Many people feel they don’t have time to eat right because of their busy lives.
“I don’t have time” is a common phrase these days. When it comes time to work out, or eat better, or make dinner (or breakfast or lunch), or track calories, it’s easily to write yourself off as having too much going on.
You hit the gym 3 (or 4 or 5) days per week. You’ve been tracking your meals, and watching portions. You’re even starting to think about your rest and recovery habits as a part of this whole process of improving your aesthetics.
It’s the first week of February… You could be on your newly formed resolution to get fit, finally, or you might be on the continual course of self-improvement.
Regardless of whether or not you’ve been at these changes for only the past 4 weeks, or 4 months, you might not be seeing the results you’d hoped for.
This is understandable. Most of us are impatient, and want everything yesterday.
And it doesn’t help that the media is shoving unrealistic images, and catchy phrases down our throats every second.
In fact, here’s one crazy statement I saw in the supermarket.
Well over a month ago, I revealed the deception and some of the misleading information within the fitness magazines and media, specifically the publications directed toward women in my article I Don’t Want to Get Big and Bulky – Fitness Marketing and its Effect on Women.
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In fact, as a result of publishing the article, I’ve discovered many women didn’t know anything more than what they’ve been told by the media. It’s no surprise, either. When the majority of our expert information is coming from trainers to the stars, it’s hard to imagine the information could be lacking or misleading.
However, as I mentioned in the previous article, these publications exist for one reason – to make a profit. I suppose their research suggests Americans (and the entire human race) are inherently lazy and that a quick-fix headline is sure to keep the revenue up.
Just looking at any other product being sold, especially those within the health/fitness/exercise niches, it all rings true – no one wants to work for the results if a shortcut is available.
If you can attain the body of a Greek goddess in 3 weeks without having to lift weights and while eating anything you want, why would you do anything different? The problem is the promises don’t deliver.
Month after month, women (and men) continue reading with hopes of the next best piece of information that will lead them to similar results of the cover model of their favorite publication.
Shortly after publishing the article, it was spread all over Facebook, as well as Reddit and questions continued to pour in.
The most common questions were
The answer to the first question, of course, is yes. It’s okay if you’re beginning weight training to start with the lightest weight available. You just don’t want to continue with these weights forever. If you do, you’ll never make the adaptations responsible for producing a lean, sculpted physique.
So while the light dumbbells are fine for a short period, the goal is progressive overload (lifting more weight) over time. If you aren’t getting stronger over the long-term, you are spinning your wheels, my lady friends.
Before I get to the second question, I want to make a quick point and then elaborate with some guest contributions from some ladies who’ve been strength training for some time with respectable physiques to show for it.
The number one concern I’ve come across online, and in casual conversation with women who are interested in fitness, is this fear of getting big and bulky. In case you’re unfamiliar with how the male and female bodies differ hormonally, the primary difference is the levels of testosterone between the sexes.
I know I stated this in the last article, but it bears repeating. Men are naturally leaner, stronger and can carry more muscle mass than their counterparts. The reason why is due to the levels of testosterone within their system.
So for all the females reading today, have no fear – I can assure you with all certainty that you’ll never, ever look like a male as a result of training for strength with heavy weights.
Don’t just take my word for it, though. Today I’ve pulled from some ladies I highly respect in this fitness game to contribute their thoughts, ideas and to PROVE that proper strength training can be a great way to build a lean, attractive physique and never become bulky.
Back in February, I recall getting an email from a guy by the name of Chris Brown who was interested in some fitness consulting. He found my work through my friend Google, and claimed to have devoured many of my articles since his discovery.
“Ever since I read your No-BS Approach to Looking Great Naked, I’ve been hooked”
is what he said in the opening email.
He went on to explain his experience in athletics growing up, which ultimately led to playing some professional baseball for a short time, before going back to graduate school to further his studies at Salve Regina University.
I knew from the beginning that I’d be able to work with Chris due to his experience in athletics, but his passionate desire to learn and grow he expressed in our email exchange. I’ll never forget the last line of his first email that read “my work ethic is ridiculous and I love the gym, so I’m ready for the challenge.”
At first, I thought “okay, we’ll see how determined he is” and we continued our conversation which resulted in him starting the official JCDFItness training and diet protocol on Monday, March 7.
I was extremely pleased with his familiarity of the major compound lifts and willingness to let go of the reigns.
While I won’t go into his exact training protocol, I want to highlight a bit of what we did to get the results presented below. To start off, Chris had been doing the popular Stronglifts 5×5 program. I was already a fan of this guy – no bro-training to speak of.
Chris’ starting weight was 205lbs and ending weight was 186lbs. He is right at 6 foot tall. The time frame in between photos is about 16 weeks. So on average, he dropped just over 1lb per week. I think you’ll agree the difference in appearance is fairly drastic. He transformed from a soft look into a very lean, athletic appearance.
JC Deen is a nationally published fitness coach and writer from Nashville, TN. Currently living in the blistering Northeast. Follow me on X/Twitter
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