While at the gym, you probably have encountered some bad advice and heard some things that simply are not true. You may shy away from the weight room because you heard that lifting weights will give you large muscles. You may stick to the treadmill and aerobics classes, instead of lifting weights. What we fail to realize is that we all train our bodies for different things. Nobody ever got big muscles by accident. Just like you can build a routine to gain muscle, you can build a weight training program to reduce body fat and lose weight.
Suppose that over a period of six months, you lost thirty pounds by changing your diet and running on the treadmill four nights a week. You may think that you can recommend this strategy to anyone interested in losing weight and it will yield similar results. This strategy may have worked well for you but will not be as effective for someone else. Another person may need extended cardio to shed more calories. We all expend energy at different rates. Unfortunately, some have to work harder than others to get the same results. There is no universal program that works for everyone. It's up to you to find what works for the type of body you have. Your exercise program should match your goals.
During an initial assessment with a client, she informed me that she had lost weight by strictly doing cardio exercises. She was not pleased with the way that her arms looked and thought that they would have been leaner, after losing twenty pounds. Her arms stored a lot of fat and even though she lost weight, her arms looked the same. This is for common for that lose weight using this method. While her program was effective for burning calories, it was not as effective to reduce body fat. At this point, I took her body measurements, measured her skin folds with body fat calipers and recorded her current weight. I trained with her twice a week on a resistance based program and she still ran two to three times a week. After two months, she had shed two inches around her waist, reduced her body fat percentage by six percent and lost two pounds. She did not have large muscles, she had less fat on her arms and a smaller waist. The number on the scale can be deceiving. Although she only lost two pounds, she had seen more changes in her body than ever before.
You can lift heavy weights and not look like a bodybuilder. Choosing compound exercises, such as squats and deadlifts will help to recruit more muscle groups and expend more energy. This doesn't mean to lift heavy every day or to go so heavy that you end up arching your back or altering your posture. Integrate some heavy weight training into your weekly routine to add another dimension to your program. Go as heavy as your body will allow you to, without sacrificing form. If you have to alter your body mechanics, then the weight is too heavy for you. There should always be a strong emphasis on proper form, especially when lifting heavy.
I've become familiar with people of all different body types. Through trails and testing is how I learned the most effective ways to address each unique physique. You can use weights to add muscle and to lose body fat, while dropping weight. It all depends on how you structure your routine. Though each body is different, the principles remain the same. Never compromise your form for another rep or heavier weight.
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