More women are turning to weight training for cardio exercise because it is more effective in helping them reach their goals.
Cardio was once the most popular way to lose weight and stay fit, but now that social media and even government organizations are changing their stance on what it means to be active, weightlifting has become more popular.
Women are no longer bound by the old rules of cardio thanks to social media, according to Joy Cox. She explains that social media allows everyone to share their own story, and people are seeing that women of all shapes and sizes can be physically active and accomplished.
It is now easier than ever before to get the motivation you need to change up your current workout routine, due to the high number of fitness influencers and trainers on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. In addition, research has shown that lifting weights can offer benefits beyond simply building muscle, including positive effects on your bones and body composition.
It's great that you don't need to go to the gym to get started. You can just set up a space at home with some dumbbells and start working towards personal bests.
Why Weight Training Is Key For Weight Loss
improve your balance Cardio may offer many benefits, but lifting weights can help you build muscle, strengthen your bones, and improve your balance.
According to Sims, one reason why weightlifters eat a lot is because their muscles are very efficient and need a lot of fuel to work properly.
Sims says that you may not notice a significant weight loss at the beginning, but you will start to notice a change in your clothes, fitness, and appearance.
This means that even though you might be working out less, you're effectively doing more work as your body becomes more efficient. The text is saying that as you lose fat and build muscle, your body composition changes. This is because muscles are much denser than fat, so even though you might be working out less, your body becomes more efficient and you're effectively doing more work.
Fasting prior to working out can help to regulate your cortisol levels, says exercise physiologist Stacy Sims, PhD. She adds that older theories behind losing weight emphasized doing lots of cardio and delaying meals. With this kind of plan, your body's cortisol level—(a stress hormone that regulates your metabolism—skyrockets. But in actuality, this strategy often “backfires and makes people put on weight,” she explains. Fasting prior to working out can help to regulate your cortisol levels and prevent weight gain, says exercise physiologist Stacy Sims, PhD. She explains that older theories behind losing weight emphasized doing lots of cardio and delaying meals. This kind of plan often backfires because it causes the body's cortisol level—(a stress hormone that regulates your metabolism—to rise.
Resistance training helps to build muscle tissue, which is not as demanding as other types of training. This lack of stress means that there is no accompanying increase in the hormone cortisol. The end result is a workout that is more effective in changing your body composition.
5 Tips To Build A Weight Training Regimen For Weight Loss
- Assess your mobility. Before you pick up any weights, it's a good idea to understand what your body's mobility and stability looks like, according to Alex Silver-Fagan, CPT, RYT, nike master trainer and creator of Flow Into Strong. Try hanging on a bar, holding a plank, or sitting in a squat. “If you can't hold your body in those places, I wouldn't add load to those movements,” she says. Keep working at your tough-for-you exercises with your body weight until you feel more in control.
- Master the basics. Silver-Fagan adds that there are four functional moves you should be able to conquer before starting your weight training routine: squat, push-up, deadlift, and horizontal or overhead row. Having these under your belt will help prevent injuries in the future. Not sure how your form stacks up? Consider working with a trainer for even just a few sessions (virtual or IRL) for feedback and guidance.
- Gather your equipment. To start, Silver-Fagan suggests finding three sets of dumbbells: a light, medium, and heavy pair. Usually, these sets only need to be 5 to 10 pounds apart (unless a trainer says otherwise). You should be able to easily lift the lightest ones with little to no effort, while the heavy ones should be tougher. Sometimes, even your own body weight can be enough, she adds—start where you're most comfortable.
- Eat plenty of protein. Sims says protein contains amino acids, which are what actually help build up your muscles. They also “keep signaling your body to build the lean mass and lose the body fat,” she explains. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends eating at least 0.35 grams of protein per pound of body weight every day if you're sedentary. But if you're active and looking to build muscle and lower your body fat percentage, aim for more like 0.73 grams of protein per pound of body weight, per the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
- Listen to your body. Pay attention to how you're feeling while lifting weights. “There's a difference between pain and discomfort,” Silver-Fagan notes. “If something is painful, then you should be backing off. If something's uncomfortable, you have to ask yourself, ‘Is this because I haven't done it? Is it hard?' ” Plus, remember that you can always take a break in between reps.
IS LIFTING WEIGHTS GOOD FOR WEIGHT LOSS?
If you are trying to lose weight, lifting weights can help you burn more calories and build muscle mass. Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, so you will lose weight even if the scale does not change much.
Decreasing body fat and increasing muscle mass generally leads to a higher weight on the scale, since muscle is denser than fat. So don't panic if you don't see the number on the scale drop as much as you were expecting.
WHAT WEIGHT TRAINING IS BEST FOR WEIGHT LOSS?
A good strength-training program for weight loss should be efficient in burning calories, helping you to build muscle, and reducing your body fat. Phases 1 and 2 of the NASM OPT model do all of these things. Phase 1: Stabilization Endurance Training uses circuits, where you move from one exercise to the next with very little rest. Doing circuits during this phase will keep your heart rate elevated, which increases the number of calories you burn during each session.
Phase 2 of the OPT Model uses supersets to help you build stability and strength as you work toward your weight loss goals. A superset is a group of two exercises performed back-to-back with little to no rest between sets.
6 OF THE BEST WEIGHT LIFTING EXERCISES FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Compound exercises can help you lose weight by burning more calories and working multiple muscle groups at once. It's also important to select a variety of movements to get a full-body workout. Here are some Phase 1 and Phase 2 examples of these movements:
PHASE 1 EXERCISES
#1 PUSH-UP
Start by standing in a high-plank position with your feet hip-width apart. You should be in a straight line from your head to your toes and stay that way throughout the entire movement. Keep your abs and glutes tight as you bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the ground. Exhale as you press back to the starting position.
1. Move slowly downward over the course of four seconds, then stop and remain still for two seconds. Finally, rapidly move upward in a single second.
Start push-ups on an elevated surface, gradually lowering the elevation to make the move more challenging.
If you want to learn how to do a pushup with proper form, see the linked article. To learn how to do a pushup with proper form, follow the link.
#2 SUSPENSION TRAINER ROW
Step 1: Face the anchor, holding the straps with your palms facing in toward one another. Step 2: Start with your arms straight, with tension in the rope, and walk your feet forward until you're standing at an angle leaning back. Step 3: Your body should be in a straight line.
To do a proper row, start by pulling your body up towards the anchor. Keep your elbows close to your body and row until your wrists are next to your rib cage. At the top, squeeze your shoulder blades together. Then slowly return to the starting position.
If you want to work on your Tempo, you should row up in one second, squeeze and hold for two seconds at the top, and then lower back to the starting position in four seconds.
To make this move harder, walk your feet closer to the anchor.
#3 GLUTE BRIDGE
To do the move, start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip-width apart. Put your arms at your sides with your palms up toward the ceiling. Then squeeze your glutes and lift your hips up until your shoulders, hips, and knees are in a straight line. Finally, lower yourself back down to the starting position.
The tempo for this exercise is: one second to lift the weight up, two seconds to hold at the top, and four seconds to lower the weight back to the starting position.
To progress in this movement, lift one leg at the top of the movement and keep your hips neutral.
#4 BALL SQUAT
Begin by leaning against a ball on a wall, positioning the ball on your lower back. Next, sit your hips straight down into a squat until your thighs are parallel with the ground. Finally, push through your heels and squeeze your glutes to stand.
You should take four seconds to lower into the squat, pause for two seconds at the bottom of the squat, and then take one second to stand up.
As you progress in your squatting technique, you should aim to keep good form by not leaning too far forward or arching your back. This will help you to eventually be able to squat on your own without support.
#5 STEP-UP TO BALANCE
Choose a step that is 8-12 inches high to start with. Step up, and raise the opposite knee up to hip height. While you balance, squeeze the glutes on the standing leg. Step all the way down to the starting position.
The tempo for the step up exercise is one second on the way up, two seconds to balance and hold at the top, and four seconds on the way down.
As you get more comfortable with the basic move, you can increase the height of the step, or change the plane of motion to make the exercise more challenging.
#6 PALLOF PRESS
Sit with a cable or band behind you, perpendicular to your body. Your feet should be hip-width apart with good posture and tight glutes and abs. Pull the handle close to your body and press it away without allowing your body to rotate.
The tempo for this exercise is 4 seconds as you pull the handle close to your body, 1 second as you press it away, and a 2-second hold with your arms straight.
As you progress, you will eventually be standing on one foot during the press, with the foot closest to the anchor.
HOW MANY TIMES A WEEK SHOULD YOU WEIGHT LIFT FOR WEIGHT LOSS?
Getting this amount of exercise can help to improve your health, including reducing your risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. It is important to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week according to the CDC Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. In addition, it is recommended to do strength training two or more days per week. Exercise can help improve your health, including reducing your risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
The following recommendations are not only for general health, but also for those who are trying to lose weight.
If you lift weights 2-3 times a week, you'll be able to have enough time to recover between strength-training days while still making progress toward your goals.
An example of a weight lifting schedule would be twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays or three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The key is finding a schedule that you can stick to consistently over time to see results.
HOW MUCH WEIGHT SHOULD I LIFT TO LOSE WEIGHT
For the first phase of stabilization training, you'll be doing 1-3 sets of 12-20 repetitions at a slow tempo. In the second phase of strength endurance training, you'll be doing 2-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions. When choosing a weight, you want something that you can lift with good form for all the reps. You should start to feel a burn during the last 3-4 reps, and your muscles might shake a little bit, but you should still be in control of the movement.
If you can do two additional reps with good form for 2 sets in a row, that's a sign it's time to increase the weight. Start lighter than you think you need, especially in Phase 1 when the tempo is no joke. Remember that good form is more important than how much weight you're lifting.
