Why should women lift weights?

Introduction

For fat loss and muscle tone at least, the thing that I hear many women ask is, "what's the best thing that I can do to achieve this goal?"

Is it cardio? Are classes better? How about abdominal training because thats the area I want to lose my 'weight' from?

STOP!!!

Allow me to shed some light on this topic;

1) Doing cardio alone will help you become smaller than you are (under the assumption that you are creating a calorie deficit with a combination of food and exercise) but that's all it will do! You won't look anymore toned, you won't necessarily be able to see shape on your abdomen and you will likely become what's know in the industry as skinny fat. You will become a smaller version of your not toned self unless you have exceptional genetics in terms of muscularity (which is uncommon).

2) Depending on the class, you could see a benefit if they incorporate some weights and HIIT training. Sorry guys but Zumba, Legs, bums and tums and yoga classes aren't going to help with the outlined goals of losing fat and achieving a more toned physique. 

If you do like the classes then do them but do them for fun, not for a specific training goal as they are generalized not designed specifically for you. I will always encourage keeping active and doing exercises that you enjoy. 

3) Training abdominals for fat loss without having a structured nutrition and resistance training plan in place is like having a large pizza to yourself with a salad on the side. Its pointless...

So how do ladies lose fat then?

Both the males and females burn fat and improve muscle tone by being in a deficit of calories and performing resistance exercise that allow you to grow or retain muscle whilst being in a calorie deficit.

The only difference being, that women naturally have higher estrogen levels than men, which can make it a little more difficult to achieve fat loss as fast as their male counterpart. It is still very achievable though and it can be done with a few little tricks.

There are three ways to burn fat

1) I'm going to sound like a broken record here.... Be in a calorie deficit!

2) Manage your insulin levels. Don't let them spike too sharply and try to keep them stable throughout the day.

3) Increase the size of your overall musculature.

How do we do that?

1) Simply burn more calories than you consume. There are lots of different ways to track this however, the easiest way is to just eat very slightly smaller portions and gently over a period of 2-3 week's increase your activity to 30-45 mins per day with 1 day per week of eating a little more than the other six. This allows for balance because you should have everything in moderation including moderation.

2) You stop your insulin levels from spiking by limiting the amount of processed foods that you consume, cutting sugar out of your diet and eating a variety of foods that have a low glycemic index whilst increasing your protein and healthy fat intake. Protein, fibre and fat cause no insulin response. You can consume your food in the order of veggies and salad, then protein followed by carbohydrate. This reduces the insulin spike from the carbohydrate, helps to manage your blood sugar levels and will balance out your hormones.

3)To build muscle, we need to have a training routine in place that is based around resistance training. Now that doesn't mean that you will end up looking like the hulk. In fact, this is a myth for most women (and most men quite frankly) and is very frustrating to those that know how hard it is to gain muscle without gaining too much fat.

One of my favourite analogies for using weight training to achieve fat loss is;

"If you put a steak onto the barbecue what happens? The steak goes from being soft and and large with a higher fat content, to the steak shrinking, getting firmer and the fat drips out."

This is what happens when you do weights. Your body will shrink because you'll lose fat and your muscles will become firmer and more toned. 

Having more muscle will speed up your metabolic rate (the number of calories that you burn each day) and maks it easier to achieve a deficit of calories.

Summary

When you combine the three methods above you will achieve a steady fat loss and long term success. There are many 'fad' diets out there that promise fast results and some do deliver what they say.

If you want long term fat loss and a toned physique, then follow the advise above and you'll be sure to make an improvement.

Always remember that when embarking on any exercise routine you should always have a health check with your doctor first and consult a trained professional who can advise you on how to safely perform the correct exercises to help you achieve your goals.

Stay strong, be happy and enjoy your journey.

BC

There's more to Personal Training than Grueling Workouts

Introduction

When I first started Personal Training (Over 16 years ago) I wanted to help my clients to exercise safely, make their training more effective with the new knowledge that I had gained for my personal training courses and help them to improve thier lives in the fastest possible time. I had no idea at that time, the knowledge I had gained wouldn't come close to preparing me for the job that I had ahead of me. 

The lessons that I have learned over the last 16 years have completely changed the way that I think about training and life.

"The best way to learn is to teach." Frank Oppenheimer

When I qualified I passed all of my exams with the best possible grades, flying colours you might say. You could even say that at the time I was a little big headed about my latest achievement and even though on paper I was a qualified PT and had many years of training myself under my belt, in reality I was still an 18 year old young man who had no experience in working with the public or helping people achieve their personal goals.

Time to Grow

Over time I improved my people skills, my business skills and the ability to research newly released training data on the most effective methods to help my clients improve both safely and quickly. This personal growth turned into increased PT sales, improved relationships with current clients and an authenticity that can't be faked by just a good sales person. I have and always will practice what I preach meaning, if I ask you to do it, you can bet that I will have practiced the new exercise technique, intricate details of an exercise (a different way of doing the same exercise) or dietary method many times before I ever mention it. 

The clients that I train and the great results that my clients get, allowed my confidence to grow. I was no longer big headed about how good I thought I was. I have improved with the understanding that I will never have learned it all but the self-assurance that I can help the vast majority of clients to be physically more advanced and have a better education in nutritional techniques to achieve many different goals.

"The more you learn, the more you'll realise how little you know." Joe Abercrombie

I am always humble about the results my clients get and I make a point of giving them any credit for the results that they achieve. I am only a guide on their journey and the client is the person who must walk the path to the top of the mountain. I feel an overwhelming sense of pride when my clients break through their training, nutrition and self-development goals.

Training isn't always the answer!

Sometimes the right thing to do when trying to keep your clients on track, is to not train them (hear me out before you get out the torches). I have had many clients over the years that have come to their training session in no fit state to train down to personal circumstances (sometimes out of their control and sometimes within their control). 

It could be one of a many different reasons that prevent them from being able to train and in my sessions, if you aren't in the right frame of mind to train, you shouldn't train (risk vs reward must be in favour of reward). I have taken clients out for a walk or just found a quiet space for them to vent, cry or shout in these circumstances.

Short term, this may not contribute to a client achieving their goals on this given day but in the long term, if life situations gets ontop of them, this can hold back their training more than missing a day of training. Sometimes taking a small step backwards to allow for future steps forwards is a necessary action. 

Different Perspective

I have a different perspective on this subject to many trainers. Too many trainers believe that their job is simply to train and advise their clients and when the hour is up the client isn't thier problem until the next session. Sadly, this is all too common. The trainers I have known over the years with this attitude don't stay in this industry for long. I am fortunate to have been in the presence on a regular basis of a diverse and intelligent group of PT's that share similar views to myself (Iron sharpens Iron!).

More than a Personal Trainer

The thing that they don't teach you when you are learning to become a PT however, is that as a PT, you are obliged to do whatever it takes to get your clients to stay on track. This is where I believe many fall short on service to their clients.

Whether you like it or not, you will build up a relationship with each and every individual client that you train and on top of a trainer, you will become a friend, counselor, roll model and a pillar of support for some if not all of your clients. There is so much more to being PT than gruelling workouts, diet advice and a few scripted encouraging words.

Please feel free to add in anything that you feel I have missed out in the comments below. I would love to hear your comments on your own PT experiences.

Until next time, be healthy, stay strong and enjoy life.

BC