how fitness plays a role in metabolic health (lifting vs cardio)

Let me tell you a story about the first time I went into the weight room at the gym.

I was at the gym just doing cardio, bored as ever, and thought I would leave right after. But I wanted to go see what the weight room was like...even though I was absolutely terrified of going up there.

I was following a lot of fitness influencers at the time who were PREACHING the benefits of weights. So I just had to know!

I walked in and genuinely felt my heart start racing. I was overwhelmed by all of it: the machines, the equipment, the large men grunting. It was a lot.

I IMMEDIATELY left. I felt so out of place that I didn't even do a lap around the room to see everything.

Fast forward to today and the weight room is my favorite. It's genuinely my happy place! But it took a while to get to that point.

The first few months of lifting (once I got over my fear of being in there) were so frustrating. I didn't know what I was doing...I was just following what I saw on Instagram. I didn't know what good form looked like or that it was possible to do anything other than squats and lunges for leg day.

But after a while, as I did more research myself and learned other workouts, I got into it.

Not only did I enjoy it more, but I started seeing changes. I didn't even expect changes to happen, since all that cardio didn't seem to do much for me...but they did!

I started losing fat and seeing actual MUSCLE, and realized that strength training worked a heck of a lot better than cardio ever did!

Why is that?

When you increase your muscle mass, you boost your resting metabolism -- and that makes your body burn more calories. Not only that, but you'll visibly appear more toned!

As we age, it's especially important to maintain our metabolism health. So lifting heavy things throughout adulthood is a great way to avoid a slowed metabolism.

What's even cooler is that it doesn't end there! After a strength workout, your metabolism stays elevated through a process called excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). This is because strength-training sessions cause more physiological stress to the body compared to cardiovascular exercise (including HIIT).

Note: the calories burnt through EPOC aren't too significant, but over time, they really add up!

So the main takeaway here:

If you want to get ahead on maintaining a healthy metabolism, or if you just want to start seeing real results from working out — switch to more strength training and less cardio. Cardio is still important for our heart health, but there's no truly need to overdo it!

If you're nervous about getting in the weight room, reach out to me! I can help you create a training plan that will have you feeling confident even in the biggest, most intimidating weight rooms out there.