That big scary thing in the gym: the weight room.

Recently, it's come to my attention that a lot of women are intimidated by the weight room. Now, don't get me wrong, I used to be in that club as well. I wouldn't touch the weight room if I didn't have to. Cardio and body weight training fix everything right?

Wrong.

Although I incorporate a ton of body weight training into the programs I use with my clients, it's important to incorporate weight training into your program as well! This is where a lot of women go wrong in their weight loss journey, no offense ladies, but it's time to cowboy up and get in there!
I get it, there's a lot of big guys grunting, with veins popping out of their neck, who are chiseled to perfection, it's intimidating. But there is a plus to weight training.

First, weight/strength training increases your metabolism for an entire hour while your body works to help  your muscles recover after training. Having this spike in your metabolism helps burn calories, almost as much as 25% more than you would by just doing cardiovascular training (in cardiovascular training your heart returns back to it's normal resting rate after your exercise is complete and ceases to raise your metabolism). Many people believe that cardio training is the best way to lose weight, and yes, while it's true that if you go from being a complete couch potato to running for 10-30 minutes every single day, you'll lose a few pounds, but eventually within at least 4-6 weeks, your body will plateau and you won't lose any more weight.

Another reason why we women won't go for weight training is because we don't want to be huge. I mean, what woman wants to walk around looking like the Hulk? No, we want to be slim and slender, we want long lean muscles. Honestly, weight and strength training is the best way to do this! You won't get "big" unless you intentionally train to get big! But women have a harder time any way getting big mainly because of the testosterone in our bodies. Don't worry ladies, genetics is on our side in this one: you won't get bulky if you don't want to! If anything, including weight and strength training into your workout will help you develop those sexy lean muscles that we want to have.

Ladies, cowboy up and get your butts into the weight room! It's nothing to be scared of! Go grab that dumbbell and do some curls! I know you have to walk through the land of testosterone to get there, but just hold your breath and do it!

For a little more information on this, check out this stellar article, and then when you're done reading it, give me ten push ups! :)

http://www.livestrong.com/article/421082-weights-vs-cardio-your-guide-to-the-perfect-body/