Fitness coach with 18 years of experience gets honest about strength training: 'It will not help you lose more weight'

Raj Ganpath believes strength training is a laborious task that requires consistency more than anything else to reap the benefits.

Massively popular among fitness freaks and gym lovers, strength training is a category of workout that involves making our muscles work against a resistive force. It does provide a myriad of benefits, but according to Raj Ganpath, fitness coach with 18 years of experience and founder of The Quad, sometimes the truth is blown out of proportion.

Strength training helps to improve overall health, according to Raj Ganpath. (Shutterstock )

Taking to Instagram on December 9, Raj shared his honest take on strength training in a carousel post, giving fair warning to his followers that he had some unpopular takes on the matter.

Strength training does not accelerate weight loss

“Strength training will not help you lose more weight,” Raj said in his post, adding: “But it will improve the quality of your weight loss. By preserving muscle and enabling you to lose mostly fat. This will help you become lean and strong as opposed to skinny and weak.”

Strength training has its risks

While strength training is not dangerous, Raj highlighted that it does carry its own risks, such as pulling or straining muscles. However, this risk is nothing compared to the dangers of completely avoiding strength training. That includes becoming frail, weakening of bones, slowing down of metabolism, and suffering from chronic diseases.

It doesn't create stereotypical gym bod

“Strength training will not make you muscly and ripped like the images you see in gyms,” warned Raj. However, he noted that it does help us become stronger than we are. The strength that we build can be utilised in a way that we best see fit, whether to build muscles or to better perform regular work.

Strength training can be overwhelming

There are dozens of equipment involved in strength training, and hundreds of exercises that can be performed. As such, it is natural to feel overwhelmed and intimidated. However, Raj stated that the process can be simplified by defining the goals and consistently doing a few basic exercises for progress.

Strength training does involve lifting heavy things

While it is true that there is heavy lifting involved in strength training, that is not all there is to it. We can get stronger by lifting light weights consistently to stimulate our muscles.

Strength training is hard work

Raj reminded that while strength training is hard, it is not harder than any other type of exercise. “The goal is to work hard enough to help your body progress without pushing it too hard,” he stated. “This can be done easily with strength training, as long as you are consistent and patient.”

The trainer signed off by stating that we should not expect miracles from strength training. It can only help us to get better - in body composition, functionality, health, and most importantly, quality of life.

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.