My specialty is working with women and one of the things that I constantly hear is that they don't want to lift weights because they don't want to 'look like a dude'. I've seen the pictures floating around out there in cyberspace of extreme female body builders that are making these women think and say that, and although I truly respect female body builders and their sport, I can understand that isn't the result everyone is after.
That being said, let me assure ALL of you--- that does NOT happen on accident. You aren't just leisurely lifting weights a few times a week when suddenly your clothes rip in sections like the hulk and you get the urge to throw a car... no, the body building results that those women have achieved take tons of time, dedication and planning. So rest assured, stepping out of your comfort zone and picking up a weight is not going to do that- rather, it's going to build the lean muscle that you need to boost your metabolism and tone and pull your body into the actual shape you're looking to achieve.
On the flipside, sticking to an all-cardio and no weight bearing regime is not helping you. Instead, it can leave you overtrained without fitness and give you a world of other problems on top of failing to achieve your fitness and weight loss goals.
The old mentality of fitness was that it is as basic as "burn more calories than you consume"--- but it's more complicated than that, which is why those women who go on the elliptical for an hour a day for twenty years are frustrated and defeated by their lack of weightloss and results, and end up attributing the weight to something that just happens at a certain age or after having kids.
False. Your body can be in shape, toned and healthy after kids at any age- it can be the way that you want it to be, but you're not necessarily going to get there the way that you want to go. You have to understand that your body needs more than endless repetitive activity, even if it is high intensity, even if you get your heart rate up and even if you sweat your brains out!
Besides not getting the results that you're after and being boring as all get out, the cardio addiction is known to decrease efficient fat metabolism, increase the stress hormone cortisol, increase systemic inflammation and increases free radical production (oxidative damage). Your risk for injury and complication increases, and you might start feeling the opposite of the endorphin release that all those exercise-loving people are after.
So with all the nay-saying, what now? Instead of cardio addiction, your best course of action is balance. Mix cardio activity days and weight training days for a holistic fitness approach and keep it interesting and changing so that both your body and mind are challanged and entertained. My favorite kind of cardio is interval training. This includes the Tabata protocol, run walk intervals, sprint run intervals, whatever works for you- but don't just do the same thing every day, day in and day out. Most of us don't have the attention span to actually stick with a fitness regime like that, which explains the high level of fitness routine commitment failure... and those of us that do have the tenacity to stick with this kind of fitness plan long term are potentially doing more harm than good.
All health topics can be frustrating; it feels like what is recommended is always changing! One minute something is good for you and the next minute that is the very thing that is defeating your health. But I would encourage you with information by saying that, just as we do not treat cancer the same way that we did twenty years ago, so too are we making advances in the fitness world. We find out better and better ways to treat our body and our health as we continue to gain more understanding about our dynamic needs; don't ever get stuck in a rut where you are not willing to learn what the newest information about what is best for your health needs... no matter what stage in life we have reached, there is always more to learn! Do not be afraid to pick up the weights... this is going to probably put you outside of your comfort zone, but if you do the same thing you've always done then you're going to have the same results you've always had!
That being said, let me assure ALL of you--- that does NOT happen on accident. You aren't just leisurely lifting weights a few times a week when suddenly your clothes rip in sections like the hulk and you get the urge to throw a car... no, the body building results that those women have achieved take tons of time, dedication and planning. So rest assured, stepping out of your comfort zone and picking up a weight is not going to do that- rather, it's going to build the lean muscle that you need to boost your metabolism and tone and pull your body into the actual shape you're looking to achieve.
On the flipside, sticking to an all-cardio and no weight bearing regime is not helping you. Instead, it can leave you overtrained without fitness and give you a world of other problems on top of failing to achieve your fitness and weight loss goals.
The old mentality of fitness was that it is as basic as "burn more calories than you consume"--- but it's more complicated than that, which is why those women who go on the elliptical for an hour a day for twenty years are frustrated and defeated by their lack of weightloss and results, and end up attributing the weight to something that just happens at a certain age or after having kids.
False. Your body can be in shape, toned and healthy after kids at any age- it can be the way that you want it to be, but you're not necessarily going to get there the way that you want to go. You have to understand that your body needs more than endless repetitive activity, even if it is high intensity, even if you get your heart rate up and even if you sweat your brains out!
Besides not getting the results that you're after and being boring as all get out, the cardio addiction is known to decrease efficient fat metabolism, increase the stress hormone cortisol, increase systemic inflammation and increases free radical production (oxidative damage). Your risk for injury and complication increases, and you might start feeling the opposite of the endorphin release that all those exercise-loving people are after.
So with all the nay-saying, what now? Instead of cardio addiction, your best course of action is balance. Mix cardio activity days and weight training days for a holistic fitness approach and keep it interesting and changing so that both your body and mind are challanged and entertained. My favorite kind of cardio is interval training. This includes the Tabata protocol, run walk intervals, sprint run intervals, whatever works for you- but don't just do the same thing every day, day in and day out. Most of us don't have the attention span to actually stick with a fitness regime like that, which explains the high level of fitness routine commitment failure... and those of us that do have the tenacity to stick with this kind of fitness plan long term are potentially doing more harm than good.
All health topics can be frustrating; it feels like what is recommended is always changing! One minute something is good for you and the next minute that is the very thing that is defeating your health. But I would encourage you with information by saying that, just as we do not treat cancer the same way that we did twenty years ago, so too are we making advances in the fitness world. We find out better and better ways to treat our body and our health as we continue to gain more understanding about our dynamic needs; don't ever get stuck in a rut where you are not willing to learn what the newest information about what is best for your health needs... no matter what stage in life we have reached, there is always more to learn! Do not be afraid to pick up the weights... this is going to probably put you outside of your comfort zone, but if you do the same thing you've always done then you're going to have the same results you've always had!
An excellent article on this topic that I wish everyone would read is by Mark Sisson; it's called "The Case against Cardio" and you can find it at this link:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/#axzz1xVuqdAPy
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