What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Strength Training in 2015 – More Goals, More Gains, More Progress

In less than a few hours the new year will be here with its fan fare, confetti, ball drops and midnight kisses. It’s a time when people take a good hard look at the previous 365 days and usually commit to making some sort of change for the better. Usually this involved their health, but not always about weight loss. Sometimes people resolve to quit a bad habit like smoking, or they decide to give up eating meat, or find time for more sleep, or be less stressed. If you look at all of those option they are all tied to health and well being. I think it’s a great time to snap into reality and give yourself a chance to redeem yourself. I always hate when I hear people complaining about “Oh look at all these New Year’s Resolution people clogging up the gym” – you know what, at least they are working out! Complain about those who just don’t care and go at all. Every single person in a gym had a first day in the gym, so don’t let them bother you. There’s nothing I hate more than people who put down those who are just starting working out, we should encourage one another and not act that way. If you see someone in the gym who looks a bit clueless or new, here’s a great idea – go help them out! And hey if you ever see me in your gym feel free to come up and ask for help too, I don’t mind one bit <3

So 2015 is a great time to focus on your goals when it comes to health and fitness. I started my strength and weight training journey just like so many did 3 years ago after the holidays. Prior to that I was doing a whole lot of pointless cardio, light weights/high rep workouts and couldn’t stand that I was not getting actual results in my physique. Fast forward 3 years and above & below are the most recent photo of me taken on the morning of 12/30/2014. In the last year I have seen some major definition changes in my upper body and in my legs, but I still want to get a bit more definition in my back and glutes as well as get my body fat percentage down a bit. Currently I am at 14-15% body fat which is by no means bad at all, but in order to really see the muscle I am building I would likely want to get to about 12-13% by the summer. I went from 103lbs in 2011 to 110lbs now which is mostly due to muscle since my body fat dropped and did not increase – which is always the goal.

Gain Muscle, Lose Body fat

Tip: Make sure to take a photo on the first day of the new year. Take it from a variety of angles in a very basic outfit like black leggings and a sports bra. You may feel a bit strange doing it but trust me in a few months you are going to want to see the changes and wish you had taken some “before” photos. I personally feel much more accomplished when I go through my cell phone and see photos I took of myself 1-2 years ago and see how far I have come and how my body has changed. Transformation photos can be such a powerful tool to keep pushing yourself to stick to your resolutions and your goals.

Fitness Trackers? I highly recommend getting one or asking for one as a gift for your birthday, anniversary or holiday because it comes with me every single day into the gym. The Polar FT7 is the one I have (pictured above) and you have to wear a chest strap under your sports bra so that it can monitor your heart rate. The watch will tell you when you are in your heart rate burning zone and at the end it will tell you the length of your workout and how many calories you’ve burned. Without a watch like this you won’t be able to know how many calories you burn while weight training. Mine was around $70 and you can buy it here (CLICK HERE).

Other fitness gear? I use the follow additional items in the gym for training that might be helpful for you as well if you are just starting out a strength training routine or are just changing up your workout style. I use all of the below items and love them and highly recommend them.

Ankle straps for leg day/cable kick backs: click here

Shake bottle for my pre and post workout drinks: click here

Zumba Wear clothing (tank tops, sports bras, leggings): click here

Polar FT7 watch: click here

A sweat towel or a hand towel to wipe machines with or your sweaty self

Pre Workout Powder: click here

Post Workout Recovery Mix: click here

An Escali Digital Scale (tells you pounds, water weight held and body fat %): click here

For your diet and meals you can follow along my blog since I have started to share daily meal preps and ideas to keep you on track with meeting your daily goals of calories and macros. When it comes to weight loss you must consume LESS calories than your body needs per day and to gain weight you must consume MORE calories than your body needs per day. Its just basic science and people make it so confusing. Above all else make sure you LOVE the workouts you are doing and ENJOY the food you are eating. If you feel like it is a choir, then switch up your routine. Find a class you enjoy taking or grab a friend to workout with you. The reason so many people give up a few months in is simply because they are bored or not seeing results. If you love your routine you will stick to it.

Calorie deficit = weight loss

Calorie surplus = weight gain

Below are some helpful links that you can review in case you needed some ideas about training programs or diet and exercise. Let me know in the comments below what your 2015 resolutions are and what your goal is for the new year. Hopefully we can all get to ours and help each other along the way! Happy NEW YEAR ALL!

 Strength Training Workout Program for Women

View all of my health recipe posts

How to Stick to Your New Years Resolutions – The Journey of 2015 Begins!

Products mentioned in this post:

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