Keep hitting dead-ends with your workouts? Just can’t seem to lose the weight or build lean muscles? Working out as a woman comes with a ton of challenges - but I’ve found TWO secrets that’ll take your workout from frustrating to fabulous, along with EIGHT training mistakes that women can easily avoid! 🤩

The two secrets are . . . 

😋 Diet smart 

🏋️ Workout smarter! 

When it comes to your health and fitness journey, there can be a lot of noise: social media fads, crazy supplements, new workout programs, and so much more. The key is to hone in on what works for YOU.

Let’s take a look at some common things women SHOULDN’T do when it comes to working out!

1. Easy does it on the cardio

Is cardio essential for wellness? Absolutely. Is it great for your heart? Hell yeah! Just make sure you aren’t walking on the treadmill 7 days a week as your only form of exercise. In order to change and sculpt your body, you need to bring on the weighted sessions too! 🏋️

Weights are incredible for building lean muscle and helping with metabolic and hormone function, bone density, cognitive function, and posture, as well as making us feel strong and empowered. Talk about bang for your buck!

There is a real misconception among women that weight training will make you bulky. Real talk – it doesn’t! What weights do is strengthen and tone your muscles and give you definition.

2. Baby weights

Tiny pink weights may be cute, but are they going to give us the results we are looking for? Probably not! 

If you are truly looking to grow your glutes, build beautiful shoulders, and bring in the waist (every girl’s dream 🤗), you need to push those big girl weights! Start evaluating your training critically: can you push harder? If the answer is yes, increase your weight!

To increase strength and build beautifully feminine muscle, you want to aim for rep range of 8-15. Remember, ladies, “tone” only comes from having muscle, and the best way to make muscle is to lift weights! 

An extra incentive: the harder you challenge yourself with weights, the more calories your body will burn both during your sessions and as you recover. Hello, fat burn!

3. Zero intensity

My theory for life is that if you are going to do anything at all, do it with purpose and 100% effort! I take this motto very literally in the gym - the best way to get results is to have a plan and then execute if fully. Don’t be that girl who sits on a bench, scrolling her phone, meandering aimlessly from one piece of equipment to the next. That isn’t going to serve you!

When you step into the gym, train like an absolute BEAST so you will feel and look like a BEAUTY! 

❤️ Get your heart rate up 

🏋️ Work hard

4. Thinking you can spot reduce

I know, I’m breaking some hearts with this one: doing seven days of ab workouts isn’t going to give you abs! Abs are created in the kitchen. No amount of sit ups and leg raises will give you a tight core - unless you are actively working in the kitchen to burn fat through your diet!

5. Looking for a magical pill

How many of you have tried a fad diet, thinking you will change your body overnight? I’m sorry to say that there is no such thing as a magic diet pill. There IS magic in the power of consistency, though, and that is exactly how you will achieve long term success!

If you aren’t getting the results you want, it’s likely because you aren’t being consistent with diet and training. These two factors - combined with sleep and a reduction of stress - are the only keys we need to change our bodies for the better.

6. Expecting results too soon

This ties in with the point above: nothing worth having happens overnight. Those fast, crazy results you see pushed over your socials aren’t usually done in the healthiest manner. As a result, those people tend to fall off the bandwagon faster and end up right back at their starting position.

Expecting to lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks will only lead to disappointment, frustration, and most have you giving up all together. Build resilience! Know that all good things take time. Your progress should be about habit and lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes. 

Remember, temporary changes lead to temporary results. Lifestyle changes will lead to a lifetime of results!

7. Poor form

This is easily the most common mistake I see in the gym among both men and women. Poor form is inefficient - by doing the exercise incorrectly, you are recruiting the wrong muscle fibres, and it’s going to take more time to achieve the results you want. 

Also, poor form leads to injury! You can’t train when you’re injured, so be smart.

When it comes to the gym, all egos must be left at the door. Don’t rush reps or sets; take your time; and execute movements correctly. If you struggle with form, referencing videos from fitness professionals is a GREAT way to ensure your form is on point! You get full video demonstrations of every exercise when you join my FitQueen Challenges 🥰

8. No structure

I touched on this earlier above, but this is so important that it needs its own point! 

To make your workouts efficient in building strength and growing muscle, you must have a plan. Mindlessly machine-hopping is only going to lead to boredom - to be successful in the gym, and in life, you must have a plan!

The first things you need to know before creating your dream program are:

1. Your GOAL
2. Your WHY

These will dictate your exercise selection, intensity, weight, and rep range. From here, you can create a program fit for a QUEEN! 

But I understand it can still be hard to create your own well-balanced workout program, even if you know what you want out of it! I spent years on my own trial and error journey, working hard to discover the most effective workouts that create a lean, feminine physique. And now, I share them all with YOU in my FitQueen Challenges! These Challenges take all the guesswork out of your health and fitness lifestyle!

⚔️ My final challenge of the year - my epic Warrior Challenge! - is open for sign ups! I’d love to have you as part of my FitQueen Community in an active, transformative way. This Challenge will help you implement everything I talked about here and more! We’ll focus on the best key workouts, personalized meal plans, and building you up to be the FitQueen I know you can be! ⚔️

Remember my key takeaways:

1. Have a plan and execute it with intensity
2. Focus on progressive overload. Don’t be afraid of heavy weights!
3. Prioritize your diet and your sleep
4. Be consistent – focus more on the journey than the destination

If you can do these things, I have no doubt that you will achieve your goal physique!