Exercise Lies
how to move your body for fat loss!
There are some common misconceptions about working out that keep us stuck.
If you…
hate working out
feel exhausted just thinking about it
don’t know where to start
or feel like you’re crushing it in the gym and not seeing the results you want
then this post is for you lady.
I’m going to tell ya 4 common workout lies so you can strategize a plan that will actually work for your goals - and let you skip all the extra bull-crap.
Lie # 1 - Workouts have to be aggressive to get results
Yeah - no. Not only do they not NEED to be aggressive, overdoing it can actually slow your progress.
I gained fat while training for my marathon. What the ___!!!
We’ll get to that in a minute. But first…
Intensity and frequency are two things we should consider for our workout plans. How hard are ya going and how often are you working out?
Not doing enough & doing too much can both stall your progress!
Yes, we can sabotage our weight loss efforts by overworking ourselves, not just by “under” working.
Say what? Um – hmmmmm… it’s true. We need to do enough to produce a change in our body but not overdo it. So what’s the best workout?
Many types of workouts and differences in intensity can work…
There is not a “best” workout.
In fact, I would say don’t overthink it. If you’re currently a couch potato the best workout for right now is ANY WORKOUT. Just get moving sister. But let’s talk for a sec about what workouts do NOT need to be…
Just like the 80s had us all believing we must do endless cardio, it seems the new weight loss craze is brutal workouts every day of the week. If you’re not working out for an hour or more a day and pushing yourself to the point of falling over then it’s just a waste of time.
-Sigh-
thanks for the photo keepitupdavid.wordpress.com
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Oh, Richard - those were the good ol days!
thanks for the photo https://thrustr.tumblr.com/page/75
Where do we even start with this crazy notion?
Right up front let me just say:
Working out does not have to bring you to your knees.
Your body actually needs time to repair and heal, so daily exhaustive workouts are counterproductive.
You will get results by starting where you’re at and slowly building up. You do not need to go from couch potato to p90x in a day (nor should you).
If you have been avoiding working out because you have the notion that it needs to be next level intense, I assure you, it does not. Just start somewhere.
While I personally enjoy brutal workouts like CrossFit, HIIT, and endurance running; you should only be doing these if you enjoy them. They aren’t some magical weight loss requirement! Just like salads aren’t magical weight-loss food. (More on that topic here). Sure, they come with a lot of benefits depending on your goals, but there are much less intense things that you can do to lose weight.
And too much of this type of working out can actually be a bad thing. This article does a great job of summing that up. Here’s the gist - your body needs time to recover. Going too hard and too often can produce a stress response that causes weight gain or at least slows weight loss. Hence my putting fat on my body while training for a marathon and doing CrossFit 3 - 4 times a week. It was just too much for me.
We live in a “more is better” kinda world, but more is never better when it comes to our bodies. Our bodies need balance. Ya gotta push em and ya gotta rest em!
We need food - but not too much.
We need water - but not too much.
We need activity - but not too much.
We need rest- but not too much.
This concept of balance gets lost because we want simple solutions to our problems. If something is good, then more must be better. Instead of listening to our bodies and gauging how much of something we need, we just decide what is “good” and what is “bad” and then have as much of the “good” as we can and none of the “bad”. THIS DON’T WORK LADY!
Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing - find balance.
So, if the idea of jumping around on boxes and pushing weighted sleds until you vomit doesn’t get you all hot and bothered, good news…there’s a lot of different stuff you can do. (Let me be clear, this style of working out is totally my jam. I’m not knocking it. It’s not no required and needs to be done smartly).
Start small and build your way up as you go!
An ideal workout structure will include some things that get your heart rate up “a little” and some things that get your heart rate up “a lot” (when you’re ready for that). It will involve somethings that build muscle and bone, and some things that increase endurance and cardiovascular health.
What humans did before gyms…
From an ancestral standpoint having scheduled exercise is a pretty strange concept. The activity was built into our daily lives. We weren’t doing squats with barbells on our back or running for hours at a time to get fit. We were hunting and gathering without much sitting around. We would have run when it was needed but a lot of the activity would have been walking. Our “weight training” would have been a result of things we needed to do to survive. Drag an animal back to camp, ya know, stuff like that.
How I feel about a social media debate…
This was balanced out with real food, great sleep, and no access to hours and hours of bad news and arguments brought to you courtesy of social media.
I’m sharing this to paint a picture of how humans would stay in shape if we were out in the wild. Yes, I view the modern world as a zoo of sorts for humans. I love it, it’s a great time to be alive! But we need to replicate what the human experience was like before our modern conveniences (and abundances).
So, what’s the best exercise to get started if you want to live like your healthy heart attack-free ancestors? WALKING!
If you’re sedentary now then start with walking!
This isn’t some ancient human concept. Just a couple of generations ago it was commonplace to go for an evening stroll. This was “something to do” before entertainment got so amazing as to keep our butts planted on our couch after dinner. Come on, who use to go on walks with their grandparents after dinner?
It’s free, it’s easy for the majority of people, and it’s a great starting point for building the habit of movement into your life. Don’t discredit a nice walk for your fitness.
Next, add in something a bit more intense that you enjoy doing!
If you already move around quite a bit, walking is still a great activity but it may not be enough to really move the needle forward for you. Add something with a little more intensity but make it something you enjoy. If you hate running, don’t run! If you hate yoga, don’t do yoga!
What types of things do you enjoy doing? If you’re not sure, what looks cool? Go try it out. Experiment until you find something that you can look forward to doing. The key is that you want to be more active than you currently are and just build the habit of taking time to work out.
Building the habit of doing some form of movement is the first step, no matter what that thing is.
Figuring out the exact “things” you need to do to lose weight and build a strong body are irrelevant if you don’t build the mindset to carry it out. And choosing things that are fun for you will help this habit develop a heck of a lot easier than forcing yourself into a workout you hate.
ACTION STEPS:
Start with something you enjoy, regardless of the intensity level. Lockdown the habit of doing this one thing so it’s built into your normal routine.
If you’re not doing much currently then increase the intensity or mix it up with another activity as you become stronger. To take your body to the next level, you must up your game.
If you’re already going hard then get rest days! God took a day off; your body needs time off too.
Lie # 2 - Cardio is the king of weight loss
Cardio is great. The endurance you build doing cardio helps you with other activities, it strengthens your heart, helps your body handle glucose better, and of course, it burns calories. I absolutely think you should get your heart rate up.
But doing only cardio is a big mistake many women make and here’s why: resistance training builds muscle and gives you strong bones!
Having muscle keeps the fat away, gives you a super sexy shape, and keeps you out of the nursing home when you get old! It’s a must!
You can kill 2 birds with one stone when you do a workout that uses resistance training and gets your heart rate up. Then its resistance and cardio all rolled together. Cheers for time efficiency. Remember – you don’t have to live in the gym. Work smarter not harder.
“Resistance training” is anything you do to develop strength. This can be done via bodyweight or actual weights. There are benefits to both that go above the scope of this post, but you can start with whatever you can do and have access to! Do what you want but build them muscles girl.
The more muscle you have the more energy you burn every day just living life. With cardio, you burn calories while you’re doing the exercise. (Maybe a little after too). But when you build muscle, you increase the number of calories that your body spends every single day - working out or not. AKA you get that metabolism revved up!
It’s not only great for keeping fat off your body, it’s great for your bones and your joints also.
Cardio isn’t king, it’s a piece of the puzzle.
ACTION STEPS:
If you’re already doing some basic activities like walking or light cardio, add some resistance training to the mix. If you’re already doing some, increase it when you’re ready. More weight, more reps, whichever!
Lie # 3 - Lifting weights will make you look like a guy
Dear Lord, I wish this were true! As someone who wants to have big guns, I can promise you that you do not accidentally start looking like a bodybuilder. There are endless amounts of information published and products designed around trying to build bigger and bigger muscles – because it’s a difficult task.
News flash lady – your body is not designed to put on muscle easily. Not big bulky muscle anyways. Can it be done? Yes, if you eat insane amounts of protein, workout more than any of us have time to, and have your nutrition and sleep locked in. And even then, there are very few women who can build an insane amount of bulky muscle even if doing everything in their power to try and do so. It doesn’t happen on accident!
The average woman can lift as heavy as she possibly can, really dial in her nutrition, and look simply amazing. All without ever coming near looking “bulky”. Now, if you’re one of the very few women who can easily put on muscle mass (ugh I wish) there is still nothing to worry about. It comes on slowly. You don’t just wake up one morning and look like a bodybuilder. So, you can absolutely lift weights, and if you start to build too much, back off.
While building muscle is difficult for most women, it becomes harder the older we get. Every year after 30 years old we begin to lose muscle if we’re not using it, and it becomes more difficult to gain it back. After menopause, it’s even worse! So start now! It’s never too late, but the sooner the better.
ACTION STEP:
This one is easy – don’t fear the muscle.
Lie # 4 - You can eat whatever you want when you workout
Workout really hard and then eat whatever you want…cause ya earned those calories right? Nope! This idea is exactly why you have people who do brutal workouts 6 days a week and stay overweight. You cannot outwork a bad diet. Period. Exercise can help with body composition and weight loss but locking in nutrition is primary!
ACTION STEP:
Dial-in your nutrition instead of trying to “burn off” the extra food through exercise. Workout to build a strong body and give yourself shape, eat well to lose the fat.
Sum It Up
This is a really complex topic and I’m no personal trainer. In fact, I recommend you hire one. I’m a big fan of paying people for their expertise when learning something new. But, if you’re not there yet or it’s not an option here’s my general advice to get yourself started:
Just start somewhere! If you’re not doing anything, start with walking. Don’t overwhelm yourself thinking of crazy workouts.
Find something you enjoy.
Push yourself enough to see results, but not enough to cause injury or burn out.
When you’re physically ready, increase your cardio or add in resistance training. Start with whichever you enjoy, and eventually get in both. EVENTUALLY. You don’t have to do everything all at once.
REST days are non-negotiable!!! Not from walking, you can and should walk every day. But, when you start adding in some more intense cardio or resistance training, you will need rest days from these activities for your muscle to repair and build stronger.
There are more benefits to moving your body than I can even list! Both physically and mentally.
