I was intrigued to see LeAnn Rimes on the October 2010 cover of Shape magazine. Yes, her recent divorce has made headlines, and she admits to feeling a lot of stress and pressure over the events of the past year, but one thing hasn't changed: her dedication to fitness. Now 28, she is looking better than ever. Her secret? It's not cardio, a crazy diet (the girl eats chocolate chip pancakes!) or even the three-pound weight myth so many other celebs subscribe to. In fact, it's just the opposite. LeAnn graced the cover of Shape three years ago, and the writer of this story comments on how different her body looks today (in a good way). LeAnn admits that she actually weighs 6 pounds MORE than she did back then but that her body fat is "the lowest it's ever been." She's gained muscle, but actually appears curvier than before, and she's loving the results. LeAnn changed her body composition, which means she's dropped body fat and increased her lean muscle mass, by incorporating serious strength training into her workouts, three or four times per week. When asked the ONE THING that has gotten her so sculpted, she credits her strength training program. And she's not talking measly little weights either. "I don't think I've ever had more muscle than I do now," she tells Shape. "Some days I do heavy weights with only six to eight reps, and the other days I do light weights with 22 reps. I work with dumbbells or a bar with weights on each end. I don't know how much weight I lift anymore. All I know is it's seriously heavy!" Never one to "doodle around" in the gym, she takes her workouts seriously, which has garnered her some amazing results. Not only does she look better than ever, but she also says that her increased strength is "empowering." I thought this was worth sharing because it is SO rare to see a female celebrity talking attributing her lean figure to something other than Pilates or lifting teeny tiny weights. LeAnn is a great example of how lifting heavier weights can actually change your body for the better. Many women fear that big weights will make them big, but that's not necessarily the case. Muscle is naturally long and lean, not bulky, and it takes up less space than fat. So whether you build it with 2-pound or 25 pound weights, muscle is muscle. The more you have, the more your fat-burning furnace with be cranked up and the more toned and sculpted you will look. Not to mention, strong muscles are useful in everyday life, and beautiful, too! And let's not forget that the number on the scale is just that. LeAnne admits to gaining 6 pounds, but does it show? Not even close! She looks leaner than ever, despite gaining muscle mass, which proves that "weight" only means so much. Next time that scale goes up when you've done everything right, maybe you can rejoice the new muscle you're building instead of feeling down about the number on the scale, which doesn't really say much about you. In the article, LeAnn Rimes talks about her diet and go-to stress relievers, and also shares how cardio boxing helps her break out of a bad mood and stay in shape at the same time. So be sure to pick up the October issue of Shape to learn more about her healthy-body secrets. Do you still fear heavy weights or embrace them? How was strength training changed your body?  You will earn 5 SparkPoints
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I loved the weight lifting workouts, they made me feel an endorphin rush and I felt energized all day,and I wanted to get stronger but ultimately, it was not a good idea for me to weight lift heavy weights. Report
No, I've never had a fear of looking like a body builder. You have to train very hard to look like that, and you always lose your breasts entirely, and I'm not sure I want to do that. But since it has to be such an on purpose thing, I have no fear of that. You have to eat a LOT of protein, and do a lot of what they call "cutting", which is some type of fasting, before body building competitions. Women CAN look pretty bulky if you look at body building photos of women. But it's not just going to happen, it won't fall into your lap suddenly, like you didn't plan on it, and obsess over it for years! That kind of thing really takes effort, which no ordinary woman need fear. I do not do any type of weight training at the moment, because it's not recommended for people like me with chronic iron deficiency anemia. We have to preserve our strength when we have that. Weight lifting makes your muscles bleed internally. If you are well, it also heals quickly. But with anemia, it doesn't heal well. So I'm skipping that at present. However, I have been doing wall push ups. And I've gotten up to 80! I consider it a fairly safe form of ST for me to do while I am waiting for my anemia to be resolved. Even with supplementation, that takes some time, especially when you are a vegetarian like I am.
The wall push ups are making my arms more muscular, as you would expect. When the number that I'm at feels easy, and doesn't hurt my arms at all, I go up by 5 the next time. When I get to 100 wall push ups, I am going to switch to incline push ups, and when that's up to 100 as well, I am going to do the real push ups. I don't bother with modified push ups, as that uses the wrong muscles entirely. And when I can do real push ups, I can also work on my planks, which is another great body weight strength training exercise. Report
I have never felt better.
I do about 30 min of cardio every other day.
Eating sweets is my addiction! Report
As so many have already said, ST works wonders in how your body looks, no matter what the scale is telling you. I dropped 5 inches off my waist in one month since I started doing the yoga class!
Ladies, please don't be afraid of ST - you will not start looking like a guy if you lift weights. Report
GET ON THOSE WEIGHTS LADIES! Report
But I totally agree with the gist of the article. How ridiculous to think that women can only lift three pounds - a normal newborn weighs twice that much for starters.
I'm happy with my strength training. When I look in the mirror I don't see a size 2 body, but I see a body that's strong and fit and shows some muscle definition. And I feel great when the grocery clerk asks me if I "need help with my bags" and I can smile and say "no thanks". Report
INSPIRATION! Report