A 43-year-old teacher from the Gold Coast has revealed the three ways she re-shaped her legs and got her dream figure after years of calorie restriction dieting.
Belinda Norton sculpted a leaner and fitter body in just one year after her ex-husband told her she would ‘never’ look like the women she idolised.
While she used to swear by long runs and tracking what she ate, Belinda said she has noticed the biggest changes in her body since she added resistance work into her gym routine and replaced calorie tracking with a more balanced approach.
A 43-year-old teacher from the Gold Coast has revealed the three ways she re-shaped her legs and got her dream figure after years of calorie restriction (Belinda Norton pictured now)
Belinda Norton sculpted a leaner and fitter body in just one year after her ex-husband told her she would ‘never’ look like the women she idolised (pictured before and now)
1. Run and walk alternate speed cardio every single day
The first thing Belinda said she did to change the shape of her legs was run or walk every single day.
‘Run, road, beach, mountains but go hard, run faster, get sweaty – lengthen those legs out to get stronger,’ Belinda posted on her Instagram profile.
‘The longer you stretch them out, the leaner they become.’
The PE teacher recommends you ‘sweat it up, burn and go go go fast’.
‘It is truly the only way,’ Belinda said, adding that she alternates between stair or hill sprints and high-intensity walks during the week.
Belinda (pictured) said alongside a bit of cardio, she swears by doing a weights program that is leg-focus specific and incorporates moves such as speed squats, lunges and leg extensions
2. Do a weights program that is leg-focus specific
The second way Belinda re-shaped her legs is by following a legs-specific weights program.
‘The best leg exercises for leaning and lengthening are lunges, leg press, leg extension with a pause, Bulgarian split squat, speed squat jumps and sumo squats,’ Belinda said.
She alternates between these moves on any given day and she makes sure she moves her body for 45 minutes of every day, whether it’s compound exercises, running or walking.
Lastly, Belinda said if you want to see results in the gym, you need to concentrate fully on your training and put away your phone (pictured doing yoga)
3. Focus on your training and get off your phone
Lastly, Belinda said if you want to see results in the gym, you need to concentrate fully on your training and put away your phone.
‘The only way to truly get your body in check is to focus on the process,’ Belinda said.
‘Your brain must be working in unison with your muscles, otherwise it’s a pointless waste of time.’
The 43-year-old said you need to focus on the movement and the activation of your muscles in order for the changes to happen faster.
‘The neurological pattern of weight loss or body change can only happen if you focus,’ she said.
‘Your brain must be working in unison with your muscles, otherwise it’s a pointless waste of time,’ the 43-year-old (pictured) said
Belinda (pictured) has many other health rules that she subscribes to, including limiting sugar and salt and avoiding all juices in favour of just drinking water
Belinda has many other health rules that she subscribes to, including limiting sugar and salt and avoiding all juices.
‘We tend to grab a quick fix, especially juice or iced tea, however these are high in sugar and do not provide the body with its most simple requirement – clean water,’ she said.
If you do dabble in the fruit juice department, ensure you’re supplementing with water to flush the ‘liquid pollutants’ out of your system.
Alongside her cardio and weight training, Belinda has also added yoga and Pilates to her routine in order to lengthen out her muscles:
‘It is easy important, particularly post-coronavirus, as many of us are are out of our usual routine of movement,’ Belinda said.
‘Try to move more incidentally. If you are at a desk take breaks often.
‘Go outside and climb the stairs or do step ups on the lounge if you normally climb stairs.
‘Find a better movement routine to ensure alignment.’
To find out more about Belinda Norton, you can visit her website here.