Why Ditching The Treadmill For Weight Training Changes Everything.

For a long time I glued myself to the treadmill and cross trainer hoping the pounds would drop off, thinking it would ultimately be the answer to all my body hang ups. My dream body was only a million mile run away. You can probably tell from the way I’ve started this post; that most definitely was NOT the case. With a change of plan, and a little bit of knowledge, I managed to create a body that I’m not 100% happy with yet, but a body I’m proud of. Coaching others on the things I learn on my own fitness journey is something you can expect to see in the coming months! 

I’ve spoken to numerous women, and read many things online about women’s attitudes towards weight training and it all seems to be the same. It has been stigmatised that women who weight train are masculine. Bulging biceps, prominent veins, and ripped, cheese grater abs are the first things that pop to mind – of course, this image is just as badass, but the majority of women I have come across are looking to tone, not to compete. Don’t get me wrong, I also had this mentality for a long time, but if you take one thing from reading my blog post, let it be this… pick up those darn weights and reap the benefits almost straight away.

1) Empowerment

If you’re a superwoman and reading this whilst on the treadmill or doing any form of cardio: get off, right now and get yourself over to those weights. I can’t promise you instant success, but I can promise you something: empowerment. The surge of empowerment – or in gym terms ‘the pump’ - I feel when I pick up a dumbbell or feel the deep burn as I push my body to complete the last few reps, is intoxicating. You will feel strong, powerful, and unstoppable; it’s a good enough reason to swap the treadmill for the squat rack any day.

2) Sculpt curves

 Strength training can sculpt the curves you’ve always wanted. That seems hard to believe when it’s logical to up the cardio and lose weight: a common misconception. Sure, a more trim form and fat loss can be achieved through cardiovascular exercises, but muscle is also lost in the process – the kinda muscle that makes a beach bum and hourglass worthy waist!

It’s no longer a case of being born with a straight up and down shape, or a shape that’s considered too curvaceous; we can quite literally sculpt the body we want, and accentuate our assets with targeted weight training. It depends how bad you want it!

3) Burn calories whilst doing NOTHING.

Yes, I really mean it. It is possible to burn calories whilst sitting on your ass… BUT there’s a catch - after you’ve well and truly earned it in the gym that is. Our bodies are always burning calories, even at rest, simply to keep our heart pumping and to find the energy to fuel our intricate machines. This is called our resting metabolic rate.

The more we increase our muscle mass, the more our bodies use calories efficiently, therefore increasing that metabolic rate.

This means if you hit the weights harder you can burn off the cheeky cheesecake you consumed on your cheat day much quicker, simply by being a couch potato (nobody has to know)

People with speedy metabolic rates also benefit from younger looking skin, better moods, better immune systems and more energy!!

4) Everything fits better!

This ones pretty simple; muscle weighs more than fat. So, when it comes to building muscle and

toning, step off the scales and look in the mirror. Naturally, the body transforms when enduring strength training, internally and externally. But let the mirror and the fit of your clothes be the judge of progress, not a number on a set of scales.

This is what’s really benefited me since switching my mind set at the gym. Although I’ve lost weight from controlling my nutrition, my muscle mass has increased and I can feel the results when I try on the jeans that never used to fit. Getting them on is no longer a work out in itself, and I can breath without fear of the button popping off and doing damage.. oops. 

Although muscle mass goes up, and potentially the number on the scales, dress size will plummet – now that sounds like a good little deal there, doesn’t it!? 

5) Stressed? Happy lifting!

 Research has shown that women who regularly strength train manage stress much better than those who don’t. They also experience fewer adverse reactions to stressful situations. Now, I always liked the sound of this because I can be a bit of a self-confessed stress head. But now, any stress I have I obliterate at the gym. It motivates me, it drives me, and it keeps me going. It focuses my energy on the moment - the exercise - instead of the thing that’s stressing me out. I seem to come out of the gym feeling more… together, like I can conquer anything the universe has to throw at me (apart from shark infested waters, nope, no amount of gym can sort that one out).

Don’t put cardio completely in the doghouse, it has its many benefits too, but when we want to get toning, picking up those dumbbells will get us there much quicker. Feel strong, feel powerful, and get lifting ladies!!

LAURA

My Fitness Journey And Plans For Lulaa-belle In 2016.

I look in the mirror and I don’t recognise the girl staring back. I look and feel big – just another day in my over sized jumper and stretched out jeans. I have to hide everything. I’m bloated, my favourite top that used to show off my waist is sprawled out in a pile of clothes that no longer fit, and instead I put on a baggy t-shirt. Baggier the better. The more I hide, the more chance that nobody will notice how much weight I’ve put on. As I’ve doubled in size – it feels like I’ve doubled anyway – my confidence has halved, slowly deteriorating until there’s nothing left. I walk around in a body that doesn’t feel mine; I’m trapped and see no way out. 

‘I’d try to put the comment to the back of my mind, but it would come back to haunt me, along with the guilt, soon after my next binge’ 

“You’ve changed Laura. You look so different from when we were at school!” they said. You’d think that would be a positive thing; who still wants to look like their young teenage selves with that haircut you’ll always regret, overly plucked brows, and foundation lines? But in my head, I knew what they meant. I’d laugh nervously and try to put the comment to the back of my mind, but it would come back to haunt me, along with the guilt, soon after my next binge. 

This has been a long time coming and it really starts to hit home how far I’ve come when I look back at moments like that. I remember the guilt and shame that would hit me when I ate the last chocolate bar, knowing full well how it would make me look and feel, and it was that moment when I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror, with no recognition of the person staring back, that I knew I needed to change. Not for anyone else, for me. 

It’s simple right? The more we eat, the bigger we get. The more we move and exercise, the smaller we get. But not for me. Food is a drug, and it was mine. It comforted me when I felt low which was most days for a good couple of years, and why not treat myself to a Mars bar or three after my hard day of uni? I deserved it didn’t I? The more I ‘rewarded’ myself for the many days I struggled through, the more damage I was doing. 

“When I wear that old top that shows off my waist – and it fits better than it did before - I walk out with my head held high and my confidence even higher” 

Right now, I’m almost 2 stone lighter, happier than I’ve been in three years and I’m humbled by the love and support that surrounds me. I’d love to say it was handed to me on a plate but I’ve worked my arse off and it’s taken many hours down the gym and teaching myself about nutrition to get myself feeling as good as I do today. I’m nowhere near where I want to be when it comes to my own fitness goals, but I’ve taken a massive leap, and when I wear that old top that shows off my waist – and it fits better than it did before - I walk out with my head held high and my confidence even higher.   

There are many young women out there who want to lose weight, get healthier, and feel better about themselves but feel they don’t have the tools and knowledge to do so. Type into Google anything about fitness and weight-loss and we’re swamped with diet programmes, scientific mumbo jumbo that never seems to make sense, and success stories. Believe me, the amount of times I’ve searched the words ‘how to lose weight fast’ into every search engine is crazy. The answer is simple: there is no quick and easy way to do it. This is where my little space on the Internet comes in.

“I can’t really say I’ve put my heart and soul into this – but I feel this is the time”

 I’ve had my blog for a couple of years now and been very half-hearted about it. Just a quick post here and there when I’ve purchased something that impressed me, or if I’ve had a thought. I can’t really say I’ve put my heart and soul into this – but I feel this is the time. I know how it feels to have low self-esteem, with no motivation or drive to change; goals can feel completely out of reach. But I plan to use this space to document my journey and help you on yours. I’ll be writing motivational posts as I branch into fitness, health and lifestyle writing and sharing tips and tricks that I learn along the way. 

This blog will be a place for positivity and motivation, giving women – and men – the tools, inspiration and knowledge needed to achieve long-term fitness goals. If I help at least one person to feel strong enough to get out there and make changes then I have achieved what I’ve set out to do. 

The time is now! Keep in touch and read future posts by following my social media, and click here to read my last post on New Year resolutions - make this year different! 

LAURA

The One Real Reason You Never Fulfil Your NY Resolution – Make This Year Different.

I slick my hair back – a little tighter than usual – and I remove every ounce of makeup on my face. Who cares what I look like today? It’s just me; earphones are in, treadmill at the ready and the little fire in my belly ignites. The cold blast of air-conditioning as I open the door to the gym, the habitual sound of pounding cardio machines - I know what I have to do, and my body is about to be pushed to its limits. The gym is a little more packed than usual, which can only mean one thing. The New Year has arrived; the hard work has begun. Resolutions have been made, and I see rows of determined faces. 

But guess what? Only 8 per cent of people who make New Years resolutions actually see it through and achieve their goals. What on earth happened to the other 92 per cent?

It seems we start the New Year feeling rather kick ass, too big for our boots, coming up with unrealistic goals and resolutions that seem to fall short after a couple of weeks. The left over booze and chocolate in the cupboard becomes more appealing than shredding those winter pounds, or as a nation of procrastinators, thoughts such as, ‘oh, I’ll change career path next year instead’ start to creep in. No - the time is now.

I – for sure – am also guilty of this. I really cannot say I’ve been an advocate for positive thinking over the past couple of years. Chasing things that I’ve felt no true passion or fire for, going to the gym half-heartedly hoping I’d suddenly wake up with a good body. I’m telling you now, being that half-hearted person will never bring you the satisfaction and fulfilment you’re looking for.

“It always comes back to fulfilment”

Fulfilment is something that often comes up when I ask people about their resolutions. I’m always intrigued to know other people’s goals and aspirations for the New Year, because more often than not, it always comes back to fulfilment. Whether it’s just to be a happier, more appreciative person, or to finally feel good in a bikini for summer, we look to achieve something that will ultimately make us better and stronger people – whether it’s egotistical or for inner-peace is another story.

But it’s not that annual search for fulfilment that stops us from achieving the goals we set. It’s something we do everyday; you’ve probably done it today already.

It’s that tiny part of your brain that listens intently to the people who tell you it’s not possible, to our society that expects you to look, feel and be a certain way. Sure, making goals to prove those people wrong, or the excitement of wearing your new gym gear sparks a little fire in the belly, but for the long term? Trust me, the novelty will wear off.

 “It has to come from you. You have to feel it, want it, embrace and relentlessly fight for it – without ego, or fear of what others think or want for you.” 

Success comes from you. If you are constantly doing something to make other people happy or because society says it’s the ‘right thing to do’, negativity will creep in, and negativity will obliterate any form of progress you could make.

It has to come from you. You have to feel it, want it, embrace and relentlessly fight for it – without ego, or fear of what others think or want for you. The goals and resolutions you make come from a place of unhappiness in some shape or form, otherwise you wouldn’t feel the need to make a change in the first place. So, whatever you want to be, whatever you want to achieve, become it, embrace it and feel it with every fibre of your being. Others expectations and what’s considered to be the norm shouldn’t come into it. And from my own experience – I’ve well and truly learnt the hard way – making everything else background noise and doing something well and truly, completely for you is when the magic starts to happen.

Whatever your reason for making a change, it has to be strong enough to keep you from wavering. Because when it comes down to it, it’s just you and that treadmill, you and that conscious decision between the sweet draw and the salad. It all starts with you, so make sure your resolution comes from a meaningful place because when the hurdles start coming at you – and there will be many – you will be strong enough to tackle anything.

How about you make it to that little 8 per cent then? Or even better, we all do it together. Imagine the year you actually achieve what you set out to achieve and the satisfaction you can feel when you look back and see how far you’ve come. Don’t be that half-hearted person. However big or small your New Years resolution may be, it matters. Self-improvement is a journey that can be taken up at any time of the year, but what better time to start than now.

LAURA