4 things your girlfriend should know

chuisle

Love this article:

http://figureathlete.t-nation.com/free_online_article/training/4_things_your_girlfriend_should_know

Just last night my BF said to me after discussing various lifting routines, "I never thought I would have this conversation with a girlfriend."

Well, he did because I realized that treadmill did not equal a six pack and so I started lifting much more seriously and ditching the 40 minute cardio sessions. I like my results (still going) and I like this article because it gets at so much of what women think about fitness training that isn't correct.

My only exception is yoga (I do bikram as a complement to my other training) and even there he makes a few caveats.

Newmammaluv

I love the article especially because it is coming from a man's point of view. :drinker: good post!

Better_Balance_2011

Good article. I like the yoga too. I'll stick with it. But I do it once a week mostly to keep me flexible and sane. It's interesting because I have done power yoga for about a year and a half (and various yoga before) and have felt myself getting stronger over that time. However I took about a month or more off and was doing 30 Day Shred (with a little cardio) and when I went back to my yoga class, I was stronger than I had been before and could do things I had previously struggled with. And in only 30 days.... And that isn't even lifting heavy weights as this article suggests.

chuisle

Good article. I like the yoga too. I'll stick with it. But I do it once a week mostly to keep me flexible and sane. It's interesting because I have done power yoga for about a year and a half (and various yoga before) and have felt myself getting stronger over that time. However I took about a month or more off and was doing 30 Day Shred (with a little cardio) and when I went back to my yoga class, I was stronger than I had been before and could do things I had previously struggled with. And in only 30 days.... And that isn't even lifting heavy weights as this article suggests.

I agree! What he said about building strength to a point really made sense to me. I know yoga has changed my body in the last (lost weight, trimmed, gotten stronger) but there may be some dimishing returns at work, as there with any exercise that doesn't become more difficult. While there are certain more difficult advancements many poses would require external weights to build further strength I think (not just endurance).

I had the same experience Tuesday. It had been a few weeks since I done yoga and I had a great practice because I had the strength I needed in many of the poses.

yummy♥

this is a great read, thank you!

RCKT82

Nice! Glad the word is out there!

beachbum8

Great post! Love the comment under the Fitness Model.. "I'm willing to bet she didn't use pink dumbbells to look like this"

LilRedRooster

Haha, I loved that article! I hate that stupid phrase "But I don't want huge manly muscles!" and it drives me CRAZY. I don't know that many women who put on muscle that easily. I'm one of the ones that puts on muscle fairly easily, but that's my body type, and it still takes me a few weeks of hard routines to put it on. Heck, my sister had to work out solidly lifting for nearly six months before she got a bump in her arm that she called her bicep, and I wouldn't have noticed, except she pointed it out specifically to me.

Of course, I differ on the the long-distance running. I love training for long distances, but I also don't make that my main workout, because I tend to get injured more easily if I don't cross-train the muscles for resistance. Dabbling in a bit of everything is always key.

chuisle

Great post! Love the comment under the Fitness Model.. "I'm willing to bet she didn't use pink dumbbells to look like this"

One of my favorites was, "Yes, Victoria's Secret models are doing squats and deadlifts. And yes, that's completely hot. Guess what they're not doing? Watching Oprah every day while walking on the treadmill for 60 minutes."

ninyagwa

Thanks for posting! Great read!

butterfly0475

Bump so I can read on the computer.

thumper44

Great to read, Bump for sure. Since this place is 95% women.

Ljc3

Yep this makes me rethink my workouts! Thanks!

jlanab

this is so true... i was doing heavy lifting with come cardio and lost roughly 20 lbs and 12 inches from mid feb to mid april. I stopped with the lifting and added tons of cardio and have been at a PLATEAU for weeks now!!! Just added 30day shred to my reggie and i am feeling that "good burn" again and lost 2 inches off each thigh in 7 days!!! People def need to read this. There is a lady who the olny thing she does is lift heavy heavy weights and her body has transformed DRASTICALLY. Ill look for her post.