The majority of personal training clients I’ve ever had have been females. They have varied in age, size, ability, etc., but typically all have the same two goals. 1.) Lose weight 2.) Lose inches. Program design for women has gone in so many different directions, and is different depending on who you talk to. Women have their focus areas they want to address (thighs, butt, “bingo arms”). Men have their own focus areas too (anything that makes them look better with their shirt off 👍).
Over several years of fitness coaching and research, I have come to the conclusion that no matter who I’m coaching or what their goals are, I’m programming the same way. And guess what, you’re going to move some weight AT LEAST once per week. All of my current clients know they will be doing 2 exercises just about every week, dead lifts and pull-ups in some form. I have my reasons for those two exercise, but that's not what this post is about. My point is, whether your male or female, young or old, beginner or advanced, you will be doing these exercises. I tell each one of my clients during our first meeting that they will be lifting weights. They don't all lift the same amount of weight, or perform the same variation of the exercises, but they will be moving some weight. You can find any amount of research out there that shows the best form of exercise for fat loss is resistance training. It creates prolonged calorie consumption after your workout, whereas sustained cardio tends to be acute calorie burn. I've never met a female client who did not want to lose body fat and/or body weight. I have also met very few who don't like the prospect of lifting weights because they don't want to "bulk up." This is an old school mindset. Yes, muscles will grow with resistance training. THIS IS A GOOD THING! The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn all day long. Plus, when someone says "that girl over there is in a great shape," it's because they display defined musculature. The fear of lifting weights is outdated. The research is there to prove it's necessary. Besides the calorie burn advantage, having strong muscles benefits you in many aspects of your life. They aid in posture, and contribute to your quality of life. What does that mean? Ladies, how heartbroken would you be if your muscles were not strong enough bend over and pick up your child, niece, nephew, etc. without struggling or possibly hurting yourself. How AWESOME would it feel to open a jar for your husband! Or, perhaps your job requires you to participate in some form of physical exertion. Whatever you reason, strength is most likely essential for your overall quality of life. Performing resistance/strength training will prepare your body to perform these tasks effectively. I know I only picked on the ladies in this post, but it was in response to the idea that females tend to shy away from resistance training for what they fear will happen to their body. You will see some changes, but they are all good changes. All that being said, men need to lift as well, and for the same reasons as women. Though, it isn't usually an issue to convince males to lift more weights. DISCLAIMER: So here I am, telling everyone to go out and start lifting weights. Not so fast. If you are new to resistance training or working out in general, please, please, PLEASE seek guidance first before you go load up a bar or start throwing sandbags on your back. There are many advantages to lifting weights, but also many pitfalls if you do not do it correctly. Lucky for you, if you're reading this right now, that means you know a Certified Personal Trainer who is always eager to get you started, whether you are a male or female. If you are looking for any guidance on getting started with a resistance training routine, or anything else to move your forward on your fitness journey, I am excited to be a part of it. Please reach out so we can get started!
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Just a couple follow-up notes on the video. I did end up covering the lasagna for the last 10 minutes because it wasn't cooking fast enough, and my family was hungry! I also put it in a little before the oven came to temp for the aforementioned reason. It turned out pretty good, but the leaves were not quite as soft as would be ideal. If I do it again I may cover it first, then uncover for the last 10 minutes or so to let some of the moisture cook out. I may also cut out the "stemmy" part of the cabbage leaf as it is much thicker, and was still pretty crunchy when we ate it.
Overall this dish was a success, and as you could see even the kids ate it. That is usually a pretty good litmus test in my house. Served it up with a salad on the side, and was a healthy lunch the next day for my wife and I. Never be afraid to try something new in the kitchen! Enjoy! Intereting question isn’t it? It is also a measurement we don’t really pay as much attention to. Sure, we can say whether we’re happy or unhappy, but to what extent? We have scales for our weight, we have grades and scores for knowledge, perceived exertion ratings for how tired we are during exercise, ranges for blood pressure, BMI, Cholesterol, etc. We measure just about everything, but happiness seems to have gotten a little lost in the shuffle. And happiness, as Jesse Itzler will say in the video below, is the most important “bucket” in our lives. You may not agree completely, but who wants to live a life unhappy, or not as happy as they could be? Jesse has an interesting perspective on not only measuring happiness, which is really the easy part, but also how the score you receive may not be as good as it looks on the surface. I’m going to give you a break from reading, and let you watch the 13 minute Ted talk with Jesse Itzler. I hope you find it as eye-opening as I did. So, how did you score? Jesse makes a great insight about how we immediately go to grading ourselves a 10, but then those little things start creeping into our head driving our score down just a little bit. But the good news seems to be, the result of that tells us the tings we should be working on improving to make ourselves happier. Life is most likely never going to be a perfect “10” for any of us. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be better, does it?
I hope you were able to take away as much from this as I was, and gain some insight on how to increase your score in “the most important bucket of your life.” Here’s to becoming happier, and healthier. Cheers! |
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