Do You Even Lift?

Don't Ask for a Light Load. Ask for a Strong Back"
-unknown

You walk 3 miles a day, park in the furthest spot, take the stairs and achieve 10,000 steps a day on your tracker...but the scale is not budging! SERIOUSLY???  
You could add more miles or increase your step goal, but a better strategy would be to pick things up and put them down...in other words, add some weight and resistance training to your routine.  
Now ladies, before you get all "but I don't want to look all big and beefy", just know that you do not possess the hormones that would get you to this point.  However, you do possess the ability to get chiseled arms. sexy shoulders and sleek calves.  
Sound good? Keep reading!

Three Parts of a Workout Routine

To make the most of your time, and work as efficiently as possible, I recommend including cardio, strength and flexibility exercises to each workout.

• CARDIO: by beginning each workout with a dynamic warm-up, you begin to bring some flexibility to the muscles and awaken them for what is about to come.  Before grabbing those dumbbells, start with a few minutes of marching in place, high knees, butt kicks, jumping jacks, arms circles, punches and kicks.  This will also begin to get the heart rate up .  When doing circuits (I will explain in a moment) add in a heart pumping cardio exercise like jump rope or burpees.  
• STRENGTH: Once the muscles are warm and pliable, it is time to gran some weight.  Body weight, resistance bands and dumbbells are an affordable way to get your strength training.  I will share some of the recommended "must Haves" shortly.  Using resistance against the muscles you are working causes tiny micro tears.  If you are eating properly, your body will use protein to repair and build these tears, making them stronger.  This explains the soreness you may feel after a good workout and why your muscles get bigger and stronger the more you train them.  Adding strength to your routine each day is possible, just do not work the same muscle group two days in a row.  Also...most importantly...ask a personal trainer to help you with form and technique to avoid injuries like sprains and muscle tears.
  
• FLEXIBILITY: It is so easy after a tough and sweaty workout to skip this step.  Please don't.  Now that the muscles are nice and warm, they are more flexible.  Taking the time to stretch increases flexibility and decreases the chance you will injure yourself when doing daily tasks like lifting a laundry basket or reaching for the top shelf. ​

Circuit Training

My favorite type of strength training is Circuit Training.  This type of workout keeps you from getting bored and can be done in 30 minutes (but feel free to add a few extra rounds if you need more!)
A circuit is made up of 5-10 exercises that target both upper and lower body worked back to back.  Each exercise is done for one minute with no rest in between each exercise. You can aim to complete a fixed number of rounds or do as many rounds in a set amount of time.  
Include a day of circuit training 3 days a week in your rotation with alternating days of steady state cardio such as walking or bike riding as well as a day of restorative recovery such as yoga or meditation.  
Give your  muscles a day of rest in between strength training days (hence the steady state every other day) to allow for your body to repair and build and reduce your risk of adrenal fatigue and overuse injury.  
Check out my sample week here.

Benefits

By including resistance and weight training into your weekly exercise regimen, you will begin to reap some pretty amazing benefits. Muscle has a much leaner appearance pound for pound than fat and it burns more calories while the body is at rest (boosts metabolism).  Strengthening muscles also helps with functional, every day living including walking up and down stairs,  bending and lifting and reaching overhead.  With your muscles strong and flexible (because you ALWAYS stretch after your workouts) you will have less discomfort and pain when completing every day tasks and decrease your chance of injury as well.

Equipment

No fancy equipment or pricey gym membership is necessary to get a killer strength workout.  A couple of sets of dumbbells or resistance bands and a yoga mat are really all you need. I recommend three sets of dumbbells, a light set (3-5 pounds) medium set (8-10 pounds) and heavy set (12-15 pounds) to accommodate larger and smaller muscle groups.  Resistance bands in varying thickness can also offer the same variety for less cost.

Check Your Form

Before embarking on any fitness or strength training journey, check with your doctor for any underlying conditions and injuries you may need to modify for.  I highly recommend working with a personal trainer or fitness professional who can check and correct your form.  

Whatever your health and fitness goals are, including strength and resistance training will make a huge impact on your success.  Make your circuit training a priority and I promise you will see and feel a difference.

Got a great circuit you love?
Share it with my readers so they can love it too!!