Want a Lean Look? Lift Weights!!

So a lot of people (women especially) are afraid of lifting weights because they think they are going to end up looking like this guy on the right. False. Weight lifting in this country does come with it an image of the super jacked psycho steroid using guy, but it just is not true. People think that if they lift weights they will not get that lean slender look with toned/cut muscles. False. Here is a simple truth: lifting weights builds muscle, muscle burns fat quicker and speeds up your metabolism, therefore lifting weights promotes a lean/thin look. If you build muscle, you will lose inches, but not pounds on the scale. You will lose body fat %, but not pounds on the scale...you will be healthier, but you won't lose pounds on the scale. I went from a 38 - 32 waist with lifting and interval cardio but my weight didn't drop too much. Resistance workouts are key.

"I don't want bulky muscles, I want lean muscles," someone said to me once. There are no bulky muscles, there are no lean muscles...all muscles are just muscles...all muscle is lean. It takes an obsessive amount of lifting and eating of tons of amounts of protein to get that body builder bulk that everyone dreads; all those guys do is lift, lift, lift, and eat creatine and munch on steroids! NOM NOM NOM!! Gravity does not want your body to get that big, it takes soooo much to get even a bit of "ugly bulk".

A "lean look" is more what people mean when they say "lean muscles". To achieve this there are some simple things to understand. While cardio is crucial to a lean look, you absolutely have to couple it with resistance training. Resistance makes your muscles work. Jogging on a treadmill 5 days a week is not going to help you lose much body fat or build muscle. Speed up your metabolism with 2 or 3 days of resistance work coupled with some cardio and you will undoubtedly get a lean look over time (if you eat well of course with low fat, low carb, high protein). You can help promote a leaner look also by doing a higher rep count with a lighter weight. A little more size comes with 6 - 10 reps of work, while a leaner look comes with 12 - 15 reps. The latter self-limits your body from building too much muscle. Choose a weight that makes that last couple reps real hard though, you should be struggling on the last 2 or 3.

So ladies (and a lot of gents), don't be scared of dumbells. Don't be scared of resistance bands. Lifting weights will no doubt help you get a lean look. You will burn fat, speed up your metabolism, and be in good aerobic shape from lifting weights (the anaerobic work your body does during lifting helps your aerobic system also!). You will not look like a bodybuilder if you lift 2 - 3 days a week, I promise.

A program like Chalene Xtreme via Beachbody is the perfect example of how muscle helps you get a lean look. It is a lot of resistance band work and weight training and it helps tons of ladies get into lean super model shape. I recently saw a pic of a 46 year old woman go from "thin" and flabby to lean and tight with resistance training! P90x is another great example of a program that does this with not JUST cardio. You need to mix it up! Bottom line...resistance training is crucial to get a "lean look" and burn fat.


Email me (tim.bell02@gmail.com), twitter (@CoachZoso), Facebook links on the right and top. I really want to help motivate you folks. I am here to help :)


CoachZoso