Should I lift Weights or do endless amounts of Cardio to get in shape and feel better?
It is very common to hear the stories of clients that are over 35 who feel they want to get in shape only to have been slogging it out on the cardio machines for years thinking that it’s the best way to get into shape. Or it could be a story of a feel your joints stiff, muscle tightness feels like it has just got dramatically worse, sore knees, sore back just to name a few.
This doesn’t happen overnight. Over years of training, running, working, driving, housework etc, and not taking the time to keep our bodies mobile and flexible it feels like our bodies are very fragile and have the mentality well I’m over 40 now so its normal. It’s an easy excuse to give that’s for sure but let me say it’s not the case.
If you feel like you’re in this category then read on:
Lifting weights is crucial but at the same time keeping flexible whilst lifting weight is a must.
Fact: People who trained twice a week performing weight training circuits were
shown to decrease anxiety levels by 60%.
It is getting far more common these days to see people in gyms and with their trainers lifting weights and more accepted. I can remember when I was younger and training in gyms it was big power lifters and bodybuilders training hard with big weights banging around. Its good to see that the increase in people with average sized bodies training hard, looming and feeling great in their efforts whilst performing the old fashioned weight lifting moves.
If preventing the middle age spread is your priority than lifting weights is a must
Keep in mind that naturally you will lose 2-8% of muscle per decade over 30. The more muscle you have on your body the warmer your metabolic rate will be naturally burning more calories whilst training and at rest.
Muscle requires more blood and oxygen to be supplied than what Fat does so you body must work harder to preserve it.
Fact: You could burn an extra 3000 calories per month naturally with an extra 500gm of muscle gained.
Plus an bonus with lifting weights is that you will burn more calories post training for longer than traditional cardio so in the long run its better off.
Just a few more facts why Weight Training will benefit you:
Stabilise Blood sugar levels
Increase oxygen
Increase Bone Density
Increase your mood
Decrease stress
Feel Stronger
Increase self confidence
So make sure you keep up you weight training or if you haven’t yet started don’t wait any longer to get lifting.
Fact: Use your muscles or lose them.