No, I never said that 🙃.
But I’ve heard way too many people say it. It’s unfortunate because I absolutely love working out! So, I’m here to help you out.
I’ve been regularly working out since I was a kid. I played all kind of sports and I no joke, unashamedly started doing 1000 crunches a day after reading a Britney Spears-inspired workout in a magazine.
Everything works to some degree. Literally. But absolutely nothing works by just staring at it. Just signing up for a membership, looking at a workout program, or watching fitness influencers will not give you the body of your dreams.
So I’m gonna be real with you about fitness. Technically I’m no longer a personal trainer because I didn’t renew my ISSA accreditation, but that doesn’t take the information out of my head.
I’ve been working out for so many years, that I honestly don’t know how anyone does the same thing, like lifting weights for 20 years without adding in some other stuff, but to each their own! Personally, I rotate my programs based on my life the weather, and availability, amongst other things.
So I’m gonna break things down for you. No, you don’t have to lift weights if you don’t want to. You don’t have to run or use the elliptical. But you do need to understand something. Just really moving your body can be considered working out, but not everything will achieve your body goals.
You need to be 100% certain of your body goals or you will become quickly discouraged by doing the wrong thing. I’m not going to be overly scientific, I’m just gonna tell you the gist and where you should focus your time based on your goals.
Strength Training
Many of you, especially women don’t want to go near the free weights section. You could be fairly intimidated. (Anything new can make you feel uncomfortable). Or you don’t know the movements or honestly aren’t strong enough. Well fortunately fitness has made such great strides, you have many options here.
- Everyone needs to do SOME FORM of strength training. A very common condition in older people is sarcopenia, which is simply gradual muscle loss. Honestly, you don’t have to lose muscle as you get older (to a certain degree) as long as you use it. It’s truly a if you don’t use it, you lose it scenario. Here are your options:
- Barbells
- Dumbbells or kettlebells
- Training Bands
- Calisthenics
(In theory, you could just pick up random heavy things and put them down. If that’s how you want to work out, then you’re probably not reading this anyway.)
Now many of you either don’t care about getting older or you don’t think you’ll make it, so you might ask why it matters right now.
Muscle is what moves your body. It’s also what gives your body a predictable shape.
If you want a sculpted body, weight lifting is a non-negotiable!
Did you read that properly?
If you want a nice sculpted butt or pecs, weight lifting is not an option. It is mandatory. Sculpting gives the idea that something can be manipulated. Without surgery, the only thing on your body you can manipulate is muscle, by putting it through hard work.
You can not sculpt fat or bone. Those are the 3 components of the human shape, fat, muscle and bone.
2. You NEED to use progressive overload when lifting
Another reason people get really worked up about not achieving their goals when lifting is because they lift randomly. I know, you get bored. You don’t want to do the same thing every time you’re in the gym. On the flip side, you might do the same EXACT thing everytime you’re in the gym. A guy actually told me he has done the same workout for 13 years!!! 🤯
I can tell you right now, there is NO WAY his body has made significant progress in that time. That is really bad, because guaranteed he’s not hitting small muscles or stabilizers, which could cause imbalances. You need a workout with consistency, but you have to switch up your lifts and movements eventually, because the human body is dynamic and you still should want it to be functional even if it looks good!
Cardio
Too many people pit cardio against strength training when they are not competitors at all. They should be complementary because they do two different things.
Cardio is short for cardiovascular. Cardio strengthens your heart and lungs. When I lived in London I had a friend who told me she thought she was gonna die as she ran to catch the bus. She was thin! Her heart and lungs were out of shape and she asked them to do too much work.
I personally love cardio. You’re calories burned will be what you use during the exercise, not really an afterburn. Also has you get better at it, your body will use calories more efficiently and you’ll have to increase the intensity.
Cardio is not just running. I’ll drop some options below, all of which I have tried:
- Running (still do and love)
- Elliptical trainer
- Swimming ( super worth it, but the hair)
- Jumping rope (coordination and killers calves, yes please)
- Skating ( ✋🏽 super fun and great for glutes)
- Cycling (more fun when outdoors, builds your thighs)
- Rebounding/Trampoline (was too much fun for me, I broke mine 🥲)
- DANCING (I hope you know how I feel ❤️)- I’m currently shuffling
There are loads more. Don’t limit yourself. The beauty of many forms of cardio is the freedom. I love the feeling of “fast”, so sprinting while running or skating, with the wind against my face, I feel like Tom Cruise . . . in all of his movies, lol.
Stretching
This has always been my most hated form of fitness. I was NOT flexible for years. Yes, I am a woman, but I used to un-intelligently lift without stretching, causing me to become muscle-bound. Stretching has literally been “a hell of a journey,” but now I actively stretch and I finally got my splits. Yayyyy!!!
(Next middle splits)
It’s weird, but like anything else, you get better at it and reach a point where even though it hurts, you look forward to it!
There are three main forms of stretching though:
- Dynamic or Active
- Passive
- *Assisted (You obviously need a partner. I used to go to StretchLab for this. The other two you’ll do alone)
What most people see and are used to is passive stretching. Stretching uses legitimate science, so I won’t get into it here, but because it was my weakest area of fitness I took online classes from Stretchit app and Catie Briar Contortion. Both are fantastic, just depends on your goals, interests and price range.
Stretching is important, because it keeps your muscles loose, regardless of their size. It allows you to have a full range of motion. This may not matter to you until you’re in your 40’s and you realize you can’t turn your neck all the way (the biggest reason for car accidents in elderly ppl).
Stretching will give depth to your squat. Allow you to bend over without pulling your back. I use my leg to close cabinets and doors in the house 😅.
My advice
So those are the major forms of fitness. Honestly, you should incorporate all three for maximum fitness.
Guys don’t overlook stretching. It’s too easy to become musclebound if you neglect it and only lift weights. I know there’s still a weird stigma about stretching with guys. But how a guy could argue touching your toes as “feminine” or not masculine is beyond me. A flexible body is sexy on both genders.
Girls don’t overlook weight training. You don’t have to look like the girls on Instagram if you don’t want to, but being strong is sexy as a woman. And NO, you don’t have enough testosterone to get big like a man, those women are taking substances.
For anyone new to working out, you should definitely get a trainer or go to a class. Seriously. You may just want to watch YouTube, but if you can get a good trainer to correct your form it is invaluable.
Classes are fantastic for camaraderie, fun, competition and motivation.
I haven’t tried EVERY form of fitness out there due to money, and availability in my area, but I assure you I WILL. When I was younger, I would Groupon it up and I lived in London and NYC, so I took ’em all. So I’ll drop that list here:
- Pilates reformer
- Power Yoga
- Pole dancing
- Silks
- F45
- Beachbody- Insanity, Max, T25, Core de Force, 21 Day Fix
- Capoeria
- Krav Maga
- Kickboxing
- GMB fitness (mobility workouts)
- Ballet barre
- HIIT
- Spin/ SoulCycle
- Bootcamps
*If it’s not on this list, I either haven’t taken it yet or didn’t want to (that includes Crossfit)
Though the fitness industry has poisoned the mind of humanity, fitness isn’t just about physique. It’s about moving your body.
If your goal is physique though, I’d advise getting a physique coach or finding a trainer online that specializes in that. You’ll be changing your diet as well! This wasn’t about diet, but you won’t change your body by moving alone.
The trainer I follow is Bret Contreras. He’s called the Glute Guy. I found him years ago with a program called Strong Glutes, now he has a monthly program called Booty by Bret (it’s whole body tho). I still use it and I bought his book Glute Lab (but I am advanced). The internet is filled with garbage. He’s legit. For men or women.
➡️ Fitness isn’t gendered.
Your body was Made to Move.
There are soooo many options out there for working out. All of them will keep you in shape. Pick something that appeals to you and stick with it.
Set goals. SKILL goals, not just appearance.
When I started landing jumps rollerskating I felt AWESOME!! Having a dance shuffling move “click” feels so good. These are small accomplishments that will make you feel good about yourself. They’ll also give you a legitimate hobby. And depending on what you choose, you may make some friends. Rollerskating has an actual community. Its HUGE.
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