ending 'It's not a sport' debate, was extremely effective in keeping me in shape. During my last two years of college, between games, intense dance practices, hours of stunting (I was a base AKA the one on the bottom of the pyramid, that's me in the gray shorts) and weight training, I was wo
rking out an average of 2-3 hours a day. And I must admit, I was pretty toned and hot at that point. Well, when cheerleading ended, I quite frankly needed a break! I spent a lot less time (and by less I mean none at all) in the gym and a little more time (by a little more I mean pretty much any that I wasn't in class, working or sleeping) in a bar of some kind or another. Hey I was newly 21 and it was my senior year of college - don't judge.Anyway, my point is that this much needed break from the gym ended up lasting a tad bit longer than I anticipated. (Is a year and a half too long of a break?) I ended up gaining about 15 pounds and 3 pants sizes at my heaviest. Luckily, this Fall I got up off of my lazy rear and joined a gym by my house! The atmosphere is very laid back and friendly and they have a ton of great classes everyday of the week. I started off pretty strong, going to classes 3-4 times a week. Though I've slacked off a bit since the colder
weather has hit, I still try to go to the gym at least 2 times a week. I've even started working out on my own quite often, outside of a structured class setting. I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself!Pride aside, I'm not seeing the results I had been hoping for. During my first visit to the gym, I got a private session with a trainer who explained all about muscle burning fat and needing to tone up and focus on one muscle group at a time and all that stuff. I also know that my eating habits would give a personal trainer a heart attack if they heard them. Usually I do about 30-40 minutes of weight lifting/machines and about 25-30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical. But, I can't help but thinking: "Maybe I'm doing something wrong"
I know a lot of you lovelies are avid exercisers so I was hoping I might get some pointers from my skinnier, toner, more in shape bloggy friends out there?? Any tips, tricks, really great fat burning/muscle building work outs out there?
3 comments:
As a trainer, I have to tell you, the fact that your trainer told you to focus on one muscle at a time is a bit old school.
Functional training, where you use multiple muscle groups to do exercisers at the same time, is more effective and helps you burn more calories, even when strength training. For instance, doing a one-legged squat, combined with a shoulder press is going to give you way more bang for your buck than doing shoulder presses, followed by squats.
That's my M.O. anyway, with my clients. Trainers can be different. A lot of fitness magazines have good functional training exercises in them that are easy to replicate on your own:)
I'm gonna have to steal your line and say that I'm allergic to the gym. I haven't worked out since before Thanksgiving.
Good luck on the workouts!
I totally agree with what Brittany said...do combo work outs and also jogging seems to do the trick for me. good luck hun!
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