One hour of torture or 35 minutes of effective work? When it comes to working out, slogging it out on the treadmill is not my idea of a great workout. As a professional soccer player, I do enough running as it is. I personally never recommend running as cardio unless you genuinely enjoy it.
However, lifting weights is imperative! Lifting actually keeps your metabolism running all day and night, hence burning more calories. Burning calories when you’re not even working out? Uh, YES! I promise it is not as hard as you think.
Think big muscle groups, then small muscle groups. Most women tell me lifting will make them too buff. Come on now, don’t be afraid of a little muscle definition! Here’s how to do it right.
Every person can define their version of sexy through the different areas of the gym. My kind of sexy starts with upper body lifting, then lower body lifting on a different day. You don’t want to do too much and get so sore you don’t want to come back to the gym.
Related: why weight training is more effective for fat loss.
Work Smart, Not Hard
Make sure you have a plan when heading to the gym so you can use your time most efficiently. One of my preferred upper body workouts consists of flat presses (working chest muscles), single hand rows (working the back), weighted curls (working the biceps) and bench dips to work the triceps. It really is that simple. I also pay a lot of attention to my abs (I have a personal “ab artist” I work with) to get summer ready!
The Secret Sauce
Once you finish your upper body lift, slip into the sauna (following gym protocol for sauna usage) for 5 minutes and kick start that metabolism, sweat out those toxins and clear your skin for the week! I live by the benefits of sauna treatments!
Post written by FFC Contributor Samantha Johnson.
About Samantha
Samantha Johnson is a professional athlete who currently places for the Chicago Red Stars National Women’s Soccer League team as a defender. You can follow along with her on social media on Instagram and Twitter or on her website. You can also follow along with the Chicago Red Stars on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter!
Photo courtesy of Samantha Johnson via Instagram.
