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What’s the deal with lifting weights? Can’t you just do cardio and be healthy? Depending on who you talk to, this is a very common question, usually followed by other comments. These vary from "I don’t want to get bulky" to "I don’t like the sweaty machines, so the weights are full of stinky men."
After we go over the benefits, we can better answer your questions.
If you want to lose weight, consider adding weight training to your regimen. A pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. It takes 10 days to lose a pound of fat if you burn 350 calories in a workout and don’t increase food intake. Scientists at the University of Colorado at Denver found that women burned an extra 325 calories per day more when they weight trained (the equivalent to running for 20 to 30 minutes) compared to not exercising. This is just one of numerous studies that show the importance of weight training for fat loss. Weight training increases caloric consumption during and after exercise. It also increases muscle mass, which boosts metabolic rate further. Don’t worry about gaining excessive bulk from weight training. Muscle is denser than fat, which means that it takes up less space-up to 18%!
Strong bones promote good health, independent living and long life. Bones give your body structure; protect organs, anchor muscles and store calcium. Bone mass peaks between age 20 and 30 and declines steadily after that. Women should build as much bone mass when they are young and prevent bone loss as they age by adding a strength training program to their workouts. Bones get stronger when you load them and weaker when you don’t. Weight training and weight bearing exercises in general are the best ways to build and bank bone. Free weight exercises place more stress on the skeleton, so they’re better than machine exercises for building bone. So don’t be shy!
If you are looking to exercise at home, there are some definite benefits to working with weights. Not only are they portable and you can do them anywhere, but you also get small muscle and joint involvement, which can assist in injury prevention, as well as supportive muscle exercise which allows you to strengthen different muscles.
If you are new to a resistance training program or are wondering how to maximize your results, it is important to know how much you should do.
If your goal is weight loss or toning, start with one set of 12-15 repetitions per exercise. When you can complete this, add a second set of 12-15 repetitions, working your way up to three sets.
If your goal is to add muscle, start with one set of 8-12 repetitions per exercise. When you can complete this, add a second set of 8-12 repetitions, working your way up to three sets.
You want to feel challenged at the end of each set. If completing the desired repetitions is still easy for you, increase your weight. Even if your goal is toning, don’t be afraid to increase the weight. For example, if a shoulder press is easy at 8 lbs. for 15 repetitions, increase the weight to 10 lbs. At 10 lbs. you might only be able to complete 12 repetitions until you get stronger. As long as you are within your desired repetition range, your muscles won’t get bulky with 10 lbs. Instead, you will stimulate the muscle and it will show better tone.
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