5 min read
I never liked exercise as an adult. Like most people, I slowly gained weight throughout college and the years after. When I turned 25, I realized that if nothing changed, this was the fittest I would ever be, and that wasn’t how I wanted to live the rest of my life.
So I did what many thought was the right way to lose weight at the time: plenty of cardio and a low-calorie diet without much consideration for nutrients. I was constantly on the elliptical or walking incline on a treadmill. And while I did end up losing 50 pounds, I definitely didn’t enjoy it. I realize now that it probably wasn’t the healthiest way to get in shape, though it did bring me a base level of fitness that I previously lacked.
For years after that I dabbled in various group fitness classes around New York City. Then, a friend I met at Barry’s Bootcamp introduced me to my current gym, Tone House. It was there I discovered how much I enjoy strength training—and I realized I wanted to get stronger.
It wasn’t until my 40s when I finally started a consistent strength training routine.
Tone House’s programming mixes athletic conditioning and weightlifting. When I first tried it, I’d never touched a barbell before. As someone who isn’t very coordinated, new movements—with heavy weights—felt a little scary to try on my own. But with a coach helping with form and other people spotting, it felt far less intimidating, and I actually found it really fun.
Athletic conditioning days involve many different exercises, including power movements like box jumps and sprints, as well as classic cardio machines like rowers and Assault bikes. I enjoy the intensity and the camaraderie that comes with doing hard things with my teammates. Strength days include plenty of traditional strength training lifts, like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and accessory moves like bicep curls and shoulder presses.
While I used to prefer the days that center on squats and deadlifts, now I look forward to the upper-body days when the main lift is the bench press. The program progresses throughout the month, beginning with high reps and lower weights and moving toward a one-rep max. I track my weights each class, and it’s amazing to see the numbers keep going up as I get stronger and feel better. I remember starting with just the 45-pound bar when we’d do 12–16 reps in a set on the bench press, but now I can do 95 pounds for that same volume. As a woman, it is really rewarding to get out the big plates for an upper body lift and keep adding to them with each progressive set.
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After years of building muscle, I set a new goal: lose body fat without losing strength.
Last year, I wanted to drop body fat while working to maintain the muscle I’d built through lifting heavier weights. Tone House hosts an annual three-month body recomposition challenge called T90, focusing on nutrition and consistent training, and I used it as motivation and accountability to reach my goals. Through the challenge, I lost 7.5% body fat while keeping the muscle that I’d grown over the last few years by focusing on hitting protein and calorie goals and adding more walking to my regular training program.
I made sure to eat enough protein to build muscle and get enough carbs so that I had the energy to perform during my workouts, and have even noticed an improvement in my running speed. For me, that meant chicken and yogurt for protein, and potatoes and sweet potatoes for fuel and to keep me full. I also invested in a Ninja Creami ice cream machine, and making recipes with protein powder and ultra-filtered milk made it easier to hit my protein goals while satisfying my sweet tooth.
All that work culminated in my placing second (and getting a medal!) in the 40+ women’s group at Turf Wars, Tone House’s annual athletic competition. The competition works through 10 events that require speed, endurance, and power. I’ve since continued to focus on building muscle and have gotten new PRs on my deadlift (two reps at 240 pounds!), improved my squat form, and lifted heavier on my bench press. And it’s nice knowing this kind of training is helping me as I age.
David Jimenez-Reverie Art
Myers at Turf Wars competition.
I’m stronger now in my 40s than I’ve ever been. These three factors helped me get there. Consistency and progressive programming were essential.
These principles were key for me in both building muscle and getting better at specific exercises. I’d spent a lot of my thirties bouncing between workouts at different gyms around New York City, which was great for variety, but I didn’t feel like I was seeing results in any of them. Tone House structures its strength classes on a monthly cycle, focusing on lighter reps for endurance in the early part of the month and building toward a heavy single rep at the end of the month, and then beginning again with a new month.
There’s enough variety in the program that I don’t get bored but enough repetition that I can see that I’m lifting more weight each month. Doing similarly structured workouts each week means that I can add weight to the bar, pick up heavier dumbbells, and actually see muscle growth and form improvement.
I decided to celebrate and embrace my body.
I’d spent a lot of my life worrying about having “broad shoulders” (which is a silly thing to worry about!), but inspired by athletes like Ilona Maher and Kelsey Plum, I decided that I was going to lean into it and work on building mine so they were more muscular. There is more visible representation of strong women with a variety of body types now than there was when I was a teen or in my 20s, when there seemed to be a literally thinner range of what women’s bodies should look like.
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The deltoids are such small muscles, and for me, doing just one day a week of upper body lifting wasn’t enough to see growth. I added two additional brief shoulder workouts to my routine, and saw both physical results and was able to lift much heavier weights. All that work has paid off: my delts are really visible now, and I’m doing shoulder exercises with big weights, often picking up the same or bigger dumbbells as the men in my classes.
It’s inspiring to witness the visible results of my efforts. Building muscle takes a lot of time, and I found it rewarding to see definition and growth that took weeks and months of work.
I found a community that motivated me.
It’s different for everyone, and it can be different at various phases of your life, which is totally okay. Right now, I’m driven by community and having a set schedule and a time I know I have to show up for both myself and others. I’m bad at the self-discipline of working out on my own and programming my exercises, but knowing that I have a place to go where I’ll see friends and have a thoughtful, smart program keeps me coming back across weeks, months, and years.
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Perri is a New York City-born and -based writer; she holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Columbia University and is also a culinary school graduate of the plant-based Natural Gourmet Institute, which is now the Natural Gourmet Center at the Institute of Culinary Education. Her work has appeared in the New York Post, Men’s Journal, Rolling Stone, Oprah Daily, Insider.com, Architectural Digest, Southern Living, and more. She’s probably seen Dave Matthews Band in your hometown, and she’ll never turn down a bloody mary. Learn more at VeganWhenSober.com.
