4 Reasons to Start Weightlifting in the Winter
Hey Angels and Alphas,
Around this time of the year, countless people throughout the male and female fitness world are looking for hacks to stick with winter workouts and do their best to avoid holiday weight gain. However, if you’ve found yourself particularly dreading your outdoor sweat sessions or even struggling to make it to the gym, you might be due to trying a new approach. Here’s a great fix – start lifting to slim down.
Many fitness experts are proponents of the idea that everyone should be doing at least some kind of weightlifting for weight loss, stronger bones, body recomposition, muscle gain, and overall strength and health.
When the weather starts getting colder and your body clock starts slowing down, you’ll be less enthusiastic about slugging along your gym’s treadmills throughout the winter. That’s when the suggestion of weight training starts to become a little more appealing.
Weightlifting ultimately offers countless health and fitness benefits that can help you support your overall weight-loss efforts all season long. Here are four reasons you might want to get started right now:
#1 YOU’LL REV UP YOUR METABOLISM
With plenty of holiday meals at the table, countless people are turning to cardio in hopes of achieving some extra holiday fat burn. Even though cardio will burn calories pretty quickly, weightlifting supports greater calorie burn even way after your workout is finished.
The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will naturally be burning at rest. This is because having more muscle means you’ll have a higher basal metabolic rate (BMR), meaning you’ll be burning more calories even while you’re sitting on the couch. Resistance training helps develop muscle mass, and in turn, helps you burn more calories in the long run.
#2 LIVEN UP THE MOOD
For many people, the winter season marks the arrival of seasonal upticks in stress, anxiety, and depression due to the massive demands both at work and at home. In turn, this can lead one to a lot of comfort eating in hopes of coping, and with that, the potential for weight gain. Although it’s no cure-all, resistance training may help you keep your mood and weight in check at the same time. In fact, strength training seems to be one of the things that dial down symptoms of depression, according to a metanalysis of over 33 clinical trials published in the JAMA Psychiatry.
#3 CURB WEIGHT GAIN
Adding weightlifting to your routine will help you keep your weight in check during the holidays, and also help tip the calorie balance in your favor to keep your weight under control (even when those pesky winter cravings start striking.)
Considering holiday weight gain will be responsible for about 1 pound throughout the whole year, which the average person does not lose, you can see why it’s a smart move to dial up your efforts throughout the new year.
#4 GET AHEAD OF YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
Sometimes, you can have a New Year’s resolution turn into an excuse to procrastinate on healthy lifestyle changes just because it happens to be cold outside during this part of the year. But why delay something and say you’ll get started in January when you know you’re in it for the long run?
And why not just start early instead – and get a head start on all the newcomers that flood the gyms in January. With other people essentially viewing winter as the season in which they can slack off on their fitness, you can be progressing.
By adopting this practice now and starting as soon as possible, you’ll be able to set goals, perfect your technique, and solidify your routine so you’re going into the new year an already improved version of yourself.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS…
Strength training will not only help you shed the excess pounds, but it will also help you build lean muscle mass, improve body composition, and allow you to health and fitness results you’re truly looking for. Along with a calorie deficit, strength training can help you lose weight and, even during a season like winter, stay on track with your fitness goals. And the earlier the start… the better.
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