I posted on my twitter (if you don't have twitter, get it and follow me) asking if a couple girls would help me with an interview so I could write this and the response I got was awesome. Women from all over Australia helped me out and even one all the way from Middlesbrough, England which is really cool to see someone from the other side of the worlds perspective compared to Australians. So I asked them all about themselves, their goals, obstacles to overcome, troublesome body parts, motivation strategies and believe it or not the answers were almost identical.
So now I know what troubles you it's time to reveal some fitness secrets that I know are in the back of your mind.
Workout Length
This is a grey area among most of the people I come across in the gym who aren't getting results or making progress. Really, an hour is the MAX time you need to spend in the gym to get your results! Any longer than this you're either making friends or on the cross trainer (get off it). This what you should be doing when you're at the gym:
- enter gym
- warm up
- bust your ass
- stretch and warm down (if thats your thing)
- leave
Problem Areas
Out of the girls I interviewed 9 out of the 10 listen hips, butt and thighs as a 'problem' area. Also, almost all of the women I work with have the same area listed as the one they most want to change. The thing is, changing this area isn't entirely to do with exercise.
Genetic Factors
'Yo Mamma!'
Yeah, you all hate this answer because it implies that you should just live with it and there is nothing you can do... not entirely true!
One genetic consideration is upper and lower structural balance. Some women will have naturally larger lower bodies compared to their upper. you can take your wrist and ankle measurements to see if this applies to you. If you have relatively large ankle to wrist measurement, building girth in the upper body can help strike a balance.
Another genetic factor is having a physiological predisposition to storing fat in our lower body by inherently having more fat cells in the hips, thighs, calves and glutes.
Lastly, you have an estrogen-dominant hormone profile. Yes, I know women are supposed to have more estrogen, but it's all about balance. An excess or imbalance will reveal itself through more fat on your lower body.
Whatever the cause, solutions are what matter.
Lean and Green Nutrition
Veggies and protein: your food pyramid should follow the 'lean and green' rule. This means eat plenty of fresh vegetables, meat, eggs, and fish. Along with that, add in some organic raw nuts and seeds, organic yogurt, kefirs, cottage cheese, and some beans and lentils.
Really focus on cruciferous vegetables. They're natural estrogen modulators, with watercress receiving the gold standard. Other valuable veggies are broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, arugula, and kale.
Fats: Replace processed, crappy non-food carb products with essential oils wherever possible.
Livin' the Lifestyle
Improve your sleep habits: Your adrenal glands recharge during a proper night of sleep, which is somewhere between 7.5 and 9 hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep. If you go to bed too late, get up frequently, or toss and turn you're not fully recharging your system, and you'll never perform at optimal levels.
Limit nighttime TV and computer use: By watching TV or using a computer too late at night, you'll interfere with your body's natural cortisol rhythms, which will disrupt the rest of your hormone system. Plus, your time-management issues will disappear!
Don't sweat the small stuff: Stress, anxiety, monkey-mind, "hurried woman syndrome," and the likes will mess with your hormones. Learn to perceive everyday stuff as just that — stuff — rather than every little obstacle or unpredicted event being a crisis. It's just life and we live it every day until the day we die. Change your thinking to change your body.
Make time for you: If you want to make a balanced physique a priority, you need a balanced life and a balanced mind. Put your stuff at the top of the list for a change and watch the physical changes transpire!
Bottom-Busting Training
This stuff is considered the 'secret' among trainers and women who use it. It all works so well that they don't want anybody else to know! (until they put a price tag on it)
• Use hypertrophy rep ranges for 75% of the total weekly training volume.
• Incorporate anaerobic lactic energy systems protocols into your weekly training, such as interval training comprised of 30-seconds of high intensity followed by 90-seconds at a lower intensity.
• Train frequently, as in five to six days a week.
• Throw "metabolism boosters" in three to five days a week. Running step-ups, burpees, or skipping are all great examples. You'll be amazed what the extra few minutes of exercise will do for you!
• Do a "finishing" exercise at the end of one of your upper body and one of your lower body workouts. Pick an exercise and perform one all-out, ass-busting set to complete failure.
• Finish strength training sessions with 20 to 30 minutes of lower intensity, long-stride walking on a treadmill. Set the incline at about 3.8 for additional fat burning benefits.
• Favor lower body movement over upper body movements with a minimum of one to one ratio of upper to lower. Many FBG's avoid lower body exercises and "hate doing legs." This is part of the problem!
• Use unilateral (one leg working at a time) lower body movements in a ratio of two to one. Make split squats, step-ups, one-legged hamstring curls, and all their variants staples in your program.
• Adhere to the BOSS Rule: Train Beyond Our Self-imposed Strength Limitations.
• Always try and squeeze out two more reps than you think you're capable of doing.
• Find a training partner (or trainer) who scares you in some way.
• If you're having slight anxiety attacks on your way to train, that's a good sign that you're training hard.
• Train at such an intensity that people question your sanity. But, still train smart. Crazy training isn't the same as stupid training.
• Mentally act as if you're at war with the weights — every rep is a life or death battle and failure or breaking form equals death. (...but not really)
Motivational Strategies
This is a make or break when it comes to staying accountable. People are motivated in two different ways. 'Away from' or 'toward' motivation. I want you to think about which you are. 'Away from' is motivating yourself by thinking of a negative 'I don't want to have this extra 5kg' or 'I don't want to always be this dress size'. 'Toward' motivation is thinking in the positive 'I will fit in a size 8 by March' or 'I will feel so good about myself when I can run 5k'.
So first off you have to find out how you motivate yourself and stay in that mind frame. Talk to yourself in that context every time you go to workout. This will really hold you accountable to your goals and keep you on track.
Tangible Motivation
This stuff is really powerful. Grab an picture of yourself or one you want to look like. Get a bikini you want to fit into or an outfit you want to wear to work and have it in a visual place. Write down how you want to feel every day or remember when you felt GREAT about yourself. This will keep you going and the results will follow.
These just a couple of 'secrets' that not many people know or implement into their daily routine but the benefits are there if you do.
Use of these and let me know how you go with your progress.
