Welcome to the Gun Show

This is what I do on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights and Saturday mornings with Tricky Nikki and McMuscles.

We lift weights.

Lifting weights still feels like a very "manly" thing to do. But the benefits of lifting outweigh my "genderfied reservations" about it.

I cannot tell you how strong it makes me feel! My muscles change from weak and wimpy to activated and exploding! Plus, the more muscle I gain, the slimmer I look, regardless of the scale. So, I totally dig that!

We don't do a ton of exercises, so it's not like cardio where I'm puddling with sweat. But that doesn't mean it's easy. Especially when we hit muscle failure, then McMuscles steps in and has us do "forced repetitions" which means he helps us a little, but it still hurts like heck.

See how my face looks?

Then, McMuscles makes sure Tricky Nikki and I are working really hard. He pushes (or pulls, as the case may be depending on the machine) and makes us do the negative movement. I almost wet myself when he did it on the above machine. Because it HURT. But I loved it, as it means that I am achieving my full range of motion. And that means my muscles are getting stronger and toner and I'm getting slimmer.

NICE.

Then on (what we call) the BOY machines, McMuscles makes us pull out all the stops. I think it's a matter of personal pride with him, because he knows every guy that works out over there. And he pushes us harder than the fellows. Not because we are women, but because he knows what we are capable of getting if we push it. And push we do.

 

You might notice that there was no weight on the big sticky-outie part of this machine, called a T-bar Row. That's cause the part I was pulling weighs a lot by itself. Last night, I managed to eek out 15 reps with a 25 pound weight on it. But that was HARD HARD HARD. I had to work for it. Tricky Nikki too. We use our perpetual "competition" to joke and laugh while we work out ("I got 15 reps, how many did YOU get?") but really, it's a good bench mark for us. We know if one girl is out-repping the other, then someone's not giving it 100%. It's good to have a buddy to hold you accountable. And I've got my Nik. Thank heavens for her!

 

McMuscles doesn't need anyone to hold him accountable. He's a machine. Sheesh, the man has been doing this for a long time, so it feels natural for him. And he makes it look so easy! Since I keep talking about the man, I figured I'd give you a sneek peek into the gun show Nik and I get when we workout with him.

 

 

 

 

 

YOU ARE WELCOME!!!!!

And personally, I just like standing next to him cause he makes me feel like a teeny tiny waif.

I TOLD YOU HE WAS HUGE!!!!

So, I know lots of us like sticking with our bootcamps, yoga, zumba and walking. But I encourage you to go out and try lifting weights! If you have a gym membership, the owners/workers will most likely give you a hand so you know what to do. And I promise if you try it- it will transform your body.

Have you included lifting weights into your workout routine yet?