• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Alexander Training

Alexander Training

Personal training and strength programs in Austin, Texas.

  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • About Personal Training
    • Online Personal Training FAQ
    • Train Heroic FAQ
    • Weight Loss FAQ
    • Exercise Library
      • Warm ups & stretching
      • Legs & glutes
      • Back & chest
      • Shoulders & arms
      • Abs & core
    • Austin Fitness Info
  • Blog
  • Personal Training
  • Online Personal Training
  • Training Programs
    • The Garage Squad
    • Tech Strong
    • The Home Team

exercise science

Why Lifting?

July 14, 2014 by Kathryn Alexander Leave a Comment

Exercise really is the fountain of youth.  It is THE secret.  That “one trick!”.  Truly, it is!  It’s the magic pill, it does everything.  It makes every cell in your body healthier, down to the smallest lining of your blood vessels.  It makes you more capable, productive, and happy.  There are endlessly documented cognitive, physical, and emotional benefits to exercise, and making better fitness choices can help every single person on this earth!  

It can pick your butt up, make your clothes fit better, and make your high school friends wonder how you made time stop.  It seriously is the secret to slowing down time.  It’s really no secret anymore, though.  It takes a bit more effort than swallowing pill, but is well worth the effort!!

So why don’t more people do it?  Millions of reasons.  Fear of effort, fear of failure, complacency.  And, unfortunately, exercise is front loaded with the problems, as one of my professors used to say.  You have to start by finding a gym, workout clothes, making time in your day, and actually showing up and doing it.  It is harder in the beginning.

Worst yet, some people do all those things, sweat away, and don’t see results.  Why?  Because they’re not working out smart.  Hard maybe, but not smart.  They’re slaving away on the elliptical, which is boring.  They’re doing steady state cardio to meet recommendations which specify minutes of workout goals, but not intensity.   Boooooring!  And time consuming.  And ineffective.

This is why I love lifting weights.  Besides the fact that its way more fun (which we can all pretty much agree on, right?), it does more for you.  Yes, it works harder for you.  It’s like compounding interest on your IRA!  You lift weights and build muscle, which is more metabolically expensive.  You burn more calories post workout.  Muscles takes more calories to maintain, so you find that it is easier to stay leaner as you get stronger.  Win win win!  Lifting can make you more powerful, which steady state cardio will not do. 

Lifting will reshape you, which cardio also will not do.  If you are a pear shape, you will only become a smaller pear after sweating away pounds on the elliptical.  If you’re an apple, you’ll just be a more oblong shaped apple if you lose weight via jogging.  Me, I’d rather ditch the fruits and become an hourglass.  Or an X, for you men out there.  That’s right, boulder shoulders, and strong glutes and hips.  Tiny waist.


I'd rather ditch the fruit and become an hourglass...

I’d rather ditch the fruit and become an hourglass…

Don’t get me wrong.  Steady state cardio has its place, and I do some conditioning.  Walking is easy, cheap and peaceful.  The elliptical is kinder to your joints than running.  I even had one summer where I regularly got “runner’s high”, so I don’t think all you runners are crazy.  I get it.  Besides that, if you enjoy a specific exercise mode, you should absolutely keep doing it.  If you compete in or simply enjoy running, biking, or swimming, of course you should keep doing those things.

My point is that weight lifting really makes you the driver of your progress.  If you’ve never lifted, try it!   You won’t have to quit your other activities, contrary to popular belief, it won’t adversely affect them either.  Start lifting now and let me know how it goes!

Filed Under: Training Tagged With: exercise science, lifting, physiology, science nerd

Welcome to my new training blog!

July 7, 2014 by Kathryn Alexander Leave a Comment

Hey y’all!  Welcome to my new web site!  This is a blog about lifting and training, and what it can do for you.  Yes, you.  Everybody.  Lifting is good for everybody!

If you read my About page, you know that I am admittedly a gym rat.  Yep, I am pretty one-dimensional.  I joined a gym when I was 12 because that was the age requirement in the only gym in my little town.  By the way, thanks Mom and Dad, for paying gym dues all those years!

When I went to college, I didn’t know what to study, but I knew I loved exercise.  So, I worked at the Rec Center and learned everything I could from my supervisors and coworkers, and before I knew it, I had a degree in kinesiology from LSU.   Fastest 5 years of my life.  I knew my education wasn’t over, so I moved to Austin and earned my masters in exercise physiology from UT.

Along the way, I had jobs and second jobs in gyms.  I’ve worked in shiny chain gyms, female only gyms, racquet clubs, community centers, and LSU’s rec center.  I’ve taught anatomy lab to undergrads, group exercise classes, one on one workout sessions, and exercise lectures.  I’ve met amazing friends and bonded with hilarious people over workouts.

I do love Texas dance halls, odd fashion, college football, and pretending I know what the heck is going on with the stock market, but really I don’t.  All I can say is exercise physiology is my area of expertise.  Not only the science of exercise, but also the nutrition, business, and psychology of training individuals and athletes.  I absolutely love designing specific programs for people so that they feel better, move better, and look better. 

Life is short, yall!  You might as well feel good, and be strong!  Remember, gyms are for everybody!  Find one and get started on your goals today!

Filed Under: Life, Training Tagged With: exercise science, gym rat, life is good

Footer

Follow

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Contact

  • Home
  • Blog

Copyright © 2022 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Featured In
  • Privacy Policy
  • Testimonials