Motivational Monday

Strength Training.

It's a word that scares a lot of women.

They think that if they lift weights you're going to get big and bulky and over muscular like a man. Common myth, but still most women believe this is true. It's really hard to wrap your brain around the fact that if you lift heavy weights your muscles aren't going to get big, but women just aren't built that way. I am proof that weight training really does help transform your body into something that I would've never imagined.

When I first started losing the weight after baby #3, I started doing water aerobics and body pump. I talked about body pump before, and you can read all about it and last weeks post about Les Mills classes. Why body pump? I'm not sure what drew me in at first but what made me stay was the gorgeous blonde instructor....I thought, if I do this & can look like her I'm sticking it out! It was also one of the only classes that I didn't feel as weird. When you're larger than everybody else, jumping around in a high intensity cardio class is not my idea of fun. I felt like everyone was looking at me and felt really uncomfortable so I decided that maybe strength training would be the way to go for now. I could do as little or as much weight as I wanted to and there was no crazy movements. I fell in love with it instantly! I felt like I could see my muscles getting bigger and my body getting smaller and more toned each time I took the class. And after a while when I had lost a good chunk of weight, I decided to add in the cardio and that's where I'm at now, with the instructors and friends that I love today.

  

That gorgeous instructor friend, Jessica & I in Key West last summer

My Buddy System!

Lately it seems like all I do is cardio and as much as that's good for you it also is bad for you. The bad is, too much cardio will eat some of your muscle up. And that's doing the complete opposite of what I want my body to do. With my recent doctors visit and arthritis revelation, I decided that I really need to start weight training again. After three babies and three C-sections, my lower back is definitely not strong and that's where my arthritis lies. So in order to strengthen my lower back, I need to strengthen my whole body which means more weights. So I'm back to swimming laps in the morning, my go to since I was a swimmer in high school, and weight training three days a week. I will still do my beloved step and attack class but only one time each a week. I'm hoping that these changes will help reduce my pain and make me a stronger woman.

So please ladies, don't be afraid of the weights!!!! They are your friend not your enemy. Just take a look at my before-and-after photos. 

Add caption

Only 10lbs between the top two & less than 10lbs to the next one....there's not a lot of poundage difference for how much different I look.

Happy Monday & Link up with us!!!

An InLinkz Link-up