Top 5 reasons why you need to strength train 2-4 times per week. By Beachbody Super Trainer and Creator of LIIFT4, Joel Freeman.
1. Effective Fat Loss: Weight training increases your body’s caloric burn during and after every session due to increased post exercise oxygen consumption. A cardio workout alone does not have this same effect. Strength training will also offset the negative outcomes that caloric restriction induces by telling your body to preserve and build muscle, preventing or reducing metabolic decline.
2. Muscle mass IS your metabolism—the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn at rest. After the age of 30, physically inactive people can lose 3-8% of their muscle mass each decade and can even increase after the age of 60! This results in a reduced metabolism, which makes it much easier to gain weight and result in limited physical ability to participate in daily activities like carrying grocery bags, cleaning the house, climbing a stair case, etc. Lifting weights is the most effective way to help our bodies preserve and build muscle as we age.
3. Carves Sexy Curves: Lifting maintains and builds new muscle that will help create an aesthetically pleasing hourglass shape: round shoulders, tight waist, and defined legs, perky rear, etc. While most men understand these benefits, women tend to fear becoming “bulky” if they lift weights. Women simply do not have enough natural testosterone to accomplish this. With proper diet, the result will always be sexy, tight curves.
4. Stress Relief & Improved Sleep: Just 5 minutes of exercise can trigger anti-anxiety responses in the body. Those who regularly strength train tend to manage stress better and experience fewer adverse reactions to stressful situations as those who do not. Since stress is a common cause of sleep issues, reducing stress can also improve your ability to fall asleep faster, sleep deeper and wake less often.
5. Boosts Confidence: If you’re not happy with yourself first, how can you be happy for anyone else? Self-confidence can lead to an overall healthier lifestyle and looking and feeling better is a great start to improve upon yourself, your relationships and work performance.
How to maximize your results in your sessions when you are strength training 2-4 times per week.
1. Weight training with enough intensity and selecting the right weights are essential to maximize the results. Lift 5 more pounds if your last set wasn’t challenging enough. It should be challenging! Progressive overload will keep your muscles engaged and advancing past plateaus. You are challenging your muscles, so they can grow and get stronger all while burning the maximum number of calories every workout.
2. Eat enough protein. Protein is the building block of muscle, and if you’re not getting enough your body can’t repair and build the muscle you’re asking it to after a strength training session. Try eating 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound you weigh every day. Select high quality proteins like lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts & seeds, and even tofu. If you have a difficult time consuming enough protein from foods, add a protein shake as a snack or right after your weight training session.
3. Try to get 8 hours of sleep. Sleep is one of the times your body produces the most growth hormone, therefore the more sleep you get the faster your muscles will recover and build from weight training exercises.
4. Be consistent! Building muscle takes time. Keep lifting and challenging your muscles and your results will show.
