As a mother, you’re likely the pillar of your family. But while you take care of everyone else’s needs, you must never forget about your own health and well-being. If you didn’t, how can you be of use to everyone else?
For those who constantly put the needs of others before theirs, it’s about time you made a conscious effort to focus on you for a change, and work towards building your strength, both physically and mentally.
Thankfully, this is easily achieved with regular exercise. Bodybuilding is a good way to start your daily fitness regime as it will tone your body and also help in weight loss in the long run.
Here’s how…
Set realistic fitness goals
Unlike men, it takes longer for women to lose weight and gain muscle. In fact, it takes anywhere from six to eight months just to tone your body. So, set practical fitness goals for yourself.
This will not only help to motivate you to work harder, but will also make your achievements worthy of celebration.
While working out, ensure that you stay away from all kinds of fatty food and follow the diet as suggested by your dietician.
If you do not follow a healthy diet, no amount of exercise will help you lose fat. All the hard work you put in at the gym will be in vain.
Commit to exercising regularly
Build up your physical strength by starting with easy weight-lifting exercises. Make sure you start slowly. And remember not to train every day as that can cause wear and tear on your muscles.
The best way to start is with a front raiser. After working out for a couple of days, follow it up with overhead tricep extensions.
Eventually, there are certain exercises that you can move on to like bent overflies, pull-down triceps, kickbacks with triceps, chest press inclines, press overheads, curls, and others.
All these exercises are easy to do and can help get you fit.
- Bulking
This is a form of exercising in which you lose fat and gain muscles. For this to happen, you must increase your calorie intake by 10-25%.
When exercising, increase the total number of sets and repetitions as this will help facilitate fat loss.
- Cutting
This is a 23- to 25-week exercise regime in which you can lose as much fat as is required for you to achieve a toned body.
For maximum results, you must follow a low-calorie diet which is again 10-25% lower than your usual calorie intake.
During this period, you have to maintain a lower training volume so the number of sets is kept the same.
- Compound exercises
This form of exercise takes care of more than one muscle group. It can be a little complex to handle, but it will help you build your body mass and strength.
You have to be careful about this form of exercise and it is best executed under the supervision of your physical trainer so you do not injure yourself.
- Complete muscle-building exercises
Women should exercise at a slower pace. Compound exercises are considered as functional training and can help you in controlling your weight.
It goes like this. If you do chest exercises on day one, keep the second day for your back. On the third day focus on your shoulders, and on the fourth day, exercise your legs.
On the fifth day, exercise your arms. You can also create your exercising charts with pull day and leg day, push day and arm day, for example.
Take the weekends off for resting but continue to observe your diet. Resting your muscles on the weekends is necessary as it cools the muscles and heals any internal strains.
Summary
While exercising for fitness is a great way to start your day, you need to be careful about not injuring yourself in the process.
It is always wise to start exercising under the supervision of a fitness trainer. If you want to lose weight in the process, speak to a dietician and work on a diet chart.
Erika Peres is a social media influencer, entrepreneur and director of multiple companies. She is a mother of two boys and has a passion for sports, fitness and lifestyle. She can be reached on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.