This article (geared mainly to women, but much applies to men) from Shape Magazine was on my facebook news feed this past Tuesday and I thought it was worth sharing. It kind of goes along with the stop the crazy cardio video that I posted 2 weeks ago.
Here, briefly, are the 8 reasons (please read the whole article for the most info):
1. You'll Burn More Fat. Muscle is active tissue--the more you have on your body, the more calories you will burn. Doing just cardio may cause you to lose muscle as well as fat.
2. You'll Look More Defined. Ladies-- you will NOT bulk up! Women do not have enough testosterone in their bodies to build that kind of muscle. Women bodybuilders spend hours in the weight room and most are taking some kind of testosterone based hormone or steroid. Again, if you only do cardio and start burning muscle along with fat, instead of a nicely defined body, the skin will start hanging off of your limbs--not very attractive!
3. You'll Fight Osteoporosis. This is more prevalent in women, but men can get this too. One way to prevent it is to do muscle bearing exercises.
4. You'll Burn More Calories. Yes, doing a cardio routine will burn more calories while you are doing it; adding weight training provides an afterburn which can last long after your workout.
5. You'll Build Strength Faster. As I said in yesterday's post, to build strength (again not bulk), lift heavier weight with less reps. To build endurance, lift lighter weights with more reps.
6. You'll Lose Belly Fat. A study done showed women who did weight training along with cardio lost more deep belly fat that those women who did cardio alone.
7. You'll Feel Empowered. Feeling and looking strong, makes you more confident.
8. You'll Prevent Injury. Strength training helps protect your joints that can get a lot of strain during cardio workouts--especially those that are higher impact.
Now I'm not saying that you should go out and get a barbell with 100 lb plates! The way to determine if a weight is heavy enough for strength training is to do some actual exercises with it. For strength training, you should only be able to perform 5-8 reps with good form. If you can do more, the weight is too light. Keep in mind that some muscles are bigger or naturally stronger than others--like your biceps vs your triceps, therefore, you'll need weights of different poundage for different muscles/exercises.
In some cases, bodyweight training is the better choice (like push ups, squats, lunges and ab work). As I've said before, your bodyweight is heavier than even a 100 lb. plate. It's when you are isolating muscles that hand weights become more important.
Here, briefly, are the 8 reasons (please read the whole article for the most info):
1. You'll Burn More Fat. Muscle is active tissue--the more you have on your body, the more calories you will burn. Doing just cardio may cause you to lose muscle as well as fat.
2. You'll Look More Defined. Ladies-- you will NOT bulk up! Women do not have enough testosterone in their bodies to build that kind of muscle. Women bodybuilders spend hours in the weight room and most are taking some kind of testosterone based hormone or steroid. Again, if you only do cardio and start burning muscle along with fat, instead of a nicely defined body, the skin will start hanging off of your limbs--not very attractive!
3. You'll Fight Osteoporosis. This is more prevalent in women, but men can get this too. One way to prevent it is to do muscle bearing exercises.
4. You'll Burn More Calories. Yes, doing a cardio routine will burn more calories while you are doing it; adding weight training provides an afterburn which can last long after your workout.
5. You'll Build Strength Faster. As I said in yesterday's post, to build strength (again not bulk), lift heavier weight with less reps. To build endurance, lift lighter weights with more reps.
6. You'll Lose Belly Fat. A study done showed women who did weight training along with cardio lost more deep belly fat that those women who did cardio alone.
7. You'll Feel Empowered. Feeling and looking strong, makes you more confident.
8. You'll Prevent Injury. Strength training helps protect your joints that can get a lot of strain during cardio workouts--especially those that are higher impact.
Now I'm not saying that you should go out and get a barbell with 100 lb plates! The way to determine if a weight is heavy enough for strength training is to do some actual exercises with it. For strength training, you should only be able to perform 5-8 reps with good form. If you can do more, the weight is too light. Keep in mind that some muscles are bigger or naturally stronger than others--like your biceps vs your triceps, therefore, you'll need weights of different poundage for different muscles/exercises.
In some cases, bodyweight training is the better choice (like push ups, squats, lunges and ab work). As I've said before, your bodyweight is heavier than even a 100 lb. plate. It's when you are isolating muscles that hand weights become more important.
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