Over the last year I've been hearing more & more about how great strength training can be for weight loss. (This would be weight lifting, push-ups ~ anything to build muscle.) Muscle is nice & lean, and burns tons of calories even while you are at rest. Do a Google search and you will find an overwhelming amount of articles and videos comparing the two, but most of them tend to agree that a combination of strength training and cardio is best.
The most effective way to build muscle is to do 10-15 reps of a move (with weights just heavy enough to make it difficult at the end), then take a short break and repeat two more times. And then the next day you give those muscles a rest and work on a different area. A lot of the videos I've found are laid out that way, running through a series of moves 3 times. But all of this repetition bores me to tears! Maybe it's not the most effective way, but I like to do just one set from these videos (about 10 minutes) and then move on to Zumba for cardio (20 minutes). The best videos I've found for this have been from Fitness Blender ~
And these three get an honorable mention, but are a little too short ~
30 Minute Strength Training for Women (Includes a warm up & cool down, so not 30 min. of weights)
15 Minute Beginner Weight Training
Beginner Strength Workout
I've been having trouble finding more full-body weights workouts like these, everything else seems to focus on just arms, abs, legs, etc. Which makes sense if you are supposed to work on a different section each day! I suppose that is what I will have to try next.
I've created a Pinterest board for Strength Training Workouts and will continue to post any good videos I find there.
2/21 - Edited to add ~ What timing! Our Best Bites just posted all about strength training with a great list of the benefits & a few exercises to try.
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