Women's Fitness

"Look in the mirror: Are you as lean and toned as you want to be?"

Now that you have been working out consistently, how happy are you with your results? Are as toned as you want to be? Can you see the definition of your abdominal muscles when you take a breath in front of your mirror? Do you still retain a bit of a "pooch" in your tummy area? Being fit and looking fit are congruent. You don't want to have one without the other.

The hardest thing for me to get rid of was the thin layer of fat that covered my torso. It wasn't that I wanted to look like an Olympic sprinter (although that would be nice!) I just wanted to have the shadows of cuts in my abdominals and to flatten out that little area just below my belly button that exasperated me whenever I pulled on a bikini.

I was happy with my resting pulse rate, I was happy with the definition I now had in my arms and legs, I liked that I could run a 5K under 22:00, and I liked how I now looked in my summer outfits...but that poochy looking tummy made cringe each time I got out my swim clothes! It was almost laughable.

Against my better judgment I started doubting my workout routines. I got into the "more is better" rut and it took it's toll on me. I started running "just a little farther" each workout...I started adding extra abdominal exercises...I increased the number of sets and reps I did with weights...and worst of all my nutritional boundaries got completely out of whack.

It wasn't until I developed a back spasm from my unsound workout habits that I finally learned a better way. I had been feeling irritated, exhausted, and continually frustrated for several months. I would find myself grabbing my little pooch each time I stood in front of the mirror. I hit dead bottom when I saw an article on Janet Jackson and how women (and of course men!) all over America were enamored with the "six-pack" she had chiseled. It didn't seem fair.

My injury was the best thing that happened to me because it allowed me to reassess my fitness goals and gave me time to search out the information I needed to overcome the one cosmetic change I wanted to achieve.

In my research, I came across a newsletter I could read online that discussed the science behind eating the correct foods and using shorter workouts to burn fat. I was very skeptical at first because it was written by an English male bodybuilder named Christian Finn.

Even though it sounded sensible, I still resisted. What could a male bodybuilder possibly know about a woman's goals and feelings?

It wasn't until I started back at my Bally's gym for some stretching and light weight training that I made my decision. I ran into a girlfriend who had struggled with the same situation as mine.

She was just leaving Bally's and was wearing a cut-off top with nice beige shorts...and I could see every shadow of her abdominals! She was 42 years old...and six months earlier we had been calling ourselves "The Pooch Twins."

I started laughing uncontrolably. How could she possibly look like my own fitness dream?

She told me about Christian's newsletter and how it was written in a sensible and non-preachy fashion. It was based on easy-to understand nutritional principles that did not include any harsh workouts, illogical diets, the use of dangerous pills, or invasive surgery. It was down to earth and supportive of the feelings women go through when they do not like the body they see in the mirror.

It has been several months, now, and I am starting to see the results I wanted. Christian Finn did not make any phony promises about improving my body fat percentage immediately. All he promised was that I would see results if I adhered to a consistent and sensible nutritional plan.

If you have been working out for quite some time, but haven't been able to reduce your overall body fat to get the desired definition you want, Christian's newsletter might be the answer you need. It doesn't take much of a drop in your percent body fat to notice more definition. There is no need to follow the destructive workout path I was on. More...is not always better.

Blessings,
Aimee

 

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