Okay, so you want to lose your baby weight, right? Or your “winter weight,” or your “oh-my-gosh-where-did-this (insert bulge, bump, lump, area which is bigger, etc., here) weight.” So you vow to eat “healthier,” and you hit the elliptical at the gym, or lace up your sneakers and start a couch to 5K program or start walking every day. Now please don’t misunderstand me — those are all really good choices, and they will help your body become healthier, but I’m here to tell you that they are not the best way to lose weight.
I’m going to suggest you look at cardio like a band aid. Did you have a birthday party, holiday, girls’ night out, crab rangoon eating-episode, brunch, or some other massive calorie “incident”? Trust me, girl, it happens, and in that case cardio WILL help you “heal” some of the excess calories you put into your body. It will help negate some of the calories which have “wounded” your body (like a band aid). But does putting a band aid on a cut do anything for you once that cut has healed? Not really. Just like doing cardio five days a week really doesn’t continue to do much for you when it comes to losing weight.
Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the numbers. Stay with me — it gets a little technical, but I promise it’s worth it. One pound comprises 3,500 calories. It varies a little, but let’s say you burn 150 calories/mile, so it takes you 23 miles (give or take a few) to burn off one solitary pound of fat. Let’s pause here to think about that for a minute. Twenty-three MILES!!! Seriously, if there was ever a better reason to stop anything that is not either a) really good for you or b) totally delicious, I’m not sure what it is. So every time you manage to haul yourself, your jogging stroller, your toddler who may or may not be screaming for water, a snack, to get out at the park, etc., 23 freaking miles, you’ve burned off a pound through the powers of cardio.
Are you thinking there must be a better way? Twenty-three miles is nuts!!!
There IS a better way! Now consider this: every teeny, tiny, compact, sleek, beautiful pound of muscle on your body burns about 35 calories a day. Doesn’t seem like a lot, but five pounds of muscle equals a whopping 1,225 calories burned per week! So let’s say you want to be sensible about your weight loss and just lose a couple pounds a month? You could either a) walk, jog, or elliptical 16 miles a week OR b) do a quick strength training workout three times a week and then just hoof it an extra five miles (or cut back on your eating by 100 calories a day). Which sounds more manageable to you?
Here are three tips to make the strength training strategy of weight loss work for you:
1) BE CONSISTENT
Most women can gain around three pounds of muscle in 6-10 weeks of strength training depending on genetic make-up, training method, and how much muscle you’re starting with. This means that it will take you a few months of consistently strength training to “add” enough muscle to get you into a serious calorie burning zone. Consistently means at least twice a week. Three times is better.
2) PUT AWAY YOUR PINK WEIGHTS
Okay, I’m sure someone makes pink 10-, 12-, or 15-pound weights, but I’ve never seen them. You need to lift heavy enough weights to fatigue your muscles in order to get smaller, sleeker, stronger muscles. If you’re kind of freaking out right now because you think you’ll “bulk up,” please believe me, you will not. You WILL get a smaller, more toned looking body with fewer jiggles. Choose an aggressive strength training program which is challenging. It does not need to contain more than two sets of any exercise, but it does need to leave you gritting your teeth, breathing heavily, grunting, swearing, or whatever on a regular basis.
Think of it this way: how much does your heaviest child weigh? Can you pick him or her up? Chances are you need to be lifting something heavier than that.
3) BE SMARTER
If all you do is over-train your “big” muscle groups, there is a pretty good chance they will get “bigger” — it’s what they do when your body is out of balance. If you balance out your big muscles with your smaller muscles you will build a smaller, sleeker body which is better at everything and injury-resistant. (BONUS!) Use your smaller muscles by incorporating functional exercises: exercises on one leg, exercises in plank position (or which otherwise engage your core), exercises which utilize rotation, exercises in unusual rotations (such as a basic lateral raise with your thumbs pointing down). In my opinion, recruiting your smaller accessory muscles and making them stronger is the single best thing you can do while you strength train.
Finally, if you are serious about reshaping your body, balancing your large muscles groups, and breaking up with the elliptical for good, consider working with a professional. They will help you identify which muscles are in great shape (hello, biceps and shoulders from lifting your kids all day) and which muscles need some love (dear sweet mama, your side glutes and core did their best during pregnancy, but now they are MIA). A knowledgeable trainer and a quality strength training program literally have the power to help you drop 10, 20 or 50 pounds and get to a new level of healthy. I’d say that’s worth investing in!
All that sounds great, but I need specifics. Different programs, dvds, gym events, pinterest graphics, something that tells me what to do and that I can check off each time I do it. Anything like that to get me started?
[…] wrote an entire article about how strength training (as opposed to cardio) helps you lose weight, but the down and dirty version is this: cardio is like a band-aid. It will help you heal […]