Why you should start Weight Training.

by hannahandfitness

I absolutely love weight training and now I can’t imagine my fitness routine without it. Although, this hasn’t always been the case. Throw back to a year ago and I was one of those girls who thought weight training would make me bulky and I honestly could not see past decreasing my cardio activity to maintain a flat core. Now though, weight training not only makes me feel strong but I also feel so much more confident within my body. I’ve decreased my cardio activity, a lot and I barely train my core but now it is so much more defined and that’s all thanks to weight training.

Do I look like a bulky man fast forward half a year? Nope, no way. You’ll find men tend to get bigger from weight lifting because of the testosterone in their body that supports muscle growth. You also need to eat well to fuel your body for it to grow it’s muscle well. This can be difficult if you’re unsure on just how much you should be eating. This aside, I have found lifting weights has made my muscles bigger, yet in a curvy way that gives me a lot more definition. I don’t track my macros but I do have an idea of how much and what I should be eating to fuel my body well enough. Don’t fear those carbs – they’ve become my best friend. More reasons to step outside your comfort zone and try weight training are as follow:

Increases your metabolism
Your body requires more energy to maintain muscle mass than it does fat. Your body will then burn more energy to maintain the muscle which will then be more effective at burning the fat which results in your metabolism increasing. So, you need to eat more food to keep building muscle. Winner, winner! Like I said, I’ve upped my carbs and overall calories.

Keeps your bones strong and healthy
Weight bearing exercises decreases the risk of osteoporosis by building and strengthen bone mass. Osteoporosis is a much greater risk to women than it is men.

You’ll become confident
Everybody starts somewhere when they begin weight lifting but once you start upping your weights and hitting PR you’ll start to feel so much confident in yourself and what you are physically capable of. I push myself much better when I weight train because I know the post endorphins of challenging myself are amazing. It really is amazing what your body is capable of even if you start your workout with a negative attitude. I have also found that weight lifting has changed my attitude not only to working out but to life. I’m much more positive and determined. I create goals for myself and constantly push myself to work harder. This lifestyle is about working on yourself, for yourself and with this your attitude and morals change for the better.

Say hello to a toned body
“I want to get toned but I don’t want to build muscle”… Er, how does that work? Building your muscles is really the only way to get ‘toned’ and it’s that simple. In truth, ‘toning’ a muscle doesn’t really work.. You either increase or decrease it’s size. To get your body ‘toned’ which everybody seems to rave about you have to grow your muscle which is done by weight training. You can do exactly what I done a year ago and do constant cardio, however, this will only wear away the muscle from all the energy your body is using for cardio activities. However, weight training breaks and then strengthens the muscle which will then sculpt your body in ways you’ve never seen before. Honestly, your body will begin to change to a shape you never thought would be possible for you. I never thought I’d have the core I have now, let alone start to grow a butt that I’m finally starting to love.

For myself though, I weight train because I love how my body has changed. My body has gone from being skinny with hardly any curves to a body that is defined with clear muscle definition and most importantly for me, I’m now curvy and I love it! This gives me confidence and overall a sense of achievement because I know my body is strong and capable of being pushed to it’s limits.

Go ahead, try it. If you like it, carry on. If you don’t, then hey, it’s not for you – but at least you tried and tested.

H,
x

 

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3 comments

Fenella March 4, 2016 - 11:29 am

Great post! I love following you on Instagram and you look great! Can you give any advice on where to start with weight training? I started recently just doing squats, lunges and deadlifts, but not sure if this is enough or the weight and sets and reps!! I would love to hear more about your workouts!!

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hannahandfit March 17, 2016 - 7:07 pm

I would start off following a programme. That’s what i did because I too had no idea where to start! There’s plenty of free videos on youtube. My favourite being FitnessBlender or have a look at Lauren Gleisberg 🙂

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Emma November 10, 2017 - 10:39 am

I personally prefer weight training to cardio as a rule. I find that for me, I lose weight quicker with weight training and I always feel a lot better after a weight workout.

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