Thursday, August 11, 2016

What I've Learned About Fitness

I've just spent the past few months doing an amazing program for women called Bikini Body Workouts (by Jen Ferruggia). I'll share with you some of the things I have learned along this personal fitness journey of mine:


1. Girls should lift weights

I used to think that girls should stick to aerobics and treadmills and let the guys be the ones to lift weights. I also believed if women ventured into the weight room then they needed to stick to those light, pink dumbbells. Needless to say, that was all wrong! Jen Ferruggia (the program creator) taught me that I need to lift "real" weights if I wanted to build a desirable, feminine body. One of the main ways, for example, to build a nice round butt is to do barbell squats. I've also learned that training with weights burns lots of calories in a relatively short period of time. It's really the idea exercise for women if you think about it.

2. You don't have to starve yourself

I used to be quite ignorant about nutrition. I would go on fad diets and starve myself or deprive myself of my favorite foods. This would last for a few days (or weeks) then I'd overeat. It was kind of a bad cycle now that I think about it. The Bikini Body diet helped me learn how to balance things out. I've learned the importance of increasing my protein intake and I've also learned that I can have my favorite foods in moderation. Overall this has been very helpful.

3. Cardio can be fun

I mentioned that I used to believe aerobics was the only way to lose fat. Jen's workout includes some suggestions for incorporating more high intensity cardio sessions into your training (after the weight training or on different days). These more fun and challenging cardio sessions make me want to keep training instead of getting bored like I used to.

Wrap-Up

These are just a few things that I've learned as I seek to get in better shape and have a nice body. Maybe what I've shared will be helpful to you if you are also considering getting started on a workout plan.