Why Weight Lifting Must Be A Part Of Everyone's Fitness Regime

Weight lifting also known as weight training or strength training is not just for bodybuilders. Many people focus on cardio exercises only when trying to get in shape, but weight lifting is incredibly important for every fitness plan of both men and women.

It's well known that bodybuilders and other people who want to modify the muscle on their body use weight lifting to do so, but it's important to know that even if your aim is to lose weight only, it's critical to include strength training in your program.

According to health and fitness experts, lifting weights is not just for creating impact on the muscle, it also play an important part in the weight loss process.

It has been shown that people who do cardio only and don’t do any resistance training in their program end up experiencing the negative effects of long term calorie restriction - loss of muscle mass and slow down of the metabolism.

And of course, muscle loss and/or metabolic slowdown would be counterproductive to most fitness goals, so you must do what whatever is necessary to avoid these effects. Weight lifting is a great form of resistance training that will allow you to maintain your muscle mass and keep your metabolism at optimum level to keep burning calories effectively.

So how do you fit weight lifting into your program?

How often you should lift weights, the type of weight lifting exercises to do, reps, sets etc. are all determined by the specific goals you want to accomplish. Each one of the Visual Impact programs includes specific guidelines on lifting weights to achieve a variety of fitness goals for your body including losing fat, building muscle, gaining strength, increasing muscle density etc.

Click Below To Learn More About Each Visual Impact Program

Fitness Program For Men To Build Muscle And Lose Fat
Fitness Program For Women To Tone Muscle And Lose Fat
Fitness Program For Both Men And Women To Lose Fat

Muscle Building For Women - What's The Possibilities And The Limitations?

Both men and women are able to build up a significant amount of muscles by eating right and training with weights. Men however will be able to build more muscles as well as more rapidly than women due to different hormonal levels among the two genders. In order for a woman to build up a noticeable amount of muscle mass she'll need to push for a high intensity in weight training and eat a proper nourishing diet.



How Muscle Grow 

Muscle growth occurs when your muscle fibers are constantly overloaded with heavy weight lifting. This will cause the worked muscles to be left damaged by  the end of the workout session. These damaged muscle tissues will respond by repairing with an increase in size and and a higher quantity of contractile proteins, which will ultimately make the trainee end up with an increase in size of muscle fibers.

Understanding Testosterone 

Testosterone is the principal sex hormone in men and it plays a key role in regulating muscle mass. One key function of testosterone is it increases protein synthesis within cells, which results in the build up of cellular tissue (anabolism), especially in muscles. The plasma concentration of testosterone in men is about 7-8 times as great as the concentration of women on average. This distinction result in males to have more noticeable muscle build ups than women when trained in the same way.

Women Can Build Muscle With The Right Workout Program

Despite having a much lower testosterone level than men, women can still build up noticeable amounts of muscle mass by consistently taking part in a good weight training program that is specifically designed to induce muscle growth.

This program should incorporate a good rep and set scheme for maximum intensity. However, unless you're a woman who plans to get into professional bodybuilding you should minimize the amount of muscle mass you put on your body, which should be pretty easy because building muscle takes time, intensity and hard work.

There are many female models and celebrities that train with weights but do not look overly muscular, neither do they look masculine in appearance. The weight lifting basically caused them to have a nicer tone in appearance. I believe if you're woman who want to get into weight training to build muscle your aim should be to get the slim and toned body type.

How To Quickly Get That Ripped Muscle Look With The Ripped Muscle Workout

The Fundamentals Of A Good Ripped Muscle Workout...Let's Keep It Simple.

Getting the ripped muscle look is somewhat simple but not very easy. Where most people have it wrong is they are of the belief that the process of lifting is what makes a muscle ripped.

The actual lifting of weights isn't the major factor in making someone tremendously defined. Rather, it is people's low percentage of fat in the body.

"High Reps" Do Not Shape The Muscle

A lot of people are of the misperception that "high reps" shape the muscle and that "low reps" cause muscle growth. This is surely not the case.

All your muscles can do is basically contract or relax. When you lift a light weight, your muscle just has to contract a little to lift that weight.

When you lift a heavy weight your muscle has to contract quite a bit to lift that weight. If anything, heavier weights and low reps will increase the tone in the muscle more than light weights will.

You Don't Have to Eat six mini Meals a Day to Get Ripped

I maintain my body fat at around 6-8% right through the year and I eat 3-4 "medium" meals per day. I just can't put up with eating tiny meals all the time, plus it isn't really practical.

My advice is to just try to keep a relatively low calorie intake throughout the day when you are trying to get lean.

If I know that I'm going to have a few beers on Friday night and go to a happy hour, I will eat extremely low calorie meals earlier in the day.

I may even skip a meal. I'm telling you...this works! Don't get obsessed and think that your metabolism is going to slow to a crawl if you skip a meal now and then.

You will get lean quickly if you just lower your daily calorie intake...don't make it more complex than it is.

Spend Two Thirds of Your Workout Time Devoted to Cardio

This is a tough one for most gym rats, but if you want a six-pack and a defined body then you must spend much more time over in the cardio section of the gym.

If you only have a hour to workout, I would recommend 20 minutes of lifting and 40 minutes of cardio.

It really doesn't take much lifting to maintain the muscle you currently have and the cardio is going to strip away the fat and make your muscle look that much better.

Very few guys in most gyms perform enough cardio and very few guys have good muscle definition in most gyms.

Throw Some Intensity Into Your Cardio Workouts

You will have a very tough time getting really lean, if you just walk on the treadmill like most trainers recommend.

Low intensity cardio works well for really overweight people who want to get to an average body fat level.

The problem is that once you reach an average body fat level, you will reach a sticking point.

The only way to continue to burn body fat and get to low levels is to challenge your body by pushing hard on your cardio. If you aren't sweating and breathing hard at the end of your cardio workout, you are wasting your time!

Getting that Ripped Muscle Look Isn't Hard If You Keep These Basic Principles In Mind.

Gaining Muscle is Easy But Getting Rid Of Fat is What Makes You Look Really Stunning

I cannot understand why so many people are obsessed with gaining muscle mass, when it is burning body fat and slimming down that gives you an attractive body.

A sexy body is one that looks lean and toned, not overly muscular. So why are so many people focusing their efforts on the wrong part of a good workout.

Lifting Weights is Much More Fun Than Cardio

Lifting weights is more fun than running on a treadmill for 30 minutes, but that doesn't mean it is where you spend the majority of your time.

Everyone enjoys the lifting part of the workout, because it is immediately rewarding. Your muscles instantly look better after just a bit of lifting...cardio is more of a long-term deal.

You don't look that much better after a hard cardio workout...you will see the effects weeks later.

Gaining Muscle is Actually Easier than Getting Toned

Guys in the free-weight room try to give you the impression that lifting is tough. Gaining muscle is actually extremely easy, just lift for a lot of sets and try to get stronger in the 6-12 rep range.

After your workout is done, go home and eat a protein rich meal. Getting toned involves pushing past the pain barrier a bit and expending energy.

Getting Great Muscle Tone Involves Stricter Eating Than Gaining Muscle

When you are trying to gain muscle, you get to pig out a bit. If you are trying to get lean and sexy, you have to avoid a lot of food temptations. Getting toned also involves at least 30 minutes of cardio, which isn't always fun.

Those So Called "Tough" Free-Weight Guys Are Actually Sissies Compared to People Doing Cardio

The ironic thing about guys in the weight room is that they are the ones doing the easy workout. Don't let the obnoxious "macho" behavior and grunting fool you...lifting weights is easy.

You never run out of breath, you get to rest, and it never really hurts like a hardcore cardio workout can.

In a funny way, the hot 25-year-old girl on the exercise bike is tougher than the 240 pound Mongoloid lifter in the free-weight room.

Putting on Too Much Muscle Will Make Your Body Repulsive to the Opposite Sex

The funny thing about excessive muscle mass is that it isn't attractive anyway! I would recommend that people spend 2/3 of their time in the gym on cardio and the other third lifting.

This is the best way to develop an attractive and sexy body. Lifting may be more fun, but burning fat is what is going to make you more attractive. The choice is yours!