Looking to improve your workout routine? While you might be focused on the power of fat-burning cardio, many people overlook another important aspect of health: strength training. You might not have the goal of a bodybuilding competition, and you might not even care about getting abs, but if you want to slim down, you need to think about toning up.
#1 Get Rid of Problem Areas
Many people hit a weight loss hurdle as they get nearer and nearer to their goals, and usually it comes down to a lack of strength training. If you have been struggle to lose that lower belly pooch, for instance, of if your calves jiggle no matter how much running you do, a little bit of strength training might just be the answer you’re looking for.
Don’t worry, you won’t end up looking like you spend your weeks lifting weights in the gym unless that happens to be what you do. If you just want to tone up and feel more confident in your own skin, and enjoy the added day-to-day strength and agility that comes along with this type of training, you just need to devote a few minutes to it each day.
#2 Spot Tone Where It Matters
There’s more good news. While you have likely heard before that you can’t “spot reduce’–meaning you can’t lose fat in just one area–you can actually “spot tone”. That means you can target an area and tone it up with targeted strength training moves. Which, in turn, means you can finally get that firm butt you’ve always wanted or slim down those inner thighs just by working on some muscle-burning moves.
#3 Increase Your Daily Calorie Burn
Even if you don’t think you’re near finished with your weight loss goal, adding strength training into your routine can really help you rev up your metabolism and burn fat even quicker. In fact, it has been shown that your body consumes more calories maintaining a muscle cell than it does a fat cell. This means, the more muscle you build, the more fat you’ll actually burn around-the-clock as your metabolism works to fuel your body’s natural processes.
All of this adds up to three good reasons to add strength training into your workout routine.
