I started weight training about 6 months and it's the best decision I've ever made. Fitness classes, IG influencer workouts and app workouts were just not making any differences for me! I decided to invest in a personal trainer who could teach me the correct form, force me to work out 3 times a week for 8 weeks, keep me accountable and help me become a morning person (Minji Kim who I met at Equinox but ended up training me at Matador Fitness since she quit Equinox shortly after meeting her). When you're paying someone a lot, all of a sudden you are a really good student LOL. I always dreamed of being a morning person and those people that wake up at 6am for the gym. I can officially say that I AM that person. I will forever be grateful for all that she's taught me. I don't even know who I am anymore with my new found strength #identitycrisis.
Weightlifting has completely changed my perspective about fitness, health, nutrition, sleep and body positivity. One of the best things is that you feel like you spend most of your time at the gym resting (texting friends) between sets, but you see the most results because you are continually pushing your muscles past their limits when you are lifting (talk about ROI!). Weightlifting is also so much more rewarding than other workouts for me because every day you have multiple goals and every day you will most likely reach your goals with the right programming. Whereas during the group fitness classes my goal was to not die and go as many times as possible - which really was just negative reinforcement. I would always feel like I failed when I got tired or didn't go to enough classes that week.
*it's actually insane how much more I workout simply because I'm confident using weights
Since I took extensive notes during my training, like the ENTJ/3w4/Capricorn Sun & Moon psycho that I am, I thought I should share some of the main things I learned during this journey. Don't forget to click the hyperlinks for helpful infographics, youtube videos and articles.
Disclaimer: I have NOT perfected any of this. I try to aim for improvement and progress, not perfectionism. Be kind to yourself :).
Key takeaways
Women do not become bulky from weight lifting. Unless you are eating like a body builder, lifting for 3+ hours a day every day, taking extreme supplements or taking steroids you will never become bulky - do not be afraid of weight lifting. I have read it's the best way to change your body composition, become lean and defined. If you feel that you are getting bulky its most likely because you are hungrier after lifting and end up eating way way more than you usually do.
Progressive overload - The only way to see results is to progressively overload your muscles by increasing weight, higher repetitions, range of motion or tempo changes every time you work out. I realized that this is the reason why group exercises never worked for me because although I would be tired from cardiovascular exertion, I never pushed my muscles significantly more each time I worked out. Sweat and soreness isn't always an indicator of an effective workout. Sweat is your body cooling you down and soreness often occurs when you haven't done something in a long time or you pushed yourself so hard you probably cant workout tomorrow.
Always lift as heavy as you can - Which means by rep 8-10 you are almost unable to finish the set. And you should feel like dying after 3-4 sets haha.
Rest between sets - When lifting heavy rest a minimum of 2 minutes between sets. When doing supersets that workout different muscles 1 minute's rest between each set is sufficient as 2 minutes will have passed by the time you work out the same muscle again.
Sleep/Recovery - Muscles recover during your sleep, so you need 7-9 hours a sleep per night in order to see the best results. I'm really bad at this and only get an average of 5.5 - 7 hours per night. Additionally, you should have at least 2 rest days during the week to let your muscles recover so that you be 100% ready for your next heavy workout. This part has been so hard for me because I LOVE exercising now, it's weird.
Nutrition - Thinking about food as your body's fuel that helps you create energy and regenerate muscle has changed my relationship with food. My trainer actually told me that I ate way too little and there was no way I would see results if I didn't feed myself enough to help regenerate muscle. I tried to eat low calorie but ended up eating empty calories instead of nutritious foods. I have never believed in dieting or making any foods "off-limits" because of the negative relationship you develop with food. I find that restricting yourself, just makes you binge later. Eat your ice cream, cookies, pizza and chocolate. Balance your treats with nutritious foods. A "bad" day doesn't make an effect on your weight, but letting a bad day turn into a bad weekend, week and month DOES. Try to fill yourself with whole foods as much as you can. But enjoy your life.
Protein - For muscle growth you should be eating ideally 1g of protein for each pound that you weigh (130lb body weight = 130g of protein/day). It's really hard for me to eat this much meat, so I drink as many protein shakes as I can, helps that they all taste like dessert :D (1 cup of chicken is ~38g protein, 1 serving protein shake is ~32g protein).
Veggies/Fruits - Just try to add a handful or more of veggies or greens to every meal if you can. Vegetables have so many incredible nutrients, fiber and benefits. There have been so many studies that show the veggie/fruits prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, poor blood pressure, weight gain, poor gastrointestinal health and poor vision. Drinking vegetables and fruits in a smoothie or juice is great way to sneak some in.
Weight shouldn't be your measurement of fitness. However, the only way to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit, which means consuming less calories than you expend. Eating empty calories and calories without nutrition is not conducive to muscle growth. I have found that I really don't care about what the scale says, I would much rather see progress in how I look and feel! I truly don't believe in fad diets but do believe that the reason that they end up working is because of the calorie deficit they might inherently promote. Many times they reduce your caloric intake with small eater windows and limited food options.
Water - You should be drinking .5 - 1oz of water for every pound that you weigh (130lb body weight = 65 - 130oz /day). Dehydration is usually the culprit for bloating, bad skin, low energy, and slow metabolism. I'm also really bad at this. My tricks for drinking more water is to have multiple 21-32oz hydroflasks by my bed, in my car and at my work desk. That way I have cold water ready to drink wherever I am. I also try to drink a glass of water before each meal or drink water when I feel like I want to snack - you'd be surprised that most of the time you're just dehydrated and not actually hungry!
Programming - I try to think of working out just like I would a college class, if you don't have a plan to make progress, you won't reach your goals! In order to effectively work out, it's important to have a program designed for you to overload progressively and so that you don't enter the gym without a plan then end up giving up because you're not sure what to do. In one sitting I spend a couple hours making a 6-week program with a 7th "Deload" (recovery) week. Doing this means I never have to think about planning until 2 months later and I know I have a plan to make progress. This deload week helps you prevent injury when pushing yourself too far too fast without losing too much of your muscle strength progress (reduce your weights by 10-15% and reps by 50% during the week). It sounds like it would be hard and tedious to make this plan, but really, you're planning 1 week and increasing weight, reps, sets or tempo for the following 6 weeks ;)
Cardio - Since too much cardio has been studied to inhibit muscle growth, cardio is best done on a separate day of your weightlifting. If you really want to do it during a weight training day, it should be done after your workout so that your energy is spent first on weightlifting. Other ways to work out your cardiovascular strength without running/biking/rowing is to do higher reps of your weightlifting, this will build strength as well as stamina. Almost all the trainers I have met said cardio isn't that important, which was shocking to me. Although it is the most calorie expending exercise, you wont see changes in body composition like you weightlifting since you workout only a few muscles. I will probably incorporate more HIIT/Cardio once I have reached my body composition goals and my aim is for maintenance rather than progress.
Stretching - WOW I never understood how important stretching was for recovery and injury prevention until my trainer forced me to dynamic stretch before and static stretch after on a physical therapy table. I think this is the main reason I'm rarely sore anymore (keeps you ready to workout tomorrow), kept and improved mobility (which helps you with weight lifting since your muscles aren't stiff from contracting all day), and have really not injured myself during the past 6 months. Stretching gives you a wider range of motion which helps your form and progressive overload. It's 100% the reason I can do the splits at 27 years old now.
Form - If you aren't using the right form you will not see the right results. I was doing literally everything wrong. Mind-body awareness is so important for weightlifting to be effective. You should feel the targeted muscle "burn" during your workout and shouldn't be using other muscles to compensate. Key form changes are to keep the core engaged, shoulders retracted, shoulder blades squeezed, pelvic should be neutral, knees should be in line with foot and slightly out, and weight should be on your heels.
Main Body Movements
This is how I generally organize my workouts. I believe that focusing your workouts on muscle groups helps you ensure that you are overloading your muscles and give your muscle group enough recovery time before it is worked out again.
Upper Push - Chest Press, Overhead Press, Triceps, Raises, etc.
Upper Pull - Pull ups, Biceps, Rows, Rear Delt Face pulls, etc.
Hinge - Deadlifts, Romanian Deadlifts, Hip Thrusts, Kickbacks, etc.
Squat - Squats, Lunges, Step ups, Leg Press, etc.
Putting Together Workouts
Dynamic stretches before to warm up muscles and reduce chance of injury. I aim for about 5 minutes.
Start with 1-2 large compound movements that workout multiple large muscles so that you use most of your energy on the most effective movements (Deadlift, Squat, Hip Thrusts, Chest Press, Overhead Press and Pull Up etc.)
Move to more isolated movements that workout small muscles (Bicep curls, Triceps, Raises, single leg movements etc.)
5-10 minutes of HIIT/cardio at the end, however HIIT/cardio is best on other days as it is not conducive to muscle growth.
ALWAYS stretch afterwards, it reduces soreness, increases mobility, reduce chance of injury. I aim for 5-10 minutes.
What my weeks have looked like
Monday - Hinge
Tuesday - Upper Push
Wednesday - Rest, flexibility, or yoga
Thursday - Squat
Friday - Upper Pull
Saturday - HIIT or Cardio
Sunday - Rest, flexibility, or yoga
Favorite Fitness Pages
I've been really tired of the "inspirational" IG instagrammers that sell you fads or quick fixes and aren't based on science, kinesiology, and physical therapy. Here are some of my go-to influencers I've come across:
@soheefit - no bullshit, honest, and overall badass asian female
@Pheasyque - really useful infographics on proper weightlifting form
Jeremy Ethier Youtube - he uses science based studies to explain weightlifting and nutrition
@bdccarpenter - no bullshit, honest, and science based studies
@prehabguys - Doctors of Physical Therapy that have tutorials on proper form, muscle/pain rehab methods and other science based tips
@syattfitness - no bullshit, honest, and hilarious but informative videos.
@susanniebergallfitness - no bullshit, honest, and great videos about form.
@cartergood - no bullshit, honest, and to the point inspirational quotes.
I hope this was helpful!! Stay tuned as I share my notes on form, stretching and my personal workout programs! Let me know if there is anything else you would like me to share :)
xoC
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