For anyone who still thinks a steady diet of classic cardio workouts will get you to the body of your dreams, meet Karina Irby. She’s proof that you can find a better way and that’s by picking up the weights.
Irby, an Australian bikini designer and the CEO of Moana Bikini, showcased her four-year fitness journey on Snapchat recently, and the transformation was stunning. In 2013, she described herself as a “total cardio head,” who “loved going for long runs.” But it was a conversion to lifting weights that got her in truly eye-catching shape.
Not that this should surprise anyone. Training with with strictly cardio workouts and long-distance runs will certainly help you burn fat, if only because you’ll burn plenty of calories. But check out all those 10,000-meter competitors in track and field; you won’t see the next Marvel superhero among them. All that calorie burn limits their ability to intake enough calories to build muscle physiques.
Unless you want a distance runner’s body, you don’t need to (and shouldn’t, actually) train like a distance runner. If you’re aiming to revamp your physique, take a cue from Irby and make weight training the backbone of your routines. You’ll still burn plenty of calories when you’re lifting weights, except you’ll also be able to tone and add strength to specific muscle groups, building size and stronger proportions in critical areas of your body.
It’s those proportions that are often key to the “in-shape” look you may be seeking; your waist, whether trim or not, will look even better when paired with a strong, toned chest and back and sizable shoulders. And you can’t get those things from mere running.
Christopher Meatto