Julie Adams on the Key Ingredients to Build Strength
Julie Adams is an Olympic weightlifter, elite CrossFit competitor, an athletic trainer, and also happens to be one of Girl Meets Strong’s Strongbassadors. Between her many training sessions, she found some time to talk with GMS and give us the rundown on what it takes to bring your strength to the next level…
Add Quality Fuel to Your Diet
To start, you're going to need to add a little bit more in your diet if you're trying to get stronger. You definitely are going to feel more hungry if you start doing weights. But don't go crazy with it, just look at that diet and know that you're going to have to add in a little bit more protein and probably a bit more carbs to help fuel that expending energy. And if you're worried about the carbs, eat them about an hour so before you work out, or right after you work out, since you’ll still be in a burn-mode at that point. You can also adjust with adding a little more healthy fats, if you’d rather not have as many carbs. But either way, you're going to need to eat a bit more because growing muscle takes more energy and that energy will come from your nutrition.
Why Sufficient Fuel is Necessary
If you're not eating enough, and you're trying to build strength, you're going to eat away at that same muscle that you’re trying to build. And instead, you’ll be left with the “skinny fat” issue that many women struggle with. So even it it’s packing protein shakes on the run--that will help. Though it should also be said that real food is always best.
Where to Start: Basic Movements
When it comes to specific exercises, you can start at home if you want to start doing some basics moves without needing to head straight to the gym: push-ups, squats, sit-ups, and if you have anything to press over your head are all great to start. For your weights, a gallon jug of water or a half-liter water bottle works great. Just start pressing it over your head, with large sets of those. Push-ups can be challenging for ladies sometimes, I know. But if you start with sets of 5 between 3 and 6 reps, that’s a great place to build from.
Other Ideas: Stairs + Gym Ideas
Another idea is to find some stairs. Really think about activating your glutes as you extend through at the top end of the step. If you can get to a gym, and can do movements with weight, I’d advise to start with a light weight. Even if it’s an empty bar, you can start there with a simple strength building to 5 sets of 5 repetitions at a decent weight for you. You will most likely be sore, but after that you'll probably jump up in weight in the next week. You can also try doing a pyramid style of reps: start with a set of 5 at a decent weight, then go to 6, and then 10 (and you might be changing the weight lighter as you get heavier or lighter), and then work your way back down in number of reps. Just don't go into the gym and start hitting something like a 100 pound squat and 100 push-ups in one day, cause the next day won’t feel so good; and it’ll only discourage your progress.
Most Importantly…
I would definitely have to say that it’s actually the mental strength that I picked up along the way that has made the biggest difference. The physical strength kind of came easy for me once I was on a regimen. But mentally, I realized that I had to be committed to something and I had to set goals, otherwise I wouldn’t progress in the way I wanted to.
I also had to acknowledge that not everyone is going to look the same as we work towards our goals. This was actually a huge mental block for me, and I had to realize what my goals were. And ultimately, it was OK if I wanted to do things different from everyone else. But getting mentally strong was something that took me longest and actually helped me most in the long run.
Written by Molly King
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Images Provided by: Julie Adams
