While you are already doing things like walking, jogging, and showing up for a few aerobics classes each week, there is a way to kick your routine up a notch and be in shape for the upcoming summer months. The key is to keep doing what you are doing but finishing your workouts in the weight room. Here are some of the reasons why this approach makes a lot of sense.
Increasing the Odds of Losing Fat Only
A few years ago, a team at Penn State conducted research into weight loss by monitoring volunteers in three groups. One group used diet alone while another group employed a combination of diet and aerobic exercise. A third group used diet, exercise, and regular workouts in a weight room.
All three of the groups did lose weight. What was different about the group that included time in the weight room is those volunteers lost fat but did not lose muscle.
Your goal is to shed the extra pounds but look great in your swimsuit. Think of what it means to lose the flab but tone and build muscle mass from your workouts. It won’t take long to see how finding a weight bench for sale and investing in a few weights will work better.
Burning More Calories
Did you know that a single circuit that includes eight moves over a period of roughly eight minutes will burn as many as 230 calories? That’s the same amount of calories that you would burn if you jogged at a steady pace of ten miles per hour for the same amount of time.
The other elements of your workout are also helping you burn off calories and tone muscle groups. Those activities don’t necessarily focus on the same areas as weight lifting does. You can use your time in the weight room putting a weight lifting bar and free weights to good use as part of your cool-down. Instead of being done with using up calories for the day, you have the opportunity to get rid of a few more.
You’ll Look Better in Your Clothes
While you may think of a summer bod workout as making sure you look great on the beach, there will be other places you go during the season. It helps if you also look great in a pair of shorts and a form fitting shirt. The muscle building that happens when you invest in the best weight lifting equipment and use it at the end of your workouts means your shoulders are toned and well-formed, the stomach is flat, and you exude an air of confidence no matter what you are wearing.
Now is the time to consider adding weight lifting to your ongoing workout routine. Along with the improvements in your appearance, expect the lifting to improve bone density, strengthen your heart, and provide the release of more endorphins that make you feel great. Start today and in a month you will wonder why you didn’t think of lifting weights sooner.
