If you are only doing cardio, you are missing out on a great weightloss secret that will steal you away from your success in your weightloss journey: strength training.

If you are a woman reading this, trust me.....and repeat this over and over in your head....LIFTING WEIGHTS DOES NOT MAKE ME BULKY. And if you are a male reading this, keep lifting those weights, we all know you like to build lean muscle mass!

Building lean muscle mass is CRUCIAL to your health and wellness journey. You heard me right, BUILDING LEAN MUSCLE MASS. That shouldn't scare you, it should get you excited! The more lean muscle mass you have on your body, the faster your body metabolizes fat, even while sitting in your chair at your desk!

And quit saying TONE. Tone is just a made up word that marketers came up with to attract more females to a program. You can NOT lengthen a muscle. It has an insertion and origin and it will always stay that way..... even when you lift lighter. Muscle tears down, it then rebuilds itself to repair, therefore, you get stronger.

Now, I'm not saying cardio is bad. Cardio is GREAT. It's a crucial part of your program, but it doesn't mean you have to kick your ass on the treadmill everyday to keep getting slimmer/leaner.....even after a post strength session.

So why should you slow down on the cardio and bring in more weights?

Cardio can lower your testosterone levels and HGH (human growth hormone). These two hormones are extremely important for both male and female when trying to lose weight or gain muscle. These are important for metabolizing fat and increasing energy. What's interesting is that a steady state of cardio can decrease these hormones which can cause tiredness, fatigue, irritability, decreased muscle mass, and decreased bone density. This is if you are ONLY pushing cardio and extreme HIIT training everyday......which leads to my next reason....

OVERTRAINING. Whether you are running everyday, or running and doing strength everyday, or even doing a super high intense workout everyday......your body does NOT get active rest. I see this a LOT. I worked at a studio, and have witnessed clients actually gaining weight, even when they come to workout everyday. So why does this happen? Well your body doesn't get active rest, and when your body doesn't get active rest, you are doing more harm than good to your body. You are decreasing your HGH and testosterone

levels, therefore, your scale and results will suck. That's why at Grit Life Fitness, we only recommend 3x a week of working out with us, because in reality, that's a great state to stay in. And our clients have had faster results with our program than anywhere else!

I love to run and I love to walk. It's a great addition to my strength training program. My point is, DON'T OVER DO IT. SLOW DOWN. Focus on all key factors: strength, flexibility, balance, and cardiovascular. They are all important, but not to the point where you have to push harder. Hard

work is great, but you know what is excellent? Resting when your body needs to recover from a hard day.

And ladies, just being honest here, tough is the new skinny. Besides, it's pretty cool when you see a woman take ownership of the weights, you see her true strength and beauty. Don't be afraid!