Girls, Gains and Growing Pains

Muscle, Metabolism and the Power of Lifting

May 23, 2024 Rachel Johns and Julia Ross Season 1 Episode 18

This episode outlines why strength training is a cornerstone for anyone aiming to tone their figure, accelerate metabolism, and preserve strong bones. We hope this conversation is an invitation to redefine what strength training can do for you.

Follow us on Instagram @gggp_podcast and contact us by sending a direct message or emailing girlsgainsandgrowingpains@gmail.com!

Speaker 1:

This is Girls Gains and Growing Pains, a podcast about working smarter and harder to achieve your fitness goals. In every episode, we break down common health and fitness questions in a fun and relatable way.

Speaker 2:

Whether you're a beginner or far along in your fitness journey, this podcast is for you. I'm Rachel Johns, a bikini bodybuilder, nutrition certified through Precision Nutrition and a NASM certified personal trainer.

Speaker 1:

And I'm Julia Ross, just a regular gal trying to get healthier and lose weight.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so this topic got brought up because I had a client ask me about it, and so we're going to discuss it a little bit further today because I think it's just something that we can reiterate time and time again and we just need to keep explaining it because it's so, so important in the fitness world. Whether you're female, male, young, old, literally whatever the heck you are, this is something we need to talk about, and the topic we're going to talk about today is how we can increase our metabolic rate of our body, how we can protect our joints, protect our bones, just a general overall health that sometimes gets like left out, like the conversation of it gets left out. So we're going to talk about it, because there was a time period where this concept was not a concept for people.

Speaker 2:

So, I talk a lot about it in the weight loss world, but it's important for everyone Now you talk about it with 85 year olds and I talk about it with 19 year olds.

Speaker 2:

All the whole spectrum and that is the importance of building muscle tissue, why we should do it, what that looks like, what that would look like in a routine and overall. So we're just let's go over a general gist of why people should do this, because I have a lot of people argue with me about it, which is kind of funny. Like wait, why do people argue? Because it takes people out of their comfort zones, because a lot of people want to hop on a treadmill and be done with it. But that's not. That's not giving our bodies what we're supposed to be giving our bodies. So it can be a little uncomfortable and you might need some help and you might have to ask for help and you might do something not completely correct and feel a little, you know, silly while you're at the gym or something like that, but it's.

Speaker 2:

It's good to know the benefits of it and why you should be doing it and how you can incorporate it into your routine, because I'm not saying you can't do cardio. If you enjoy it, that can be great.

Speaker 1:

So happy for you if that's you out there enjoying your cardio. There's a lot of people who are that, though I have to say I know, and I'm very happy for them. It's great yeah.

Speaker 2:

So all of the classes that are filled are the cardio classes, so we have like cycling classes, walking classes, hiit classes, running classes, those ones are always the most filled. It's the ones where it's like more intense, like actual strength training, that are less filled.

Speaker 1:

So Okay, okay.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, but so so let's talk about strength training, because I've incorporated this with you and why it's important is that we want to build muscle tissue. So pop quiz, julia. Uh-oh, what are some of the things that muscle tissue?

Speaker 1:

does for us. I think it helps burn excess fat or calories. One of those.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so when we have more muscle on our bodies, we call that more active tissue. Yes, uh-huh.

Speaker 1:

That's yes. That's what I was going to say Exactly. Put the words right out of my mouth.

Speaker 2:

That's so good, yeah. And that tissue, no matter what time of day it is, is going to be burning more calories for your body than if it was body fat. So they're two different things, right? So people who want to lose weight need to have more active tissue, because we need to burn more calories overall. That calorie expenditure needs to go up, right, okay, okay, yes, yes, it's keeping your metabolic process going. So people always think when we age that all of a sudden, our metabolic process, our like metabolism, is going to plummet.

Speaker 2:

But you can maintain it through active tissue. So I still strength train with like my 70 some year old clients, because it's healthy for them to keep their bodies moving and keep creating muscle tissue. But also it strengthens your bones. It's stimulating your bone cells to strengthen your bones. So you're building active tissue and then you're also strengthening your bones, which is awesome. You're doing two at the same time, and I just had this conversation with someone because she was like I just want to do hit, like I just want to do cardio and she was like I want to lose weight here, here, here and all this stuff.

Speaker 2:

And she's like but I kind of want to look toned, but I don't want to do strength training, and that's where this topic kind of came up. And here's the thing, though, is some people come to me who are already very thin, where, if you look at them, their bmi says they're perfect, yeah, but if you scan them, their body fat's 40 percent which is not yeah right, that's not.

Speaker 2:

That's not where we want to be. That's actually a really high body fat percentage, and that also means they don't have a lot of that active tissue, so they're burning maybe like only like 1100 calories of a basal metabolic rate, which is very low. And so if you have a sedentary job on top of that, that's how, eventually you know, you gain weight without realizing it, because your body's just not working.

Speaker 1:

I mean, that was me, I'll last forever. If that was me. Yeah, I think my BMI was something like 43, 44 or something.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, your body's just not working for you. No yeah, your body's just not working for you, no, and so that's where strength training is so, so beneficial. And also, too, when you lose weight, from most people telling me they're like, oh, I want to look toned. I think that's the most common thing, they're like I want to look toned.

Speaker 2:

Well, if you lose a bunch of body fat and you don't put any muscle, you're not going to look toned. Yeah, you're just going to look toned. Yeah, you're just going to look skinny, which, in turn, though, you're still probably going to have a higher body fat percentage, regardless, because you don't have muscle on you. You have to put more muscle tissue on you, because that's what's making your body strong, your joints strong, your ligaments strong. Everything else is putting that muscle tissue on and making it active.

Speaker 1:

Well, and once you get there, you too, like having stronger muscles makes you less prone to injury too. Like I feel like I've been less injured. Like carrying in heavy groceries or in my case, very specifically like picking up cat litter and carrying it up my flight of stairs, like those kinds of things. I feel like I've been less likely to like throw my back out and that kind of stuff, because I've been lifting.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it does. It helps you become more functional, which I'm going to move. My functional training is also great for us because it makes everything easier. I had a client who she told me she wanted to do shoulder workouts because she flies a lot and she doesn't like that. She can't put her own suitcase above in the carriers. Yeah, so there's a lot of other benefits to strength training other than just like this idea that we're gonna just get, gonna get tone, get all muscle. But we want to. Most people want to get tone, most people want to build that muscle. But some people think that I just want to lose weight and therefore I'm just going to cardio it. Yeah, I'm just going to do that and that's going to be fine and I'm going to look just like you know, they have these visions of people and they show me. That's the thing is. I get shown pictures a lot of people, people what they want to look like, and I look at these pictures.

Speaker 1:

I'm like you know, that person is definitely lifting right like no one has shoulders like that, naturally underneath their body fat doesn't work that way well, like I, need a layer you get to unlock if you reach a certain percentage of body fat.

Speaker 2:

I know. I know and that, too is like a lot of people are like, well, I want to lose fat right here, like they'll point to a part of their body, and they're like I want to lose weight there and I'm like great, so we need to lose overall body fat.

Speaker 1:

I've heard that over and over from like you and in previous training, and just like online and in research as well. From like you and in previous training and just like online and in research as well.

Speaker 2:

It's just that you can't target fat loss. Yeah, you can't, and I don't know where that misconception came from. That like you can just like, especially with like abs that is the most common one I hear is abs and like the underarm area yeah, that's the one I I hear the most. I just want to lose this fat and you have to lose overall body fat. But in order to do that very effectively for a long period of time, it is to strength train, to build active tissue, because you need your body to be more efficient. Yeah, overall, it's kind of like you run a business and there's like things that need to get done that you could just get done quicker if you just had more people. So the obvious thing is to hire those people to do that. We build muscle. We're just adding more employees to help us burn more calories, to get us closer to where we want to be.

Speaker 1:

Okay, okay. Or I'm even thinking like in a video game, like you get another like XP pack. You know, you're just you're, you're advancing your rate of production.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you're just becoming simply more efficient, and while strength and strength training too Okay this is my personal opinion I think strength training is much less gruesome than like those HIIT classes at the gym I've taught them.

Speaker 1:

I a hundred percent agree. I've taught them. I 100% agree. I 100% agree.

Speaker 2:

I love doing the strength training and I feel very strong and I feel like I'm very capable. But sometimes those HIIT classes the instructors do those classes like day in, day out. They are acclimated and as a former group fitness instructor I know that sometimes it's very easy to make the class harder because you feel like it's easy everyone's dying that's horrible.

Speaker 1:

No, I stay. I could. No, you couldn't pay me to do one of those classes. I can't like orange theory, anything like that. Like I, I can't. No, I've actually never done orange theory. Everyone there seems very nice, but the concept itself is just so. I just I can't do cardio in group settings or any of that nonsense.

Speaker 2:

No, no yeah, the only thing about group fitness is like sometimes the rooms just are not air, like there's not enough airflow. No, you know, on gym floor sometimes I'm like I need to walk away.

Speaker 1:

I got it, just I gotta go. That's why I like that my gym has a roof is because sometimes it sometimes it gets a little stinky, you know. You just gotta gotta air it out, you know, um, that's so true. I'm like I'll be outside. Yep, it's gonna be a second, it's not getting here.

Speaker 2:

What I was going to say is you and I have been working a lot on building active tissue and your metabolic rate has gone up. Oh, for sure, because you can consume more, yeah, with less effort to burn it off or even hold it. Your body's like okay, we'll burn that we'll burn that? Have you felt that?

Speaker 1:

I felt that a hundred percent like I. I felt like I don't know. I felt almost hungrier, in a way like I'm craving more food, but when I eat it, my weight is holding.

Speaker 2:

But when I eat it. My weight is holding Right your body's burning more.

Speaker 1:

Oh, it's exclusively because my body is burning more, a hundred percent, and, like I put in a lot of work into the strength training, like my cardio skills have admittedly been lacking, but strength training has always steadfast. True and true. I've done the strength training and we even talked like when I wouldn't do my back exercises or my shoulder exercises. You would say to me you said, julia, if you do that, like there's room to build muscles on, like those parts of your body, and I think you compared it to like grass or like a field that you could put like solar panels in. You were like it's just, it's open space that you could put like energy consumption stuff there and you could be. You know, you framed it a really hilarious way and I was like, okay, I guess so, and that was what actually ended up convincing me to do my back and shoulder workouts.

Speaker 2:

And, sure enough, I feel like that is what ultimately tipped the scale in favor of increasing my metabolism after years of it feeling super duper sluggish that's actually a really good point is because, um, sometimes people just only work certain muscle groups because they're like well, I want bigger shoulders and I want bigger quads and then, they neglect hamstrings, glutes, back, arms, stuff like that, where, especially if you're looking to lose weight, you're missing a bunch of areas where your body could easily build more muscle tissue, Exactly, you know, because back is huge, right, there's like so many muscles on your back.

Speaker 1:

Well, even like I feel like just for sheer volume of muscle. I feel like my shoulder muscles are fairly large, like there's got that's cooking up some calories in there. You know, overtime in there, yes, exactly.

Speaker 1:

No, it's true Previously unutilized space, because I just wasn't doing it, because I said, well, I'm going to work on my butt and my abs because that's what I want to do, so I'll just ignore all of my other workouts that I have Rachel give me. And that was a mistake. And then when I started doing that, I totally started seeing my metabolism kick up. It was the best feeling ever, like I just I feel lighter. Overall, I would say, yeah, blood wise.

Speaker 2:

If that makes any sense well, and something to point out too, is doing those other muscle groups. You're also still engaging your core, so you're still, you know, helping your core get stronger. I want to call that out every time.

Speaker 1:

No, no, like we do planks like every now and then, but I rarely have ever do core exclusive exercises. I'm still getting my little baby abs. I joke that my abs are downloading from, like the top down because, like I do that down actually. Yeah, they're starting to get through the top for like 10 15 percent of the way there. I'm like keep trucking on, guys.

Speaker 2:

Yeah well, the thing with that, too, is a lot of people are like I want to have a flat stomach, yeah and unfortunately, for most people in the world, that's sometimes the last piece of body fat to go. Yep um, especially for women because, you know, we protect our organs, our reproductive organs silly old organs are down.

Speaker 2:

They're down there, so, um you know, it is hard to get a flat, flat stomach and but if you're working on that active tissue and your your body's burning more calories efficiently for you overall, your whole body should burn more body fat. So then, all those parts gradually fall away. And yes, it is true that people lose body fat in certain places more than others. Genetically, like I lose it in my arms, my back and my belly. Yeah, I don't know, but my legs are the last area to lose the body fat, like 1000 but some people their legs tone up real nice, really quickly this is true, this is true.

Speaker 2:

I don't know what. Where would you want? Like? I feel like I would want my legs to tone up first, because I'm working so hard on them for so long, but you lose weight in your waist really easily.

Speaker 1:

I know I think I'd want my arms to tone up. They are, but like the under part. Look, look, see, like the under part specifically it's. It's the last thing to go every time, but it's the last thing to go. It doesn't look ugly, it's just. It's clearly fat, not muscle.

Speaker 2:

You know, what I like, though, is when I start to lose body fat in the areas that I know are going to go last. Then I'm like okay, we're reaching the point, we're doing it. We okay, we're reaching the point, we're doing it, we're doing it. Well, that's how I feel in prep right now. It's like I checked in with my coach this morning. I was like okay, I'm losing fat in the areas I usually do lose fat, but not in the areas where I don't. I'm like okay, yes, we definitely need 16 to 20 weeks for this.

Speaker 1:

This is hardcore, my gosh. How is prep?

Speaker 2:

give everyone a little check-in, let them know. So I'm like a week and a half into my prep and I love it. I mean I. Even so, this morning I checked in and my weight didn't budge from the previous check-in. Yeah, and my coach brought my calories down. Cardio went down just a little bit, but I was like dang, he really dropped my calories, yeah, and I saw him today too and I was like hey, I feel like I, I really look leaner, but my weight did not go down. Yeah, he's like, yeah, so, and I was like you, I was like but I look leaner, he's like yeah, you do, you look great. And I was like great um was like but I look leaner, he's like, yeah, you do, you look great. And I was like great um, are we not worried about the weight? And he's like dude, I just gave you so much cardio. I did three days of 60 minutes of cardio and two days of 75 minutes of cardio on top of doing a team workout with them, and he looks and he's like dude, I just gave you so much stuff to do in the past five days.

Speaker 2:

Your body is just a little inflamed and it's okay, and that's where sometimes it's like having a coach to reel you back in, because I know that if someone came to me, it was like I didn't lose weight. I'm like, yeah, because you just did 75 minutes of cardio for two days. Of course you didn't. Yeah, um, you're inflamed, uh. But it's nice to have him to reel me in, to be like it's okay, you're doing good, you're crushing it, you're great and uh, with the calories that he's giving me, like, I think it's possible for me to still put on muscle tissue, which is going to help me in the end, because that's what's going to keep my body going. And also, I did want to talk about one other concept that I don't think you and I really talked about, and I always have to pull it up because I always forget the acronym. I don't know why I can never remember that, this acronym wait, what do you hear of?

Speaker 2:

EPOC sounds like Epcot.

Speaker 1:

P-O-C EPOC wait.

Speaker 2:

E-p-o-c EPOC yeah the reason I get it confused is because the P stands for post exercise, so we're missing like the E. Okay, wait, give me a contact. What is this? So it's? I'll just. I'll tell you the acronym. I can see um it's excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Have you heard of this before I?

Speaker 1:

I need you to explain it. Like I'm five, I have no idea, that doesn't. What is it?

Speaker 2:

it's um, it's basically after you work out, because your body is still um kind of working.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you burn more calories after the workout too than you would have if you hadn't oh, and then it's this used to fuel the argument to work out in the morning versus the evening um, it's gonna work either way, from what I understand.

Speaker 2:

Fair, continue. So that's what's kind of nice too is okay. See how everything kind of works together. Is you strength train, right? So you burn calories, strength training during the workout, but then you're building muscle tissue which is now running even more for you. So your calorie expenditure is already going up based on the workout, based on the active tissue that's being built. Then you add a little cardio onto that, there is more calories out, but then you add EPOC onto it. So the ratio can be like let's say, you burn 300 calories in your workout, your EPOC might cause you to burn another 50 calories after that.

Speaker 1:

And when you say like, and then you do your epoch, your epoch just happens, you're not okay, okay, yeah, you don't have to do anything for it.

Speaker 2:

You know, like your afterburn, that's it. Like your body, um, it's like continuing to work for you okay, okay.

Speaker 1:

I just wanted to make sure, because I was like, wait, do it, or like do I need to like breathe heavily, but no, it'll just, it'll do it, naturally perfect yeah, it's compensating for you, lovely.

Speaker 2:

It's recalibrating your body after the workout and you're burning more and so, so it's all working together, hand in hand, to make sure that our bodies are the most efficient it can possibly be, making our bodies work for us, I know. And then it makes life so much easier because even when we, you know, that's that's where, like, you'll see a lot of posts on Instagram where they're like, it's okay, if you know you mess up one day because you have tomorrow, don't think that's like your end, like you screwed up for the rest of time. Right, because if you've been doing it, like we have consistently for this almost year, your body's not going to revert back to 230 pounds, even in a few months. Yeah, because you've trained it to be efficient, to increase your metabolic processes, to use your energy, and so it all works together and that's how we create sustainable weight loss, which is what I coach, and then it allows us to do things.

Speaker 2:

So, like, julia and I are going to do a different kind of month in June and it's going to be more strength training, like okay, let me clarify that Like heavy lifting focus, more power lifting focus, where it's less reps, which you, you know, if you've listened to us talk about hypertrophy training, that's higher reps. But now we have the freedom to do something different for a month and play around with that and spice up the gym a little bit. Yeah, because we built a lot of muscle so your body can withstand it. It's going going to be fine. You know, not doing so like hundreds of reps during so many reps, so many lateral raises.

Speaker 1:

I know, but those are so good for you I know. It's so worth it and it's so fun. Picking up the 15s to do lateral raises is the highlight of my trip.

Speaker 2:

But think about strength training, because we might do sets of eight, but you'll do like 20s. Yeah, for a lateral price. You just went, so, like southern, I've never heard your voice. Yeah, you never know it's. It's a new month for us to explore strength training for you, I suppose, which will be will be very exciting and well, I'm I am excited, it'll be good I'm excited because it's going to be fun for me to also program it, because it's going to be different than what we usually do, so it'll be fun, it'll be, yeah, I think you're the only client I'm going to do it with, so that makes me feel special.

Speaker 1:

We're also setting goals too, for the month too. Let's talk about that. Where did I put them?

Speaker 2:

okay, well, brief them on the concept yeah, we're gonna work on goals this month um setting more like smart goals. So if you've never heard of smart goals, those are more short, short term um numerical. I don't remember the whole acronym, you probably do circles um specific.

Speaker 1:

So they're.

Speaker 2:

They're specific, they're measurable, they're attainable, they're timely, they're wait, that's not how you saw r, that was smat yeah, no r is relevant okay, yeah, so we set some of those for julia because this month is going to be more of a different focus. We, you know, I don't know, it's just going to be a good month to focus on some more like wellness things, some habits that maybe I want my clients to have, and just really honing in on those things yes, so so we're going to do.

Speaker 1:

my goal has always been to bench a plate on each side, so 45 pounds on each side, and I'm almost there. I was able to do it with 40, like three weeks ago, so that'll be. My goal by the end of the month is to be able to do a couple reps of a plate on each side. Yes, that's fun. That'll be very exciting. That would be the most exciting thing ever. That's been a goal for a really, really long time.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

So we'll be doing that For squatting, because that's just a common powerlifting thing to beef up, if you will. So I measured today and what did I come out as 155. 155, yeah, so they're trying to get me around like 185, so that'll be good. And then these are more just like general health. I'm gonna take my vitamins, my creatine, because I I listened to last episode.

Speaker 1:

This is what I struggle with because I don't struggle with the taking it, it's the remembering it part. So if you put Rachel and I together, you would have a perfect vitamin consumer. And yet here we are, that's what we're left with. So we'll be doing that. I'm going to do 30 minutes of walking, which I'm nervous about, but I walked the other day and it felt really good. I was like dang it, I should probably walk. That's like a very normal human activity to do.

Speaker 2:

And you're going to do it like, maybe during your work day.

Speaker 1:

It doesn't have to be straight 30 minutes.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and it doesn't have to be at the gym Like just 30 minutes. You know, your hot girl walk, isn't that what they call it, mm-hmm, hot girl walks, hot girl walk.

Speaker 1:

I think that'll be great.

Speaker 2:

I think incorporating that, getting your steps in and being like outside, will be nice. Oh gosh, cats will just have to survive by themselves for 30 minutes.

Speaker 1:

The four babies.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, 30 minutes before babies. Yeah, um, okay, so you're squatting, you're benching vitamins, vitamins and creatine.

Speaker 1:

We'll do an episode on creatine eventually yes, I'll do three days and then report back yeah, it does make a difference.

Speaker 2:

I'm excited. My personal opinion, in my personal experience, I I think it'll be good, I think if you consistently take it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah well, you said something really interesting today that stuck with me while I was at the gym and you, because I had expressed some hesitancy with us changing up the format of the programming and you'd said look like there's not going to be any huge aesthetic changes made over the course of a month. Chill out and let us like, do something else because it's going to be fine, like there's nothing crazy aesthetically you can do over the course of a month. And then I was like well, what does make crazy aesthetic changes? And you said consistency. Consistency is what makes changes. And I was thinking about that all day since.

Speaker 2:

Yes, that's all I can think about now. One of my clients was like you haven't mentioned your Oompa Loompa lately, but I like to be people's oompa loompa on their shoulder. You know like how I envision myself, and I was like wait, that's so true. We need to talk about that so I love that I was incoming oompa loompa on your shoulder. Also, I picked up my microphone because I think it was making my laptop. I was setting it on my laptop and I was freaking out the whole time.

Speaker 1:

Now it's much better it's kind of like a more like a Blair Witch Project style recording like looks a little shaky, like we're like on the scene with Rachel yeah that that is a key and that's with back on the topic of strength training, is that's what I mean.

Speaker 2:

It builds and it's not going to happen overnight and it's not going to happen in just a month. And be patient with that, because muscle building takes a lot of time.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Like a lot more than people realize.

Speaker 1:

I had no idea. I had no freaking clue, no idea it totally, I mean I will.

Speaker 2:

Actually today I was talking to Enrique. I was out with him and one of his trainers came up and was showing him a picture of what she used to look like eight years ago and she lost over a hundred pounds since that photo and she's a power lifter. She's a little bit older, I think she's in her 50s, 40s, 50s and now she's, like you know, got all these muscles and stuff. And I was like how long did that take you to go from that to where you are now? And she's like eight years. And and that's where I was like, yeah, people don't understand how long it can take and if you're consistent with it it can go more quickly.

Speaker 2:

But you have to re-calm your body and that does take time and consistency, because the people you see at the gym that are absolutely jacked they did not start lifting six months ago. And that consistency of strength training and programming I mean that's what has given them these bodies that people look at and like, oh, I want to look at like that. But also just functional, like just being functional, like that takes time and like I have clients where I started out doing body weight stuff, balance stuff, and like a year and a half, two years later, all of a sudden, now we're like. We're like I'm like look, you used to not be able to bench ever. I have one client who had never benched before, and now we bench and we put like 35s on each side.

Speaker 2:

Okay, well it took us a year to get there. We were there. We're squatting 45s on each side now where we started with a bar, but he had never been taught to just like strength train, and that's what's caused him to lose more weight and feel better and rarely are so few people are.

Speaker 1:

You know, I feel like if, if everyone actually knew the benefits of strength training, there would be way more gyms.

Speaker 2:

That's that's what I think, personally yeah, and there wouldn't be a midday deadness at the gym, but it's also my favorite part of the day at the gym.

Speaker 1:

Wow, okay, we can't all be so blessed to experience. My favorite is the 7 am on Saturday and Sunday, the super early on the weekends that everyone else is sleeping.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that is true, though the 7 am on Saturday. It is really nice, I have to say, but the only reason I'm there midday usually is I have clients who I've convinced to come in during that time because I can train better at that time. I can train people better Because the stuff's open.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because the stuff's open.

Speaker 2:

That makes perfect sense. I'm like come in the middle of the day, come on your lunch break.

Speaker 1:

Whatever you need to do to get here, come at that time After after they try it once, do they never fight you on it again and they're like absolutely of course well, I have one client, the one we went out to dinner with.

Speaker 2:

She used to do 9 am and then realized 1 30 in the afternoon. We're the only ones there, yep, that's the time to go. So we started doing 1 30 in the afternoon and it's awesome it is.

Speaker 1:

It is if you're listening and you can go 1.30 for all of us.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's beautiful. So if you're new to strength training and you're nervous of the floor, that is the time to be there. That's true. It's definitely like there's a sense of ease in the gym from like noon to 3. Yeah, if you can go within that window, that is a great time yeah, noon to three and then seven.

Speaker 1:

Not six am on the weekends because those are still hardcore people, but seven to nine on saturdays and sundays.

Speaker 2:

I would also recommend the hardcore people are done by seven, so they're like they are.

Speaker 1:

No, I'm serious they are, they're gone, they're out of there, at least to my gym.

Speaker 2:

I have to say I still like to go at noon on the weekends. I think it's like the time of day why I can eat my breakfast. I like to work out with food in my stomach some people don't. Some people do, I just I don't know my love routine. I black out if I don't have food in my tummy some people could work out like so fast and I'm like I know you're special because I cannot do that if an apocalypse ever happens.

Speaker 1:

And they're like run but I haven't had my snackies. I cannot do that. I can't do fasting cardio. You don't understand.

Speaker 2:

I know I was driving to do cardio today and I was like I'm hungry, sorry, can't do it. Unless Enrique is like you have to, then I will, but until he says that I will not. Well, we're going to keep talking about this as time goes on, because I just have to keep preaching it so as many people can hear it, because I talk about it every single day at my job and still the word's not getting out.

Speaker 1:

It's not there yet. If you are a skeptic, I too was once a skeptic and I am now a believer, and it has quite possibly saved me through a tumultuous macro month. So I am now a believer. Five out of five stars.

Speaker 2:

I need to write a guide on this.

Speaker 1:

Yes, my own active tissue book please just do it, just trust, I will do it um, but yeah, I hope this has been informative.

Speaker 2:

At least you guys can hear now where we are at with our fitness stuff, as things are shifting a little bit for me and also for Julia. So Julia is going to get some mean lifts in this month.

Speaker 1:

And if you would like to see them, I might sneakily record some on my Instagram. At dreams to dumbbells and Rachel, you're always posting updates with your prep coming up. What's your Instagram?

Speaker 2:

Rachel J underscore fitness. All of the prep files will be on there. We are recording because things are changing quickly.

Speaker 1:

The behind the scenes. You got to catch up now. Honestly, you want to get in on the ground floor here Things are already happening. And then if you want joint podcast, best friend content, that is at G, g, g, p underscore podcast on Instagram. And if you're not on social media, you can reach out to us at girlsgainsandgrowingpains at gmailcom.

Speaker 2:

Amazing. So please do reach out, hey. Make some smart goals of your own. Send us some of your goals. We'll keep you accountable.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, make one of your smart goals to leave us a good review or share us on your story.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and we'll share you on our story. Story, yeah, and we'll share you on our story. So symbiotic that'd be.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, symbiotic relationships, all right well this has been another episode of girls gains and growing pains.