Myth or Fact?

Strength Training… a.k.a. Lifting weights

Myth or Fact?

Here’s the first one I get often:  Will my muscles turn to fat if I stop strength training?

 “No, no no no! Under a microscope, fat looks like Honeycomb cereal and muscle like a bundle of straws.  The point here—they are different from one another.  This misconception that muscle can turn to fat may have started because many highly trained athletes become fat after their sport career end.  Logical deduction says, he used to have big muscles and no fat; now he quit training and the muscles turned to mush.  Here’s the real picture.  The athlete quit training, the muscles shrank, and the retired pro continued to take in the same number of calories he did during competitive years.  The result is that muscles are history, extra calories are stored as fat, and the former athlete keeps gaining weight.”  (The complete Book of Personal Training; Douglas S. Brooks)

Myth or Fact #2

 Do I have to strength train hours to get results?

It’s not a requirement that you sentence yourself to four to six hours in the gym laboring over your weights, forgetting about your kids, and never getting eight hours of sleep again to receive benefits from strength training. “Here’s the minimal commitment:  Strength train two times a week for about 20 minutes per workout.”  (The complete Book of Personal Training; Douglas S. Brooks)

Now, I‘ve just retired your last reason for not doing it~time.  20 minutes!  We all have twenty minutes somewhere in our day.

Besides the obvious reasons why most people pick up the weights at the gym, studies have documented the many wellness benefits of strength training. If you have arthritis, strength training can be as effective as medication in decreasing arthritis pain. Strength training can help post-menopausal women increase their bone density and reduce the risk of bone fractures. And for the 14 million Americans with type 2 diabetes, strength training along with other healthy lifestyle changes can help improve glucose control.

 

Are you lacking energy? Grumpy?   Strength training boosts energy levels and improves your mood.  Strength training will elevate your level of endorphins (natural opiates produced by the brain), which will make you feel great. Now if that isn’t enough to convince you, strength training has also been shown to be a great antidepressant, to help you sleep better, and to improve your overall quality of life.

Do you want to burn more calories?  Stupid question; right.  Well, strength training translates to more calories burned even up to 2 days after an intense workout.  While you burn calories during strength training; your body continues to burn calories after high intensity strength training, a process called EPOC~ Excessive Post Oxygen Consumption.   More calories are used to make and maintain muscle than fat, and in fact strength training can boost your metabolism by 15 percent — that can really jumpstart a weight loss plan.

So now that you are convinced it’s your time to get back in the gym, or embark on a new journey, contact me for your consultation and learn how you can put 20 minutes to good use without going to a gym with my awesome “Sculpt it in 20 Workout!”