from microsoft.com
Are you a cardio junkie? Do you keep promising yourself that you're going to work out with weights but jump onto your cardio machine or into your favorite aerobics class out of pure habit? If this sounds like you, and you're wondering how to boost your weight lose efforts, read on! It is beneficial and down right crucial to incorporate weight bearing exercises into your fitness routine a minimum of 2 times per week.
For each pound of muscle you have, your body burns an addition 35 to 50 calories per day. Let’s say you have 10 lbs of muscle, that’s about 350 to 500 extra calories burned a day (3500 calories approximately every 7 days)! So, the idea here is to build lean body mass or MUSCLE! This helps boost your basil metabolic rate because muscle is “metabolically active”, fat, sorry to say, is not.
The moral of the story here is; don't leave out muscle strengthening exercises when you’re trying to lose body fat or get into good physical condition. Performing only cardio exercises will help you burn calories but you’re not necessarily turning your body into an efficient calorie munching machine. You are most likely losing muscle along with some body fat and water weight by only doing cardiovascular workouts. As you continue to perform weight resistance exercises, you may notice that the numbers on the scale are not going down. This is why it’s important to take body measurements; both with a tape measure and a body fat analyzer. When you begin incorporating muscle building into your workout, your body composition and size will change. It’s not always about the numbers on the scale.
Strive to perform a full body resistance training workout a minimum of 2 times a week along with 3 to 4 days of cardio. For those who are beginners with weight training, it's recommended that 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 15 repetitions are performed for all major muscle groups. Repetitions are how many times you lift the weight, sets are how many times you perform the repetition's. For example: Bicep curls. 3 sets, curl 10 times in each set. Rest in between sets.
If working out with weights is new or intimidating to you, inquire with your gym manager to see if there are any personal trainers available to help orientate you with the weight equipment. Some gyms offer introductory sessions and cost effective training packages to help you get started.
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