Hello there!

I am kind of new to exercise. About 6 weeks ago I started seeing a personal trainer at my gym and when I first spoke to him I stated that I didn't want to do any cardio, a) because I hate it, b) because I have a heart condition and it hurts to do hard cardio, which is why I hate it and c) because I don't believe doing cardio is the best way to lose fat, but building muscle is. He completely agreed with me and has put me on an excellent weight lifting program.

My current program consists of back squats, Romanian deadlifts, bench presses, bent over rows, split squats and normal deadlifts. I do 4 sets of 8-10 reps and the exercises are grouped in pairs so I alternate the sets with a 60-90 second break in between, ie I do 8-10 reps back squats followed by 8-10 reps Romanian squats, rest then repeat 3 more times then move on to the next pair of exercises.

In the past 6-8 weeks I've lost a little weight, but more importantly my body fat percentage has reduced, I've dropped a dress size and I'm losing inches from my hips, bum, thighs and belly. I'm getting muscle definition and although I still have a way to go in terms of fat loss, I feel amazing.

I train 3-4 times per week, normally Tues, Thurs (when I see my PT), Sat and/or Sun. On my non-training days I might go to the gym for a swim which is the only cardio exercise that I enjoy.

For someone who is relatively new to weight lifting, I would recommend getting a personal trainer if you can afford it so that they can show you how to lift weights with proper form and they can devise a program to meet your needs.

My advice is to stick to what you enjoy doing otherwise it won't last long. I have hated exercise for so long because I thought that I had to do intense cardio in order to be fit, but I absolutely LOVE lifting weights and want to lift as much as possible! If I could do it every day I would!!!