“If you wanna lose weight, you’ve gotta do at least an hour of cardio per day right?”
“I don’t want to bulk up if I use weights, I put on muscle so easily but I just want to look toned!”
“I have no idea whether cardio is better or weights is better for my goals – help!”
These are the kind of questions and statements we get greeted with at Alpha Fitness at least a few times a week.
Working with exclusively women, we understand that these are the kind of false truths that the internet and marketers in general are throwing their direction.
Quite frankly we’re sick of the lies and sick of the misinformation that’s being sold to women who already have enough to worry about.
Cardio and weights training both serve a purpose.
One is not necessarily better than the other until we establish first – WHAT IS YOUR GOAL/ DESIRED OUTCOME?
By the end of this blog, you’ll learn:
- How much training you really NEED to be doing to achieve your goals
- The 2 step process to determining the right training type for you
- How long your sessions should go for
- Much, much more!
These are the kinds of things that need to be worked out before you work out girls!
That’s why every one of the girls starting our 4 Week Body Strong Challenge are given a FREE Toning Assessment to go through exactly what kind of training they should be doing to suit their own goals.
Everyone has different goals and therefore their training needs might be different from mine or yours.
If you’d like to learn a little more about that then click here — http://bit.ly/4wkafit
It’s time to hit the brain-gains gym! Here are the 4 Truths to Toning for Women
Truth #1: Get clear on how much time you can commit to training every week
Overcommitting is the enemy of sustainable progress towards your goals.
We see lovely ladies much like you doing it EVERY year especially around the New Years’ Resolution time.
People line up to sign up at the gym with every intention of making this year the year they get their dream body, build that booty and rock that bikini with more confidence they’ve ever had.
The only problem is, they try to go to the gym every day, cut every “bad food” out of their diet and they simply overcommit…
The truth is, most people can’t maintain that level of commitment for very long. Especially not when they’re working full-time, juggling family and social commitments or have kids.
Be honest with yourself on this one and get clear on how much time you can commit every week for at least 12 weeks to your training.
If it’s only one hour, 4 days per week — cool!
Maybe you’ve only got 45 minutes, 3 mornings before work — great!
Find that time and be sure you can stick to it not just for one week when your motivation is high, but EVERY WEEK.
It doesn’t matter what how much time that is for you, I guarantee you can make it work into a sustainable routine that will have the fat melting off in no time!
Truth #2: Cardio is not always necessary for fat-loss but it can help
Cardio is NOT essential for losing body fat.
Yep, you read that correct!
If your main goal is to tighten up your muscles and get stronger BUT you don’t have much time to commit to training, then your time would be better spent on weights than cardio most of the time.
To explain why, let’s address what is actually happening when you’re doing cardio on the treadmill. Running for extended periods of time can be great for your cardiovascular endurance or “fitness”.
We’re moving our body lots and burning calories which will assist in burning fat (assuming your diet is on point too) – awesome! Our body gets more efficient at running longer distances and adapts accordingly.
The only down side is, if you’re more interested in looking bootylicious like Beyoncé and getting more shape in your muscles, then you need to be giving them the right stimulus to do so.
I’m talking about weights ladies! To get more shape we have to challenge and stress the muscles with load (challenging weight) and time under tension (squeezing and stretching the muscles under loads).
If you have the time do both cardio and weights training and you’re looking to lose both body fat and build muscle tone that’s arguably optimal.
All in all, weights are often the better overall style of training for long-term toning because they burn calories and help your shape – it’s all about YOUR goals and the amount of time you can commit to training. See Truth #1.
Truth #3: Weights won’t make you bulky but they are a MUST for toning up
Don’t you just hate it when you perform a really tough weights session where your muscles are working super hard and you’re glowing from the sweat and satisfaction… but then the next day you wake up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger with bulking, masculine muscles?
Oh, that’s never happened to you? Then why is it that so many women are scared of this happening?
If I had to guess, I’d say it’s all the attention social media has brought to highly elite female bodybuilders in recent years. They’ve seen these absolute minority of women who’ve put in YEARS of hard work and dedication (and often a bit of extra testosterone) to get to a certain look that makes them competitive in un-drug tested competitions.
The truth is, weight will NOT make you instantly put on muscle or look masculine overnight. If they did, every dude in the gym would only have to train for a week and they’d be set, right?
Weights or more specifically “resistance” is necessary when it comes to building lean, sexy, muscles (toning up) because our body responds to this kind of stimulus.
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you” right?
If you’re short on time throughout the week to train, and toning up is high on your goals list, try to throw in at least 2 whole body weights sessions, focusing on compound exercises (exercises that use more than one muscle group at a time).
If you have more time for your training, you could try breaking up your workouts into lower body and upper body or choose to focus on a few main muscle groups each session. Find a routine that works everything at least 1-2 times per week and make sure you can stick to it consistently!
Truth #4: There is no magic program that works best for everyone but there are principles that DO
If you haven’t learnt by now, different goals and situations cause for different programs.
The best program for YOU is always going to be the one YOU can stick to.
That said, if your program is missing this one all important principle, you will find it very hard to progress.
That principle is “progressive overload”.
In a nutshell, progressive overload is simply increasing the challenge and stress on the body during your workouts over time.
Here are 3 simple ways you can incorporate progressive overload into any training program:
- Increase the weight you’re using OR for cardio, increase the speed at which you’re moving
- Increase the number of sets or reps you’re performing, and for cardio, increase the distance you travel in a session
- Increase the time under tension for your muscles (slow down your reps) OR decrease your rest periods between sets/ bursts if doing interval training
Progressing in any program doesn’t have to be complicated, but you do need to add that little bit of extra challenge for the body if you want it to change over time.
There you have it lovely ladies! Nailing your training program is as simple as:
- Knowing how much time you can commit to training consistently
- Getting clear with your goals to work out if cardio is necessary for you
- Understanding how weights can fit into your training program
- Implementing the concept of progressive overload
If you’re still looking to learn more and get really clear on how you can best train for your goals, and finally stop guessing about what training is best for YOU, then apply for our 4 Week Body Strong Challenge here – http://bit.ly/4wkafit
In the mean-time, stay tuned for our next blog where we’ll be covering – How to Eat for Fat-loss Without Sacrificing Your Social Life in 5 Easy Steps.
It’s going to smash your avo… or something like that.
Until then, Find Your Strong at Alpha Fitness!