R u lifting heavy yet!???!!!??

I’m sure once in your life you’ve thought about lifting weights. Maybe you’v even picked up some dumbbells or barbell, but every time you’ve tried lifting you have felt unsecured, fearful about what you are doing and a little bit lost. There’s also that fear about so,e myths you have heard about heavy weights making women bulky, or that if you stop lifting, your muscle will turn to fat. All these myths are crap and it feeds into stereotypes that are keeping too many women from experiencing the amazing benefits of resistance training.

It’s about time to put those fears and misconceptions aside!
You won’t get big and bulky and you won’t turn into a man lol! But you will gain confidence, self-esteem and a fit body.

How do I know? 5 years ago I got tired of looking the same year after year after putting 1+ hours a day of cardio. Why wasn’t I getting toned?
The answer came to me in the form of iron, and since then, the iron and I have been the best of friends. I have a more toned physique at 33 than I did at 20, and I feel better about myself, stronger and more confident in every conceivable way.

Yoga, spinning and the treadmill can have their place, but they’re not enough. I gather a few reasons you should prioritize strength training in your fitness regimen and say good bye to the fear of weights 🙂

Bone health: Many studies have shown that lifting weights regularly can increase bone density. Those of us in our 20s and 30s don’t think about this often, but someday you will. And won’t you be so proud of yourself that you lifted weights and cared for your bone density before you even knew you needed to?

Independence: I always say that strong makes everything easier. You know that furniture you need moved? Well, now you can do it yourself. How about those 15 bags of groceries? One trip from car to home–all you, girl.

Confidence: Strong girls exude a confidence that is intoxicating. I happen to believe that this comes from the knowledge that you can accomplish pretty impressive feats at the gym. When you realize your outer strength, you can tap into your inner strength, and that begins to radiate. Confidence is a very attractive quality and that gym confidence starts to leak into every other aspect of life.

You’ll Lose 40 Percent More Fat:
If you think cardio is the key to blasting belly fat, keep reading: When Penn State researchers put dieters into three groups—no exercise, aerobic exercise only, or aerobic exercise and weight training—they all lost around 21 pounds, but the lifters shed six more pounds of fat than those who didn’t pump iron. Why? The lifters’ loss was almost pure fat; the others lost fat and muscle.
Other research on dieters who don’t lift shows that, on average, 75 percent of their weight loss is from fat, while 25 percent is from muscle. Muscle loss may drop your scale weight, but it doesn’t improve your reflection in the mirror and it makes you more likely to gain back the flab you lost. However, if you weight train as you diet, you’ll protect your hard-earned muscle and burn more fat.

You’ll Burn More Calories:
Lifting increases the number of calories you burn while your butt is parked on the couch. That’s because after each strength workout, your muscles need energy to repair their fibers. In fact, researchers found that when people did a total-body workout with just three big-muscle moves, their metabolisms were raised for 39 hours afterward. They also burned a greater percentage of calories from fat compared with those who didn’t lift.Lifting gives you a better burn during exercise too: Doing a circuit of eight moves (which takes about eight minutes) can expend 159 to 231 calories. That’s about what you’d burn if you ran at a 10-mile-per-hour pace for the same duration.

Curves:
As you build muscle, your body begins to take a nice hourglass shape. Though endurance exercise can help you lose weight, that weight comes in the form of both fat and muscle tissue.
If you’re losing both fat and muscle, you can lose those lovely curves as well. Strength training can help create and sustain them.

So what do u say? Ditch the 3 pound dumbbell and cut cardio in half (replace it for some interval training) and enjoy the changes you’ll c!!

👍💪😜 xoxo Maggie J