5 Reasons to Strength Train

RELIEVE OVERALL ACHES AND PAINS.

Did you know that the majority of lower back pain and neck pain are caused from being sedentary? Strength training teaches you to use your core and helps keep your posture in check – with the majority of Americans spending their days hunched over a computer screen. Adequate strength training teaches you to not only use your core as well as proper body placement, but also strengthens all the muscles to help support your spine. If you regularly work your muscles, they will get stronger and be able to support the daily activities. I, personally, notice that my body aches and hurts if I DON’T strength train – for example if I am sick for a few days or even if I take the day off and don’t move as much as I should – my body actually hurts. I hate it! Or if I am struck traveling in the car – my body hurts. I hate that feeling so I rarely take days off and my planned rest days always incorporate lots and lots of walking and yoga. It FEELS GOOD to be strong. I have no scoliosis issues also with my constant strength training. My muscles are strong so they support my spine and I do not experience pain.

BOOST YOUR METABOLISM, CONFIDENCE, BODY APPEARANCE.

This is obvious. When you have more muscle you burn more calories at rest. It’s proven research. Muscle requires much more energy than fat. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest and otherwise. The only way to get muscle is to STRENGTH TRAIN. Along with this metabolism boost you will also notice you are much more confident, and your body will be lookin’ GOOD! Trust me ladies, strength training will not make you bulky. It will cause you to gain muscle mass which is SMALLER AND MORE COMPACT than fat, therefore your clothes will fit better. You will have a tighter, smaller waist and sexy, feminine curves. You will not bulk up “like a man” as we simply do not have the testosterone to do so. You will ONLY get “manly” if you eat 3000 (of crappy food) calories a day (example/exaggeration) and take hormone supplements. So don’t be afraid to strength train and lift heavy because I sure do and I am still tiny. People come up to me all the time in the gym and ask how I lift so much weight being such a tiny girl. I laugh and say THANK YOU! #confidence

MAINTAIN MUSCLE MASS AS YOU AGE/DEFY AGING.

As you age you lose bone mass and muscle mass. Each year women who do not regularly strength train lose 1/2 pound of muscle. So what does that mean? You have more fat and less muscle each year. In other words, the calories you do consume go straight to being stored as adipose (fat) tissue. If you strength train you keep your bones strong and healthy and you hang on to that loved and desired muscle mass. You will be able to get out and be more productive well into old age. You will be less likely to fall or break something as you age because you will have improved balance and stability and strength and coordination. Strength training lowers your blood pressure, boosts your libido, aids in getting rid of toxins in the body, and keeps your skin healthy through the natural process of sweating and detoxifying. You will also be happier, in general.

YOU WILL BE MORE PRODUCTIVE.

I get it – people are busy in this country. Trust me because I STAY busy. However, being so busy and also still getting my 5-6 days of workouts in teaches me HOW TO MANAGE MY TIME. In other words, I am very productive. What may seem like not a lot of time to some people, is a lot of time to me because I have become excellent at time-management. I realize that if I only have 30-45 minutes for a workout one day, I can still get a lot done in that short amount of time. Working out doesn’t have to take 2 hours. Or even an hour and a half (although I love it so much I could be at the gym all day). If you learn how to be efficient you can get a killer cardio AND weight session in 30-40 minutes. Strength training teaches you to be efficient in the rest of your daily life and it also GIVES you the extra strength to do so. You will be better able to carry heavy items or groceries or pick up the kids etc.

BURN MORE FAT + BELLY FAT.

As previously stated, weight training increases your muscle mass which in turn reduces your overall body fat and makes you more efficient at burning calories at rest. It also helps burn belly fat. Cardio alone will not burn belly fat. You will simply burn calories all over and perhaps yes lose some weight, however, you will be losing BOTH fat and muscle. Per an article on active.com, Penn State researches did a study and found out of three groups of people : no exercise, cardio only, and cardio and strength training, those who included the weight training shed six more pounds of fat than those who did not. The lifters loss of weight was almost all PURE FAT and the others lost fat AND muscle. Who wants to burn away muscle mass? Not me. So I make strength training a priority out of everything I do. If you are strength training you are building muscle and using your muscles AND burning calories. It is so important to do both lifting and cardio. Or if you are like me, I make lifting sessions so intense they also count as cardio OR I finish my lifting sessions with 10-15 minutes of HIIT. That’s the way you torch your fat!

I hope these reasons may convince you to start strength training if you have not already. And if you are strength training, then yay! Keep it up!!!!! You will thank yourself when you are older. If you are feeling overwhelmed and not sure what workouts to do or if you workout at home and need advice or want help, please feel free to email me. I also want you guys to know you don’t have to do the workouts I do – I know I am really intense and kinda extreme but it’s because I am so passionate and just want to be as fit and strong as I can and I will strive for better every day. 30 minutes of working out a day will still help you and benefit you as you age and you can accomplish a ton in just 30 minutes. The main thing is to do something! I hope I inspire you all to be healthier every day!