As you (hopefully) enjoy this “coffee talk” post, I am most likely enjoying the following:
Romaine Lettuce salad with grape tomatoes, kalamata olives and tuna (with mustard). On the side I have a veggie mix of celery and grape tomatoes with cherries and brown rice crackers.
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I’ve mentioned my prior cardio addiction on the blog several times, but I haven’t exactly been 100% clear on the factual reasons why I decided to cut it down to begin with.
Cardio was a consistent part of my life for 3 years, 6 days a week, and at least 45 minutes a day. I would run, spin, elliptical, zumba, and kickbox my way into oblivion on a daily basis. Within the first year, I definitely noticed some changes as someone who had never exercised on purpose a day in her life. After I passed a certain point, however, my body plateaued and stopped showing me the results that I wanted.
Strength training was the answer I was looking for. As soon as I started mixing strength days into my workout routine, I began to see immediate results. (Read more about how I kicked my cardio obsession here.)
So why is strength training right for you?
Five Reasons Why you Should Strength Train:
1. It increases the overall number of calories that you burn.
By incorporating weight lifting or strength training into your workout routine, you gain more lean muscle which will ultimately burn more calories while you sit around eating snickerdoodles 
. A study conducted at the University of Wisconsin found that weightlifters who did a total body workout of only 3 muscle groups kick started their metabolisms for the next 39 hours.
2. It will lead to a healthier heart.
Weight lifting gets your blood pumping in some of the same ways that cardio does! According to a study done at the University of Michigan, people who did 3 total body workouts per week for 2 consecutive months reduced their diastolic blood pressure by an average of 8 points. On top of a healthier heart, the test subjects also reduced their risk of a stroke by 40% and their risk of a heart attack by 15%.
3. You will lose more body fat.
Although there is a huge misconception that during strength training your heart rate does not elevate as high as it does during cardio—the truth may surprise you. People who lift weights are said to burn as much as much as 40% more body fat than those who rely on cardio alone. With a cardio binge you might end up seeing excess pounds shed off on the scale, but you will see virtually less noticeable change in your body composition. Research shows that non-lifting dieters lose 75% of their weight loss from fat and 25% from muscle.
4. You will get in shape faster.
A study conducted at the University of Hawaii showed that circuit training with the use of weights raises the heart rate 15 beats per minute higher than if someone were running at 60-70% of their maximum heart rate.
5. You’ll stick to your fitness routine.
Changing up your fitness routine and the exercises that you perform keep workouts exciting and less likely to be skipped. On top of this, your body will recognize the change too and you will see more results with a variety of exercises rather than if you were performing the same workout everyday.
Now what are you waiting for? Go ahead and get your strength training fix today