There are a lot of people who fall into a cardio trap and choose to do cardio exercise and only cardio exercise to lose weight. If this is you, take note: muscle is what gives your body shape and proportion. You can whittle away by eating less and you can whittle away even more by only doing cardio exercise, but you can lose all the fat in the world and not look fit if you don’t have definition or shape to your body, which only muscles can give. Cardiovascular activity is the best way to get lean and sleek, but if you want to shape your body as well, you need to incorporate strength training.

Back in the 80s people thought being thin was attractive. Today, being fit is the ticket! Would you rather look like Molly Ringwald circa 1984 or Jessica Beil circa 2008?

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE cardio! In fact, I won’t skip my cardio workouts because I know they are great for my body and really help me maintain my weight.  But I also pay due homage to strength training because defining my muscles and toning my body helps keep my metabolism high, burns even more fat, and makes me feel strong, balanced, and capable. I also like the way muscles sculpt my body. Did you know that building muscles helps reduce the appearances of cellulite by evening out the tissue below the skin? Just another reason to lift some iron between cardio sweat sessions!