Today we have Maryam Aarang on the blog.
Lauryn & her were introduced by Brent Hruska, their mutual trainer. Brent is all about balance, being healthy in all aspects of life, and a hug cheerleader of weight-lifting for women. If you have yet to listen to his podcast, you can check it out here and in the meantime scope his blog post too.
Anyway, Maryam had such a good story that she’s here to share with us and it’s all about how fitness, and specifically weight training with Brent changed her life…and body.
From two pregnancies to a near death experience with pneumonia, to taking her health seriously, to starting her own salsa company (which Lauryn said is to die for!!), Maryam is here to share all the benefits she’s experienced from weight training, yoga, sauna/ice bath, healthy eating, and taking your wellness seriously.
With that, let’s welcome Maryam to the blog.
The Benefits of Weight Lifting For Women
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Hi TSC!
I’m Maryam, a woman in the process of becoming & evolving, a mother of two boys, Mexican-Persian, entrepreneur and yogi. I’m very curious about this human experience and I’m always looking for ways to live better.
In fact, I’m constantly learning to guide myself by listening to my body and following my intuition.
My fitness journey started as I grew up watching my dad run every day at 6 am to prepare himself for marathons; I can still smell his sweat and hear his morning speeches about the importance of health.
After having my second kid in 2020 I got very sick with pneumonia.
I felt the line between life and death. And life felt completely different after going through this experience. I was given a second chance and this was the wake up call.
I felt an undeniable desire for change so I took advantage of the momentum and started to make new decisions. So I began by doing some childhood work in therapy, opening up old wounds and old beliefs. I learned that most of my depression and sadness was coming from my own self-talk. I was not feeling like I was enough. And I didn’t believe I deserved the life that I wanted. I knew in my heart that for me to become the person that I was meant to be I needed to BELIEVE in, love and accept myself.
Feeling good in my body was a priority and I needed to create a big shift to feel happy and provide this new energy to my kids and family. I’m a fitness junkie and I love to push myself to the limit; so trying new workouts was very fun. I tried HIT, Pilates, dancing, and other cardiovascular exercises but I was not seeing big changes.
Finally, I started weight training with Brent Hruska from Bodies by Brent.
You may have heard him on TSC HIM & HER podcast or read his blog post. I began seeing him in March 2021 and I started noticing my body changing right away. In addition, I started feeling very strong and motivated and I knew that I just needed to keep going.
I took advantage of my motivation and consistency to change my daily habits like drinking more water, no caffeine or alcohol during the week, sessions of sauna/cold plunge (more tips on that here), eating more nutritious and rich food high in protein, yoga everyday, stretching, breath work… you get the idea.
Before weight training with Brent I tried different fitness methods. I joined LA fitness and did some cardio + weights on my own, I felt I didn’t know what I was doing so I joined Barre and dance fitness. And I enjoyed the burn with certain exercises, focusing on specific muscles and making them work. I loved sweating, moving my body with loud music and feeling my feminine energy. In this time of my life these workouts were beneficial for my mental health. I was not focused on changing my body, so much as I was focused on changing my mind.
During my pregnancies I wanted to be active to feel good so I continued dancing, increasing my levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin. Working out when you’re feeling low or sad is the best medicine.
Also, setting goals on your fitness journey is very important, for me I wanted to change my body completely after having kids. I really believed that at age 34 I could wear a bikini and feel good. I wanted to start a new routine that was sustainable with my lifestyle and would help me feel good while growing old.
The combination of strength training and yoga is the perfect combo for my body and lifestyle.
Brent helped me to combine different activities that would help with my weight journey like cold plunge and sauna, reading and meditation, therapy, plant medicine, no alcohol and mostly no caffeine.
I’ve learned a lot about my body and health, and now I feel I have a great routine that works perfectly. This year that I’ve been transforming my body I’ve also been practicing yoga.
Everything depends on your fitness goals, but, my advice is to focus on a workout that feels good in your body, that gives you results, that keeps you motivated and most importantly makes you feel good emotionally and physically.
Weight training makes me feel strong from the inside out & I can continue my day and feel energetic. I’ve never felt so disciplined and focused until I started working out with Brent. It’s fun and empowering to be around other women pushing themselves too. I like to challenge myself and create new goals every month. It keeps me motivated and curious about feeling better.
I started this journey because I wanted to feel happier, healthier, more joyful.
I feel better than I have ever felt before. The idea of having the body-shape that you want is POSSIBLE. With consistency and focus, weights changed my body completely. My muscles are leaner and more toned than ever. I’ve never felt more confident, strong, feminine and beautiful.
My favorite workouts are chin ups, squats and deadlifts; also sprints, training outside in nature. It’s been more than a year of being consistent, of improving my health and body. Brent is an amazing coach, trainer, & instructor. He believed in me and reminded me of my power and how fearless and strong I am.
It’s key to TRUST your coach and to be CONSISTENT.
You can get anything you want in your life, but you first have to BELIEVE that you can have it.
In the process of ‘becoming’ I started to feel my own power. I let my feminine energy run through my creative self, feeling my passion, I started cooking in my kitchen playing with all the flavors I was missing from my hometown and my culture; I started my salsa company. Chulas Salsas, healthy, spicy, rich & fun flavors to add your food. You can always find us at @chulassalsas or at Tiny Grocer in South Congress (Austin, TX) or very soon you’ll be able to buy them through our website www.eatchulas.com.
This is your story, your life. Believe in yourself and know that the universe will conspire in order for you to achieve it. YOU get to make your choices. Living by commitment, commitment to sanity, commitment to live your best life, commitment to courage, commitment to developing unconditional friendship with yourself, commitment to never stop until you get there.
Maryam.
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We hope you loved this post, and if you’re in the Austin area be sure to pick up some of Maryam’s salsa at Tiny Grocer. And if you’re interested in starting to lift weight, hit up Brent @bodiesbybrentatx.
x, The Skinny Confidential team.
+ stalk these tips for keeping meals healthy at restaurants.
++ check out Lauryn’s favorite sugar-free wine. (like no hangovers, guys).
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