14 DAY TRIAL // Weight training is believed to be reserved exclusively for men who are looking to build body mass, which is why the wide misconception that any woman lifting weights will get a manly body with prominent muscles. As it happens, not only is this not the case, but weight training helps burn more calories a day, which is why two weekly sessions are highly recommended for all ladies working out for a perfect body, trainer James King says for Closer Magazine.
All prejudices against weight training should be put aside, King believes, and all women should lift weights and do special strength exercises to build muscle mass. Scientifically speaking, one pound of muscle burns around 50 calories a day, so the bigger the muscle mass, the bigger the calorie burning process – without lifting a single finger, the trainer explains in a bid to make ladies understand that weight training is not only for men.
“As we get older, we lose around 10% of our lean muscle every 10 years. The problem here is that each pound of muscle burns around 50 calories per day. Therefore, increasing your lean muscle mass by around 10 pounds means you can times [sic] this 10 pounds of muscle by 50 calories a day – that’s 500 calories blasted away each day! So by increasing your lean muscle mass by 10 pounds you essentially increase your metabolic rate by 500 calories a day. Over a week this adds up to 3500 calories, which equates to 1 pound of fat. So, effectively you will burn one pound of fat a week doing absolutely nothing! Sounds too good to be true, but this really does work.” King assures us.
As for the misconception that lifting weights will only make a woman’s body all that much manlier, King pinpoints that it simply does not have enough testosterone to do that. Instead, muscles will increase in density, he shares, which means less fat because more calories are burned on a daily basis. It probably does sound too good to be true, but the trainer vouches his theory is backed up by years of experience.
Regarding the exercises we should focus on to strengthen our muscles, King recommends the usual squats, the standing military press, lunges and upright rows. However, he tells, weight training should not take place more than twice a week and, if possible, not on consecutive days.