A few days ago, a friend sent me an article from The NY Times. The article highlighted the benefits of resistance training - specifically as a tool for people looking to burn body fat.
The truth is, resistance training is a beneficial form of exercise for everyone, no matter what your fitness goals are. It keeps your bones strong, helps your body recover faster after other workouts, and helps reduce your chance of being injured as a runner.
I know what you’re thinking - if something like resistance training is so beneficial, why isn’t everyone doing it? Here are the top three reasons people tell me prevent them from resistance training…
- They don’t know how to start
- They don’t have time in their busy schedule
- They heard myths like resistance training will make them bulky
, be honest, do any of those reasons apply to you? If so, let’s discuss this...
How To Get Started: If you don’t have dumbbells at home, start with bodyweight or resistance bands. Start with this circuit 2x/week:
- Squat x 10
- Modified Push-Up x 5
- Glute Bridge x 10
- Low Plank x 10-20 seconds
Try repeating this circuit 2-3x with 1-2 minutes of rest in between. Eventually, you’ll advance to adding weights.
Make Time for Resistance Training: Unless you’re a competitive weightlifter, your resistance training sessions don't need to be longer than 45 minutes. In fact, 30 minutes is great for the average person. Can you find 30 minutes in your day to spare? Whether it’s before a yoga class, after work, or during your lunch break, you only need to make it happen 2-3/week.
You Won’t Get Bulky: Unless you’re training like a bodybuilder and you consume a very high calorie diet, you won’t get bulky. Will your muscles have more definition? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not!
Starting this week, , let’s put the myths to rest and incorporate more resistance training into our weekly routine. Trust me, 20 years from now, you’ll be so happy that you decided to start now.
