The Key to Body Transformation | Blog by Marsha Hughes

This weekend I was at a party and someone asked: “Why is it that I cycle 100 miles a week but never lose any weight?”

“How long have you been doing this?” I responded.

“For years” he replied.

He was not unhappy with his cardiovascular endurance but he was pretty unhappy with the way his body looked to him. He wanted to be more toned.

I hear that word a lot.  For most of us toned refers to leanness or muscle definition…a look that comes from having lower body fat and,  ta dum…more lean muscle mass. To get that toned look you have to do a combination of cardio (to burn fat) and strength training (to gain or preserve muscle). I see so many people doing tons of cardio but not achieving the toned look they’re after.

I explained to my friend that he was probably doing more than enough cardio but without strength training, he was likely to be disappointed and might even be at risk of injury. I also suggested that he might want to consider doing another type of cardio activity as well. Once your body adapts to a particular activity, it becomes more efficient and uses less calories to do the same work. This isn’t so optimal for burning fat. Doing the same type of exercise over and over greatly increases your chance of a repetitive stress injury, which is another great reason to strength train. Believe it or not, strength training gets you stronger muscles and can protect your vulnerable joints or save you from a fall.

It’s not easy to gain muscle. It takes effort– which is okay since work requires energy and most of us have plenty stored in our bodies! The other good news is that the human body is one of the most adaptive organisms in the world. Our muscles will respond to the challenge of “heavy” weight by growing stronger and denser. Think of starting at a weight that’s heavier than the purse or backpack you carry around every day. Your muscles have already adapted to that. And just adding a little more weight every session or every week (with good form of course) will provide the stimulation a muscle needs for growth (hypertrophy.) Twenty repetitions of the same light weight will improve the endurance of the muscle (efficiency=less calories burned) and numerous reps will also wear out your joints. In a nutshell, you’re going to want to add more weight once you’re able to complete 12 repetitions comfortably  (nothing wrong with being uncomfortable during the last two reps!) Multiple sets (2-3) are also proven to be more effective at increasing muscle mass.