In the beginning, working out was not something I enjoyed, but I knew I needed to do it to lose the weight. I started off by doing cardio exercises every day. Those consisted of 30 minutes walking on the treadmill followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical. I was a cardio junkie! I lost 30 pounds after two months and a total of 66 pounds in two years with this routine. But once I reached 190 pounds, I hit a plateau. I was extremely frustrated because I wanted to see more results. After doing some research online, I came across the idea of weight/resistance training for weight loss. At first, I couldn’t understand how lifting heavy weights could help me lose weight. It seemed counterintuitive, but I was willing to give it a try.
Without the help of a personal trainer, I was able to teach myself how to lift weights and form my own workout routine that incorporated more lifting and less cardio. Now, I love to do heavy, loaded compound movements like squats, deadlifts, overhead press, and bench press. For my core, I like to stick with movements that work my entire core, like planks. In terms of cardio, I love HIIT (high-intensity interval training) because it gets my heart rate up and doubles as a resistance workout and cardio.
Once I made that change, I fell in love with working out. I was finally done with spending hours bored on the treadmill and it felt great. I would recommend that everyone step outside their comfort zone and try new workouts and routines. (The Slim, Sexy, Strong Workout DVD is the fast, flexible workout you’ve been waiting for!)