Yoga and Pilates do have enormous benefits when it comes to overall health and well-being. I recommend them highly for building a specific type of strength, increasing flexibility, and for creating body awareness.
It’s simple science: A calorie is heated. Heat is energy. To lose weight, you need to increase your energy expenditure. And since a pound equals 3,500 calories, you need to significantly increase this expenditure in order to lose weight. Studies show that neither yoga nor Pilates raises your heart rate enough to burn this amount of calories. That’s a fact. Don’t shoot the messenger. So what about the skinny women who take those classes?
Look around a gym; the view can be daunting. There are so many different machines, so many different pieces of equipment, and so many different ways to use them all. I understand your trepidation. I know how overwhelming it can be. I too was a beginner once. This fear is one of the main reasons people do the same workouts with the same machines over and over again.
They do what they know (or think they know) and what they are good at. You are not alone. But as you begin to BEAT THE GYM, you will start to look at the gym floor in a whole new light. You will see possibilities rather than confusion, opportunity rather than obstacles. Machines that frightened you in the past will get you excited because you will know how to use them and how they can transform your body.
The Secrets of Strength Training
Strength training: it’s what I love, what I’m passionate about, and, if I say so myself, what I’m really good at. I love the tight feeling I get after a good full-body workout. I love seeing the changes I can make in my body by pushing and pulling weights around. I have studied those who are successful at it and emulated them.
What blows me away is that the vast majority of people lifting weights in the gym are doing it wrong. Really wrong. Most likely you are one of them. The time has come for you to stop wasting your time and to start getting results. Especially those of you who are going to the gym several times a week or more yet are still not seeing any real change. Enough is enough.
I’m going to break down the strength training area of the gym for you so that you can enjoy your workouts while getting the most out of every one of them. First, I’ll break down the machines, then I’ll show you free weights with dumbbells and barbells, followed by body-weight exercises. I’ll go on to simplify strength training with cables, and we’ll finish up with how to train your core. There will be pictures of the exercises so that you can see exactly what you’ll be doing and the proper way to execute each movement. Your workouts will never be the same.
