I'd love to go back to my 20 year old self and tell her a thing or 2 or... 4 before beginning her fitness journey.
I’m just going to get right to it! Here they are:
- Toning muscles is not a real thing! Strengthening muscles is a real thing. But, there is no such thing as toning. There is fat loss. There is weight loss. There is fat gain. There is weight gain. There is muscle mass increase and muscle mass decrease. There is fit and there is not fit. There is strength and lack thereof, agility and lack thereof, endurance and lack thereof
But there is absolutely no such thing as toning! You can’t tone, lengthen, and make your muscles “taller”. I’m sorry, it's really not a thing than a word to make fitness fancy.
- Spot reducing doesn't work. I’m not sure why all fitness discussions are always about weight loss, but if that is a goal (as it was for me in my 20s) then understand it happens when it wants and it places it wants to. Yes we can do exercises in certain areas to increase muscular strength & endurance of those particular muscles but you can’t magically decrease fat just because of repetitions in one spot. The body has its own genetic code so you just have to work with what you have.
What does work? Intensity in your workouts - Balance in your workouts - Strength training in your workouts - Moderation of eating. (Clean eating even better) - Hydration - Sleep - AND additional stress reducing activities like meditation, journaling, and activities in nature.
- You are obsessing over the wrong things like.... your weight , body shape, the amount you eat or don’t - these things don't mean happiness. It brings on the opposite.. So stop obsessing over what your body looks like. Stop obsessing over food & exercise. That obsession leads you down the rabbit hole of guilt. It’s really not worth it. And it causes physical and emotional harm that can be really difficult to undo.
Obsess over things like “can I do that push up well?” “How can I increase my mobility?” “How can I train like an athlete?” “Can I eat for energy?” “Can I meditate more?” “How can I succeed in my life generally?”
- Lift heavy, sweat a lot, breathe really heavy, & stop doing long hours of boring cardio. Had I known I didn't need to spend that much time (hours) in the gym doing the most boring excruciating cardio on the most boring machines … I would have spared a decade of unhappiness and guilt in my life. I wasted energy on workouts that simply didn't work. I did cardio that burned off muscle and created weakness in my body than strength. I obsessed over cardio that was supposed to “burn calories” only to make me obsessive, compulsive & addicted - it physically hurt me.
I lacked goal-setting. I did fitness I wasn’t proud of.
There's something about lifting heavy, sweating, & breathing that makes you feel like you are on top of the world! The feeling is exhilarating! And that’s what matters most!
Which is what I love the most about RIP then ROCK - a series I created that is intelligent and creative in its programming. The workouts are always short (less than 30 minutes) and different every time. We use only dumbbells & body weight, nothing fancy. They give you something tangible to work with, like bettering your athletic performance.
Join me? Go ahead to my YouTube Channel, subscribe, turn on the bell notification and start doing fitness that works! And if you need that one coach who you will tell you like it is? Feel free to check out our VIP programs! #irockthesportsbra
Have you tried any of the workouts on my channel yet? I'd love to know which is your all time favorite. Comment here or on my channel and let me know!