Fitmark Ambassador Tiffany Gaston explains that in order to make real changes physically, women need to pick up the weights and drop the cardio obsession
I’ve been observing some interesting, yet common behavior at the gym lately. It’s the phenomenon I like to refer to as the ‘Cardio Queen’. Spending as much time at the gym as I do, I tend to see the same people doing the same things and getting the same results. Namely, I see women on the cardio machines for upwards of 45 minutes to an hour performing slow, steady state cardio, barely breaking a sweat, watching television or chatting on their cell phones.
I wonder what these women eat during the day and if this is how they think they will transform their bodies. They are consistent in their attendance, consistent with doing the same, monotonous exercise (cardio) and consistent in their appearance. I don’t know about you, but I want to improve and make changes, not stay the same. They are stuck in the same place they were this time last year. They wonder why nothing is changing and I hear their conversations about how they need/want to loose weight or “tone-up” and I feel like they are just on a hamster wheel of insanity.
Many of these women have never lifted weights for fear of getting big and looking manly. This especially humors me. Ladies, if you build some lean muscle, you will raise your metabolism and burn more fat simply by existing. Muscle burns more fat at rest, weighs the same as fat but takes up less space than fat because of the density of it. This is why I look smaller than I am. Currently, I weigh 129 pounds and I am 5’5″ tall. I don’t think you’d ever guess I weighed that much. My weight on stage at my last show was 121.5 pounds. I’ve worked so hard this season to gain weight and I mean hard. I’ve eaten like a machine to get the scale to budge and it was intentional. This process of adding muscle to your frame is not easy, so please tell me how you are going to “get big and bulky” by accident. Seriously? It’s a process and not an easy one.
So, if you are truly motivated to change your body and your health, pick up some weights or a sandbag and get to work. It will likely be what you need to get out of your rut and start seeing the changes you so desire. You may even be able to skip or cut back on the cardio all together and spend less time working out. Live healthy!
Stay fit,
Tiffany Gaston
Fitmark Ambassador 2013
