I don’t know what took me so long. For years I’ve been doing pretty much the same routine at the gym–cardio. The treadmill has been my machine of choice. On occasion I switched it up and tried out the elliptical but I always fell back to the treadmill. However, something was missing from my program. Weight lifting.

I wasn’t avoiding weights for fear of bulking up as some women fear will happen. Knowing that the benefit of weight lifting is experienced from consistency and steadily increasing weight or repetitions, I figured it would be a waste of time, knowing my consistency in the gym was my biggest issue.

Now at 40, if I expect to fight slowing metabolism and maintain the trimmest body that I can, I can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.  Earlier in the month I signed up for a Design Your Own Program class at Planet Fitness. I expected it to be a one-on-one type of thing in which I’d explain my goals and the trainer would suggest the exercise to me, test out my weight abilities, and demonstrate how to use certain machines. It didn’t quite work out that way. I won’t go into all of that but I did leave the session with a plan to do weight lifting 2-3 days per week.

I started the program the next week and have been steady ever since. I don’t always get the full 3 days in but when I get there, I make sure I’m hitting those weights. On my last visit I started tracking my exercises and the amount of weights used on MyFitnessPal.com.

In the short time that I’ve been at this, I’ve already realized some benefits.

1. I feel more accomplished getting through those 2-3 sets of exercises than I do finishing the usual 30-45 minutes of cardio I’ve been used to doing on the treadmill. It’s a new challenge.
2. I’m not getting on the scale as much. For one, I know that the numbers may not go down immediately because I’m gaining muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. Second, I don’t need to see a lower number on the scale to validate my efforts. I’m validated each time I walk away from the treadmill and go forward with my weight training plan.
3. Since I’ve started back to doing abdominal work–don’t ask me why I stopped doing that in the first place but my belly already looks an inch or so smaller in the fitted top I put on the other day.
4. Having this new challenge of maintaining the weight training, I am more motivated to go to the gym because I’m not doing the same ‘ole thing.

I know I’m only a month but this has been a long time coming. I’m finally on the road to the being the fit and tone woman I’ve always wanted to be. Fit, Fine, & Fifty…I’m on my way!

If you’ve been weight training for awhile, please share some tips and tricks for success. If you’re like me, just starting out, stay tuned for more encouragement as I stay the course of my journey.

Til Next Time,

L.A.