The goal of weight loss might give you the expectation that you will have to spend endless hours doing cardio to achieve results. I am not here to downplay the role of cardio for health but in my experience

strength training is key to lasting weight loss. When you do only cardio you will burn calories and you will lose weight, however, when you strength train you are

changing your bodies composition. Body

composition is very important as it relates to

weight loss, let me explain…

Your body is made up of a large variety of material but I’ll be focusing primarily on muscle and fat. Fat is stored excess energy for your body to use in times of famine, however, it is not your bodies preferred form of energy. Fat is not very metabolically active, meaning it does very little to burn calories. Muscle on the other hand is extremely metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn, even at rest. This is where strength training takes the lead over long bouts of cardio. When you strength train you are actively putting the muscles under tension and the body adapts by growing the muscle. Strength training also elevates your energy consumption (calories burned) between training sessions. Taking these things into consideration the logical conclusion is that the more muscle you have the more calories you burn or as I like to put it the more muscle I have the more food I get to eat while maintaining my weight. Strength training has many more health benefits to consider such as improved mobility, balance and athleticism, increased bone density and a whole host of mental benefits such as improved self esteem, confidence and the belief that you can overcome adversity. Strength training breeds resiliency and grit, on a personal note it also makes you feel like a total beast. Strength training is for everyone! Old, young, male, female it DOES NOT MATTER. Ladies you won’t get bulky, no it’s not bad for your back/joints, you will still have a neck, it won’t reduce your flexibility, it doesn’t take hours a day. There are lots of myths surrounding strength training, don’t believe them. Please get help from a professional strength coach to start out as good form/technique is very important for you to get results injury free. Stay strong friends!