Please note: I am not a dietician, doctor, personal trainer or anything of the sort. I am simply a mom who researched the best way to get in shape. This is my journey.
Hello. My name is Danielle and I am addicted to cardio. I love running, dancing, the elliptical machine, anything that get’s my heart pumping. I love the feeling of a good sweat (yes, I know, this is weird). Cardio alone however is not the way to get a fit body.
After I posted about wanting to get in shape, I started doing some research. I knew that lifting weights is an important part of getting a sculpted body. In fact when I got married I had spent lots of time at the gym doing combination of cardio and weights (using the machines, not really the free weights) I was also really watching what I was eating.
I felt so confident! My weight was down by about five pounds, but more importantly I felt sculpted and toned (something I had never really felt). This got me to thinking, that it wasn’t really the smaller number on the scale, but rather the way my body looked and the way I felt about myself that I missed.
So, back to the present:
For a while now my workouts have consisted of some form of weights or resistant training, but were more focused on getting at least 30 minutes of cardio in first. I was so focused on tracking the amount of calories I was able to burn in a session. I my mind burned calories= greater weight loss. The thought of giving up cardio scared (and still kind of does scare) me. After researching however I learned that while cardio burns more calories up front, weight lifting burns more calories after you are done working out (i.e. while I am sitting on the couch with the hubby watching How I Met Your Mother). Strength training builds muscle, muscle helps you burn more calories. Muscle also takes up less space than fat, so you get trimmer. It seems pretty straight forward. Why am I a bit scared?
First off at home I don’t have any of the fancy weight machines the gym does. Those machines tell you how to perform each move. I feel a novice is able to use those machines without too much knowledge about weight training. At home however we don’t have weight machines, we have free weights and a bench. Sure I knew a few exercises to do with free weights (bicep curls, tricep curls, overhead lifts) but when it comes to strength training I learned doing exercises that isolate one muscle group aren’t as beneficial as ones that target multiple groups at a time. It’s also important to do exercise with maximum weight, but fewer reps. Now I have been trying to find weight training exercise that use free weights, target multiple muscle groups at a time, and using maximum weight for small reps. This is where I am right now. Today I tried a “whole body workout” I found in one of my magazines (either Shape or Self). While I did sweat, it didn’t really use any weights, so I am looking online for others. All of this talk of weight training is part of my “Mama Shape-Up Challenge”.
As you can see this challenge to myself includes re-doing my work out routine, and record what I eat to keep myself in check. I also include wine and sweets, because I know there is no way I could completely cut them out. Some days call for some chocolate, wine (or both ;)).