Nia Shanks

Nutrition Triggers & Tips

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:19:43 -0800

A while back I asked on the Beautiful Badass Fanpage what information people wanted and needed most to help them achieve their goals, and the answer was overwhelmingly “nutrition”.

That is what I’m going to discuss today through a mish-mash of random nutrition thoughts, including information on eating “triggers” and additional helpful tips. My truest hope is that it helps you in some way.

The majority of the people I work with (at least 80 percent) have a history of disordered eating habits or experienced a poor relationship with food, and I receive numerous emails on a weekly basis from people who share similar stories. Since I battled disordered eating in the past too, I keep this in mind when I discuss nutrition.

It’s my experience that individuals who have had poor relationships with food in the past, or present, need very simple, flexible, nutrition guidelines as opposed to rigid rules. Please bear those facts in mind as you read this article; my primary audience is individuals who have had, or are currently battling, disordered eating habits or have a poor relationship with food.

Eating Triggers

My sister and I were talking about nutrition the other day, and we have similar “triggers” and eating habits. For example, we are both very hungry at night and that is when our “temptations” or cravings are more likely to kick in full force, and this appears to be common with many of my clients, too.

Personally, it doesn’t matter how much I eat during the day; it could be one or two large meals, and I’ll still be very hungry at night. Now, this could be due to hormonal changes that naturally occur throughout the day, but regardless of the reason, I am always hungry at night.

For my sister and me, the evening can be an “eating trigger” because that is when we are more susceptible to give into cravings.

**Identify Your Eating Triggers**

No, it may not be fun to do, but if you have any struggles with food, or just want to improve your food-relationship, I highly suggest you take the time to identify your personal eating triggers.

What emotions trigger you to eat, even if you’re not physically hungry?
Is there a time of day that makes you more prone to poor food choices or overeating?
Do you have any domino foods? A domino food can be described as a food that you start eating and can’t stop. Think of it as the potato chip expression, “bet you can’t eat just one.” Please keep in mind domino foods aren’t just items like potato chips, cookies, or junk food; they can also be natural foods. As an example, I used to have problems with things like almonds – I wouldn’t eat a small handful; I would almost eat an entire bag.

If you need other helpful sources for determining your eating triggers, I urge you to Take This Eating Challenge and Challenge Number Two. Don’t worry; they’re quick and easy to complete and can be quite eye opening.

How to Address Your Triggers

Once you determine your personal eating triggers using the tips and links above, it’s time to take action and get things under control.

In the case of domino foods, I suggest you either exchange them for a different food (an apple instead of chips, for example, if your domino foods are in the “junk food” category), or take steps to control portion sizes. For example, if almonds are one of your domino foods, I suggest you take a handful and put them in a bowl and do not eat them straight from the bag. Get out how much you want, and then put the bag away.

This is something I must do with things like trail mix and ice cream (two of my favorite “treats), almonds, or anything else that comes in a container. If I eat straight from the bag/container, I’ll want to eat the entire thing, even if I’m no longer hungry.

Many people have the mentality that they must “clean their plate” just as I do, even if they’re eating from a bag or container. The easiest thing to do in this situation is to stop eating directly from the bag/container. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you know you may lose control.

A Little Planning Goes a Long Way

People will argue the effectiveness of my following recommendation, but it’s proven to work for my clients and myself.

What do you do if a big dinner is coming up that you know won’t consist entirely of meat and vegetables? Or what if you just feel like cooking some comfort food? (I’m from the south so that means something like fried chicken and okra).

If I know I’m going to enjoy a large meal for dinner that doesn’t consist primarily of natural foods, I’ll just limit what I eat during the day. For example, I may just eat some smoked salmon and a cup of cottage cheese (protein helps greatly with satiety) and drink a lot of water throughout the day. Or, perhaps I’ll employ a fast a la Eat Stop Eat (and still drink a lot of water).

Perhaps something came up unexpectedly and I indulged in some homemade baked goods or sweets. This actually happened yesterday; I enjoyed some (quite a lot, actually) chocolate covered strawberries and chocolates. As a result of my over-indulgence, I am fasting today via the Eat Stop Eat method and drinking a lot of water.

It’s really not that hard. People overcomplicate things, and I’ve definitely been guilty of this myself in the past. If I ate some cookies or went out to dinner and ate something that wasn’t the healthiest choice I would be riddled with guilt. Now, I simply eat less the day of or after, usually with fasting.

I know this sounds insane to some people, but it works. And the best part – it’s incredibly easy and stress free.

Please note that fasting is not some form of punishment! If you use fasting as I suggest, you absolutely should not view it as punishment, because that just adds fuel to the bad food-relationship fire.

Eat Your Protein

As mentioned earlier, protein is very effective at increasing satiety. I have my clients track their protein intake to get an idea of how much they consume. It’s common for women to average about 40 grams or so a day, if even that. Once they increase their protein intake to at least 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight (I prefer closer to one gram per pound of bodyweight) they experience greater satiety.

This is also useful for people, such as myself, that experience greater hunger in the evening. As long as I eat a good amount of protein during the day, then I’m not ravenous at night.

An easy way to make sure you eat enough protein is to center your meals on good protein sources such as free range eggs and poultry, grass-fed meats, wild caught fish, and other sources.

If you’re unsure of your average protein intake, track it for a week and see where you stand. If you’re not getting one gram per pound of bodyweight, start doing so and see what happens.

Fruit Gate 2012

I made a comment on Facebook the other day, and I knew that it would cause some commotion. Basically, I said I eat 2-3 pieces of fruit a day and asked when people would stop condemning fruit. This statement caused some back-and-forth bantering and some people ended up “un-friending” me as a result.

I’m aware that fructose has a very bad reputation at the moment, and I won’t argue that people should stop consuming high fructose corn syrup that is found via products such as fruit juice, sodas, and processed food items.

But when it comes to the average person who consumes a lot of processed foods, fast food, and practically no vegetables or fruit, no one is going to convince me that encouraging someone to eat a piece of fruit instead of a Pop Tart is going to cause them to gain body fat.

Most people just need to start eliminating items such as fast food, sodas, heavily processed foods and trans-fat from their diets. Telling someone who eats Pop Tarts for breakfast, fast food for lunch, snacks on candy bars and drinks sodas all day is going to get incredibly confused if you tell them to “not eat fruit”.

My clients, and the majority of people I work with want to shed body fat, build muscle, improve their health and energy levels, and just want to feel better. I’m not referring to individuals who want to achieve super low levels of body fat and who have already perfected the basics of nutrition (which I’ll address below).

I agree that people who want to reach incredible leanness may want to experiment with limiting fruit intake. However, it’s not necessary for everyone to do so because I know a lot of individuals who can achieve, and maintain, single digit body fat (men) or low to mid teens (women) who eat fruit on a regular basis.

Bottom line concerning fruit – if you want to look better in a swim suit, improve your health and performance, than feel free to eat a couple pieces of fresh fruit each day. As long as you’re following the basics of nutrition (below) you will not gain body fat from including fruit in your daily diet.

Nutrition Basics

If people focused on eating real, high quality natural foods (think grass-fed meats, free range poultry and eggs, wild caught fish, fresh fruits and veggies) and listening to their bodies (eating when hungry, stopping when satisfied) and consumed plenty of water each day, they would build the strong, healthy, lean body they desired. (Also refer to Beautiful Badass Nutrition Principles).

Apply those basics of nutrition for a minimum of one year. Follow them at least 90% of the time, and be honest with yourself. If after mastering the basics for a year you still want more “advanced information,” than send me an email and I’ll gladly help you out.

If you think you’re ready for more complex nutrition methods, than answer this question – have you mastered the basics? Honestly, have you? Why do you want additional information? Just like a beginner strength trainee will not get better results from an advanced program, you won't get great results from complicated nutrition methods if you haven't mastered the basics. And why would you want something that is complicated if you can get the same results with simple methods?

My challenge to you is this: eat natural, whole, unprocessed foods that are in their natural state and meat that comes from animals raised in their natural environments. This means grass-fed meats, grass-fed dairy (if you can tolerate it or even want to include it), free range poultry and eggs, wild caught fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat those foods at least 90% of the time, and then report back to me in one year.

Is that advice “sexy” or even complicated? Nope, and that’s a main reason people shrug it off as “useless” or too basic. But I guarantee it works. They are the same guidelines I provide to my clients and not once has someone needed anything more complicated than that to achieve their fat loss and performance goals.

Additional Random Tips

-Know what makes you feel best and what works for you. Perhaps you would enjoy a form of intermittent fasting, or maybe you prefer to eat four to five smaller meals each day. Experiment a little and see what works for you.

-Don’t exclude foods entirely from your diet (the exception is if you have an allergy to a food or food group or eating a certain food causes you to feel lousy). If you love ice cream and proclaim, “I’m never going to eat ice cream again,” what will you always want to eat and constantly think about? See a brief food rant here for more information.

-I truly don’t care if you’re vegan, vegetarian, Paleo, gluten-free, an intermittent-faster, or any other possible term used to describe your eating preference. Are you improving your health and building the body you want with that method? I truly hope so, because that is what I care about. I want you to get from point A to point B in a healthy way that is sustainable and works for you.

Do This to Feel Better Fast (and a Food Rant)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:19:05 -0800

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time at a computer desk, sitting. I hate to break it to you, but sitting for long periods of time is not good for your health, or posture.

However, I’ll share a super simple tip you can use to feel better, increase your energy, and improve your mobility.

Set a timer for 15 minutes, and whenever it goes off, get up and do something.

I greatly recommend placing the timer across the room so each time it goes off you have to get up. Depending on where you work, this may not be practical, but at least make an effort to put the timer out of reach.

What should you do when the 15 minutes are up and it’s time to do “something”?

Here are some quick ideas to get you going:

Jumping jacks (20 is a good number)
Walking or reverse lunges (I like to hold the bottom position and focus on stretching my hip flexors with each stride)
Overhead squats
Scapular wall-slides
Push-ups and lunges or squats
Walk up some stairs
Jump rope
Glute bridges

It truly doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do something. This would be an excellent time to perform some mobility drills based on your limitations and needs as well.

Setting a timer to go off every 15 minutes is a productive and easy tip to incorporate. Plus, after a couple of hours you’ll have moved more than most people do in an entire day, and it will only take you a matter of minutes! I guarantee you’ll feel better, too.

Another tip – this works well when watching TV. Instead of using a timer, get up and move around or do something quick during commercials.

Simple. Quick. Effective. You have absolutely no excuses for not doing this. Set your timer now!

And Now . . . Time for a Brief Rant

I don’t go off on a rant very often, but sometimes it’s just necessary.

Recently someone criticized me for drinking protein shakes and enjoying ice cream on occasion. “Too much fake sugars” and “consuming all of those protein shakes isn’t optimal” I was told.

I recently spoke with my good friend and fellow Beautiful Badass, Marianne Kane, about these comments, and she gave her opinion on a similar situation she encountered.

There is way too much judgement out there regarding diet! If you reveal a "cheat" meal or something "unhealthy" that you ate you are either applauded for being a rebel, or judged for being a bad influence to obese people (not that showing a picture of an apple will suddenly make them change their ways, as everybody knows by now what is classed as healthy or unhealthy). The bigger issue is how this judgment seems to change depending on the subject's circumstances; a "fit" person is a rebel for eating junk, an obese person is greedy and disgusting, yet a person who is emaciated and starving is encouraged to eat this junk and everyone else feels happy about that!!

This irks me a lot!

~Marianne Kane, MyomyTV.com

Look, I acknowledge that everyone would be better off if they never consumed sugar or fake sugar ever again, for the rest of their lives. I also believe we would all be healthier if we grew our own food in natural, optimal conditions and only consumed grass-fed meat, wild caught fish, free range poultry and eggs, raw dairy, and other free range meats. (Get resources for purchasing these items locally can be found here).

Adding to that, ideally everyone would get at least 20 minutes of direct sunlight every single day, and only drink water that cascaded down the peaks of the snowy Rocky Mountains, and lived in pollution-free areas. Trust me, I could go on and on about "ideal" situations, eating habits, and living environments.

But the truth is, it’s not realistic for most people to follow those guidelines every day for the rest of their life, and so I won’t suggest such a thing. And obviously, many of those suggestions aren’t the least bit practical for some individuals. Setting unrealistic goals leads to aggravation and unnecessary stress.

Furthermore, I have heard of fitness professionals who claim they never eat junk food, but I have friends who have seen these people eat such “forbidden” foods and don’t allow people to take pictures of them doing so.

I refuse to present a façade implying that my eating habits and choices are optimal each and every day. I’m not going to act like I don’t have personal demons when it comes to past relationships with food. Hell, I even revealed my battle with disordered eating habits that plagued me for years.

I’m not going to act like I’m perfect or that I eat “optimal” (whatever that really means) every day of my life. I will not be a hypocrite and tell you not to eat something that I do. I don’t subscribe to the “do as I say, not as I do” mentality. Leading by example is something I strive to do on a daily basis, and to help you achieve the same.

Yes, I eat grass-fed, local beef and poultry, eggs, and dairy. Yes, I also eat full fat, sugar laden ice cream on occasion. And, if I’m feeling really crazy, I’ll have a glass of wine, a beer, or a Magners.

In regards to protein shakes; would I prefer to get all of my protein from natural food sources? Of course, but for the amount of protein I am eating each day, it’s not realistic and I use protein shakes to supplement my protein needs.

My Main Priority

I will always strive to provide you with simple, no nonsense nutrition guidelines (as I did in Beautiful Badass Nutrition Principles) and strength training information. There are more important things in life to concern ourselves with than spending every waking moment thinking about our daily diet and training regimens.

My nutrition habits and food choices are better than they were a few years ago, and a few years from now, I’m sure they’ll be even better.

My main goal with nutrition (besides eating primarily real food) is to make small, continual progress. For example, over the past few months I have only purchased grass-fed butter, local eggs and bacon. In addition, I just started drinking milk with my post-workout shake and like many of the foods I eat regularly, the milk is purchased locally and comes from grass-fed cows that aren’t given any hormones or antibiotics.

I’m also making an effort to buy protein powders made with minimal ingredients and use natural sweeteners, such as stevia. (When I find one that tastes great, I’ll let you know. Still searching).

Bottom line – eat real food at least 90 percent of the time, and enjoy some of your favorite not-really-food-items once a week or so.

On that note, I’ll be attending a Super Bowl party with my family this Sunday, and rest assured I’ll be eating some home-made cookies that are made with sugar and butter; I may even take a picture.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit http://www.niashanks.com/)

Potato Vines, Meat Glue, Poultry Paste & Banana Ice Cream

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:24:39 -0800

Oh my goodness. I have three interesting things to share with you today – Potato Vines, Meat Glue, and Poultry Paste.

This post contains a few videos, but each one is very short. I strongly encourage you to watch them because you deserve to be aware of this information. Note – even though the video titles may appear daunting, don’t worry. You won’t see animals being butchered or anything like that.

Ignorance is not bliss, and what you don’t know can hurt you. With that in mind, here is some important, and interesting, information about food.

Potato Vines

I came across this video on my Facebook page and I found it very interesting, to say the least. The child’s experiment reveals the difference between organic and non-organic sweet potatoes.

Meat Glue

This is another video I came across on my Facebook page, and it was quite disturbing because I have never heard of such a thing. It reveals a sneaky trick used by the meat industry.

Poultry Paste

This is an image that has been circulating the world wide web for quite some time:

If you’ve never seen it before, you may think it’s ice cream or something similar. However, you’ll probably be disturbed to know that the proper term for that pink goop is poultry paste. It’s a mish-mash of mechanically separated poultry (skin, tendons, etc) that is used to make chicken nuggets.

Check out this video “What are Chicken Nuggets Made of?” for more information.

And finally, here is a video of Jamie Oliver revealing to children how chicken nuggets are made in an effort to make them aware of how one of their favorite foods is made.

Do you have a desire to eat chicken nuggets after watching those two videos?

The Take Away Lesson

As I get older, I realize more and more how fragile life can be and that oftentimes it ends abruptly with no warning or preparation. None of us have a guarantee we’ll be here tomorrow.

However, I believe it is our responsibility to make the most of the time we do have, and to make every effort possible to nourish and protect our bodies.

In my opinion, this means engaging in some form of physical activity (I recommend strength training and other hobbies) and eating well. My simple recommendation for eating well – eat REAL food like grass-fed meats, wild caught fish, free range eggs and poultry, and fruits and vegetables (preferably locally grown or organic).

Will it cost more? Yeah, maybe. But I’m willing to bet you can find grass-fed meat and free range poultry for less than you imagined (check the resource below). Plus, I would much rather spend a few extra cents on higher quality food now than medical bills later.

It’s also my personal opinion that there’s a reason some countries aren’t plagued with diseases that are all too common in the USA such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and others. I think there’s a strong link to nutrition and disease, and the conditions in which food is grown and animals are raised also has a huge impact on our health.

Dirty Dozen Produce

Charles Poliquin revealed his list of “The Dirty Dozen” produce items in order from most pesticides to less pesticides and recommends you buy these items organic: apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, imported nectarines, imported grapes, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, domestic blueberries, lettuce, kale and collards.

Charles also shared his list of “The Clean Fifteen” in order from cleanest to less clean: onions, sweet corn, pineapples, avocado, asparagus, sweet peas, mangoes, eggplant, domestic cantaloupe, kiwi, cabbage, watermelon, sweet potatoes (I would recommend purchasing these locally or organic), grapefruit and mushrooms.

Those lists don’t mention meat, eggs, and dairy, but I highly recommend you purchase only grass-fed meats, free range poultry and eggs, and wild caught fish. If you have to choose between grassfed/organic meats and produce to save money, I recommend purchasing high quality meat and eggs first.

Could all of This be “Hype”?

I’ll admit that some of the information regarding organic versus non-organic, grass-fed versus corn-fed could be a little blown out of proportion, but that’s the case with anything nowadays. Nevertheless, I prefer to err on the side of caution and make every effort possible to eat the healthiest foods grown/raised in their natural environment.

Two Great Resources for Meat, Eggs, Dairy and Produce

So, why did I share those videos with you and the additional information? We all need to be aware of the food industry and how food products are created. Many people claim that “what you don’t know doesn’t hurt you”, but I don’t agree.

Be aware of the foods you buy, and know where they come from and how they are made/raised/grown.

I also want to encourage you to purchase food (meats and produce) locally as often as possible. Not only will buying local keep the money in your community, but you will also know where your food comes from and the conditions the food was grown and the animals were raised.

EatWild.com is a great website for finding local grass-fed meat, eggs, and dairy. The first time I visited the site I was shocked to discover several local farms where I now exclusively purchase my eggs, bacon, chicken, and grass-fed beef.

LocalHarvest.org is a website I recently stumbled upon, and it is a valuable resource for local farmers markers, farms, and other information.

Check those out those two resources and start buying local, healthy meats and produce today.

BONUS! Banana Ice Cream Recipe

After all the talk about poultry paste and meat glue, you probably don’t have too much of an appetite. Just save this recipe for later.

I heard about “single ingredient banana ice cream” a while ago, but don’t remember where. Having several ripe bananas, I decided to give it a try.

All you do is cut up some ripe bananas and throw them in the freezer for a few hours. Once frozen, toss them in a food processor and blend on high until the consistency is that of ice cream.

Scoop into a bowl, eat, and enjoy!

To jazz it up a little bit you can include some of the following additions (thanks to those on the Beautiful Badass Fanpage for some of the recommendations!):

Dark chocolate (I use 85% extra dark chocolate and crumble it on top)
Cinnamon and vanilla extract
Coconut milk
Almond butter or peanut butter
Mixed berries

I’m sure you can come up with some other great add-ons as well.

To be honest, I don't have a good ending for this post, so I'll just that you please help spread this information by hitting the "Like" and "Tweet" buttons below.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit http://www.niashanks.com/)

5 Awesome Strength Training Articles

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:23:21 -0800

For the past week and a half I was snowblading in gorgeous Snowshoe, West Virginia. This became a new passion and hobby last February and something I will do every year. Yes, I am one of those “crazy people” who absolutely loves winter – the snow, the cold – I love it all.

I apologize for the lack of posts while I was gone, but I made it a point to avoid the computer and social media at all costs. It wasn’t too hard to accomplish because I didn’t even have a cell phone signal the entire time I was in West Virginia.

While I get back in the swing of things, today I’ll share some recent articles I wrote. It’s been a priority of mine to write more in an effort to reach and help more individuals, on my blog and for other great websites. Without further ado, here are some articles that were recently written for other websites. Enjoy!

7 Reasons Why Women Should Strength Train

This article was published on a new website, Beautifully Hardcore. All seven reasons why women should strength train are very important, but numbers one, three, and five are rarely discussed.

If you’re a woman who likes to strength train or thinking about getting seriously into it, check this out. And, guys, be sure to pass it along to the ladies in your life.

Time Crunch Christmas Workouts

Yes, I’m well aware that Christmas is behind us, but this is an excellent article nonetheless. If you don’t have much time to train, then use the workouts presented in this article that I wrote for Experience Life. You can still get great results with 15-20 minute workouts, and this article shows you how.

Focus on Performance at the Gym

I am very passionate about this topic and explain why your sole purpose at the gym should be improving your performance. Even if you just want to look better in your clothes, you should focus on getting stronger in the gym.

Do You Train Hard?

Different definitions of “training hard” exist in the world of strength training, but I reveal my definition in this article and explain why it’s imperative that you train hard if you want great results.

Listen up, Ladies: Minimum Training for Maximum Results

This was a guest post I wrote for my friend, JC Deen, a few months ago. If you don’t have a lot of time to train, or you want to spend the minimum amount of training time necessary to achieve results, then be sure to check out the sample training program in the article.

Hopefully those articles will keep you entertaining and informed until I get back next week with another blog post. I hope everyone had an amazing New Year, and let’s all make it a goal to have an awesome 2012!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit http://www.niashanks.com/)

11 Beginner Strength Training Tips for Women

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:44:34 -0800

I don’t devote many articles to beginner strength trainees, and this is a mistake on my part. To make up for my lack of beginner trainee information, this article is devoted to women who are just starting out strength training or want to get serious about it.

Please note that “beginner strength trainees” can also include those who have worked out with machines or even with free weights. A beginner is someone who hasn’t learned proper technique or trained consistently with a few simple, but basic barbell and bodyweight exercises.

Even if you’ve been going to the gym for years and doing triceps kick-backs, Smith machine lunges, and used many exercise machines, you’re still a beginner. As another example, if you can’t properly perform (or aren’t sure if you’re properly performing) lifts such as squats, deadlifts, push-ups, inverted rows, vertical and horizontal presses, lunges, chin-ups, and other basic compound movements, then this beginner information is for you.

If you’re an experienced female trainee (or a man), I hope you’ll benefit from this article. If nothing else, I ask that you please pass it along to women who could benefit from the information.

Now let’s get into the 11 Beginner Strength Training Tips for Women.

1) Learn Proper Form

This is crucial; you need to devote some time to learning proper exercise form from the very beginning. It’s much easier to learn proper form initially than to develop poor habits and try to break them later.

I highly suggest working with a knowledgeable strength coach or learning from reputable demonstration videos. For this reason I included instructional videos in Beautiful Badass because it’s important to use proper form if you want to get the best results possible and train safely short- and long-term.

As an example, if you perform a squat improperly by only doing a quarter-squat with the weight primarily on your toes for instance, you will not get the full effects this exercise has to offer, and you risk injury. By learning proper form (squatting to or below parallel, keeping the weight centered on your feet, pushing out your knees, etc) you’ll also work your glutes, hamstrings, and other muscles you wouldn’t have otherwise with the quarter-squat variation, and you’ll also be performing the movement in a much safer manner.

2) Stick to the Basics

This is something I’ve written about in Back to Basics for Better Results and Back to Basics Part 2.

If you’re just getting into strength training (or finally getting serious about it) you will be better off sticking with a few exercises for the first few months. Why? Think about it this way – what would be easier for you to memorize in the shortest amount of time: 7 different riddles or 20? Obviously the fewer would be easier and quicker to memorize.

It’s the same with your body when you just start lifting weights. Your body will remember/memorize a few movements much more quickly.

Do yourself a favor and master the technique and improve your strength on a few basic exercises. Some favorites for beginner female strength trainees are as follows:

Squat
Deadlift
Reverse lunge
Glute bridge
Push-up (or a similar horizontal press)
Inverted row (or a similar horizontal pull)
Chin-up
Overhead press (if mobility allows)
Plank

That is a total of 9 exercises. You could simplify that list even more by removing the lunge, glute bridge, and plank and focusing on just 6 exercises.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you need a ton of different exercises to “keep your body guessing”, to “shock your muscles”, or that you must work every muscle individually with isolation exercises. In the beginning you should focus on a few basic compound exercises, master your form, and get stronger (more on this point in a minute).

3) Use Acceptable Alternatives

You may have mobility issues that don’t allow you to safely and properly perform certain exercises, or you may not have the equipment available to perform the recommended exercises. Either way, you should use appropriate exercise substitutions.

For example, I’ve heard numerous women say they can’t perform a barbell back squat because they have bad knees, or for some other reason. The majority of the time these women aren’t properly performing a back squat (see the quarter-squat example mentioned in number one) but this can be corrected by learning proper technique. However, some people genuinely have trouble performing a back squat and think squatting on a Smith machine is a good alternative.

I understand the logic, but a Smith machine squat is not an acceptable alternative to a traditional back squat. Instead a more appropriate substitution would be a goblet squat or a front squat.

As another example, if you don’t have the mobility to deadlift a straight bar off the floor, you shouldn’t dismiss deadlifting all together. You could try trap bar deadlifts, rack pulls, or even single leg deadlift variations.

Not everyone has the ability to perform some of the most basic barbell lifts, and that’s why I included a list of acceptable substitutions in Beautiful Badass.

4) Focus on Getting Stronger

I’ve discussed this before in Lift Heavy. Get Strong(er) and Look Better and Get Strong – Get Confident! I believe practically everyone should focus on getting stronger no matter what their primary goal. It’s especially important for beginners because they need to develop a base level of strength.

Focusing on building strength is the best way for a beginner to get results, and it’s highly motivating. Beginners make fast initial strength improvements due primarily to neural adaptations. It’s not uncommon for someone to be able to add weight to the bar for weeks in a row when they just start lifting weights. These strength gains aren’t a result of increased muscle, but from the nervous system. Getting stronger week after week is very motivating because you experience positive progress.

Another reason to focus on getting stronger is because beginners lack the necessary strength to make some popular boot-camp or circuit type workouts productive. A beginner is better off keeping the reps fairly low so they can use as much weight as possible. Many boot-camp workouts call for high reps and multiple exercises performed one right after the other with minimal rest.

A beginner with little strength won’t be able to use an appreciable weight for sets of 10 plus reps, and so the impact won’t be nearly as effective as using a heavier weight for sets of 4-7 reps.

As an example, if a woman who can deadlift 95 pounds for 5 reps was to perform a circuit-type workout that called for 12 or more reps, the weight she would use for the high reps would be so low that is wouldn’t elicit a strength response or even challenge her to an appreciable degree.

Here’s a visual to make sense of that scenario:

This would be a more appropriate deadlift workout for a beginner, assuming her work weight is 95 pounds for 5 reps.

95 x 5 x 5 (95 pounds, 5 sets, 5 reps each set)

Total work load: 2,375 pounds (95 pounds x 5 reps = 475 pounds. 475 pounds x 5 sets = 2,375)

Here is the work load if a beginner performed higher rep sets, assuming a work weight of approximately 60 pounds for 12 reps.

60 x 3 x 12 (60 pounds, 3 sets, 12 reps each set)

Total work load: 2,160 pounds (60 pounds x 12 reps = 720 pounds. 720 pounds x 3 sets = 2,160)

That’s a difference of 215 pounds.

The beginner would have a higher work load with the lower rep workout (5x5). In addition, lower rep sets are better for beginners because they are more likely to maintain proper form on each rep. When a beginner performs higher rep sets, their form is more likely to break down as the set goes on because the smaller, weaker muscles fatigue before the larger muscles.

5) Know that You will NOT get “Big ‘n Bulky”

I’m sick and tired of telling women that lifting weights won’t make them “big ‘n bulky”, but it’s necessary because that myth is still thriving. I’ll keep this point short and simple – excess body fat is what makes women appear “bulky”, not having muscle. (Obvious exceptions are women who use anabolic steroids).

Strength training will allow you to build muscle, increase your metabolism, burn body fat, and ultimately help you achieve the lean and “toned” appearance you desire.

Tell you what, if you start strength training per the recommendations in this article and end up all “big ‘n bulky” despite having a healthy level of body fat, give me a call and we’ll meet up so you can scissor kick me to the head. That’s how confident I am you won’t bulk up into a she-man.

6) Be Consistent and Don’t Give Up

We want results, and we wanted them yesterday. Our culture is all about obtaining instant gratification; believe me, I am no different. For example, it has been my goal to achieve a triple bodyweight deadlift for years now. That is a goal I have had for years and still haven’t reached it.

Granted, I have set smaller and more quickly achievable goals along the way, but the point is that you must be consistent and keep working toward your goal, and celebrate the smaller ones you achieve along the way.

Don’t expect to start strength training today and witness results overnight. However, most women who just start strength training notice some changes the first week. They feel better, have more energy, build confidence, and get more motivated to keep training.

Don’t start strength training for one or two months and then stop. Make this a lifetime habit.

7) Set Motivating Goals

The goal of spending an hour on the elliptical machine three to four times per week is not motivating, and it’s one of the reasons why long duration cardio is inferior to strength training when it comes to building a stronger, better looking and healthier body.

Maybe you currently can’t perform 10 push-ups or deadlift more than 100 pounds. Set motivating, performance oriented goals like “perform 15 push-ups” or “deadlift 1.5 times my bodyweight”.

Even if you just want to lose body fat and look better in your clothes, I highly recommend setting performance goals. By setting performance goals – like performing 10 push-ups, 5 chin-ups, deadlifting 1.5x your bodyweight, etc – you will be more motivated to train consistently. It may sound odd, but all of my clients with the primary goal of losing body fat focus solely on getting stronger and improving their performance in the gym.

They have more fun, enjoy training, increase their confidence, and within a short period of time realize their clothes are too big and they love the way they look.

If you want to be motivated to train week after week and month after month, set positive training goals.

8) Don’t be Intimidated

I receive numerous emails from women who ask how I first mustered up the courage to lift weights in a gym filled with men. Personally, I never had this problem, but I’ve helped others who have.

Please, don’t be intimidated to go in the weight room. You don’t have to be squatting double bodyweight or be able to perform 10 chin-ups to deserve to be in there. All that matters is that you do your very best and you get in there consistently.

My advice on this topic? Just suck it up and get in there. Focus on what you’re there to accomplish and nothing else. Before you know it, you’ll feel at home in the weight room.

9) Follow a Beginner Training Program

If you’re a beginner, you need to train like a beginner – this will be the simplest and quickest way to get results. Don’t make the mistake of following a training program for an intermediate or advanced lifter. While it may sound like a great idea, I can promise that you’ll get far better results by following an appropriate training program.

Because of this fact, I recommend the Beginner Training Program in Beautiful Badass or another tried and true beginner program, such as Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll achieve faster/better results with some advanced or technical training program.

10) Be Excited!

You hear it from strength coaches and experienced strength training individuals; everyone would like to go back to the beginner stages because that is the time to make the best and fastest progress. Hell, I wish I could be a beginner again and use the knowledge I now possess because my results would’ve been awesome!

As an example, I worked with a male client recently who consistently “worked out” but had never done basic barbell lifts like squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, and rows. After only a few short weeks of following a beginner program, he was squatting over 200 pounds and deadlift over 300 for reps.

Maybe you can’t perform a chin-up or squat more than an empty bar, but you will experience tremendous progress in the beginning as long as you follow the information in this article. In just a matter of weeks you’ll be amazed as the progress you achieve.

11) Start Today

Don’t say, “I’ll start tomorrow” or “the New Year”. You need to take action today. What does your first step need to be? Perhaps you should find a local strength coach who can teach you proper exercise technique. Maybe you need to get a great training program. Or perhaps you just need to get in the gym.

Whatever first step you need to take, do it today.

If you benefited from this information or know others who would, I ask that you help me help as many women as possible by hitting the Tweet and Like buttons below. Thank you!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit http://www.niashanks.com/)

Nia Shanks

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11 Beginner Strength Training Tips for Women

1) Learn Proper Form

2) Stick to the Basics

3) Use Acceptable Alternatives

4) Focus on Getting Stronger

5) Know that You will NOT get “Big ‘n Bulky”

6) Be Consistent and Don’t Give Up

7) Set Motivating Goals

8) Don’t be Intimidated

9) Follow a Beginner Training Program

10) Be Excited!

11) Start Today

**Identify Your Eating Triggers**