I know, I know, I’ve heard it a thousand times from both men and women: “I don’t want to lift heavy because I don’t want to look like an NFL linebacker.” Or, the more common statements: “I just want a LITTLE bit of tone” and “I just want to burn a little fat and not build muscle.” Older folks tend to ask, “Are you sure this is good for my bones and joints?” These are all misconceptions I’ve heard many times since I started training clients and, in this two-part article, I am going to educate everyone on why these statements are misconceptions and the benefits of going heavy.
Why is strength training the way to go?
Skipping the little pink dumbbells will actually help you get that “look”, aka the sexy body, you are longing for way faster than continuing to lift “light”. I know this from my own experience. Come to think of it, over the course of 25 years of training and teaching thousands of people, I’ve guinea-pigged on myself almost every concept I’ve come across on the quest for a more fit body. I tried everything from Shake Weight to Olympic strength lifts to everything in between. Nothing compares to strength training for getting that, fit, strong, lean and sexy body. Nothing!
So what does weight lifting do and why is it so good?
Strength training is amazing for fat loss, the best, even better than cardio! That’s right, I said it, even better! How in the world is that you may ask? I will tell you. Cardio is only burning calories while you do it, and maybe for a little bit after you finish if you go super hard (due to EXERCISE POST OXYGEN CONSUMPTION, known as EPOC, but that’s a topic for another day). Most people are not athletes (and are not going to hit EPOC). Strength training increases metabolism where cardio does not, is not capable of doing unless done super hard. And even worse, too much cardio can decrease metabolism – you do not want that.
How does strength training raise metabolism?
The amount of muscle on your body determines your metabolism. For instance, Steve has 80 pounds of muscle on his body, which is a good amount. His metabolism is roughly 2,000. So that is 2,000 calories his body burns at rest without activity. Now let’s say Steve starts a strength training program and adds 5 pounds of muscle to his body, a normal amount for someone with 80 pounds of muscle. After a properly designed program, Steve now has 85 pounds of muscle. How does this effect Steve’s metabolism? About 2,125, an extra 125 calorie burn every single day, regardless of whether or not Steve does cardio.
There are a few things to consider here. Some people say, “That’s not that much.” Well, consider this, most people become overweight slowly, meaning a gain of an average of 10 pounds per decade. So, becoming overweight is caused by gradually overeating until one day POW – you step on the scale and you are now 20 to 50 pounds overweight or worse. Now, let’s assume Steve is 20 pounds overweight. A weight gain of 1 pound per year. So, over 20 years, by increasing his metabolism by only 125 and not changing anything else, he can lose up to 12 pounds in a year. Now consider Steve changes his diet and does cardio as well. Each pound is 3500 calories. That’s 125 x 30 days in one month equals 3,750 calories x 12 months in a year is well over 12 pounds in one year, especially if you consider the “compound interest” of his raised metabolism. Just from strength training alone.
“I don’t want to look bulky or look like an NFL linebacker.”
Let me stress a couple of things here, especially for the ladies:
Number 1. Gaining 2 to 3 pounds of muscle will raise your metabolism and help incinerate fat.
Number 2. The volume or space that fat takes up is about 30% greater than the volume that muscle takes. The reason you can’t fit in your high school dress is not because of muscle and it never will be. As you add a little muscle you cut more fat. Measurements will decrease not increase.
Number 3. Up until your late teens and early twenties your hormones, testosterone, and growth hormones are surging. For men the surge is much greater than it is for women. These hormones decide how much muscle will be on your frame and your rate of metabolism for the rest of your life. Contrary to popular belief, this is why lifting when you are a kid is actually super important. After 25 it’s done. Can you gain muscle after? Sure about 5 to 10% max, unless you take a very healthy dose of steroids and growth hormones. Then and only then can you potentially gain more muscle.
Number 4. Think about the guys and gals on the front cover of the hottest muscle mag, you know the ones with the vein in their abs that looks like a garden hose. Make no mistake, they did not get that way by accident! They had to have one in a million genetics, a perfect diet, 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night, and a perfectly followed program. That means they would literally not miss one leg day for their brother’s wedding or probably their own.
My point is that the average house mom, 5’3″, 145lbs, couldn’t get to this level just by lifting heavy. Ever! So just what can the average mom expect from strength training body-wise? Well, in reality, assuming you’re not overeating, you can see a 3% reduction of body fat pretty quickly… and with a good diet and the proper amount of cardio and intensity, that 5’3″, 145lbs can become 5’3″, 105lbs if desired.
So, what do you have to lose? Let’s hit the gym and hit those weights heavy.
Thanks for reading my blogs. Feel free to comment and join me next week where I will be further discussing the benefits of strength training.
