If I had my choice between cardio and lifting…… No brainer…. It’s lifting every single time.

I really hate cardio. Which seems silly, since I have completed 9 half marathons, a handful of 10K’s and 5K’s and have 9 or 10 more half marathons scheduled and paid for this year already.

So why do I do both?

At first, it was because my husband insisted that “if you do cardio (ie.. run) you will lose weight.” Yea, that’s true. But it just didn’t work for me.  And,  everything I had read said the opposite. I was so confused!  For HIM it worked. Men are different or something, because although I saw a difference in the lbs I was, I still wasn’t happy with how I felt.

I’d been working with one trainer for a while but was always so worried that my lifting would interfere with my running so we went “easy” on my training sessions.  Then, I started working with a different trainer and he kicked my butt into gear. We came up with a plan that complimented my running. One that helped me become stronger so that running was easier. And you know what? It worked.

It wasn’t until I started lifting more, and lifting heavier that I started to see the difference in my body.

So why do I still do cardio?

I had an epiphany the other day. I realized, I don’t do cardio to lose weight. I do cardio to make sure that I don’t cough up a lung during or after I’ve run 13.1 miles.

I lift to lose weight.

I lift to see a difference in my body.

I lift because it makes me HAPPY.