Shed Tip: Tone Now, Not Later

When I first started losing weight, I was living in Chicago and a member at Evanston Athletic Club. They offered a ton of great toning and strength training classes that I’d always wanted to try: yoga, NYC Ballet, pilates. Yet I never did. Why? Because I thought that because I still had so much to lose to get to my goal, it wasn’t worth it to waste my time on classes that tone smaller muscles. I didn’t think it would make a difference; I figured there was no point to having muscles under fat. Why would I work on my abs? You can’t see them anyway.

I think a lot of people who want to lose weight have that mentality. “I’ll do it later. Once I lose 15 more pounds I am going to start doing pilates.” No, no, no. Start now!

These toning classes are going to be challenging at first, and then you’re going to start to see and feel results. That’s going to happen whether you start now or later. But if you start now, as you continue to lose weight, you will see the results at about the same time you hit that goal. If you put it off, you’re going to have to start over at square one, even if it’s a thinner square one. You might have hit the number you want, but you’ll still feel like a beginner in that class. Why wait five pounds to start getting stronger abs or more flexible hips? You can experience the benefits of classes like this at any weight!

Since strength training and flexibility is an important part of any exercise program, you shouldn’t put off these exercises until you think you can “see” the results. You will start to feel and see changes in your body sooner than you’d think! It is OK to have muscles under fat–it just means when you lose the spare tire, your abs will already be in fighting shape! And taking classes is a great way to be more comfortable with your body, no matter how close to or far from your goal you might be. I regret not taking these classes years ago. (I used to do the same thing with running. I seemed to think that overweight people “couldn’t” run–this couldn’t be further from the truth.) Your strength and cardio capabilities really don’t have anything to do with extra poundage.

So…it’s Monday! Make it a point this week to take one toning class and appreciate how challenging it is–but know that beginners are beginners no matter what they weigh or what kind of shape they are in. And the sooner you become a beginner the sooner you can become an expert!

Tagged as: classes, toning