Yahoo Lifestyle Tinx Says She Traded Pilates For This Type Of Workout Instead—Here's Why
Christina Najjar, a.k.a. Tinx, is no longer just a Pilates girl. As for what she does instead: “I started lifting weights,” she revealed on a recent episode of her podcast It’s Me, Tinx. “I started lifting heavy. TikTok got to me.”
The influencer was influenced herself to start strength training after she saw videos online claiming that it's the key to building strength and muscle—and, TBH, she’s right. “It’s definitely a great way to build strength and muscle because you create progressive overload, meaning you can continually increase the amount of resistance on the body,” says Alex Silver-Fagan, CPT, a fitness trainer and creator of the Flow Into Strong method which combines strength training and yoga. Pilates is great for core stability, flexibility, and endurance, says Silver-Fagan, but it only uses body weight or light resistance. (Although if you're working with a Pilates reformer, it's possible to add more resistance than typical mat Pilates.)
Meet the expert: Alex Silver-Fagan, CPT, is a strength coach, yoga teacher, and creator of the Flow Into Strong program, which combines the two.
Compared to cardio and bodyweight exercises, lifting weights will grow your muscles a lot more effectively since you’re able to increase what you’re asking of them. It’s the key to building lean muscle and decreasing body fat.
If you love Pilates, there’s no need to abandon it completely (Tinx says she still “throws it into the mix once in a while”). It has its own benefits, and the most important thing is doing movement you enjoy. But, if you feel like you’re not getting the results you’re looking for, lifting could make a difference.
Another thing Tinx heard? “A lot of people on TikTok told me that if you gain the muscle, you can lose the fat more,” she said. This is also true. In addition to helping reduce body fat, gaining muscle boosts your metabolism, since muscles require a lot of energy to break down and build back up. They also require more calories to maintain, meaning having more muscle on your bod keeps burning calories after you work out, too, says Silver-Fagan. This “afterburn” effect is also known as excess post oxygen consumption.
Not only that, lifting weights promotes bone health. Lifting heavy contributed to improved muscle and bone strength years later, a recent study published in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine found. It also improves insulin sensitivity and improves your ability to manage blood sugar levels, says Silver-Fagan. In fact, women who strength train were found to have a 30 percent reduced rate of type-2 diabetes and 17 percent reduced rate of cardiovascular disease, according to a 2017 study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Also worth mentioning: Tinx shared that lifting makes her feel empowered—something that resonates with Silver-Fagan. “It allows you to see and feel measurable progress and also feel capable of doing something hard,” Silver-Fagan says. “There is this beautiful emotional component to it which is noticing and recognizing your resilience.”
Convinced to give weight lighting a try? WH has a beginner workout plan.
WH+ members get even more strength training workouts, plans, and challenges.
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