Strong > Skinny
I’m a millennial who grew up in the 90s. I did cardio workouts with women in leotards on a VHS tape with my mom. I thought saturated fat was terrible for you. Being skinny was the only thing that mattered, and you had to exercise and essentially not eat to be skinny, right? Unfortunately, I was always one of the chunky kids. I didn’t eat healthy and while I loved playing outside, I never really exercised. So while I may have wanted to be skinny, I never actually tried that hard. Even if I would have tried, “trying” in the 90s (as a 7 year old) would have set me up for other challenges later on based on my beliefs about food and exercise at that time.
Fast forward to today and I’d take strong, functional, and capable over skinny any day. I eat healthy foods that fuel my body. Shockingly, saturated fat helps fuel my body and keep me full. I have also come to really love strength training! You’ll find me waking up early 4-6 days a week to workout first thing. I have goals of living a long life, hiking into my old age, and being able to keep up with grand-kids one day, just like my grandfather did with me and my sister. He was chasing us around the shed in his backyard in his 70’s and early 80’s, and he loved taking us on walks to the park.
Pre-COVID: consistently inconsistent
My journey to strength training was always inconsistent until early 2021. When I was in high school I weight-lifted because I was on the high school tennis team. We went to the school’s weight room a few days per week. Our lifts were programmed for us and we did a lot of standard lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench press. We didn’t use many free weights, but we did have a few machines we used as well. I didn’t take it super seriously, but our coaches pushed us by having us record our weights and progressively increase them each week. We also learned proper lifting techniques and how to spot each other. I generally enjoyed weightlifting but I only did it when I was supposed to for tennis. I had no idea how I could weight lift on my own. And to be honest, I thought weight lifting was primarily for men.
In college and after college I did a wide variety of inconsistent exercises and it was not effective. I went to Turbo Kick and Core 15 classes at the rec center in college because one of our RAs taught the classes. When I was doing internships during college, I would get a Planet Fitness membership wherever I was living. I would run on the treadmill and do random weight machines a few times per week. After college I tried the gym and did the same treadmill runs and random weight machines. Eventually my gym closed, and I didn’t even know for months because I hadn’t gone in so long!
Introduction to Fitness Blender & my younger sister’s influence
My sister got into working out shortly after I graduated high school. She eventually found Fitness Blender, an online fitness platform created to make fitness more accessible. She was always trying to get me to workout with her, and most of the time I resisted. However, there are two memories that vividly stick out to me.
The first was a workout we did on my parents deck outside. It was a bodyweight lower body workout, and I could not believe how sore I was for days after, even though we didn’t use any weights!! The second was a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout we did together in my parents basement during Christmas break. My sister had convinced me I needed to eat something before the workout. I ate a whole banana and that was one of the most miserable workouts I’ve had to this day. I felt like I was going to throw up the whole time! Those workouts were so hard, and I wanted to stick with it like my sister was, but I couldn’t get myself to be consistent enough.
I would occasionally get into HIIT workouts at home, running outside, or yoga workouts at home. But none of them stuck for more than a few weeks at a time. I knew I SHOULD be exercising for my health, but I didn’t really like it or want to do it. And honestly, I had so many other priorities that were taking up my time. Work, volunteering, my social life, seeing my family… adding something else wasn’t worth it to me at that time.
Healthy eating & my husband’s influence
Once I started dating my now-husband, my perspective started shifting. He started working out in fifth grade, and has always prioritized strength training. I saw his dedication and how important it was to him. I saw how strong and capable he was. At the same time, I had also started learning more about my health in other ways. I started prioritizing healthier foods and ensuring I was fueling my body well. I also started to get into hiking, and subsequently realized that I was not enjoying it as much as I could be if I was in better shape.
COVID: the beginning of at-home workouts
Around this time, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Before the lockdown we bought two sets of free weights. My husband knew the gym was closing down and he still wanted to be able to get his workouts in. We bought two sets in an attempt to influence me to start working out as well.
I started lifting with my husband a few days a week after work. He taught me a lot about how to strength train, use free weights with good form, and about how to build an effective lifting routine. I still wasn’t very consistent around this time, but I also was trying to focus on resting while the world was shut down. I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself to consistently improve. However, I did learn a lot of foundational movements, and I think this was really good for me to place myself in a more relaxed learning environment to start.
I vividly remember at the start of COVID, there was a push-up challenge going around on Instagram where you tagged 10 or so friends to do 10 push-ups. I got tagged, and I couldn’t even do one!! A bit of a wake up call for me that I needed to make a change.
My Fitness Blender journey
A few months after we got engaged and bought our house, I decided to get serious about working out. The COVID lockdowns were over and my husband was back to going to the gym every morning. I decided that the gym was a little too intimidating to start, so I bought a Fitness Blender membership to work out at home instead. We had enough free weights for me to get started on a few of Fitness Blender’s programs. I started with FB Fit. This program is marketed as one of their more intense programs with a smart blend of various training types including strength training and HIIT. To my surprise, I found out I really enjoy strength training! I was fueling my body with the right foods, lifting weights that were challenging, incorporating cardio, and I was starting to feel the best I had ever felt!
I was so happy to have found a type of exercise that I liked. It helped that Fitness Blender was not intimidating at all. The trainers do a great job of explaining the exercises throughout their videos. This helped me gain confidence in various lifting techniques that I wasn’t familiar with. Their programs were also valuable as I got started. Fitness Blender has 5 day to 2 month long programs built by their qualified trainers. They have plenty of options from strength training for beginners to advanced HIIT and cardio programs. I didn’t have to think about what I should do the next day, or build my own smart workout program. Fitness Blender truly makes fitness feel accessible. I would highly recommend looking into their FB Plus membership if you’re looking for a new fitness routine.
Consistency in chaos
I was excited about improving my strength and fitness, and I was so proud of myself for sticking with it and finally finding a type of exercise I enjoy. Unfortunately less than a year after I was established in my new Fitness Blender routine, I had ankle surgery. It was a planned surgery to correct an issue that caused me a lot of pain when walking long distances. I was excited for the surgery to fix the pain, but I was also disappointed that I would need to take a break from my new exercise routine.
Since my surgery was planned and I knew what my restrictions would be, I was still able to come up with a new exercise routine. I went through a bunch of existing Fitness Blender workouts and wrote down a list of strength exercises I could do while seated or lying on the floor. I ended up creating my own workout split that worked with my restrictions. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I completed my own 3-day upper body split (chest/back, biceps/triceps, shoulders/lats). On Tuesday and Thursday, I completed a lower body pilates and core routine.
While I did take about 2-3 weeks off directly after surgery, after that I stuck with my new routine even when I was in a cast and a walking boot for another two months. For someone who has always struggled with being consistent in an exercise routine, I could not have been prouder of myself for sticking with my routine throughout a time where I had every excuse in the world to give up.
Rebuilding my strength
The amount of strength and muscle loss in my left leg after not using it for 2 ½ months was astounding. I had a long way to go to build my strength back. And to be honest, I am still working on evening out my leg strength two and a half years later. I started with just walking and physical therapy while still completing upper body lifting workouts a few days per week. Gradually I started doing some low impact walking workouts from Fitness Blender, along with some bodyweight lower body strength workouts. I remember the first bodyweight squat after surgery, the first reverse lunge, and the first time I balanced on just my left leg for more than one second.
My current workout split
Fast forward to 2024 and I’m still working out consistently and loving strength training! My current workout split looks something like this. I’m sharing my workout split as an example only. Everyone has different goals, limitations, and priorities so this is not a template you have to or should follow. Sometimes my week is focused on total body and sometimes it’s split into upper and lower lifts depending on the week:
- Two lifting days at the gym
- Focusing on: rep-based strength training and equipment I don’t have at home (barbells – deadlift and bench press, assisted pull-ups and tricep dips, hack squat)
- Two lifting days at home using Fitness Blender
- Focusing on: cardio/strength blend, new exercises, mobility, time-based strength training (which often turns into cardio) using bodyweight, or a combination of dumbbells and kettlebells
- One to two cardio and core days (a mixture of the gym and Fitness Blender)
- Gym – focusing on: stairmaster, sled, standard core routine
- Fitness Blender – focusing on: functional core, HIIT, endurance based cardio, EMOM and AMRAP style workouts
Why my 2024 split might be my favorite!
This new workout split is a mixture of my favorite things. I really like the progressive overload in the gym. I have strength goals that I want to achieve like doing a full unassisted pull-up, completing the Murph challenge, and bench pressing 135 pounds (a plate on each side). To achieve these goals, I have picked specific exercises that I want to improve and have built my gym routines around those exercises. I love that I can use the “Custom Workout” feature on Fitness Blender to build my own routines and track my progress in one place.
On the other hand, I really like incorporating the different training styles and trainers from Fitness Blender into my routines. If I purely focused on strength in a gym setting, I would be missing the mobility and functional components of Fitness Blender that prepare me to live a fit and functional life into old age. Many of the Fitness Blender routines and exercises are things that I never would have thought of or tried on my own. I think it’s important to keep things interesting and new. It provides a new challenge, highlights deficiencies to work on, and keeps me wanting to come back for more. Fitness Blender is also my favorite place for a good cardio workout. Many of their strength workouts have sneaky timing that increase my heart rate like the stairmaster would. In addition, they always have new and interesting cardio exercises incorporated in their workouts! I always say it’s much easier for me to convince myself to do 20 seconds of a really hard exercise than 30 minutes or an hour of endurance-based cardio like running or the stairmaster. I’m way less likely to skip a Fitness Blender cardio workout than a gym cardio workout.
Thank you Fitness Blender and Powerblock!
Just recently I entered to win a giveaway through Fitness Blender and Powerblock dumbbells. I entered to win a year subscription to FB Plus (Fitness Blender’s paid platform for an even greater library of workouts) as well as the Powerblock Pro 50 dumbbells (a huge space saver!). I was so excited to find out I won this giveaway from two incredible companies.
Fitness Blender changed my approach to working out, and was a huge part of my consistency wins over the past few years. If you’ve struggled with working out, I’d encourage you to sign up for FB Plus (this link will give you 20% off your first FB Plus subscription!). There are so many great programs for all different fitness levels. It takes the guesswork and decision fatigue out of programming your own workouts. The FB trainers truly care and provide great guidance throughout the videos and programs. Thank you, Fitness Blender, for making fitness achievable to me a few years ago. And thank you for your generosity with Powerbolock for giving away a subscription and new dumbbells! I can’t wait for all the workouts to come as I continue to improve my strength, fitness, and stamina.
Should you start strength training?
While I fell in love with strength training and have found my favorite exercise routine, you may feel differently. Fitness is certainly important to our health and well-being. I personally think strength training (at whatever level is accessible to you) is important to maintain muscle mass and strength as we age. If you have never tried it before I would encourage you to give it a shot. However, you may want to build a different fitness regimen that you enjoy more. I commend you and support you in whatever fitness regimen you decide on that works best for your health and your lifestyle. Moving our bodies is important, but it’s also important to enjoy it enough for it to become a habit. Let me know in the comments below what your favorite workout split looks like, or if you plan to sign up for Fitness Blender!
