Mixing up workouts is the best way get results

I have been working out for a loooooong time. Sometimes it feels as though I came out of the womb yelling, "Come on, suck it up, you can do two more!" Anyway, even though I have tried my hand at many different kinds of sports, athletics--whatever you would like to call it--I have discovered something universal about most people's athletic results/performance --or what body builders like to refer to as "avoiding the PLATEAU."

For most of the women I have worked with these seem to be the biggest mistakes they make:

Fear: Afraid of building muscle

Girls the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn! So you can enjoy the occasional Snickers bar.

Fear : Afraid they'll lift too much and gain ginormous muscles

Unless you are Chyna (famous wrestler and reality show star) or have a private stash of steroids there is no way you're going to get big like that. Believe me, I know, I tried, it was an actual goal of mine in college to put on weight and get ripped. It takes hours and hours and hours and most importantly amazing genetics ("Arnold" genetics) to get that big. So throw those damn 3 pnd weights in the trash--unless of course you want to do 50 reps.

Fear: Afraid of gaining any weight (even if it is muscle)

I am so sick of this skinny culture. I have had many friends struggle with eating disorders and I see how damaging it is to the soul and body. Please know, that weight is just a number. Just to let you all know: I wear a size 2- 4 and I weigh a solid 135. I am 5'5 and by most BMI (Body Mass Index) charts--I am considered in the high range or bordering on "over weight." These charts are not designed for people who carry a lot of muscle mass--in case you have compared yourself recently.

The most important thing to evaluate is you muscle to fat ratio. This can be done my a fitness trainer or by most gyms--and this is not even that accurate. I tell people: Go by how your pants fit, not by the scales.

Fear: Afraid if they don't do cardio every day, they'll gain weight.

Ladies, the stair machine is a great workout, but doing it every day for an hour is just a waste of time. Unless of course you love to do repetitive motions, indoors, sweating for long periods of time. But for most people, the key is to optimize your time in the gym by doing things that kick your butt. Not doing the same activities you always do which lower your calorie burning potential. So lift some weights, do some push-ups, yoga or a kick box class.

There is this poor guy at the gym who runs every day on the treadmill. And he runs for a long time at a fast rate, sweating and panting. From behind he looks great, but then he turns to the side and he looks like he's giving birth in 2 months! I have never seen this guy in the weight room or on any other machine. No one could be happy with results like that. All that running and no payoff. And he's younger too! I just want to pull him aside and tell him,"you could get rid of that by just adding three days of weights."

Fear: If you give up dieting, you're going to gain weight.

If you don't give up dieting, you're never going to keep the weight off--permanently. All these fad diets like Atkins (which makes you lose mostly water weight and gives you horrible constipation), grapefruit diet, cabbage soup diet and other fasts and flushes are completely short term diets used for people to get ripped for a movie or lose weight before surgery. There's nothing wrong with cleaning the body of toxins, but when you're constantly yo-yo-ing, you cause you body to respond to the changes you've made causing weight loss, and then when you introduce normal foods again like pasta, bread or the occasional dessert--you gain it all back.

These diets are not permanent solutions. The best thing to do is to eat a balanced, color-rich diet with fruit and veggies, low-fat dressings. whole grain foods and good dairy products with lots of nutrients and pro-biotics like Kefir and Low-Fat, plain yogurt. You can always add sweet things to make them taste better. I will write another blog on my favorite tasty snacks so you can all have some new ones to eat.

The best tips I have to offer:

1. For strength and increasing size, stay between 6-8 reps. You should be struggling on the last two reps. For muscular endurance, stay between 12-18 reps. You really want to make sure you do things slow and with proper form.

2. Change your routine every 6- 8 weeks. Add an activity you've never done before. Don't be scared. I started ballet w/ a friend and starting doing the Navy Seal Training Guide calisthenics. I added in some sport specific exercises like "killers" on the b-ball court, or jump roping, which can take a while to master.

3. Get a workout partner.

4. Watch the trainers in the gym with other clients. I get so many new stuff from their good ideas, and probably give them some too.

5. Throw the scale away. Get a body fat test or better yet, take measurements for a dress or suit. This will give you a good idea of fat and inches lost.

6. Get some muscle. Come on, do you want to be an hourglass, or a celery stick? If you want to be a celery stick, stay away because all these hourglasses are gonna get their favorite yogurt and use you as a dunkin' stick.

7. Eat whole grain, nutrient-dense food. Pleeeease no more low-carb diets. Unless you work at Betty Crockers warehouse or Dunkin Donuts and you are tempted every minute to eat sugar, you don't need to cut these carbs out entirely. Bodies need fuel. Without fuel, you cannot work as hard or burn as many calories. Just make sure it's a balanced whole grain, nutrient-dense meal.

For example: A couple of whole grain crackers, 1/2 cup cottage cheese with blueberries and some almonds. Yumm.

8. Throw away all these damn fashion magazines. Hey girls, you want to know how to feel really horrible about how you look and truly depressed that you cant afford the newest Versace bag or True Religion jeans? Buy a Glamour or People magazine! These magazines are not cool. I know, I even get sucked in at a friends house and look at the celebs. And I feel utterly horrible that I enjoy my sweats and Asics, and then I realize..."What the f%*?, I am so lucky I look this good in these Old Navy jeans."

Celebrities have personal trainers on site and personal chefs. And even though we all know about air-brushing--we seem to forget that it is used in EVERY PICTURE. Ladies, these magazines are not reality. Stop torturing yourself.

9. Make a list of realistic goals that you can compare your progress with. For instance, I run the PF Changs 1/2 Marathon every year and try to improve my time. But, if you don't run, you can make other ones like, "I'm going to be able to do 30 full push-ups by December" or "I'm going to be able to hike Mount Elden in under 1 1/2 hours." There are so many...if you need me to, I can help you create some tailored just for you.

10. Make a cool reward when you reach one of your bigger goals. A girlfriend and I hiked almost every mountain/technically challenging hike in Sedona one summer and treated ourselves to a really cool dinner at a nice restaurant.

Good luck ladies, if I think of some more. I'll let you know.

Love,
Shawna