Reality of You

Real talk about health, fitness, and weight loss.

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Featured Workout: Total Body Sculpt, Weight Loss Edition

The workouts and stuff I recommend on here are things that have helped me lose weight. I refuse to recommend anything I haven’t tried for myself and actually seen results.

WHY I LOVE GILAD

Two reasons. One: he has an awesome Italian accent, and two: He does not waste your time. No, “all right, kiddos! First, pick up your weights. Watch me. See?” It’s “BURN ALL OF ZE FAT!” from minute 1. This is like a 22 minute version of P90x: it’s intense, you’ll feel sore afterwards, but it is so worth it.

WHY HE WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Gilad’s total body sculpt also utilizes some of the weight loss techniques that are vital to seeing results, like circuit training. In circuit training, you’re going from one exercise to another so quickly that time flies. None of this “let’s do 100,000 reps!” I see so often in celebrity workout videos. You do five of Gilad’s lunges, and you feel the burn right away. Because cardio is paired with strength training, your calorie burn is through the roof. You also continue to burn calories after the workout ends– isn’t circuit training great?

WHY HE WON’T BREAK YOUR BANK

You can pick and choose which episodes you want from Amazon at around a $2. Sometimes they play re-runs of his workouts on Fit TV (which got renamed to like Discovery Health or something lame like that) but Amazon has a pretty awesome selection, and my favorite episode is the one I’ve linked to on here. I’m an Amazon Affiliate, which means if you click on the link to buy Gilad’s, I get part of the profit, and at no extra cost to you.

It’s a great workout, one of my favorites, and I’d recommend it to everyone who doesn’t have much time to exercise!

From Amazon.com: “Gilad weaves the best of strength training, circuit training, cardio bursts, kickboxing and martial arts into a one-of-a-kind routine that works your whole body. Circuit training using light to medium hand weights and buttocks exercises are featured.”

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Strength Train to Lose Weight

This is perhaps the ultimate reality check.

Just doing cardio isn’t going to get you the weight loss results you want.

Pilates is a great form of strength training. Feel the burn!

A common misconception is that the “lean” look is acquired by doing more cardio and less strength. Sure, “more cardio” will help you lose fat, but you’ll also be losing muscle. Without anaerobic and strength training, your body burns fat AND muscle, resulting in a slower metabolism. With even more cardio, you’ll gain fat faster now that you don’t have the muscle mass to burn the extra calories.

If you want that lean, slim look, you need to build muscle to speed your metabolism. A toned physique comes from strength training 3-4 days/week and also adding in HIIT workouts as well to help burn fat.

In a nutshell? Don’t forget strength training! I’ve created a beginner’s guide to strength training to help you guys out.

Will I Get Bulky?

NO! Unless you’re taking steroids or lifting REAAAAALLLY heavy weights in combination with an overload of protein, you’re not going to get bulky. Trust me on this, you guys. Women do not build muscle like men do.

By lifting weights, you get toned and lean since muscle takes up less space than fat.

The heavier weights you use, the quicker you will see results! I started on 8lb dumbbells, and now I’m on 15lbs for all my exercises (biceps curls, tricep kickbacks, lunges, squats, etc.)

Am I bulky?

Judge for yourself:
8messy hair don’t care

How Strength Training and Fat Loss Works

Ok here’s how strength training fat loss works:

  • People think strength training makes them bulky, but muscles take up LESS space than fat does!
  • Muscles speed up your metabolism to hypersonic speed
  • They’re burnin’ those calories while you’re sitting on yo’ couch reading this answer and doing nothing at all
  • You have to get rid of the fat on top of your muscles to get leaner — know how to do that? HIIT and Strength Training!
  • Too much cardio eats away at your muscles and DECREASES your metabolism, causing your body fat percentage to increase

How Strength Training Helped Me

I lost my first 10lbs from just doing cardio and minimal strength training, probably once a week every other week. But I really saw results when I did consistent strength training 3-4x a week EVERY week. I really like what I see in the mirror, and it’s a LASTING change. Maintenance is so much easier because I’m burning additional calories just by sitting on the couch.

So 3-4 days a week, every week, do strength training. You will see results. Building muscle is KEY! And you won’t bulk up from two days a week. Trust me. These guns aren’t going to be visiting a gun show anytime soon. (But that’s also because I’m pear shaped, and building muscle in my upper body is difficult. Read more about body shapes here!)

How to Get Started

Good luck. Don’t fear the weights! They will help you reach your goals.

 

 

 

 

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