When it comes to building the body of your dreams, around 80% of the equation comes from nutrition while what seems like a dismal 20% comes from resistance training. Yet, without resistance training, you’re only shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to building lean muscle mass and dropping body fat. Yes, it’s true that rest and recovery is part of the process, but if you aren’t training properly that wouldn’t even matter.

So, why is resistance training so important if it only makes up around 20% of your success? Think of it in business terms like the Pareto principle or better known as the 80/20 rule. It’s where 80% of your results come from 20% of your activities. For our example, a good portion of your success will come from that “little” 20% of resistance training.

She may be little but she is fierce

You can forgo weight training and still lose weight. However, if you want to build lean muscle and have a toned physique, you’re going to need resistance training. Not only can resistance training help build lean muscles, but it also helps increase your metabolism – NATURALLY!

One thing that not many people understand is that the more muscle mass you have on your frame, the faster your metabolism generally is. Why is this? It’s because muscles need constant fuel. In order to get fuel, it needs to convert the food you eat into energy (a usable fuel source). Here’s a cool and fun fact that you might not know… Your muscles actually burn calories even while you are resting. Say what?! It’s true. So, tell me again why you don’t focus heavily on your resistance training if you have the opportunity to send your metabolism into orbit and burn calories while sitting on the sofa resting or even while you sleep?

To get the best results, you will need both resistance training and proper nutrition. They both go hand-in-hand. You will get the best out of your workouts and resistance training when your nutrition is on point and fuels your body. Likewise, you will get the best out of your nutrition when your resistance training is on point because the food you eat will be better used by the body rather than being stored as body fat. It’s a win-win scenario.

So, go hit the weights and hit them hard to get that lean and chiseled physique you’ve always wanted!