A dear client recently sent me an article about 8 Fitness Secrets to Steal From Boys. The article hit the nail on the head in so many ways. I’m sorry, but the dudes have a lot of things dialed in when it comes to the gym and us ladies could really learn a thing or two about a thing or two.
Now, I have to say it’s not your fault or my fault that it’s taken women so long to learn from men about fitness. For Pete’s sake, women weren’t allowed to run marathons until the 1970’s. Medical professionals (read: old men) thought having periods and cramps made us far too fragile for such physical feats. So for decades and generations, our abilities have been underestimated. But c’mon ladies, we are anything but fragile. As a mom you know this. Ummmm, hello, what dude could withstand labor, let alone the trauma of cramps, tampons and mood swings???
So, we now know that WE ARE STRONG. We can PUSH, WORK, and SWEAT just like the boys. But many times we don’t. And we should. Here’s what the boys do that we should do too:
1) Work multiple muscle groups at a time:
Every gym I have ever been in is full of ladies doing bicep curls with 5 lb dumbbells. This makes me INSANE. First of all bicep curls are a complete waste of time (they do not burn calories and they only work one teeny muscle group that can easily be worked with big movements like pullups and pull downs). Plus, there are very few exercises you should be using 5 lb dumbbells with, unless you’re brand new to weight training. Generally speaking if you are injury free, you should be lifting heavier. But I digress…
To burn calories, maximize your time at the gym, stimulate your metabolism, work your core and lose fat you should be doing exercises that incorporate multiple muscle groups. Think squats (yes, use the scary squat rack), lunges, dead lifts, push ups, pullups (weight assisted pullups totally count), pull downs, rows, planks, jumping drills, plyometrics (yes, burpees!!!)
2) Toss the mags:
60 minutes of cardio while catching up on your newest People Magazine is NOT the most effective way to burn calories or lose fat/weight. It’s actually the longest (and I would argue the most painfully boring) way to lose weight, if you actually lose any weight from it at all…. High Intensity Intervals are much more effective. And if you’re doing them correctly, there is no way you’ll be able to read a mag while you do them, because you’ll be breathing far too hard to get enough oxygen to the brain to comprehend which Kardashian is sleeping with which super star athlete.
3) SWEAT:
If you watch the guys around you, you likely see sweat flinging off them throughout their workout. That’s a sign of some serious work. Don’t be afraid to really get wet! If you’re doing intervals you’re gonna sweat. If you’re circuit training (exercises back to back with little to now rest to boost the metabolism), you’re gonna sweat. If you’re not sweating, you’re probably not working as hard as you could, which means you’re not maximizing your time. Work. Sweat. Get on with your day. Don’t dilly dally between exercises. Don’t lounge on the cardio machines. Your their to change your body right? WORK IT.
4) Flex Your Muscles:
How may guys do you know who do more cardio than strength training? Most guys do just the opposite. Step away from your cardio to build muscle. In fact, you can likely step away from your cardio almost completely and lose weight and fat, by adding more strength training. If you train smart, you should be able to incorporate all necessary cardio into your strength training by limiting rest periods or integrating cardio intervals into your strength sesh.
Strength training, if done correctly, can burn more calories that traditional cardio. It will also help you develop lean muscle mass, which will facilitate fat loss over time. Strength training 3-5 days a week will not make you bulk up unless you are eating like a body builder (a TON of protein/calories round the clock) in addition to a major supplement protocol.
Oh, and that mommy belly? Diet and strength training will get rid of that belly a million times faster than cardio. Just an FYI…
5) Fuel after exercise:
Have you noticed guys at the gym carrying shakes around with them after their workouts? Smart boys. Within 60 minutes of each and every workout you should fuel your body with some complex carbs and some protein. You don’t have to have a huge meal. But a decent source of nutrition is what your body is screaming for after you fire up your metabolism during a workout. Your muscles need/want protein to rebuild and get stronger. Don’t leave ’em hanging. If you wait 3 hours, you have missed the window to feed the muscles. This will steer you AWAY from the results you want.
6) Focus on the RIGHT numbers:
Men and women are both pretty obsessed with numbers at the gym. But totally different sets of numbers. Women are focused on the numbers on the scale and men are focused on how much more they lifted, how many more reps they performed, how much faster and farther they ran/jumped/sprinted. They use this data to motivate them in subsequent workouts. They compete with themselves (and yes, the other dudes) every workout.
Women focus on the number on the scale and tend to stay very stagnant in all their other numbers – using the same dumbbells for the same reps on the same exercises for months, maybe years. Running the same distance and the same pace, on the same incline every cardio session. Familiar? Stagnation does not get your results.
And being a slave to the scale is cruel and inhumane treatment of one’s self.
Get away from the scale and focus on lifting a little heavier, for a few more reps. Focus on doing some intervals at a faster pace, with greater resistance/greater incline. This will give you great gains. This will make your day, not ruin your day, like that damn scale!
7) Focus on getting stronger, not thinner:
If you build strength, you build muscle. Lean muscle mass helps you burn fat AND also takes up less space than fat. So as you lose fat from carrying around more lean muscle mass, you will become smaller. You might not see any change at all on the scale, but you’ll be smaller. It’s like magic. For me, my weight stays in about a 5 lb range. But, my size varies greatly depending on how much muscle mass I have. When I really focus on building strength and getting in consistent weight training sessions 4 days a week, I get smaller, no matter how much cardio I do (or don’t do).
8) Write it down:
I say this with food ALL THE TIME! Tracking your diet and workouts makes a huge difference in your ability to stay accountable to yourself. But tracking workouts also really helps you to see how you’re progressing. In fact, it’s one of the top reasons moms have so much success with my 6 Week Pregnancy Weight Loss Program.
Additionally, writing it down helps with setting goals. This is also really helpful if you ever take time off from workouts (to have a baby, perhaps…) You can go back to your training log and see what you did in the past to get in great shape. You can learn from what worked, what didn’t work and create programs/schedules from that. It’s an invaluable tool.
I hope you took notes on these lessons from the boys. I’m willing to bet if you implemented even half of these items, you would see some significant change in your body. If you’re shy with change, try to just make one change at a time. If you’re an eager beaver (and want to really kick it up a notch for summer) get all these plans in action now and see how much you can change your body in the next couple months. Dare ya. I promise you can train like a dude and still look like a lady!
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