Have No Fear!

Ladies- fear not the weight room. Granted, this area is usually overwhelmed with guys often flexing in the mirror or throwing the word 'bro' around. Let me first say that lifting weights will NOT make you get big, bulky, manly etc. Instead, you could work your way towards one of those desired bodies you just pinned. Now where to start?! First you have to get over the fear of the weight room. Put your iPod in, walk in with confidence and you can tune out everything else. A perk of being a girl is that you can usually grab any weight, machine or rack when you want. I have found that most times the women in the gym are working harder than the guys. Guys- I'm not saying ALL of you, just a fair amount.

I often leave the weight room without sweat dripping down my back, heart racing and having that 'burning' feeling. You will find that it is much different than cardio in which you produce better results and aren't beating yourself and your joints. Cardio is good at times, but I suggest you try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) fancy lingo, huh? Here is where that burning feeling comes in. The high intensity would be sprints and the interval would be walking. When I do HIIT I find that running the track is the easiest. I have open space and timing is easiest. Warm up by walking a few laps. When you are ready, sprint as hard as you can on the straight-a ways and walk on the curves. If you need more time then walk the straight and sprint again from where you originally started. I would suggest starting with 7-10 sprints total. This will beat you down the first few times you do it and you will probably be sore for a few days.
Here is an article about HIIT-
"A study from Australia reported that females following a 20-minute HIIT program, consisting of 8-second sprints followed by 12 seconds of rest, lost six times more body fat than the group who followed a 40-minute cardio program performed at a constant intensity of 60 percent of their maximum heart rate".(Jim Stoppani, Ph.D.)

Yes, I realize this study was done on 20-min programs, however, from my experience :) I have noticed results with longer rests and less overall time. Did I mention this is also a great way to relieve some stress?! Try something new and mix up your workout next time.