We have this notion in our head that in order to change we have to do so aggressively and quickly. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t work like that. Our bodies take a long time to do things (as much as you don’t like to hear that) and rushing the progress in the weight room will only have negative consequences.
Getting started is arguably the toughest thing for people because all they can see in front of them is countless hours of work in the gym and it’s overwhelming, intimidating, and seems insurmountable.
The key to resistance training is not to burn calories, it is to build muscle. You will burn more calories on a treadmill than in the weight room, but you won’t build muscle. Muscle is a very calorically expensive tissue and will require you to burn calories at rest the more muscle you have. It will also give your body shape — if you are a woman, you WILL NOT turn into the Hulk by touching a barbell. You WILL notice improvement to your shape and overall physique.
Because our goal is to build muscle, we need to balance our time in the gym (breaking down muscle fibers) with our recovery time (rebuilding those damaged fibers). Therefore, beginner clients really only need 2-3 days of a full-body resistance training session per week to see some really good results. I would also suggest staggering them out with a day or two in between sessions so that your body has time to recover. On those days, getting your steps to between 8-10k or doing some mobility work will greatly enhance your recovery.
Of course I would also recommend you look into a personal trainer so that you can maximize your time in the gym and make the best of the 2-3 hours you are lifting!
