What’s best to beat the January bulge – treadmills or dumbbells?

At the start of January, typically we see people heading straight to the treadmills and cross trainers to burn off their festive overindulgence.

But is cardio necessarily the best thing to cancel out those mince pies?

One of our expert PTs at JD Gyms Leeds, Oliver Welch, took some time out of his training to explain to us why lifting weights should form a big part of your New Year exercise routine:

“Most people assume that in order to lose weight you must spend hours doing cardio. While this can of course have a positive effect on body weight, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be body fat that you’re burning. You can also be losing muscle, if you don’t give your muscles reasons to stick around (i.e using them regularly / lifting weights.”

Why is it important to build muscle when you want to lose weight?

“Muscle actually ‘fights’ fat, in that it demands higher energy so less calories are left over to be stored as body fat. So the more muscle you have, the better your metabolic rate.”

Oliver’s top 7 reasons why you should lift weights this January:

1. Maintains and increases your strength
2. Increases your metabolic rate (ie. you burn more calories throughout the day)
3. Improves your coordination and body awareness
4. Adds shape and curves in all the right places
5. Controls blood sugar levels, reducing risk of unwanted fat storage
6. Strengthens your bones and ligaments, reducing the risk of osteoporosis
7. Increases the amount of endorphins in your body (ie. it feels awesome!)

For more advice on starting weight training, speak to Oliver or any of the JD PTs in your gym.

Happy new year!