Cardio or Strength training?

I have been a cardio queen for a long time!

Days when I would eat a cake, I would run that extra mile to burn it.

Like I always say, exercise is important as we are built to move. And not a punishment for the processed food and alcohol we are consuming .

Today I wanted to talk about my love hate relationship with strength training.

I did do some strength training, however, I was not very consistent with it for a long time.

It was only a few years ago that I started taking my strength training more seriously and still continue to do 2 days of pure strength training. Apart from gaining lean muscle mass, my runs( yes, i still love my morning runs) have become better, i feel overall a feeling of strength and vitality .

As women, we need to incorporate strength training to help with muscle building and stimulating fat loss. Specially, with age – our bones need to be supported by strong muscles as the bone density goes down and eventually with incorporating resistance training we improve the health of the bones too.

A good combination of cardio and strength workouts is important for overall fitness. This i can tell from my own experience -of just doing long cardio runs without proper strength workouts for my lower body specifically ,which have led to many injuries. The learning is to mix up the workout- and YES! Please do not ignore strength training and add them to your routine.

I always get my clients to do a few days of strength training for overall fitness and getting that toned and strong body.

If you are a beginner, start slow. Train with a professional to get the posture right, and to avoid injury . It is important to start slow and be consistent with it.

A double bonus – strength training does make your insulin sensitive. Which is why if you are leading a fasted lifestyle and incorporating a few sessions – the body will accelerate fat burn, while increasing growth hormone(which is secreted when fasting) and keep your muscles intact.

Stay healthy;)

Swati