My fellow intensas,

I want to talk to you all about weight training. 😮 Yes, weight training! I think that every woman on a fit mission should know the difference between dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, and curling bars just as they know the difference between a purse, clutch, messenger bag, and a duffle bag. Weights are an important tool to become “THAT fit girl”. Let me share with you the info I’ve come to know about weights.

First things first, let’s talk about the myth…Yes, you know exactly what I am referring to. That one that swears using weights will make you gain muscle and look like a body builder… (buzzer sound) wrong!! If it were that easy to gain muscle we would be able to spot body builders everywhere. That is not the case; these people are very rare to find, and if you meet one consider yourself lucky because odds are, you won’t meet that many in your lifetime. Body builders are solely preoccupied on muscle gain. To do so, they have to put in tons of hours in gym work, use crazy heavy weights and eating a very extremely and particular diet (sometimes with no water x_x.) So if you think by lifting a dumbbell will make you the female version of “The Rock” you are mistaken. It takes more than occasional use of weight training to gain the muscles you fear and the reality LADIES is that it’s even harder for us to develop muscle because of the low level of testosterone in our bodies. #truth

Now onto the positive 😀 #gains! I fell in love with using weights because it makes me leaner and stronger (not skinny and toned). ¿Que quiere decir eso? Basically that it liberated me from this idea that I need to weigh a certain number on the scale and aim to be skinny. When I started my fit mission in 2010 I weighed 212lbs, my body fat percentage was almost 40%, I was unhealthy and I was unhappy with the state of things. I found a boot camp studio by my house that made me start using dumbbells and the rest is history. I started to notice how my body started getting leaner (translation I was more muscle than fat) and the pounds that needed to go simply melted off my body. Although there are MANY benefits to weight training/lifting I’ve compiled my fave top 10 reasons why every lady should be pumping iron.

1. Building muscle kills fat x_x.
Gaining muscle encourages you to burn fat more efficiently. This will not make you look muscular but lean, say goodbye to jiggly, loose skin and cellulite and say hello to smooth and tight young-looking skin.

 2. Promotes crazy calorie burn and improves metabolism.

A really intense weight lifting session can burn up to 500 calories per hour. It boosts your metabolism! This allows your body to continue to burn calories for hours after your workout. This is one of the main reasons I weight train! It’s so good it’s almost cheating because of the improved metabolism and muscle gain, you are burning calories even while your body is at rest.

3. You will simply be physically better.
Having more muscle means that you are stronger and you’ll no longer be the damsel in distress in the office that needs a strong man to carry that heavy box since you’ll be able to do it [in heels 😉 ], you will be able to run that extra mile no problem or wear those beautiful high stilettos for the entire night.

 4. Keeps you looking and acting 21!
Attention for the intensas in their late 20’s! Our metabolism naturally starts slowing down at around our 30 primaveras 😮 However, weight lifting can reverse that natural decline. So every time you have doubts about lifting keep this in mind: Higher metabolism means you burn more calories, burning more calories allows us to gain more muscle, and gaining muscle keeps our skin pretty nice, tight, and looking young.

5. Say no to osteoporosis.
Weight training not only makes stronger muscles, it also strengthens your bones. Regular lifting increases bone density, which reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Women: after we say bye-bye to our menstrual cycle and hello to menopause our bones quickly begin to deteriorate so it’s important to do everything we can to promote our bone density to be high.

6. Makes you have a beautiful posture.
No woman wants to look like the hunchback of Notre Dame [even if he is from Paris.] Weight training makes your back, shoulders, and neck stronger; making you have a modelesque posture that even Miranda Kerr would die for.

7. Releases endorphins.
Elle Woods was 100% right. “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands.” Need I say more? Happy women lift!

8. Stress reduction, mood improvement.
Weight lifting improves your mood, helps decrease stress, anxiety, and depression.

 9. Got booty?
Want to develop or enhance you derrière? Doing weighted exercises such as squats and lounges help lift and tone your assets.

 10. You’ll look and feel younger, trimmer and sexier.
If we put reasons 1-9 together and summarize you ultimately have a healthier body, and any individual with a healthier body, has high self-esteem as their body not only feels good but also looks good. You will be a sexier version of yourself and your clothes will fit you in a new and more attractive way as your body has been sculpted to be less gooey fat and more lean muscle.