Going to the gym can be daunting, no matter who you are — man or woman, teenager or someone getting up there in years. So it’s quite normal for beginners looking to get in shape to focus on something that’s straight forward to use, like the treadmill.
Set your speed, set your time, and go.
But sticking to cardio — or any one type of exercise — can actually hinder your progress, as you don’t end up pushing yourself anymore. And nobody’s proved that better than fitness Instagrammer Rebecca Catherine Smith in a recent post.
hi hello #transformationtuesday time! Cardio & calorie restriction VS Weight training & all da food? We all have those days where we feel like we’ve made no progress and just wasting our time??, and a lot of girls tell me they often feel like that and it can be SO demotivating, so wanted to look back on how I actually have changed in the past 2 years or so. Appart from the fact that that’s the most tragic photo of me on the left? I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with my body! And even tho there’s not a massive difference putting them side by side makes me realise I’m not wasting my time & the work I put in does pay off.. But more importantly than what it looks like the main difference is how mentally stronger, happier, healthier & more confident I am on the right!! Changing up the way I train & the way I look at nutrition has helped me in a million more ways than what’s seen to eye & I now will not stop preaching the importance of nourishing your body with the nutrients it needs and most importantly ENOUGH of those nutrients because food is ur friend and depriving yourself will get you nowhere? stop slaving away trying to burn ‘calories’ on the treadmill and start to build your body to be the strongest it can be! Do what u love & love what u do #StrengthFeed #rantover
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Rebecca regularly shares an insight into her diet and exercise regime with her 167k+ following, as she continues to prove that “Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was that booty”. Recently, Rebecca uploaded a comparison photograph displaying her consistently trim figure. The difference between the pictures, however, is that in one she is noticeably more toned and sculpted than the other.
LIFTING MAKES YOU MANLY?! – It infuriates me how still so many girls think the second you pick up a dumbbell or protein shake you’ll suddenly become the hulk?? changing my training from cardio to weights changed me completely inside & out and each to their own but I personally don’t think I’ve made my body look at all manly in my past year and a bit of weight training! Here are my 3 main reasons for girls to start lifting ? – 1. Building strength & muscles: Lifting builds on a woman’s natural curves and helps your body be the strongest it can. Ripped abs, sexy strong back, shoulder boulders & a curvy behind alll come from lifting ? #strongnotskinny – 2. Loosing that extra body fat: my body fat % saw a MASSIVE fall when I began lifting because as your muscle mass INCREASES your metabolism INCREASES. Before I would spend hours on cardio machines thinking that will get rid of fat but never saw any results and just made me HATE going to the gym, and if you feel like your in that boat now then change it up now! – 3. Healthy relationship with food & body image: when your doing cardio in order to burn ‘calories’ it’s so easy to look at food as numbers and end up feeling guilty for eating too much and feeling like you HAVE to restrict yourself to see results, well that’s just not the case at all. Starting weight training made me realise food is fuel and I need LOTS of it to get the best out of my training ? the amount I eat has honestly trebled since I picked up lifting and I absolutely love it ? there’s no restricting and there’s no guilt in indulging in treats once in a while because what better way to fuel a sesh ?? – Rant over if this convinces one girl to try out weight training mission complete but I wanna see MORE GIRLS in the weights section and get rid of the association that it’s just for boys because it’s not #gainingweightiscool #StrengthFeed #transformationthursday??
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“Changing my training from cardio to weights changed me completely inside [and] out,” Rebecca wrote, describing how she switched up her workout regime.
Making the point that doing weights doesn’t make you “manly”, the fitness blogger wrote: “Each to their own but I personally don’t think I’ve made my body look at all manly in my past year and a bit of weight training!”
COMPOUND SUPERSETS ?? – Few snippets of todays workout with @adamcapel of some of my favourite supersets to include when training glutes and wooowz do I feel it already ? – I always do at least one or two compound exercises each leg sesh (squat, deadlift, hip thrust etc) and feel so much more of a burn especially in glutes when I superset them with light weight high rep exercises like these and feel like I really am getting the most out of my workout and breaking a serious sweat ? – First one: • Sumo deadlift 4 x 5-7 reps • Single leg dumbbell deadlift 4 x 10-12 reps each leg Second one: • Squats 4 x 5-7 reps • Goblet pulse squat 4 x 12-15 reps – Followed these by hip thrusts (hit 100kg pb yay lol), walking lunges & leg extension! Try out these supersets to feel a serious burn ?
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She went on to explain exactly why she believes weight training is a great option for women who enjoy exercise:
1. Building strength and muscles:
“Lifting builds on a woman’s natural curves and helps your body be the strongest it can,” wrote Rebecca. “Ripped abs, sexy strong back, shoulder boulders & a curvy behind all come from lifting”.
2. Losing extra body fat:
“My body fat % saw a MASSIVE fall when I began lifting because as your muscle mass INCREASES your metabolism INCREASES,” she explained. “Before I would spend hours on cardio machines thinking that will get rid of fat but never saw any results and just made me HATE going to the gym, and if you feel like [you’re] in that boat now then change it up now!”
3. Developing a healthy relationship with food and body image:
“When [you’re] doing cardio in order to burn ‘calories’ it’s so easy to look at food as numbers and end up feeling guilty for eating too much and feeling like you HAVE to restrict yourself to see results. Well that’s just not the case at all,” said Rebecca. “Starting weight training made me realise food is fuel and I need LOTS of it to get the best out of my training. The amount I eat has honestly trebled since I picked up lifting and I absolutely love it. There’s no restricting and there’s no guilt in indulging in treats once in a while because what better way to fuel a sesh”.
You don’t appreciate ur mirror at home until u get to uni and u DONT HAVE ONE @loungeapparel #lovetolounge
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It’s clear to see in Rebecca’s pictures just how much weight lifting has defined her body in comparison to its shape before. This kind of body image isn’t necessarily one that’s right for everyone, but for those who endlessly devote time to cardio machines and fail to see much progress, it definitely serves as a suggestion that weight training could be the way to go.
From: Cosmopolitan UK
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