Unlocking your dream shape - weightlifting for beginners

There is always going to be a lot of controversy around girls lifting weights. Many of us still believe that lifting weights is going to make us look ‘manly’ or ‘bulky’ when our main goals are to shed body fat and look leaner. In actual fact lifting weights is going to be the fastest way to get you to your dream physique, it has the power to give you shape, whilst losing body fat. This is coupled with a healthy diet and an active lifestyle of course. So I am here to bust that myth that weights equal manly bulking. This is as unrealistic as Popeye eating spinach and growing muscles a second later lol.

The benefits are honestly endless. Weightlifting can lead to an increased metabolism, the more muscle you have, the more energy your body uses, equals more calories you burn in a day. Lifting weights is also extremely beneficial for your later life, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and injuries, as well as help manage or prevent postural deviation issues. If you have the foundations of a strong physique, trust me a lot of things will start to improve. I am not suggesting going and lifting stupid amounts of weight that your body cant handle, because that will lead to injury. I am just talking about working through a simple programme that will give you the foundations of a strong physique, which will ultimately lead to your dream body.

I also think it is important to put out there that if you are just starting out, all of these cute little workouts you see on instagram like cable kickbacks, core isolated circuits, donkey kicks etc, are not going to help your butt grow or give you abs. Sure if you have been lifting for a while, these may be great maintenance exercises for once you have reached your goals, but girls, you need to be lifting heavy, conducting compound movements, and getting all of those muscles awake, working and toning.

I am taking about your squats, your deadlifts, luges, chest press, shoulder press. When you are just starting out, it doesn’t really need to stretch much further than these, but most people start the opposite way with the little weights and isolation movements - I did, I fell into the trap of what I saw on instagram (why do we always believe everything we see on instagram?) If I could go back now and start over, ohh my goodness my progress would probably be a lot more than it is now. But it is all a learning curve, and it happened to me for a reason, so I could figure out what not to do, and help people starting out on the right path to achieving their dream physiques.

I know what you are thinking, the squat rack is scary, the bench press is scary, how do you even use it etc etc. I was the same way - it took me a whole year before I approached a squat rack in the gym, a YEAR. But to be honest, everyone around you is so self observed over their own pumps, they probably wont even notice you. The squat rack is now by far my fave machine as well.

On top of this - my ladies who lift can help me out here - lifting weights just makes you feel super badass, strong and so sexy. And I am a big advocate of when you feel this way mentally, it will start to show physically.

So basically what I am trying to say is keep it simple, perfect your compound movements and work on progression in this area with your reps first (start at a weight where you can just push out 8, progress this to 10 reps gradually week by week, and when you feel comfortable here, increase your weight slightly, and drop the reps down to 8 again and repeat), and lift those weights! I promise you the results will speak for themselves.

I am excited to say I now speak as a qualified personal trainer, so if you need any extra guidance, or want help with devising a programme online or in person (I am based in London) then please hit me up! My email is hello@tashlankester.com and I am always down to have long chats all things fitness - especially whilst drinking coffee, this is basically just my two fave things put together! So please don’t hesitate to get in touch! It will make my day xxx