My non negotiable workout to lose weight is a Game Changer! It’s the reason my own body changed and it’s a fundamental part of my client’s workouts. It’s called weightlifting, or weight training. Now ladies before you go and run a mile because you have visions of becoming like a bulldog – fear not!
LIFTING WEIGHTS WILL NOT MAKE YOU BULKY!
Eating too many calories and having excess body fat is what makes you appear “bulky” and not having lean muscle. Always remember too that females do not have the testosterone capacity to support a bulky physique, males find it incredibly hard to build muscle as it is!
When you lift weight intelligently and correctly, you will burn more fat from the areas you want. The more lean muscle you have means that you will become more metabolically active, resulting in more effective fat loss.
Does Cardio not burn more calories?
Here’s the thing, we all know if you’re trying to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you take in to meet your goals. Whilst strength training may not give you the heart-pounding, sweat dripping satisfaction of say spinning or running, in the long run building lean muscles definitely works in favour of your weight loss goals. In short, having more muscle means your body burns more calories at rest.
YOU’LL STILL BURN CALORIES DURING A STRENGTH WORKOUT!
Yes, cardio still gets the credit when it comes to calorie torching workouts however it is still possible to get a super duper calorie burn with lifting weights. Here are a few tips:
Decrease your recovery between sets. I find when I get clients to move from one set to the next without rest it increases their heart rate and burns more calories
Increase the weight. Don’t be afraid to choose a heavier weight but be careful it’s not too heavy that you risk injury.
Add cardio between sets. I occasionally add in a 5 minute cardio burst of either sprints or HIIT training between sets to turbo boost that calorie burn.
At the end of the day you still have to burn more calories than you take in and I personally believe that it’s important to include both cardio and strength into your workout. However, that said, I always prioritise strength over cardio. By building more muscle you are stoking the fires of your metabolism and burning more calories even at rest.
MUSCLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND AT ANY AGE!
I recommend that you lift weights 3-4 times a week. The beauty about lifting weights is that it also provides endurance for your cardio training; the stronger you are the less effort it takes to complete aerobic exercise.
If you don’t know where to start and need an introduction to lifting weights safely you can follow my 6 Week Better Bodies Online Program which gives step-by-step video demos for beginners and intermediates. This is supported by a fat loss nutrition program which will assist in sculpting that longed for physique. I also provide support throughout the duration of the program.