A few weeks ago, I asked you to tell me what you would like to see here at the Sisterhood. A few of you answered, so I’m going to answer your questions a little at a time.
Today’s question came from Stacey. She asked “I really need help with what workouts to do and when. I am so overwhelmed by all of the workout pins that I have that I don’t know where to begin. I really want help prioritizing them. Like…. should I do arms, abs, legs, butt every other day. I’m not overweight by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m out of shape and really want to tone my arms, abs and inner thighs especially since I live in the south and swimsuit season is almost here.”
I went to one of the best sources I know for this answer. Enter Nicki. I’ve written about Nicki before, here and here. She is one of my workout instructors. She regularly kicks my butt in kettle bell strength class and I totally trust her advice. Here’s what she had to say about Stacey’s question.
Rule #1 You can’t out train a bad diet
Rule #2 Weights first cardio second. That will put your body into what trainers like to call metabolic melt down. You’ll torch the most calories this way.
Rule # 3 Lifting will not make you bulky! Lifting will give you that “tone” (muscle building without the bulk) that you’re looking for. If you don’t know how to properly lift with good form, pay for a couple sessions with a trainer to learn how to properly do so.
Rules #4 You can’t target fat loss. Instead of doing legs, back, arms every other day, you may want to try another way. Pick a muscle group to work per day, so for example: Chest/Back – Monday Biceps/Triceps- Tuesday Full Body- Wednesday Legs- Thursday
There are a lot of good lifting plans out there. My favorite is Jamie Eason’s on body building.com and her plans are free. Again, if you have never lifted or don’t really know how, see a trainer to help you with form. For example, when your squatting you don’t want to involve your back. You need the squat to come from engaging your glutes and bending your knees, not leaning over using your back. Once you know what you are doing, the chances of hurting yourself decline.