Strength training: Not just for Body Builders

You may have heard this by now, but strength training is not just for bodybuilders. Strength training is for everyone including yo’ Mama! Seriously, it’s for each and every person who walks the face of the earth. It shouldn’t really need to be explained why, but I’ll do my best to show grace towards those that ask. 

Our bodies are made of many systems, but the one solely connected to our ability to move in space and other objects in space is our muscular system. Our muscles connect to bones across their joints and allow us to move. Not only do muscles help us move from standing to sitting, from lying to upright, or from point A to point B but they also create what makes up most of our body shape. Yes, bones impact this form as well, but primarily muscle or the lack thereof is what give us our silhouette. Chances are that when you see an attractive figure like a man with sculpted arms and abs or a lady with a backside that you find attractive, it is muscle that creates that. This is true unless they’ve made an investment in a surgical procedure to trick the whole world of thinking they are something they are not, but that is for another conversation. Muscles rule our motion and our shape. 

 But that’s not all folks! For just 3 days a week of well rounded and challenging strength training you can also burn fat at rest by packing on more strength and muscle! Yes, muscle actually has a very strong influence on our metabolic processes. Muscle is going to use up a lot of our protein and carbohydrates in order to build itself back up from the tearing of our training and to fuel our next training session. This means that much of what we eat will go toward our hard work in the gym and in preparation for more success the next time we train. We when bring this into consideration, if you are currently in a caloric deficit because you are focused on leaning out or eating more healthy, your muscle will likely help your body burn more fat as fuel! This is dependent on what your diet looks like, but if you do not have a surplus of calories then our body would much more prefer burning our stored fat as fuel over muscle tissue. 

Are you picking up what I’m putting down at this point? You should be strength training, and doing it intentionally seeking heavier lifts and bigger results. When you do this you change your strength, endurance, metabolism and also physical appearance. These all work hand and hand even with your mental health and brain clarity. There are tons of benefits to aerobic training and I want to urge you to NEVER stop that, however if you haven’t put a priority on gaining strength and muscle size yet you want to look better naked or perform better at life, your journey has yet to begin. 

All the best.

Train to Rise Up. 

Coach Conway