Club Blog

Many people that are seeking to lose weight do not understand the vital role that strength training plays in helping you to keep excess weight off permanently. Most people focus on diet and tend to ignore the exercise element. Even those that do develop the habit to exercise tend to only focus on aerobic exercise however you must not ignore weight training and just think that it is for bodybuilders or only for men since women need to build and maintain healthy muscles too. Here are some tips to help you lose weight more quickly:

Tip 1: Just get started

The biggest step is to just get started as this is often the hardest thing for most people especially those that have never been on a weight training program before. Join a local gym nearby or buy a good piece of weight training equipment and go through a workout routine.

Tip 2: Do not weight train too much

Weight training is very stressful on your body and it is designed to be stressful so as to trigger new muscle growth or maintain what you already have. If you get over enthusiastic and start lifting almost every day then that can be very bad for your overall health and will definitely not help you to lose weight.

Weight training helps to add muscle to your body which is critical since muscle burns calories continuously. This is important for weight loss purposes since if you can raise your overall metabolism then burning fat becomes a lot easier as it is very difficult and actually potentially dangerous to go on very strict low calorie diets.

Do not even bother trying those starvation diets as again they are very risky for your overall health and well being. It is not necessary to give up your favorite foods, you may need to lower quantities and portion sizes but if you like a food then go ahead and keep eating it and monitor your weight closely and make adjustments accordingly.

The benefits of lifting weights, also known as weight training, strength training or resistance training, include stronger muscles, a stronger heart, a leaner physique, and a body better able to support your everyday needs and activities. However despite its many benefits women, still tend to shy away from this beneficial form of exercise because of a misplaced fear that they will “bulk” up and become like an overly muscular body builder.

It seems to be many a man’s dream to have big, bulky muscles. So why is it that men, whose bodies naturally contain much greater amounts of testosterone and growth hormones, can lift weights, yet never achieve those “Terminator” like muscles? Well, unless they are supplementing with dangerous and unhealthful steroids or similar substances, most men do not naturally bulk up by lifting weights, and neither will most women. The idea that women get big, ugly muscles from weight training is a misconception.

The fact of the matter is that women must lift weights in order to achieve the lean, sculpted bodies they desire. If a woman does happen to have the genetic disposition to bulk up quickly, there are easy ways to alter a workout to prevent too much muscle gain, while still increasing strength and rapidly burning fat.

Should you do cardio before or after your weight workout? Many prefer to do their cardio exercise before lifting to get it out of the way and as a general warm-up. I do endorse a 5 minute pre-workout general warm-up for safety’ sake, but for maximum fat loss, post weight training aerobics should be the mainstay of your program.

The funny thing about being on the cutting edge of weight loss science is that people are reluctant to believe you until someone with a M.D. says it is so. Well, wonder of all wonders, it just so happens that a recent study suggests that the best time to do cardio is after a weight workout and that how long you rest between the two can make a difference in both hormone release and fat burning.  This is not new information to bodybuilders who specialize in rapid fat loss year in and year out. =

The study was presented at the 2006 ACSM meeting and featured 10 healthy men who did three types of exercise routines on different days: 1) Endurance exercises only 2) Endurance exercise after weight training and a 20 minute rest 3) Endurance exercises after weight training and 120 minutes rest

Many people have their reasons for not wanting to exercise. These are six of the most common excuses that people give for not exercising, and ways to combat those excuses:

I am too tired: This is how a person says to him or herself when thinking about exercising and does not want to. If you are too tired, you can take a short nap and you will feel refreshed enough to exercise. Otherwise, you can pick the time of the day to exercise when you are most at your peak.

For example, if you are a morning person, then exercise in the morning. If you are an evening or late night person, then you can exercise at night. There may be some health concerns regarding what time of the day is the best to exercise. However, if you exercise no later than late afternoon/early evening, you should have no problem

I do not have time: Many people these days are so wrapped up in their work that they do not even think about exercise. However, people cannot afford to not take the time to exercise. In fact, exercising helps you perform better at work. The amount or length of time you need to exercise depends upon how active you naturally are or how active you are on the job. You should consider a minimum of 20 minutes a day.

Also, you can find creative exercises to engage in; such as if you need a gallon of milk and you forgot it at the store, you can walk there to get it. You can also bike to work instead of drive if, you are not too far away from your job and you do not have to work too late. You can find ways to exercise if you have a busy schedule.

Ask a panel of fitness professionals the age-old question of free weights vs. weight machines and you’re likely to end up in a tense gridlock. The fact of the matter is, fitness preferences are as diverse as the crowd of people you see at your gym, but there are pros and cons to both that we can outline here.

Free weights are versatile, inexpensive, and, depending on the amount of weight you’re used to lifting, ultra-portable. They also simulate real-life lifting situations which will help you better accomplish everyday activities that require strength.

Weight machines, on the other hand, can be effective weight training tools, too, provided you use machines that allow you to adjust them based on your body’s dimensions and range of motion.

The fact of the matter is that few things are more important for your health than just getting out there and doing something to strengthen and tone your body, but proper technique is more important than the specific type of equipment you use.