Most girls seem to think aerobic exercise is the best way to burn calories and improve their cardiovascular fitness, which is why so many girls use treadmills and cross trainers down the gym, but they would actually burn off way more calories and get a better cardio workout from strength training, and they would get a more toned body, which is what most girls want, right?
Anaerobic exercise burns calories faster and increases excess post exercise oxygen consumption. So you burn up calories at a higher rate during and after training than you do after aerobic exercise but that doesn’t matter so much because you burn off even more calories in the day just resting. Strength training increases your base metabolic rate because it increases muscle mass. Every extra lbs of muscle burns off another 50 calories a day during rest. But aerobic exercise is catabolic, which burns muscle.
Some people seem to think that strength training isn’t good cardio exercise but that’s crap too. I do four 20 mins to 30 mins strength training sessions a week and they give me a great cardio workout because I have very little rest in-between sets or exercises. I do a five minute warm up with two 1kg bottles of water. I use them like clubbells.
I do keg training for my first session of the week. It’s great for power, functional strength and core stability. All you need for keg training is a keg and some water. Simple! One litre equals one kg. My second session I do sledge hammer training. I hit against a tire on the floor and a tire hanging up on a chain. The tire absorbs the shock, so it’s easy on the joints but it’s a real freaking killer. It’s great for explosive power and your core though.
My third training session I do sand bag or tire training, which is great fun because you can throw them about without worrying about getting hurt. They’re really cheap too. I do loads of wrestling bodylocks, lifts, supleses and tackles with them.
My final session I used to do kettlebells, but now I do stone lifting. Basque stones are great but they’re hard to get hold, sometimes I just use natural rocks for a real cave girl workout. I don’t go for weight, I go for reps to improve my muscular endurance.
