Strength Training: For the Body, Mind & Soul?

Strength training is highly effective and fun. Not only will the shape of your body change, it burns loads of calories during and after your workout, promotes a huge positive hormonal response and challenges the mind and body.

Many girls think that cardio is the key to creating their ideal body shape. Yes, cardio workouts are great and if performed at a high level are highly effective, but only in terms of calorie burn. Unfortunately, when you are performing your cardio, you are challenging and strengthening your cardio system and burning calories, but you aren’t going to change the shape of your body.

The beauty of strength training is that you can change the shape of your body and create the body you want by focusing on the muscles you want to change, while also training your body evenly. Personally, I want a perky butt, flat abdominals, toned limbs and great posture, so that’s what I work towards when I’m strength training.

Screen Shot 2015-04-27 at 8.07.02 pm

Another misconception I feel obliged to clear up is that STRENGTH TRAINING WILL NOT MAKE YOU BULKY! In fact, it will do the complete opposite. As your muscles get more toned, they weigh more (hence your weight can go up on the scales) but they actually decrease in size. By having more lean muscle weight, increases your ability to burn calories and you become a fat burning power house, which is exactly what we want to achieve.

During your strength workouts, focus and think about the muscles you are using and imagine your body changing and transforming. Focus on the area you want to change and imagine it decreasing in size or changing shape. Imagine yourself standing on the beach and feeling super hot and know that you can and will achieve this. You can have the body you want! Don’t ever listen to that negative little voice inside that tries to tell you otherwise. Laugh at it.

So, in a nutshell girls, embrace strength training – zone out in a park or a gym and challenge yourself physically and mentally and watch your body start to transform!

Screen Shot 2015-04-27 at 8.07.32 pm

Hayley x

Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s