I can’t tell you enough, how many times I hear women say “I don’t want to get big”, “I don’t do weight-training because I don’t want to get big”, “If I just do cardio, I will lose weight, then I’ll do the weights to “tone”.

Ooooohhh mmyyyy goooshhhh!!!!  I promise you cannot look like this by just lifting some weights!

I think the best way to understand weight-training and muscle versus fat is the beach ball analogy.

The other morning while working at BB3, one of Sylvia’s awesome clients (Judy), came up to me to inform me of her incredible results.  She lost a crazy amount of body fat in a short time, but amidst her amazing results, she still seemed a little bummed because the “SCALE” wasn’t lower.

Judy looks unbelievable and in very little time has made huge progress and has gotten leaner.  She has not done this by doing cardio every day!  She has done this with weight-training or resistance training and the proper nutrition.

As I saw Judy’s bummed face I decided to tell her the beach ball analogy to see if I could help her get past the number on the scale and be happy about her accomplishments.  So my hope is that this will also help you understand the immense benefits that you can get from resistance training.

A “BEACH BALL” weighs 6ounces.  A “SOFTBALL” also weighs 6ounces.  Though they are two totally different sizes, they both weigh the same.  So my question is……  Which one would you rather have on your belly or your bum?  The big beach ball or the small and tight softball??  I know, I sure as hek would rather have the softball on my BUM!

Let’s say that the beach ball resembles fat.  Fat takes a lot of space and is dispersed, so it looks like a beach ball.  On the other hand, muscle is compact and dense and occupies less space, let’s say that this is the softball.  So you have 2 balls that both weigh the same but one is much smaller than the other.

So, while Judy’s number on the scale didn’t go down, she did gain muscle, which is compact and doesn’t occupy as much space as the “beach ball” (fat), which is the reason that she lost body fat, and her clothes fit better and she looks better, but the scale didn’t go down.

Anyways, you should not be a slave to the scale, and if you are, please read Bryan Francis post on “Scale Whore”.  It’s a must read!

My Point is, don’t shy away from a resistance training program for fear of “getting big”.  The only thing you will accomplish by a resistance training program is LEAN TIGHT FAT BURNING MUSCLE!  Don’t just do cardio in an attempt to first LOSE WEIGHT, and then TONE!  Resistance training will help you lose fat more effectively.  If you didn’t know…….MUSCLE is the actual site on the body where FAT is BURNED.  Hence the saying “the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn”.  It’s the truth because physiologically it is the place where FAT IS BURNED.

So get off the damn elliptical and start a good resistance or weight-training program.

If you only have 30 minutes available today for a workout, use those 30 minutes for a weight-training workout.  Opt for weights rather than cardio!

More info on weight training at www.michellemariefit.com