Friday, December 10, 2010

The Truth About Cardio

Maybe it was all those hours of Jane Fonda tapes, but somewhere along the line, ladies got it stuck in their heads that hours and hours of cardio is what will make us lose fat and, ultimately, weight.

Not only is this extremely false, but convincing people of the benefits of strength training remains every trainer’s challenge. Most of us seem to believe that weight training is going to put weight on, not take it off. Women especially are so petrified of looking like a she-male that we easily buy into the myth that if we pick up anything heavier than a 5 lb dumbbell we'll grow chest hair. Gross! All those hours on the elliptical, and no wonder your mind is doing circles.

The grand irony here is that building muscle will actually take weight off better than hours of cardio. Skeptical? Of course you are! Listen. It’s a simple formula, really: muscle burns calories. The more muscle you develop, the more calories (and fat) you will burn, even while you're sitting on the couch watching Glee.

Interval training – small, intense bouts of cardio mixed with weight training – is the best and most efficient way to get in shape! That also means challenging yourself with those weights. Don’t be afraid to pick up the heavier weight! You will build muscle, but that doesn’t mean size. It means strength and definition, and, wait for it… a rockin’ metabolism too!

See? The truth doesn’t always have to hurt!

1 comment:

  1. I am so working on this!! I used to be a cardio queen, but have been working with a trainer for a year and retraining myself about how I work out in the gym, it's hard not to go for the steady state cardio machine,
    thank you for the inspiration

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