps with that weight and no more than 15 reps. Of course this does depend on your goals. I lift weights that are heavy enough for me to struggle by the 8th to 12th rep and maybe pump out a couple more. And that is to build muscle mass and also define. 6 to 8 reps is to bulk (harder for women since we really can't get crazy huge and also requires the correct diet.) And 15 to 20+ reps would be for endurance training.

    Stop and adjust weight accordingly if you can't keep good form for at least 8 reps. Doing 10 reps with bad form is pointless!  Anyways I just really want us girls to stop contributing to our stereotype of weak, awkward treadmill runners that talk to their friend the whole time at the gym. Best way to put it, women need to train just like men do. Maybe less weight, but seriously women and men can train the same way, the same exercises.  Research some, inform yourself so that you have as much knowledge as possible that can help you reach your goals fast. Let me know what you think. If anyone out there has any questions, ask away.