Jessica's Journey...December 7th

The photo above is not actually me...just in case you were wondering :)

When you think of "strength training" what comes to mind?

Big and bulky people?  The big, heavy weights that just seem impossible to pick up?  The big mirrors where people seem to just stare at themselves?  The grunts and moans that you might hear from some people when they have a dumbbell in their hand?  

That is what I used to think too.

There is a group out there called Girls Gone Strong.  I've been reading some of their information for a few weeks and today I got a link from a friend about an article that was recently written by one of the members of that group.  It is all about why women should do strength training.  You can view the article here.  (Thanks, Caroline for sending it to me!)

You might think that you already are...lifting weights on some of the machines in the women's area.  Trust me...those aren't working as well as a dumbbell or lifting your own bodyweight.  Plus, you don't even know how much you are lifting on some of those machines.  A 1,2,3,4...scale is not the same as the number on the side of a barbell or on the cable machines.  I used to be so scared of these...I would see people moving in all sorts of ways and pulling weird rope type of things and just wonder why they were doing those.  

I think that #8 should be this...your muscles aren't just working and burning calories while you are at the gym...your muscles are still working even after you leave the gym.  Which means, you are burning more calories throughout the day than if you just did a cardio workout at the gym.

I have always heard...and read...and can't even remember all the people who have said this to me...if you just have 20 to 30 minutes to spend at the gym you should go and lift weights.  

Now, go read the article.  Hopefully that will inspire you to go lift a milk jug, a kid (just joking...well, you could!), do some planks or something that requires you to lift something.

Now here is an offer for you that live in or around Rochester, MN.  My gym membership lets me bring someone free anytime that I go to the gym.  So...if you would like to join me you are more than welcome!  Just send me a note (mominmn@gmail.com), find me on Facebook or make a comment here.  I'd be happy to bring you.  I do go pretty early but you can be there the whole time I am there or just a part of it.

Lastly...if you are interested in having your own strength training plan designed for you...with any injuries or weaknesses in mind...I know someone who can help you out.  His name is Jeff Burbank and you can find him on Facebook too or just e-mail him at jeff@burbankdc.com.