Get Into Strength Training This Summer!

Photo credit: www.bodybuilding.com

For many of us, working out regularly is already a part of our lives we take seriously. Getting regular exercise helps us look good, feel energised, fight aging, and prevent all kinds of health problems. However, are you really making your time at the gym count as much as you could?

Many women see working out as being all about cardio. Whether you hit your favourite machine, like the elliptical, rowing machine or treadmill, or you do classes like spinning or Zumba, you consider your workout to be about raising the heart rate, sweating, and burning calories. Now, cardio exercise is great, and offers loads of fantastic health benefits, but it should not be the only thing you do. Strength training is just as, if not even more important, whether your goals are about general fitness or weight loss.

Here is what you need to know:

Building Muscle is Hugely Beneficial to Weight Loss

The more lean muscle you have, the more energy your body uses. This means that the more muscular you are, the faster you burn calories (this is why men, who have a naturally higher muscle to fat ratio, are recommended to eat more calories on a diet than women). Now, you may think you don't want to build muscle because you don't like the way muscular women look. However, it takes a lot of deliberate training and dedication for female bodybuilders to grow muscle the way they do. The naturally low testosterone levels in women mean that you will not 'bulk up' from doing regular weight training – instead, you'll achieve a firm, toned look, that everybody will agree is healthy and attractive.

Strength Training is Important as You Age

As women get older, their muscle mass and bone density decrease. This process can begin as young as 40, but by strength training, you can prevent muscle loss and keep your body younger and more robust. As a simple test, can you get out of a chair without using your hands? Many women over 40 cannot, and this is a sign they need to begin a regular strength training regime.

It Doesn't Take Much Time

While regular cardio takes a big time commitment, because you want to be active for anything between 20 minutes and several hours per session, strength training doesn't take long at all. Gyms like The Fitness Mosaic tend to have all the resistance machines and free weights you need to work all of your muscle groups, so just head over to that part of the gym during your visits and spend 15 minutes or so doing sets. Also, rest days are very important in strength training, so unlike cardio you don't have to feel guilty on the days you don't do it – your muscles need to rest to repair and grow!

Strength training is rewarding, and doesn't require you to be a bodybuilding expert, or to have much extra time available. Whatever your age or fitness goals, make this summer the time you start!