But why else?
I'll be 100% honest here, so there are like a zillion articles written on the world wide web that are all technical and scientific about the reasons why YOU should lift instead of just doing the boring ol dreadmill or the beast of a stair climber for exercise--BUTT I hate reading that crap. It's like, I don't even want to read an article that is all that glycogen, basic metabolic rate, BMI, energy stores, macronutrients yada yada crap-- and I certainly don't want to write it either. So this is the world according to the fit chick mom, and of course I have to add my sass to it or it wouldn't be a true rant from yours truly.
First of all while you are sleeping you burn calories. Did you know that? Why you are sitting on your booty doing nothing you are burning calories, this is called that basic metabolic rate or BMR. The more of your frame that is made up of muscle, the more calories your body naturally burns--get that--while doing nothing. So you are 140 lbs of fat or you are 140 lbs with more muscle and whichever you choose determines how many calories a day you get to burn while watching your favorite tv show.
Why burn calories? Well to get hott, obviously.
And to lose weight. Calories equal pounds but it isn't just as simple as calories in vs calories out like all those other stupid weight loss programs try to trick you into believing. TRUST ME. 1500 calories of food is completely different than 1500 calories of meal replacement foods. mmmk?!?! Also, we don't want to just burn calories-- we want to burn FAT right? You want to have less fat on your body? Stop doing all that cardio, it makes your body VERY VERY nervous, so it holds onto that fat you have to make sure you aren't going to starve it. It literally makes it harder to lose weight when you do so much cardio--not to mention, you can't build lean muscle when you are doing all that, it just uses your muscle and BURNS your most prized possession off your poor little body. Don't be that girl. Just don't.
(Side rant, I know you are nervous at the gym at first, and you think that you look less conspicuous at the gym on the elliptical for 2 hours, but you don't. You just look nervous. Just venture over to the weight area, ask a trainer, or ask the most fit person who looks like they know what they are doing (preferably one that looks like they wont kill you though, there are some of THOSE in the gym). Remember, everyone in the gym started somewhere--and only 5% of the people in there look fit all the time, most of them have to work really hard to look the way they look).
So we don't want to cardio our bodies to death, unless of course we are training for a marathon or a triathalon. Then we should cardio to death as well as strength train so we can have stronger muscles to push our bodies through the distance more efficiently and quickly.
What does weight training do for our bodies besides help us get hott, burn more calories, and push us through our daily activities?
It makes you stand up taller. Seriously. Like, when you have muscle on your body you can hold your body up better. Have a back ache? Could be because your body is too heavy for you to carry around all day. Weight training also builds muscle around your bones--ya know, those fragile little things that break from time to time when you fall down on your hip, or when you fall off your bike? The more muscle you have on your body, the more protection you have for your pretty little bones. Think of it as body armour!! That sounds so beastly huh? BODY ARMOUR!! (Ladies over 50, I know I KNOW! You think you are too old to lift weights, you don't know what you are doing, lifting is for boys yadayada NO!! Stop it! You need to lift weights so you can be CERTAIN you aren't going to have to deal with osteoporosis!!! FO-REAL! 50 is the new 30 so walk that sexy body up into the gym and make it sexier!!) Next, we want a tight body right? How many of you get out of the shower and think to yourself "I wish that didn't HANG like that?" We all do it. Well the more muscle you have on your body frame the tighter your body looks. Seriously. It is all high and tight and nice! With cardio and calorie restriction you can make your body a smaller version of exactly what it looks like right this minute, but with weight lifting you can reshape your body and change it.
Body reshaping that works? SIGN YOU UP!! No wrap necessary!
Want a booty? BUILD IT! With squats and lunges!
Want a quad to poke out? BUILD IT!
Want calve that poke out the back of your legs? BUILD EM!
(GUYS!) Want a chest that sticks out in your tshirts? BUILD IT!
(LADIES) Want perkier boobs? BUILD EM!
ANDDD!! You are so tired from just going and going and going in the same spot, something that jams the crap out of your joints INSTEAD you can do some bursts of expenditure by lifting weights, not freaking feel like you are going to bust a knee cap and also not feel like you are so exhausted and tired you want to curl up in a ball and eat bon bon's on the couch to rest because you are just so dang tired. That's what lots of cardio does, it makes you sleepy. Oh, and lifting heavy a$$ shiz off the floor and putting it back down makes you feel like a beast. It makes you feel like you could go all taekwando on somebody's butt in a dark alley if you needed to. Today for instance, one of my clients after 3 months has gone from shoulder pressing 10# in each hand to 20# in each hand. And she felt like a beast. That's strong folks. The first time I lifted my own 145 lbs up and over that pull up bar, or the first time I side raised 30# dumb bells I literally felt like I could not only kick HIS butt if I needed to, but HIS, HIS, and HIS butt. I mean--that's a boat load of weight.
I think I forgot to mention that as long as you are eating clean and lifting heavy weights you get to eat more! I literally eat about 2000 calories of clean food a day. This helps me fuel my workouts, allows me to continue building muscle and of course, get HOTT. (Oh, and fyi that age old LIE that says you are going to look all manly and grow facial hair is just that a LIE. Women just do not have enough testosterone in their bodies to build muscle like a man. PERIOD. End of story. Women who look like men, are not only spending their days dedicated to their jobs-- of working out and eating 5-6000 calories a day, but they are also getting a shot in the butt with a little muscle booster mmmmkkkk?!!)
I saw this little postcard thingy on facebook that said "it would be a shame for a woman to grow old without finding out what her body is truly capable of."
Seriously. I dare you. Give up the cardio for 3 months, or decrease it by 75% and lift weights for 45 minutes 3 days a week. Take a picture. Take a selfie in the bathroom, then do it again every month. I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE you will like what you see, and if you don't-- you can just go back to that cardio equipment for 2 hours a day and burn off any and all muscle you have built. Just don't sue me when you all a sudden want to jump your husbands bones 5 times a week and dont sue me when your man can't keep his hands off your boot-AY!
(ps. I always say training is the smaller piece to the puzzle, the way you look is in direct correlation to how you eat. So you run a ton, and eat crap--you're going to look like that. You eat clean and run a lot, your body is going to look better. You lift weights, eat crap. You will look fat. You eat clean and lift weights and well, ya know
Ya get Hott, of course!)
