Jun 13, 2019
That cardio workout you are doing may be causing you to lose muscle mass instead of fat. Most of us are over-fat and under-muscled. On today’s episode of The Transformation Show, we want to share with you why weight training is more important than you may think. By the end of this episode, you will understand why your cardio workout isn’t the most important time you will spend at the gym. Listen in to hear how to gain muscle mass and lose fat.
For most people who workout, they feel that their time at the gym is best spent on cardio. They think that by getting their body moving they will watch those fat pounds melt away. We held this belief for years as well. As a matter of fact, I thought that by running marathons I would be in the best shape of my life, but it turns out that I felt terrible. Long, boring, steady state cardio actually makes you hungrier. That sort of activity starves your body so that it starts burning your lean body mass instead of fat and you begin to lose muscle mass. How do you spend the majority of your workout time?
During my time training for marathons, I put my body through so much stress that I was in a perpetual state of exhaustion. I experienced adrenal fatigue and it sent all of my hormones out of balance. I wasn’t eating well, I was carb-loading and constantly craving sugar and caffeine. If you haven’t moved your body in awhile any movement is good movement, but pay careful attention to how your body feels rather than simply focusing on your physique. Try doing high impact interval training rather than just steady state cardio and see if there is a difference in the way you look and feel.
After you turn 30 you lose 1% of lean body mass a year. As you grow older it becomes harder to maintain or grow your lean body mass. If you don’t have a solid foundation of lean body mass it will be difficult to lose weight. You could actually be burning more of your lean body mass and you will lose muscle mass. So how can you maintain or gain muscle mass? To keep and grow your lean body mass strength training needs to be an important part of your workout regime. How important is strength training to your workout?
Are you looking to lose weight? Do you want your clothes to fit better? Or are you looking to have a different body mass ratio? Think about your transformation goal to help you decide where you should prioritize your efforts in training. If running brings you joy then keep at it, but don’t force yourself to do something if it isn’t going to bring the results you are looking for. Think about adding more strength training to your exercise routine to prevent loss of muscle mass and to look and feel better.
Subscribe to The Transformation Show
on
Apple
Podcasts, Stitcher,
Spotify,
Google Podcasts