There are people who enjoy feeling their muscles sore after a workout, kind of as a reminder that they’ve worked out. And then there’s people who like fitness without sore muscles. I’m definitely part of the second group.
Recently I have put on some weight, so I am reviewing my eating and fitness habits. I considered going back to the gym, after all it’s a couple of minutes from home and as a council gym it’s only £19.90 a month. It’s not a fancy place but it has all the equipment I like to use and I never have to queue up for it. So why did I hesitate to re-join?
Over the years I tried several sports and trainings from hitting the gym to aerobics classes and from swimming to pilates and yoga. Some of these activities I enjoy more than others (swimming in a pool is so tedious, an eternal back and forth, but I love swimming in the sea or in a lake). Nonetheless I always go back to one type of exercise – cycling.
Cycling is an ideal way to get fit – you do it outside and see nice things or go into nature, it can be a means of transport, you can do it alone or with others, once you have a decent bicycle you hardly need to spend more on it, and last but not least you can get fit without sore muscles! With longer days and nice weather there is really no excuse not to do it!
I’m not the only advocate of cycling – Mr Money Moustache and The Escape Artist in the FI circles are both cyclists. Coincidentally they are also both fans of weight lifting, so I started looking into it.
Turns out that you don’t need to be a super trooper muscled up bodybuilder to lift weights. Sure, there are Olympians and serious bodybuilders who can lift a couple hundred pounds of weights, but most of us can get fit by lifting a few kilos at a time. And avoid sore muscles. Many women do it too and look toned but not stupidly unnatural.
I bought two pair of weights for about £20 (the cost of a month’s gym membership) and placed them in strategic locations around the flat in the living room and in the bedroom, so every time I pass them (and there is no toddler around wanting my attention) I do a repetition of 20. This adds up over the course of the day, especially on days when I spend more time at home. Obviously I told my husband (who LOVES an uncluttered place) that he is not allowed to move them. Or it’ll be his fault that I don’t lose weight 🙂
Both cycling and lifting weights make you fit and release adrenaline, so you feel happier. And both build up muscles (cycling mainly in the legs, weight lifting mainly in the arms), which in turn means that your metabolism improves and you lose weight. Moreover there is evidence that weight training improves your metabolism for up to 24 hours after a workout. In other words, you become leaner even after exercising.
The trick with exercise – any type of exercise – is to do it how and how often you like it, so that you enjoy it!
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