Fitness Friday

Worth the Weight

Cardio, cardio cardio.  The  more calories you burn, the better.  This mindset is all too common among many exercises especially when time is an issue. While cardio is important and essential to both weight maintenance & weight loss, I want to highlight the importance of including resistance training into your workouts each week.  If you're serious about reducing body fat & keeping weight off, resistance training can be your best friend & here's why:

·         Building lean muscle mass boosts your metabolism

Your resting metabolic rate, or RMR, is the amount of energy (calories) your body burns at rest.  This number is highly dependent upon genetic factors, but is also be affected by the amount of muscle you have.  At rest, muscle burns more calories than fat.  Therefore, the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be.

·         Muscle weighs more than fat, but takes up less volume

This is why you might notice your clothes fitting a little looser after a few months of weight training, even though you’re the number on the scale stays the same.  This is because you are changing your body composition- the amount of muscle in proportion to the amount of fat on your body.  According to the American College of Sports Medicine, a favorable body composition for men is between 10%-18% body fat and 17%-25% body fat for women.

·         Resistance training helps increase bone density

As we age, we lose both muscle and bone mass.  Loss of bone mass can result serious health consequences.  Women especially are at risk for osteopenia (decreased bone mineral density) which can lead to osteoporosis.  Dietary intake of both vitamin D and calcium are key, but the effect of weight bearing exercise is an important factor in maintaining good bone mineral density.  Resistance training stimulates osteoblasts in the bone to initiate new bone growth. Any weight bearing exercise such as running, weight lifting, or circuit training will stimulate this growth, having a positive impact on bone mass.  

·         Weight training can have favorable effects on your blood pressure and heart rate

While cardiovascular exercise has the most effect on improved blood pressure and heart rate, the same effects are seen in regular resistance training to a certain degree.  Lifting weights increases your heart rate and improves blood flow to your exercising muscles.  When done on a regular basis, your body will become more efficient at maintaining this good blood flow which means your heart won’t have to work as hard.

·         Improved balance, coordination, and decreased risk for injury

Good muscle tone is key in maintaining good posture.    It is important to do both upper and lower body weight training in order to prevent muscle imbalances and to keep your body in proper alignment, which will decrease the risk for potential injuries.