It's time to put the myth to bed

Have you ever noticed how when you walk into the gym and you look over or up at the area where all the cardio equipment is that it’s packed with females? Then you take a look over at the free weights and it’s like a big testosterone laden sausage fest? Did you ever wonder why that is? When I first started working out, I asked myself the same question, so I decided to do some investigating to find out. What I came up with was the same answer, over, and over, and over, and over. “I don’t wanna get big and bulky like those bodybuilder chicks on you see on TV” was about the gist of it.

Now before I knew about the science behind bodybuilding and nutrition, I thought it made sense, I actually agreed with them. But once I started to educate myself, I realized how silly that urban gym legend really was.

Simply lifting a weight is not going to turn you into a she-hulk, there is A LOT more to it than that. In fact lifting weights will help you LOSE weight as well as making your curves, curvier.

What makes both men and women swell up like swollen behemoths (aside from steroid use) is what they eat.  Truth is, what happens with your body is more dependent on what you put into tour body than what you do with it. There’s a saying amongst the fitness community, “abs are made in the kitchen not the gym”.  Most fitness buffs, trainers, and physique competitors will tell you, it’s about 20% gym and 80% nutrition when it comes to making changes to your body.

In order to gain muscle mass like bodybuilders do, they have to consume massive amounts of calories in COMBINATION with intense exercise. They need to be in a caloric surplus at the end of each day in order for their body to have what it needs to build new muscle fibers.

If weight loss is the goal, the simplest way to explain it is to combine exercise, with a caloric deficit, meaning consuming fewer calories than you burn in a day.

Ladies, if you’re still not convinced then what would you say if I told you that resistance training (i.e. weight lifting) burns NINE TIMES MORE calories than cardio does?  Meaning you’re going to reach your weight loss goal faster if you incorporate weight lifting. Muscle even helps you burn more calories when you’re just sitting on your butt watching TV. This is because a pound of muscle burns 50 extra calories a day, even at rest. So by putting on 10 lbs. of lean muscle, you burn 500 more calories a day, that’s an entire meal’s worth! Tell me that’s not a convincing enough argument.

Why does resistance training burn so many more calories than cardio you ask? Well to answer this question, I’m going to have to piss off some of my creationist followers and refer to human evolution. Once we developed from tree dwelling, knuckle dragging ape folk and began walking upright, our bodies began to change and adapt to our new means of transportation. Since we couldn’t simply open the fridge or hit the nearest drive through to get food back then, we had to be very conservative about how we burned energy when getting from place to place. Our bodies began changing and becoming very efficient at using calories for energy when walking. This meant walking and running became easier for our upright, long legged bodies to do. Since then our anatomy hasn’t changed much in regards to calorie consumption when walking. So all those hours you’re spending on the treadmill are for naught because it’s like expecting a Prius to burn through a tank of gas like a Hummer. In short, we’re built to run, it’s easy, and if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.

Now all you runners, don’t get upset, I’m not saying cardio doesn’t have its benefits. But in my, most trainers and all physique competitors opinions, the quickest way to a hot bod is through the weight room.

Now if you’re ugly, I’m sorry, weights won’t help you. But if you want killer legs, a tight butt, and toned arms, spend some time away from the treadmill and slang some iron ladies.