Strong, not skinny

Ladies, step away from the treadmill and pick up the damn weights! I am not saying the treadmill is useless, it is a great way to warm-up before lifting weights. It is also a great place to hang up some discarded clothes! The bottom line is if you want to lose weight, you need to build muscle! The treadmill is not going to help you accomplish this. It will help elevate your heart rate but in order to burn fat, you need to build muscle, especially those of us in our forties and beyond! Pick up the weights. We don’t need to torture ourselves for an hour on the treadmill. 

In the beginning of this year, I really started focusing on what I needed to do to build more muscle. It seems to get more difficult as we get older and now I am in my mid forties! I follow many fitness influencers and I learned the key to growing muscle is progressive overload. I have been working on that this year and I have definitely seen a difference in my muscle growth and definition. Progressive overload is basically following a routine to work out different muscle groups throughout the week. As you continue to do the same moves each week, you increase your reps, your sets and eventually you increase your weight. Do you want to hear the best part? The only cardio I do is about 30 minutes of walking each day!

Guys I tried but going to the gym is not for me so I workout from the comfort of my own home. This is what works best for me and my routine. Stay tuned for a post where I share all of my home gym necessities! If you don’t have an hour to dedicate to working out each day, break it up! Do 30 minutes of weights and then do a 30 minute walk later. If you have trouble committing to a 30 minute walk, ask a friend to join you or bring your furry friend along! It will start to become part of your routine and your dog won’t let you skip it! (side note: I just unexpectedly lost my walking buddy😢) You could even break it up into two 15 minute walks! Find what works best for you but pick up the weights! 

My busy schedule doesn’t leave me much time for working out after work. A few years ago, I started waking up at 4:45 so I could get my workout in for the day and not have to worry about it. Am I tired? Of course! But I am tired all of the time so what is an hour less of sleep?? I walk during my prep,  after school or in the evening. To be honest, I don’t always have time for my walk but I still aim to get my 10,000 steps each day. Some evenings I am walking in circles around the house trying to hit those steps!  And some days I don’t hit my goal and that is okay too. Make it part of your routine. Once you start to incorporate exercise into your daily routine, it will feel weird to not do it. Do your best every day! Sometimes your best might be less but don’t give up! Prioritize yourself. Weights, walking and protein! I will be doing another post about protein. 

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