If you dream of an easy-on-the-eye figure, of tightening up, getting stronger, and being able to do more of the things you love with absolute ease, then

your number-one strategy – ABOVE all else – should be strength training.

Once you have strength on your side, everything else in life becomes easier. Carrying your children or grandchildren, working in the garden, running, cycling, yoga – it will all seem less demanding and more rewarding.

And you don't have to devote countless hours to strength training either – as little as 5 minutes a day is all you need.

But why not just do cardio?
Yes, you can lose weight by doing cardio. But the energy demands of cardio will leave you feeling drained and craving sugar.

Excessive cardio – anything more than 30 minutes – stresses the body and the intensity of your workout begins to drop, despite how intense it may feel. Involuntarily, often subconsciously too, you will begin to move less in everyday life, which means you burn fewer calories overall.

And if you combine cardio with a low-calorie diet, it's only a matter of time before you fall into the sugar trap.

When that happens, the lost pounds come back with a vengeance, leaving the body softer and weaker than before. In short, strength training is just a much better strategy to burn fat, build lean muscle, become stronger, and look better.

With strength training, your objective is not necessarily to lose weight.

The goal is to adjust the distribution of fat and muscle throughout the body in order to tighten up and create a strong, healthy shape.
But that is not to say you will lose no weight – any excess weight will eventually disappear.

6 benefits of strength training:

• It increases your body's fat-burning rate – before, during and after training.
• It makes you stronger and creates a shapely silhouette.
• It slows the muscle loss that naturally comes with age – and which is accelerated by inactivity.
• It increases your energy levels, leaving plenty of post-workout surplus for the rest of your day.
• It improves your ability to regulate your appetite, making it easier to resist that piece of cake or candy.
• It alleviates inflammation – which contributes to pain and most lifestyle diseases.
  

And strength training, when done correctly and consistently, can do all the above for you in as little as 5 minutes a day – leaving you with lots of time and energy to get things done in your busy life.

Strength training and cardio are by no means mutually exclusive.

But personally, I would always start with strength training and then add cardio once my foundation of power is there, especially if time and energy are limited resources. Once you are strong, everything becomes easier.

✔️ When you are strong, you get much more out of your cardio – with less risk of injury.

✔️ When you are strong, your everyday movements become less strenuous.

✔️ When you are strong, it is easier to maintain weight, lose weight, or tighten up.

✔️ When you are strong, your appetite regulation and insulin sensitivity naturally improve.

Why?

Because you have to build up before you break down.

If you only focus on weight loss – through excessive cardio and constant calorie deficits – you will end up breaking down more than you build up.

In other words, along with the fat, you also lose energy reserves and muscle mass, you move less during everyday life but still always feel tired, and you will develop irresistible sugar cravings.

You may lose weight, but your body is not going to be shaped into the figure you want – and you will not have the energy you want.

Can I still do my fat-burning cardio?

YES! For the most part, all you need to focus on is building up the body with muscle mass. But you can easily add a high-intensity fat-burning cardio program for short periods.