By Michaela Ryan
Most women tend to focus way too much on cardiovascular exercise, according to personal trainer Davina Tyquin from
Step Into Life. But if you're serious about shaping up, you really should incorporate resistance training, or weight-bearing exercises, into your regime.
Weight-bearing exercises make your body work against gravity. That includes squats, lunges and push ups, as well as activities like netball, stair-climbing and tennis.
Resistance training is any form of weight-lifting, including dumbbells, barbells and other weight machines you see at the gym.
I don't want to bulk up
Women tend to shun resistance training because they're afraid of bulking up. "Obviously some physiques get more muscular than others. But it's virtually impossible for a woman to get really, really big unless they're taking some kind of supplementation or training seven days a week," Davina says.
For the vast majority of women, a bit of weight training will actually make you look nicely toned. And that sort of toning is not as attainable from cardio training alone.
Burn more calories
Here's one of the most compelling reasons to include resistance or weight-bearing training in your weekly schedule. "The more lean muscle mass you can build, the faster your metabolism works, so the more calories your body burns during the day," Davina explains.
Osteoporosis
Normally a person's bones thin with age and when there is a significant enough loss of bone minerals (especially calcium), osteoporosis can occur.
One huge benefit of resistance and weight-bearing exercise is that it helps in the prevention of osteoporosis by maintaining bone mass. For more info about exercises that can help the prevention of osteoporosis, visit
www.mydr.com.au
How often?
For women, Davina recommends working up to a regime that includes resistance training three times a week and cardio three times a week. That might sound like a lot but you can often combine your resistance and cardio training. Hiring a personal trainer is an easy way to do that. (It can work out cheaper if you share the session with a couple of friends).
Otherwise you can find fitness classes or 'boot camps' that involve a mix of cardio and resistance work. (
Step Into Life specialises in group outdoor training that fits the bill).
If you're strapped for cash, hunt around the Internet to find weight-bearing exercises you can do at home or in the park.
Ignore the scales
"A lot of people find when they do weight training they don't lose much weight on the scales, which worries them," Davina says. "They get stuck on the number they see on the scales. But they will lose centimetres, which is much more important. You mightn't notice it on the scales, but you'll notice it in your clothes, through body changes and muscle mass,"
Related links
Step Into Life:
www.stepintolife.com.au
myDr — for a healthy Australia:
www.mydr.com.au
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