About 6 years ago, I was teaching five cycle classes per week. Cardio was my middle name. Because I was doing so much cardio, my body fat percentage was super low, right? Wrong. It was the highest it has ever been in my entire life. A year after that, I started teaching a strength class two times per week and had cut the cycle classes down to two per week as well. After about six months with the new fitness schedule, I started to see a significant change in my body. My arms were looking more toned, my pants were fitting more loosely and most importantly, my body fat percentage was dropping. The reason I was seeing such a significant change was due to the extra muscle mass being created in my body. My metabolism was increasing as well because of the newly created muscle tissue. By cutting out of some of the cardio and replacing it for heavier lifting, I was able to feel more toned, lose more body fat and enjoy my body shape more.
One of my most admired coaches is Dan John. His theory behind strength training is lift the heaviest weight you can as many times as you can. That's the principle I use when training myself and clients. If you want a harder body, you need a harder workout!
On the Body Fat Burn Program, I require that women complete two days of interval cardio and three days of strength training. Two of the strength training days are with lighter weights and keeping your heart rate in the body fat burn zone. The third strength day is a very heavy weightlifting day. Let's talk about why I require these three strength bouts per week:
Women have 7-8x less testosterone than the male body. Testosterone is the hormone that allows the body to create muscle tissue and metabolize fats. The less you have, the less your body is able to complete those two processes. Because women have difficulty generating muscle mass, we have to do more strength days than cardio to get the results we are looking for.
Also, the more muscle mass you have on your body, the more calories you burn at rest. And at the end of the day, who wants to workout more than necessary?
However, not all strength training is equal. I want my females to train major muscle groups in order to see the most amount of muscle mass gain in the shortest amount of time. On BFB, I provide the exercises to work these muscle groups to maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
Boost your metabolism by creating more muscle mass through doing more weightlifting sessions. It truly is the secret to lowering your body fat percentage and seeing a significant change in your physical physique.
Thanks as always for reading!
YourTrainerKatie
Katie Spangler
