Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Weights or Cardio?

I sat here thinking long and hard about what my FIRST post should be about. That's a lot of pressure, you know. The inaugural post. It should be something memorable. Something that matters. Something that will make you want to come back again. Then it hit me. One of the most misunderstood parts of working out and getting fit is cardio versus resistance training. SO many women think that hours on the treadmill is all it takes to 'get skinny'. That's so far from the truth - AND I'm passionate about spreading that word.

So there you go. My first post is to help YOU figure out what kind of workout is best for your goals.

Now, please don't misunderstand. Cardio IS super important. It's good for your heart, lungs, and for burning calories. But that's the rub. The calories you burn during cardio is all over once you stop. What you likely want is to burn more calories even while you're at rest...right? To do that, you need to build muscle. MUSCLE burns more calories - even while you're at rest. Yep, that's right. If you have lean muscle, you're burning more calories while you're just sitting around. Watching TV. Even sleeping. Can't beat that, huh?

Guys and girls build muscle differently. Girls do not have enough testosterone to get 'bulky', so ladies, don't shy away from those weights. A good rule of thumb is to still get your cardio in a few days a week, but you do not need to spend hours on the treadmill or outside walking. Instead, do 30-60 minutes of your normal cardio a few days a week, and then add in 3 days a week of strength training. They key here is to work your muscles to exhaustion. If you're not feeling the burn in the muscle you're working, your weights are TOO light.

Now, there's tons more detail about what kind of things to do, not to do, and even some great tips I have on  making your cardio routine more effective too. A different post though...stay tuned! :)

Tell me, what is your routine now? Have you tried strength training before? If you need advice on a particular strength training routine, let me know - I can help you get one planned! You can comment here, or you can always email me at - Fithappy@yahoo.com

~To your health!~


2 comments:

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