Why Resistance Training?

Whether you have recently switched over to a more natural way of eating or you are a long time Paleo fan, diet is only one part of the health puzzle. Sure, you are what you eat, but a smart training plan will help you get so much more out of your food. Unfortunately, many people are still stuck on the jogging bandwagon. If you aren’t doing resistance training, you are missing the boat. Here’s why.

Unfortunately, slow cardio like jogging managed to get to the front of the fitness revolution and has stayed there ever since. Despite a host of scientific evidence to the contrary, people just believe that running slowly is the path to good health and body composition. If you are looking for more anecdotal evidence that this isn’t the case, take a look at two different people; those who jog and those who lift weights or perform another sort of resistance training.

Joggers tend to be either emaciated with joint problems or skinny fat with little muscle tone but a generous “muffin top” pushing out over their belt. If you are looking to develop this look, get jogging now! Those who train with intensity, lifting weights or their own body, have a whole different look. They look healthy with a lean, muscular body. Why this difference?

Resistance training builds muscle and increases metabolism. This is great because you burn more calories even when you aren’t doing anything! Your body will store less fat regardless because extra muscle is metabolically expensive-it needs more calories to exist.

It is also possible to really sculpt a body with exercise. For example, bigger shoulders will create a different appearance to your whole body. Some squats can develop that butt that you have always dreamed of.

But what about the fat burning zone? First, stop reading stuff based on outdated science. The idea that there is a magical fat burning zone is ridiculous. Recent research shows that short, intense exercise increases fat burning for as much as twenty-four hours afterward.

Jogging does exactly the opposite, hence those fat joggers out there. It teaches the body to be more efficient and to hold on to body fat. This slows down your metabolism and makes your body more likely to store fat. Add this to the decrease in muscle mass from this training, you guarantee that you will eat less and still get fatter!

Two questions that people ask at this point are:

Will I become muscle bound?
What do I do if I don’t want to join a gym?

First, building a large amount of muscle mass is tough. Everyone can get lean and build some muscle but few will get anywhere near ‘musclebound’. Think Hollywood star lean and fit, not bodybuilder built. Second, you can do resistance training anywhere. Men and women have built amazing bodies doing push ups, pull ups and air squats with hill sprints. This is so much more fun than mindless hours on the exercise bike, pavement or treadmill.

The other real advantage here is time. doing just three sessions like this a week is plenty to create a physique that anyone could be proud of. If you are eating paleo and keeping it clean, you can make some drastic changes in a relatively short time too. This is a real win/win situation. More fun, less time consuming, better results. what’s not to like?

Perhaps it is time to stop believing the hype and look at facts. Resistance training allied to healthy eating is the key to looking and feeling great at any age.