Weight of the World
Leave a commentFebruary 25, 2013 by little hurdles big race
You remember i told you i had a friend who always hold me accountable with my workouts. He’s been a great source of advice and pushes me when I need it. Well,l after many many excuses I finally conceded and let him come with me to the gym. This has been a long time coming as he’s been trying to train/workout with me for months…maybe even years. I was ready for everything – your form is terrible, you’re doing the wrong exercises, you’re not doing enough sets – I was prepared. What I was not prepared for were the words ” you’re not lifting enough weight”.
WHAT!?!?!?!?
It’s seemed unbelievable to me. My standard joke is that I am freakishly strong…ok maybe it’s not really a joke. So how could I not be lifting enough weight? As he changed out dumbbells and added more and more plates to the different machines i kept hearing him say “don’t lie to me…you’re stronger than that…” I was staggered by what I was doing. I was doing 4 sets of 15 or 20 when I’d only do 2 sets before. Several times I did get to the point of muscle fatigue – which is a good thing 🙂
What’s more surprising is this could be the source of my longstanding plateau I was going thru last year. Fact – muscle burns more calories than fat when idle. Myth – women who lift weights will turn into she-males. If you want to burn more calories you have to do some level of weight training. Women don’t have the level of testosterone to develop huge hulking muscle mass. If you want to be lean then definitely keep running, if you want to be tones then pick up some weights.
In the past two weeks I’ve already lost inches faster than I ever did by just doing cardio. I’m doing different and more complicated combinations and I’m working multiple muscle groups. Here we are once again – fear getting in the way of progress. I wasn’t pushing myself, and deep down I think I knew it. I mean if you’re doing something and not making progress – reevaluate.
That’s true for your whole life. Everyday should be progress.
little hurdles big race 