When I see a potential client for a consultation there are a couple specific questions or statements that I see. From a male I would usually hear “I want to gain muscle but don’t know how” and from a female I hear “I want to tone up and slim down”. The are exactly the same statement just disguised to try and be something different. However, they both needs resistance and weights to be able to get them to their goals. At the end of the day we are all human and what you really want is to feel great in the body that you have. For some this might be to have a little bit more muscle and less fat.
What I’ve noticed once I start training a client whether they are male or female. Once they pick up the weights they never look back. Therefore, meaning that once they find out for themselfve that weights are the tool to get them to there desired goal. They don’t stop pushing. I want to be able to diminish the stigma that females can’t lift weights because it will make them bulky. This isn’t the case, I have female clients that can deadlift and squat there own body weight and they are awesome. Guess what, they don’t look bulky.
Where to start
A lot of people don’t know where to start and what to start with. It doesn’t matter if your 24 or 64 you can always start to lift weights. As a personal trainer I highly suggest you do some research or ask for advice from a trainer. However, if you don’t have access or you dont feel confident to do that yet. The best thing to do is watch youtube videos and learn as much as you can. Take it all in and start moving your body with extra resistance. Once you got past the first hurdle you will start to feel different and your body with start to change.
Start with the simple movements
Once you have started lifting weights you want to pick the simple body movements to build a foundation. Some think that you have to start with the complex movements like olympic lifting. Whereas, all you really have to do is make sure you pulling and pushing evenly on your upper body and lower body. As well as adding some supplemental movements to strengthen weaker areas of your body to make the main lift stronger.
Be consistent
You can’t just lift weights once and be done with it. You have to integrate it into your life. Start of with twice a week and then build up from there. It will all depend on how much you can fit into your week. However, you have to remember that you can just lift weights. You must also do cardio and mobility type exercise too. This will give you the whole package for your heath and fitness. Once you’ve established your routine you must stick to it and slowly progress for there to be a difference in your body composition.
Whatever you do, don’t give up
We all know that life can get tough sometimes and things don’t workout to plan. Life doesn’t seem fair until you start looking at it from a different view point. Once you can see that life isn’t one straight line. You’ll also realise that lifting weights and exercise isn’t a straight line either. It has it’s ups and downs because a lot areas impact you as an individual. So, when you feel like it’s tough and not going your way. Think that it’s making you stronger not just by lifting weights but mentally stronger by doing things that are hard to start and aren’t always easy.