It’s Monday night (or Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday…) and you’re about to hit the hotel gym. What are your options? Well, you’ve got the treadmill or dumbbells. You don’t know what to do with dumbbells, so treadmill it is! Again. And again. Week after week your work travels bring you to this same, boring story. And eventually, you just can’t do the treadmill anymore. You’re not seeing any differences in your body anyway, are you? So, let’s give it a shot and put some weights in your fitness routine!
But what do you do with them? Read on for how to incorporate them, plus 8 benefits of working weights into your regular fitness routine.
Conveniently enough, we live in a time where we have so many resources for fitness (and even nutrition) right at our fingertips—whether it’s MapMyRun, Sworkit, MyFitnessPal or daily workout routines—you have options to dive into.
This story may sound familiar to you, or yours could be something totally different. Regardless, there comes a time when we may reach a plateau in our lives. For me, it was the mundaneness of weekly hotel living for work. Hotel gyms are nothing to get excited about, but once I started with dumbbells, I found myself looking forward to those stuffy hotel workouts.
I soon took my workouts to FFC on the nights I was home and was able to take it to another level with the machines there as well. So whatever you have been doing at the gym—treadmill, elliptical, group fitness, yoga, etc.— here are 8 benefits of adding weights in your fitness routine.
Your body will begin to transform.
Adding muscle to your body increases your metabolism, thereby increasing your body’s ability to burn fat. After a few weeks of weight lifting, I began to notice that my fat was beginning to disappear. If you’re only doing cardio, your body won’t develop this kind of muscle!
You’ll increase your commitment level.
One of the biggest things I noticed right off the bat was I didn’t want to miss a day at the gym because I didn’t want to miss leg/arm/back/etc. day. Weight training helps to naturally guide you through your journey by giving you a structured plan to look forward to.
You will feel more confident with yourself.
Adding muscle to your body has its everyday advantages. Ever buy a pair of pants that are a tad too small for you, but they’re on sale? Well you just may fit into them again (true story). You will without a doubt begin to feel proud of yourself.
You’ll improve your mind and productivity.
Yes, “runners high” is a real thing. But working up a sweat in the weight room works, too! Weight lifting will give your body natural energy to power through your day.
Your health will improve.
Lifting weights adds bone density and decreases bone loss as you age. People who lift weights live longer, healthier lives!
You’ll decrease your stress.
As with any exercise, weight lifting has an awesome ability to decrease stress naturally. Getting your body to move releases endorphins, which in turn make you happy.
Life quality will improve.
Three blocks to walk home with $70 worth of groceries?!?! Get me a Lyft! Not so fast—your weight training will give you the confidence to make the walk home, get your steps in, and add a little muscle on the way!
You will learn something new!
As kids and teenagers, we were constantly learning new sports and activities, but that tends to slow down as we get a little older. Weight lifting can be your new SOMETHING to challenge your body and mind. You won’t regret it!
Post written by FFC Group Fitness Instructor Tiffany Florczak.
About Tiffany
Tiffany is a group fitness instructor at multiple FFC locations. She currently specializes in strength-based formats, and you can also find her teaching on a spin bike! Tiffany enjoys spending her free time in the weight areas of FFC, experimenting with healthy recipes in the kitchen, or exploring Chicago’s food scene.
Come to her weekly classes ready to sweat! Follow her on Instagram HERE for daily workout ideas to try on your own, or find her on Facebook HERE.
