3 Weight Loss Myths
Today's guest post come from Bekka Hepford. Bekka runs our general fitness classes in the mornings at Redline.
There are three common things I hear from clients or random people I meet who find out that I am a personal trainer that make me cringe a little on the inside.
With the amount of false information given on the internet and the myths about exercise that continue to live on, I think it’s time we address some truth about resistance exercise for the general population.
Here are the 3 most common statements I hear when talking about resistance exercise:
Lifting weights won’t help me lose weight, it’s because my metabolism is slowing down.
This statement does have some truth to it. As you get older, your metabolism does start to slow down, but this does not mean you cannot lose weight.
The ONLY way to lose weight is to consume less calories than you are taking in. Does this mean starve yourself?
NO!
Does this mean you have to work out 7 days a week for an hour each?
Also, no!
This means that you must make adjustments according to how your body is aging and your normal routine. Resistance training helps speed up your metabolism, so that is a great place to start.
Everyone dreads talking about diet, but if you are not losing weight and are very active, then its time to get a closer look on how much you’re consuming.
I shouldn’t lift weight because I’m not in the shape I used to be in, and I will get hurt.
Not lifting weights or doing any type of exercise under some sort of resistance will put you at more risk for injury than lifting weights. If you don’t believe me, go back to every doctor’s appointment you have ever had and tally up how many times they said you need to focus on “diet and exercise”.
Here are some reasons why:
Resistance training helps increase your bone mineral density making you less at risk for osteoporosis.
Unilateral resistance exercises help improve your balance and neutralize strength imbalances, making it less likely for you to fall.
Correct form in exercising transfers over to everyday activities, making it less likely to have an injury based on accumulative strain, for instance low back issues.
Resistance training has an enormous effect on your cardiovascular system, making your heart work more efficiently and less hard under stress.
Which leads me to statement number 3:
I am active and do plenty of cardio, I don’t need it.
Cardio is named cardio for a reason; it mainly improves your cardiovascular and respiratory systems. As important as it is, resistance training not only has more overall health benefits, but you can get enough benefits to both of those systems by only doing resistance training.
I am not saying cardio is pointless. I think cardio is a great way to stay active, recover from hard days, aid weight loss, and can improve performance, but doing this alongside with resistance training will get you where you want to be faster and be more effective.
Interested in Training with Bekka?
Contact Hepfordrebekka@gmail.com for a $99 trial month of training.
