Pump it up!
A few facts first:
- Around the age of 30, the physiological reduction of muscles begins. Without counteracting this, you will exchange 1% of your muscle mass for fat every year.
- Muscles increase the basal metabolic rate.
- 1kg of muscle consumes about 13kcal per day at rest. 1kg fat on the other hand only 4.5kcal.
- With 5kg muscles this would be an additional consumption of 65kcal daily. That’s 455kcal a week – and almost a bar of chocolate.
- Muscle building is possible at any age.
In most heads the old wisdom has settled: If you want a dream figure, you can’t get around cardio training. This is not wrong, because with cardio you burn more calories than with classic strength training. And yet, cardio alone won’t give you the top figure you might be dreaming of. A defined, toned (and not just slim) body is almost impossible to achieve without weights.
Women in particular have a hard time incorporating dumbbells & co. into their workouts. Mostly out of concern that they might build up too much muscle mass and lose their femininity. But this is unfounded: The male sex hormone testosterone is the main driver in building muscle mass. And since women naturally secrete this in much smaller amounts, building muscle like a man simply isn’t possible. Female bodybuilders are by no means the benchmark here, and whether they are not helped by other means is at least questionable.
As with everything, the following also applies to strength training: It’s all about the right mix. Make sure there is variety and, above all, that you enjoy the workout. Concentrate on individual muscle groups if you have little time or prefer cardio: sometimes an arms & shoulders day, sometimes the legs, then core. This way you automatically ensure enough recovery phases and regeneration.
Pump it up – it’s worth it 😉
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