I haven’t had chance to post an update for a while because I’ve been really busy setting up the pilot testing group for the regime I’m going to recommend in my fat loss fitness book.
We’re only three weeks into the 12 week trial, but I can see this is going to be one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. Everyone who has followed the instructions has already lost several pounds, but the changes in them are extending far beyond that. People are reporting clearer skin, more energy, fewer junk food cravings and they are generally feeling happier and more positive about life. Getting that kind of feedback is just amazing and I feel hugely humbled to be sharing this experience with them.
As for me, my body fat is down to 20% and I don’t think I’ve ever felt better about my body. I do want to eventually strip back to 18%, as that was my original target, but I’m not sure I would want to stay that low in the long term. So what I’ve decided to do is to maintain my current level for now while I’m busy with this project and then aim for the 18% mark ready for when I have the photoshoot for the book, which I think will be around March next year. That should help negate those extra pounds the camera tends to add and will give me a target to aim for in the new year, which is always good to have.
In the meantime, along with testing and refining the workouts for my book, in my training I’ll be putting some emphasis on strengthening my arms and shoulders. After a lifetime of basically neglecting my upper body this is something I really need to do!
I was telling a friend about this a couple of days ago and her reaction was typical of the kind of thing I often hear from women (sometimes it’s men, but almost always women) when I talk about training with weights. She said, “Oh, but you don’t want big bodybuilder arms, do you?”
And what really amused me about this one is that she added, “Be careful!”…Like I was going to wake up one morning to find the biceps of a bruiser attached to my shoulders if I didn’t maintain caution.
I shouldn’t laugh about it really, because this attitude is one I used to share myself and it something which, ironically, keeps many women from getting the lean, “toned” bodies they’d love to have.
I’ve touched on the benefits of strength training for fat loss in the blog before and I talk more about it in future posts. But for now I’d like to address the concern of not getting “bulky”. One of the members of my pilot programme got in touch with me the other day needing a bit of reassurance that the lower body exercises I’d given her (most of which were body weight only) wouldn’t “bulk up” her legs. She said this was something that had been worrying her for a long time and that a personal trainer had told her she couldn’t avoid gaining muscle if she wanted to exercise, and that had put her off exercising for a while.
The PT had a point, but it sounded like it wasn’t delivered in quite the right way to reassure her!
This is what I said:
Here’s the deal, to get bodybuilder type legs takes an astounding amount of training, a very strict diet and usually several supplements. You’re not getting close to that on this programme.
When most people complain about gaining “bulk” what they’ve actually got is fat on top of muscle. A lot of women tend to store more fat on their lower halves and “bulk” -related concerns in women are often with the legs, but when they strip back the fat it reveals a gorgeous shapely pair of pins.
Believe me, I’ve seen this many times on many women, including myself. People don’t believe it’s fat because it looks and even feels like it’s all muscle, but it’s not.
I put weight on a while ago when I had a calf injury and when a physiotherapist looked at the calf using ultrasound I was really surprised to see the layer of fat on top of the muscle. My calves had felt quite hard, so I didn’t think I’d gained fat in that area, but clearly I had. When I lost the fat my calves shrank and I’m pleased with the shape of them now.
Have a look at these Before and After photos of a friend of mine, Helen Milton, who is now a competitive bodybuilder (right).
I happen to know that Helen trained like an animal for the competition she’s posing for in the “After” photo. I don’t think her legs are bulky, do you?
If she doesn’t have bulk on her legs – and she can leg press amounts that make my eyes water – you can be sure you’re not going to get over-muscled following this programme.
The questioner was happy with that and has since hit the weights with enthusiasm. She’s going to do great.
So, what do you think? Comments and questions most welcome, as always I’d love to hear from you.