Personal Training With Lisa

How To Lean Out and Change Your Body with Personal Training

Cardio is making you fat…WHAT?   This post is about how cardio alone in the gym will not give you the results you want to see. However, interval cardio COMBINED WITH weight lifting can get you the body you want quicker, easier, and you will be able to maintain your results.

I am telling you now that logging in all those miles on the treadmill is getting you nowhere…are you still there?  That’s right, I said it; 6 days a week of cardio alone at 30-60 minutes per workout is a WASTE!

What will work, you ask? The answer is simple: a combination of weight lifting and high intensity cardio intervals.  The more muscle your body is made of, the less fat you will have.  AND the more muscle you have the more fat your body will burn while at rest. Muscle takes more energy from your body to maintain it, therefore simply by resting your body is working to keep those muscles fed and healthy. For every pound of muscle gained, an extra 30-50 calories is burned when you’re working out, while an average of six calories is burned when you’re recovering, compared to only two calories burned by fat when resting.

So, you’re probably asking what kind of cardio you should be doing…I’m telling you, you should be doing cardio intervals. Cardio interval training is short periods of intense running followed by short recovery periods of walking. 2-3 days of 20 minutes of interval training will be more than enough to help you lose weight combined with your 2-3 days of strength training.

If you are a beginner work into the intervals.  Start slow and build up, a steady jog followed by a slow walk is a great way to ease into a cardio routine.

If you are a cardio junkie, I dare you to try this workout below….you will be seeing results faster than your regular steady cardio routines.

Here is an example of what kind of cardio interval workout you can do: walk or run at a steady pace for 90 seconds, walk or run faster (you shouldn’t be able to talk much) for 30 seconds.  Repeat 6 times.  Include a warm-up and cool-down and you’re done!

Cardio intervals don’t always have to involve running, either. As a general definition, a cardio interval is a high intensity workout move that boosts your heart rate up followed by a recovery set to bring your heartrate back down. For instance, if you don’t enjoy running for any period of time, you can incorporate jumping jacks, jump squats, burpees, or jump rope to your rest periods between weight reps.

You can do cardio intervals between your strength sets and get your workout done in 20-30 minutes. This works especially well if you are short on time, like I usually am.  Here’s an example:  squats on the Bosu Ball, dead lift, jump squats (that’s your cardio interval).  If you do this you are only “exercising” 3 days a week!

Strength Training Tips for Women

How many times do you go to the gym and see a woman lifting weights?  Not that often, right?  You generally always see men lifting weights to “bulk up” and women on the cardio machines or in a toning class because they don’t want to “get too bulky”.  I am here to debunk the myths of women and weight lifting.

I am a huge advocate for women lifting weights.  I, myself, lift heavy weights.  I instruct my female clients to lift heavier weights.  Lifting heavier weights, and I’m talking about more than 5lbs, ladies, comes with many benefits. These benefits include:

• More muscle=less fat
• The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns while at rest
• Your body will change shape to a leaner, more toned physique
• More muscle=reduced risk of osteoporosis
• Reduced risk of other diseases

I could go on and on about the benefits of women lifting weights.  There are a lot of medical studies out there to prove the benefits of women and lifting weights.

Now, let’s debunk some of the myths of women and weightlifting:

Myth: You are going to “bulk up”.

Truth: Wrong-women don’t have enough testosterone in their body to “bulk up”.  Lifting weights will actually help lean you out.

Myth: In order to lift weights I have to use the heavy barbells.

Truth: You don’t have to use the barbell.  You can use dumbbells or your own body weight to start.  If you want to use the barbell make sure you are working with a certified personal trainer that can guide you.

Myth: I’m going to hurt myself.

Truth: Learn how to use the weights and what exercises you should be doing.  Concentrate on  doing the move correctly and breathing.

Myth: Weight lifting is boring.

Truth: I suppose it could be if you like to watch TV while on the cardio machines. So, put your headphones on and listen to some music while you lift weights or focus on your breathing and the move you are doing.

Here is a before and after picture of April, who trains with me at Body Works and started lifting heavy weights under my encouragement.  This is a before and after photo over 3 months!  She has continued her training and is getting leaner and stronger all without logging tons of minutes on the treadmill!

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Grab a friend, head to the gym and learn how to lift weights and watch your body change!  If you are interested in learning more, fill out this form or contact me at

Body Works 1380 North Acres Rd Prescott WI 54021 715-262-2053 www.bodyworksprescott.com, lisa@bodyworksprescott.com