The Weight Room is your friend, step away from the treadmill

A common belief that most people have is that they need to do extreme amounts of cardio to lose weight and get in shape.  The fact of the matter is that the opposite is true.  Yes, doing cardio will help you lose weight but it is not really helping you build your metabolism or physically changing your appearance.

Each and every weight loss plan should contain Cardio exercise and weight training, these two things should complement each other.  Even if you do not want to have big muscles you should still be doing regular resistance training.  When people ask me what my workout routine consisted to lose weight and get fit the part that they are most surprised by is that I did no more than 60min of cardio total per week at any time during my program and most of the time I did far less than that.

Although doing cardio is much easier, more comfortable and less intimidating than resistance training you need to step out of the comfort zone and hit the weights.  By using resistance training you will increase your lean muscle mass which will increase your metabolism, which will in turn burn more calories 24/7, which will help you achieve your goals.  Just simply doing cardio is not increasing your bodies metabolism and in the long run will not change the way you look physically aside from making you smaller and still soft.  The reason many people reach a weight loss goal is because they are only focusing on one type of exercise, both cardio and resistance are necessary to make long term gains possible.

You may be thinking to yourself, "I don't know how to lift weights".  There is only one way to learn, if you cannot or do not want to hire a trainer, there are many other options for you that are free.  Start by using machines first to become more familiar with some different exercises.  Use the Internet, muscleandstrength.com  is an amazing resource with articles, workouts and instructional videos.  They are categorized by goal, fat loss, building mass, maintenance etc.  Once you find a workout you want to try you can use the site to look up specific exercises and how to perform them.  Fitness magazines are another great resource there are millions of workouts in these magazine each month with example of form, reps and sets.  Once you get over your initial fear of the weight room you will be amazed how much you enjoy it.  Everyone standing around you had their first day in the weight room too.

A few things to remember when lifting:
-Pay attention to your form, if you are supposed to be doing a bicep curl and you are feeling it in your back you are doing it wrong.  Don't be afraid to ask a trainer for help, most of them will gladly help you for free.
- They are weights, they should be heavy.  If you could do 25 reps of an exercise and there is no discomfort or burn in the muscle you need to increase your weight.  Don't think only power lifters lift heavy.  I am lifting heavier than I ever have before and I am the smallest I have been since 8th grade!
- Have a purpose.  Before you go to the gym, think about what you are going to do that day, have a plan, take a small note book or even a post it with you so you know your routine.  If the workout is from a magazine or website, bring it with!
-Your mom does not work at the gym, clean up after yourself.  When you are finished with a dumbbell, put it back.  When you are finished with a machine, put the plates back.
-Consider weight lifting gloves.  They keep your hands protected and prevent calluses and discomfort with heavier weights.
- Have fun and don't be scared!

While you mentally prepare and research for your big weight training debut I will be working on next weeks blog where I give you an example of 1 week of my weight training routine!