If I had a penny every time I heard a female say that they don’t want to ‘enter the man section’ because they don’t want to be ‘bulky’ I would probably have, well… a tenner, which is a lot when you put it into perspective.
I would also probably have a fiver every time I hear respective males say that they don’t want to ‘get big’ but they want to ‘tone up a bit’.
Let’s cut to the chase! Males and females, it would take a tremendous amount of time investment in training, nutrition and mental conditioning to achieve your unconscious associative connected image with weight training and elite bodybuilders on steroids.
It’s worth noting that the day you start weight training does not mean that you are on a one way unstoppable route of growth to being a muscle bound monster.
You simply train to hit your desired goal, and then you maintain it, it’s important to know that transformation is contextual to the individual, but, universally, principles of transformation remains the same.
Why weight training?
- Increases BMR (basal metabolic rate) meaning you can burn more energy by sitting on your firm tushie (better fat burning potential)
- Strengthens bones and reduces the onset of osteoporosis
- To improve your body shape by synthesizing new muscle tissue and burning adipose tissue (fat)
- Stress relief
- Improved hormone balance including a higher production of testosterone (one of the key hormones for building muscle and burning body fat)
- The foundation to prevent falls as you grow older (especially the lower limbs, as the quads, glutes and hamstrings are among some of the first muscles to atrophy due to the ageing process)
Don’t get me wrong, if you enjoy other forms of exercise, then fantastic and good on you, not everybody has to do weight training, there are many forms of exercise to get fit and healthy.
But, from a scientific methodical standpoint to burn body fat and change your body shape, steady state cardio for example is not the key that will unlock the padlock to your treasure chest to a firm strong bod! The point of this write up is to alert you that hours of slogging away on the treadmill won’t give you the rock hard pecks or peach booty that you desire.
Saying that, we certainly are not completely disregarding other forms of exercise, they all have benefits and like always, it’s about balance. We’re just saying steady state cardio for example to gain the physique of your dreams isn’t the sharpest axe in the toolbox to chop the tree down.
As well as weight training, HIIT (high intensity interval training) is a fantastic way to preserve muscle tissue whilst still hammering away at that tyre around the waist, HIIT also increases the production of (T) testosterone and GH (growth hormone) which both significantly lead to lean mass gains as well as body fat reduction.
One last thing, redefine your goal, weight loss? Or fat loss?
Weight loss can mean the loss of lean mass as well as fat, this takes you further down the spectrum of health, it slows your metabolism and makes you weaker, of course this is contextual to the individual, look at it like this, providing you are healthy and if you are training and eating in a way to preserve and build muscle, but still losing weight, that weight will be from fat and not precious muscle.
Effective fat loss spares lean mass, making you more efficient at burning body fat. My point is, measure your progress against a tangible marker, such as your body composition, pictures, clothes and yes, weight is a tracking method for sure, but there are many factors to consider rather than the stand alone overall weight on the scales.
Why?
Because if you are doing weight training, you are building your lean mass as well as burning body fat, meaning, that, overall weight may not tell you the full story of your progress.
You may well have lost a few pounds, or even none at all, but, you may have lost 5% body fat and dropped a few dress sizes or a few belt notches, been able to run further, lift more, have more energy, more confidence.
There are many ways to measure success when it comes to transformation.
Before we part ways, here’s the secret..
…HABITS, they are the best markers for success.
Are you learning new ones? Improving current ones? Being consistent?
That’s where the change is people, and hitting the weights is a great habit to learn and improve to smash your goals.