I have been trying to get in shape for months. I have been eating good and have been working out every day for 45 minutes on the treadmill. The problem is that I don’t seem to see much muscle tone. My husband says I should start weight training, but th...

My advice is that you should listen to your husband. The reason you aren’t getting toned is because you are not utilizing resistance training in your routine. You are doing lots and lots of cardio, which not only burns fat but with your restricted calorie diet is definitely burning muscle as well.

You say you’re eating good. What exactly does that mean? I hope that means a balanced protein and carbohydrate program, with moderate fat and plenty of essential fats. If not, you need to take a look at reevaluating your diet first. I am going to assume that you are following one of these programs for the sake of answering your original question.

My advice is that you start weight training three days a week. Try starting out by training back and biceps on Monday; chest, shoulders and triceps on Wednesday; and legs and abs on Friday. If you’ve never trained with weights before, you might seek out a GOOD personal trainer. Ask around. The reason I emphasize GOOD is that there are a lot of bad ones out there. Get someone who is a full time trainer and makes their entire living at it. Ask to speak with some of their clients first, too. This will help you to find someone worth their salt!

Weight training is a must for that lean toned look, even for women. Muscle is what fuels your metabolism. Muscle requires calories to function. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn and the easier it is to stay lean. You see, if you just do cardio you will burn fat and muscle. At the end of your program you’ll end up looking exactly the same as you did just smaller. This is a very common mistake that women make. The reality is, they should be looking to do a little bit of both cardio and weights.

To get that toned look you have to weight train to at least maintain the muscle you have, so that the fat around the muscle burns off and the muscle tone shows through. Understand? Think of it as shrink-wrapping your skin to your muscle. If you burn the fat in between the muscle and the skin you will look toned! This is what you want. Don’t worry about getting big and bulky, you won’t. You will also benefit greatly from using Level-1 protein powder. I prefer the Ice Cream Sandwich, but all the flavors are absolutely delicious. Also a thermogenic fat burner like the Bliss Go Pack would also be a good idea to speed your progress. There you go, follow these adjustments and you’ll be lean in no time. So go kiss your husband and let him know how great he is for helping you find the solution to your fitness problem. Good luck and best wishes.

Never Settle!!

– Andrew Frisella