“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve. It is only when we are no longer afraid do we really begin to live.”
There have been many confusing stories written about weight training and muscles. When it comes to exercise and losing weight, both men and women have been led to believe that it is far better to do aerobic training than it is to lift weights. This is just not true . The fact is that weight training can be very beneficial for all women, particularly those of you with fat and weight loss goals. Taking part in a combination of both aerobic cardio and weights training is the best and here is why:
Cardiovascular training doesn’t use the same energy system as strength training because of the intensity. You will burn calories after the session with strength training versus aerobic training – more commonly known as the after-burn effect. To make things easier to understand, strength training “strengthens” muscles more efficiently to enable you to burn more calories during aerobic activities and even while resting. Building more lean muscle means you will develop a faster metabolism, faster fat burning and a major slowdown of the ageing process. For every 1 kilogram of lean muscle, you burn on average an extra 50 calories per day even while resting. Imagine yourself as a car when it comes to using fuel: if we compare the muscle to the engine, the stronger the muscle or the bigger the engine effects amount of fuel or calories burnt while resting. In other words, your metabolism is working faster burning more calories during the day.
The same principle applies when you are using your muscles: the faster you drive the car, the more petrol you burn from the tank and eventually from the secondary fuel resource, being the fat stores in your body. That’s just how you efficiently elevate your metabolism, rev up your engine by training your muscles with more intensity and by getting them stronger.
Muscle weighs more than fat and is 22% smaller in size. Also keep in mind that women do not have the levels of testosterone and human growth hormone required to increase lean muscle mass dramatically. It is only because the mass media promote people that abuse performance enhancing drugs whilst lifting weights that the everyday woman has been led to believe that their “manly” muscles are the result of lifting weights alone. Therefore lifting weights makes you stronger, but not necessary bigger. Muscle is smooth, lean, hard and small; Fat is lumpy, flabby, soft and bigger. So ask yourself, which would you prefer?
Muscle will never turn into fat or vice versa; it just like saying you can turn water into gold! But you can possibly put on fat by maintaining the same calorie intake as when you were training. This is because if you stop training you just naturally lose muscle size; hence the saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it!” Another effect of discontinuing weight training is our metabolic rate declines causing a natural decrease in our daily energy needs. Any excess calories, regardless of their source, is then stored as fat on different parts of the body depending on your genetics.
15 reasons strength training has a distinct advantage over cardiovascular training:
- Increases lean body mass
- Enhances bone mineral density
- Increases functional strength
- Increases power and sporting performance
- Increases joint strength and stability
- Increases vitality and quality of life
- Increases metabolic rate
- Increases energy expenditure (fat loss)
- Improves posture
- Decreases chances of suffering from Osteoporosis
- Decreases risk of injury
- Enhances rehabilitation
- Decreases chances of suffering from Arthritis
- Decreases blood pressure
- Decreases chances of suffering from Diabetes
So the question you must ask yourself is “should I start a strength training program?”
- Strength training replaces lost muscle tissue and means you will develop a faster metabolism!
- If your goal is to lose weight, burn body fat, increase your energy and vitality, look and feel amazing whilst ultimately reducing the chances of health implications in the future, then your answer is YES!
Take advantage of all these strength training benefits and start your mind, body and soul transformation with GrandSlam Fitness today!
Book your 1st FREE Personal Training session today!
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