Are you a cardio junkie or do you love resistance training? When you walk into any gym, you will immediately notice that the cardio area is the busiest. The next busiest is the aerobics studio which offers many dance classes which are a favorite of most ladies.
Making it to the gym is not easy. It requires careful planning and organization to be able to regularly schedule exercise in your daily routine. For most women, this becomes even harder. They have countless things that need to be done in the course of their busy days.
In my time as a fitness trainer, I have noticed that most women who work out get very little to no resistance training. And as a result, their bodies remain soft and jelly-like despite their well-intentioned efforts.
The secret to eliminating this annoying jiggle is to add resistance training in your exercise routine. If you are looking for a toned lean look, you don’t need to stop doing your Zumba or Step- aerobic class. You can, however, combine it with regular weight training. This will, without doubt, get you the body that will surely turn heads.
If you have not been very keen on lifting weights, the following reasons below will convince you to start pumping iron.
You will burn more fat
If you are over 30 years, you should be doing two to three sessions of resistance training per week. These sessions should progressively challenge your muscles by pushing them to the limit. As you age, you slowly lose a small percentage of your muscle tissue every year. Resistance training slows down this degeneration. In addition, it improves your metabolism and ensures you continue to burn fat long after your session.
Become stronger
Typically, women don’t gain size from strength training. This is because they possess very small amounts of the hormones that cause muscle growth. Therefore, don’t avoid lifting weights for fear bulking up. It will never happen. You will instead develop a good muscle tone which is the dream for every woman who cares about looking good.
Improved stamina
Regular strength training will make you physically stronger. Your daily chores will be easier to accomplish whether it is lifting kids, groceries or laundry.
Decrease risk of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a common condition that affects women especially after the age of 40, by making their bones weak and brittle. Resistance training improves bone mineral density. And, when combined with adequate intake of dietary calcium, will help in keeping this condition at bay.
Improve athletic performance
If you take part in the kind of sport, be it tennis, squash, golf, or ball games, muscular conditioning through resistance training should be a staple of your fitness program. This will help boost your sports performance as your body is more stable, reacts faster and develops quick reflexes.
Reduce the risk of diabetes
Studies show that resistance training improves the way your body processes sugar. Glucose utilization has been shown to increase by 20 percent in women who engage in such training for 3-4 months.
Reduce the risk of injury and arthritis
Apart from strengthening muscles, weight training also ensures strong connective tissues and keeps joints stable thus lowering risks of injury. Strong and firm joints help ease the pain in women suffering from osteoarthritis.
Handle stress better
women who do regular strength training report being in a better mood, are more confident and are able to handle stress better. Taking part in regular exercise is not easy. It requires discipline and dedication. If you, therefore, make it to the gym, make the exercise session count. Enjoy your dance classes and your favorite cardio machine because they have their own important benefits. Just make sure your workouts are balanced, 2 days resistance training, 2 days cardiovascular training and 1-day flexibility.
Above all, to be able to see tangible results, make sure you clean up your eating habits. Diet constitutes almost 80 percent of the results that you will get for your efforts.
