The Benefits of Weight Lifting: Why you Should Lift Heavy
I think it’s fair to say that everyone wants to reduce fat and build lean muscle, but with so much advice and guidance out there many have no clue where to start. In this post I’ll help you by providing very productive ways to burn fat and gain muscle with your daily workout!
Burn more fat! This doesn’t mean work out longer, I mean find a workout that is more efficient. We’ve been taught that cardio will help you burn calories, but there’s a better way to burn even more. Things like HIIT (high intensity interval training) and heavy lifting will help you burn more calories not only while you’re working out, but for upwards of 24 hours after your workout. The most successful fat burning workout is a little bit of everything, like HIIT where it combines cardio and lifting. Doing these exercises will help your body have a longer burn, which will burn more fat. Many high intensity workouts are also high impact, so make sure you add some low impact movements or exercises as well to avoid injury.
Lift heavy! Many people, especially women, are afraid of lifting heavy or even trying weight lifting at all. The fear is that they don’t want to get too big. With images of body builders in their heads its no wonder no one wants to lift a free weight or try to bench press. The reality is that lifting heavy won’t make you bulk up. Testosterone is the hormone that builds muscle, and men have more of it than women. If you aren’t supplementing with artificial hormones, chances are you won’t bulk up or get big just by lifting. Lifting heavy will reduce your body fat and make other workouts easier. In order to lift heavy you want to aim for a weight that allows you to do 8-15 repetitions before you can’t lift anymore, and you reach failure. Building muscle is a gradual process so you can lift, lift heavy, and then reach a plateau. By lifting you’ll be able to reduce your body fat and have higher calories burns to help maintain your figure.
Nutrition. The saying, “abs are made in the kitchen” is true for a reason. Nutrition is a key component in building muscle and maintaining the body you want. Take the abdomen for example. People think that they can do a million crunches and they’ll have a six-pack. The reality is that a six-pack comes in many parts: strength training, cardio, core training, and nutrition. You have to not only build your ab muscles up but also reduce the fat in front of those muscles. And since you can’t spot reduce fat, the best way to get rid of it is with nutrition. A diet clean of processed foods is a great place to start. Think of Survivor but in a healthy way (no starvation diets here). By eating things like lean protein and tons of vegetables you’ll be well on your way to building muscle and reducing your overall body fat.
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