Does Lifting Weights Help Weight Loss?

There is a lot of misconception about women and lifting weights. When I tell women they should lift weights a minimum of three to four days a week they immediately think they are going to look like the lady in the photo. This is by far what I'm talking about. The chances of you looking like this women is one in a million. Women body builders like her probably take anabolic steroids which is a synthetic form of testosterone. These women also work countless hours to achieve this look. Fitness models like Jamie Eason, Nicole Wilkins Lee, and Ava Cowan are a few fitness models I prefer to see.

The benefits of lifting weights are great and they include but aren't limited to:

• Reducing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes
  
• Increased metabolism (due to afterburn)
  
• Strengthening your muscles and bones
  
• More effective for losing body fat and changing the shape of the body
  

There are also psychological benefits as well and one of them is increased self-esteem. This is because once your body begins to transform you will feel happier about your looks and the way you feel.

The best thing I find about lifting weights is it's the only thing that really shapes your body. You can run on the treadmill or out on the road as you want but if you want to have nicely defined arms and the hour glass figure then you must hit the weight room.

What is afterburn? Afterburn is the sustained elevation of your metabolism after you stop exercising. Cardio exercises speed up your metabolism during the cardio session, the metabolism will drop once it's reached the basal level which is generally 30 minutes after the basal level is met. Weight training may keep your metabolism running for 18-24 hours after the workout. This is one of the great benefits of weight lifting.

What should you do? Lift three to four days a week for 45 minutes. Take a rest day between each lifting session unless you are doing a split workout where you split your workouts; back/abs, legs/abs, biceps/triceps/shoulders/abs.

If you don't feel comfortable putting together a workout or using the equipment; schedule an appointment with a personal trainer. Pay the $ 35.00, learn about the machines, and have them put together a total body workout you can complete each week. Once you become comfortable with program after four to six weeks then change your workout. Changing your workout is important because of muscle memory and plateaus.

If you have more questions email me at jennifer@skinnymomchallenge.com