We love new and challenging workouts at Fit&Fab Living, and we’re so excited that we can tie our newest workout article with a fun giveaway. Check out the article--Strength Training: The Anti-Aging Workout! Not only is this article written by expert fitness trainer Joan Pagano, but she also sent us a signed copy of her book “Strength Training for Women.” Enter the giveaway and learn more about the book after the jump!

Winter has never been my favorite time to run. This is probably because I live in the Chicago area, where the temps get so frigid that you feel like your face might freeze off when you run outdoors.  I’ve definitely done some training in these temps, but I don’t enjoy it.

This winter, the vast majority of my running workouts have taken place on a treadmill.  While I don’t love treadmills, I do love being warm and not worrying about frozen fingers and toes.    Most people I know literally can’t stand running on hamster wheel…er…treadmill. Personally, I’ve gotten use to it, and now that I am focusing on improving my pace, it’s become more fun as I plan challenges for myself  rather than just plain running.

I’ve recently learned that I have a flawed way of thinking about what constitutes a “good” cardio workout.  Personally, I always felt like the workout couldn’t be good unless it was at least 50 minutes long. Why 50 minutes? I have no idea – it’s just an arbitrary number that I chose, which just happened to look a lot nicer than 45 minutes.

Now that I am placing a new emphasis on strength training, I’ve realized I need to cut back on my cardio time on days when I strength train.  So unfortunately, no more hour of running, leaving a measely 10 to 15 minutes for strength training. I needed more of a 30-minute workout.

I took my first stab at this new program for yesterday’s workout.  I ran for 35 minutes. I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to stop the treadmill at 35 minutes, so I decided I needed to make the most of that short time by running intervals.

Last week I was lucky enough to score an interview with celebrity fitness expert, Dale Dymkoski!  He’s trained people like Jessica Sutta, a former Pussycat Doll among others! He’s gaining quite a reputation in Los Angeles for his emphasis on strength training as the key to not only losing weight, but also toning and sculpting your body.

As a fitness fanatic myself, I was super excited to speak with someone who really knew what they were talking about. There is so much fitness and nutrition information floating around the internet, but it can be hard to tell what to trust. Dale cleared up some common misconceptions about strength training as well as why strength training is so fundamental to achieving a toned body.