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More women are turning from cardio to weights for a toned, lean look. The Southern Star spoke to two personal trainers about which is better for fitness and weight loss.
Peta Dempster from the Result’s Room at Mansfield said she was a firm believer in weights but some cardio was still important.
She said weights were not only good for improving appearance but also important for increasing bone density as we age.
“When we move our muscles, the muscles pull on the bone which strengthens our bones and joints,” she said.
“A lot of people I train have back injuries and by doing weights they strengthen muscles that support their back.”
Ms Dempster said many women were intimidated by gym environment which prevented them from trying weights.
“It’s important to get a trainer to teach you how to do weights properly,” she said.
“This will make you more confident and prevent injuries.”
Kim Horsfall from K2 Transformation at Coopers Plains said it is important to understand
what results you want when choosing an exercise program.
“The stronger your muscles get the faster your metabolism works however cardio also burns fat and helps your heart,” Ms Horsfall said.
“Government regulations suggest cardio most days and strength training twice a week.”
Ms Horsfall said there was perception that you need to lift heavy weights to get results.
“You need to incrementally increase weight. When you can do 12 reps easily, then it is time to increase the weight,” she said.
Peta’s favourite exercises:
- Squats: It keeps your core activated the whole time. Brilliant for training glutes, hamstring, quads.
- Chin-ups: It’s a tough exercise but there’s a big misconception that women can’t lift their own body weight. Assisted chin-ups and rack chin ups where bar is closer to the ground can help women achieve it.
- Push-ups: Pushups are an underestimated exercise. They’re good for your arm and tough if you’re doing them on your toes.
- Weighted lunges: Its amazing how difficult they can be. You can add dumbbells or barbells. If you want to increase the difficulty there are Bulgarian lunges where you put your back foot up on the bench, front foot on the ground.
Kim’s favourite exercises:
- Skipping: Huge calorie burner, whole body workout. The ladies don’t love it but you get the results. Skip to beat, interval training. Heart rate up.
- Mini-trampoline: Good for your joints, high impact.
- Boxing: A lot of ladies like to punch. Different type of resistance training but still gets your heart rate up.
- Bosu Balance trainer: Stands for Both Side Utilised. Good for balance, core stability, core strength.
By: Emma Williams
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