3 Reasons to try Weight-Training
Why weight-training will make you lose weight, get leaner and more flexible
By Kushini Jayawardane
I 100% believe that weight-training is far superior to spending hours running, and doing other sorts of cardio training – unless of course your goal is in fact to get better at running etc. In this case it’s still very beneficial to add in some weight-training to your routine to help with strength and power production.
#1 It’s a common myth that lifting weight will make you super bulky!
The facts are that if you are trying to put on weight and become “bulky”, you will have to eat a shit load of food and put a lot of effort into your training. It is never as simple as lifting weights will make you bulky.
#2 Lifting weights will make you more toned.
If you are not changing anything except adding in a little weight training to your current routine – it will in fact help you tone up. Getting toned is simply your muscle definition coming through – for this to happen your muscle need adequate stimulus – such as weight training, and you need to be losing body fat.
If your gym routine currently consists of running on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes, yes you will shred some kilos, but you’re missing out on the benefits of weight training.
Adding in some weights can mean that you put on more lean muscle – this in turn means that at rest you will be burning more calories than someone who has less muscle mass. So you can eat more, and your body will burn more calories without you doing any extra working out – helping you lose body fat without trying too hard.
So this means that not only does weight training add more lean muscle mass to your frame making you look “toned,” but it will also help you lose weight because this muscle mass needs more energy (food) at rest/or with everyday activities.
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#3 Weight training increases flexibility
Did you know that if you stretch a muscle for 30 seconds, the muscle lengthening effects only last for another 30 seconds after that? So why do we spend so long stretching, and why is there so much emphasis on stretching if the results are so short term?
I HAVE NO IDEA!
Stretching definitely has it’s place, however the best way for a muscle to stay in this lengthened position if for it to function in this new range of motion under load. So if you add resistance (such as some sort of weight-training) into new ranges of motion, you are way more likely to become more flexible, and for this change to last!
There is a lot of stigma around weight-training and becoming bulky and stiff -this might be the case if you actually only train a muscle group within a short range of motion, however if we look at Olympic Weightlifting for example – you have to be both strong and flexible! They train this range under load so that the changes in range actually lasts!
So in conclusion, weight training should be an important part of everyone’s exercise routine, and if not, you are missing out on a lot of benefits that are quite easy to achieve rather than spending hours running every day! (Can you tell I’m not a big fan of running anymore?)
So give it a go! And trust me it will pay off!
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– Kushini Jayawardane is a Physiotherapist and competitive Olympic Weightlifter