Ladies: it’s time to start lifting weights! When you head into a gym what do you see? As a general rule the men are in the weights area – because they want to lose body fat and increase muscle mass.

The women? Well, they are pounding it out on the cardio machines – thinking this is the best way to lose weight/body fat and look more toned.

I’ve got news for you. The best way to lose body fat is to LIFT SOME WEIGHTS!

Yes, weights. Believe me, in the past I’ve forced myself to go out for long runs or spent 60 minutes doing only cardio exercise, three or four times a week.

I’ve found this so tedious and, even though at first I got great results, the benefits soon stopped.

Cardiovascular training is amazing to improve your general fitness levels and, yes, it can help with weight loss. But, to get optimal fat loss results you need to lift some weights.

I have experienced the difference that weight training has made to my body and it’s been amazing. Firstly, it will increase your muscle mass, therefore increase your metabolic rate (the amount of calories you burn at rest.)

It WILL NOT make you big. Why? Because ladies don’t have the hormonal make up for this to happen unless you’re training specifically for this. Also, lifting weights will: improve strength, decrease the risk of osteoporosis, and  reduce the risk of injury, back pain, arthritis, heart disease and diabetes. And weight training has also been known to fight depression.

I’m not opposed to cardiovascular training. Far from it. CV work will benefit you in many different ways as well. When weight training, the best type of exercises are compound exercises (multi-joint movements). Examples of these are squat, deadlift, bench press, pull-ups and olympic lifting.

Not only will these movements make you strong quickly but they will also burn huge amounts of calories during and after your workout.

Now I know not everyone is a member of a gym and may feel they don’t have the time to exercise three or four times a week, but my advice to those people is start doing bodyweight workouts at home, just like the one I gave you in last week’s column which was only 10 minutes.

Mix up your training between long endurance cardio training, high intensity interval training and weight training. It’s the best way to get a strong heart and lungs and lean, toned physique.

But DO NOT start exercising without asking for advice from an expert. Exercise, if not done correctly, can cause injury.