- Start a Progressive Strength Training Program.
– Oftentimes women who want to “tone” are afraid that lifting weights will make them bulky. This is verifiably false. The hormonal profile of most women is so radically different from that of a man that they simply cannot accumulate the amount of muscle mass to look very muscular. Muscles are more dense than fat, which means that muscle is sexy and sleek, while fat is bulky and unsightly. If you think you’re starting to look “too bulky” from strength training 2 or 3x per week, the culprit probably isn’t excess muscle mass. The culprit is probably excess body fat.
– Its important to learn the fundamental lifts as well. The squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press should be staples in your strength training routine. Here at Wallace Training Systems we progress those lifts in a circuit style fashion which will help you build muscle, burn fat, ad finally tone up.
– Progressively overloading the previously mentioned lifts allows for maximal muscle stimulation. All to often, women default to doing tons of crunches or other ab work to “spot reduce” which is largely ineffective. Using larger compound movements also allows for the best use of your time, and is largely superior to endless cardio and ab work.
2. Change Your Dietary Habits Once and For All.
– Now that you know that “bulky” is actually body fat, you’re going to have to change your dietary habits to preserve muscle mass and lose some of that body fat. Oftentimes what people will do when they’re trying to lose body fat is starve themselves until they lose the weight they want. But what happens after that? Most of the time, they eventually gain it all back. Instead of this poor relationship with food that develops wit the feast and famine style diets, slowly change your habits so you’re eating less calorie dense food (and perhaps less food in general) in a slow and progressive fashion that is sustainable for the long run.
– Here at Wallace Training Systems, all of our embers receive our proprietary document “The First 5 Habits” which focuses on changing your habits in a slow and progressive way. We start with the easy habits and work our way up to the more and more complex habits. Take your time on each habit until you’ve mastered them once and for all. If you lose body fat, you want to keep it of.
3. Be consistent (and patient).
– Changing your body is not a quick process, so you need to find a way to hold yourself accountable. Support groups, workout buddies, some monetized incentive, etc. Can all help provide the accountability necessary to be consistent in your nutrition and exercise.
– People ask what the main difference is between women who are in their early 20s, and women who are 35+.The body really isn’t THAT different to be honest. There are some major shifts that occur surrounding menopause but the body will still lose body fat and build muscles through proper nutrition and exercise. The main differences between the two are life responsibilities. At 35, for better or for worse, women in America tend to run the household. For women who aren’t running the household they’re typically in the peak of their earning years so they’ll work from dusk to dawn, leaving little time for themselves.
– Here at Wallace Training Systems we work with both types of women; we work with the stay at home mom as well as the busy corporate woman. The one thing that remains the same is they need to schedule an hour several times per week for themselves. We try to provide the accountability by scheduling them an hour workout ad constantly reminding them of the commitments they’ve made to themselves regarding their nutrition.
This approach has brought a lot of success in our community, but whether you decide to work with us or not, a C+ plan with A+ execution always beats the heck out of an A+ plan with no execution. Exercise correctly and progressively using movements, eat for your goals in a way that provides a healthy relationship with food, and stay consistent over an extended period of time. Take this approach and without a doubt, you’ll be well on your way to “toning up” after 35.