Posts Tagged ‘Muscle’

Many women believe that building muscle will work against their weight loss efforts.

We’ve all heard that muscle weighs more than fat so we tend to be afraid that strength training will make us gain weight.  However, when done correctly, building muscle actually helps increase fat loss.

When you are following a weight loss diet, you want to lose fat, not muscle.  The best way to ensure that you build and keep the muscle you already have is to do sets of 5 – 8 repetitions of your weight lifting or resistance training.

Performing more repetitions may increase your endurance but can actually cause you to lose as much muscle as fat.  Remember that muscle burns calories even while you’re at rest so the more muscle you can build, the more quickly you can melt off the fat, and the easier it will be to keep it off!

Don’t be concerned about becoming too muscular; testosterone or steroids are required to build massive, bulky muscles.  The average, non-supplementing woman will develop strong, lean, feminine muscle mass.  If you don’t like the look you are getting, you can always cut back on your strength training routine.

Studies have shown that dieting combined with aerobic exercise and strength training produces more weight loss than either just dieting or dieting plus aerobics.  The Fit Chic is a good, easy to follow, balanced weight loss plan which includes daily meals and workouts.

Don’t neglect protein in your weight loss diet.  Protein is not only necessary for building muscle tissue, which burns calories at a higher rate than other tissue, it also requires more calories to digest than fats or carbs.  (See my post on  Fat Burning Foods.)

If you enjoyed this article, please sign up for my weekly newsletter and you’ll receive a free copy of “7 Secrets of Permanent Fat Loss and Fitness”.

Today I’d like to share with you a great article by fitness expert, Carolyn Hansen.

Want to Hear the Truth About Why You Are Really Overweight?

By Carolyn Hansen

Anyone who wants to lose weight surely would like to lose it permanently and be able to maintain that loss for the long haul. Yet restrictive food diets and the wrong type of exercise program do not achieve this for the majority of overweight people. It seems strange that most of the weight loss programs available today only offer temporary results as they do not address the real cause of becoming overweight in the first place.

The cause at the bottom of the problem is that the fat burning machinery of the body has become unhealthy and is not burning fuel (calories) at the rate it should or could be if it were if good condition. Muscle tissue is where fat is burned for energy but if it not kept strong and fit with proper strength maintaining exercise it cannot burn fuel at its optimal rate. Thus calories that should be burnt up are now being stored as body fat accumulating all over the body spoiling your looks and placing your health at risk.

We have been lead to believe that ‘cardio’ type activity like walking, jogging or cycling or other aerobic type recreational type activity is necessary to lose weight. But we now know that this is not sufficient for long term weight loss. Why? Because it does not address the root of the problem – lack of toned muscle tissue to boost the metabolism.

Part of the problem is for years we have been told to just find something you enjoy and that is your exercise program. Walking, gardening, sports and bird watching – you name it they have said it is fine to just do something that is ‘fun’ and this is where the problem lies. Proper exercise that involves keep your metabolism cranking is not always ‘fun’.

Recreational activities do not work the muscular system of the human body through the ranges of movement necessary under a load to achieve a permanent boost to the metabolic rate. You have to be doing higher intensity activity than that.

This is something you may not want to hear as many people get addicted to long, slow time consuming activity and cannot see that any other way could be better. But take a look in the mirror – “Is it actually working for you?” How many hours each week do you spend doing it and what results are you getting?”

With a proper program you could be getting great results in just a couple of months. You would be saving so much time as you only need 2-3 sessions each week of 30-40 minutes to do the job properly. The more intensity (effort) you can put into it the less you need to do as this will kick your metabolism into high gear very quickly chewing into those fat stores even when you are sleeping. Something that ‘cardio’ activity can never ever do.

So, the hardest part will be the changing of your beliefs and attitude. Only when this is achieved will you experience a truly strong, lean, healthy body and until then you will likely have to live in a flabby overweight one. We have been misled for so long it will take just as long to accept the truth about what proper exercise actually is. The quicker you make the change the quicker you will get the results you really desire.

Do you want to discover the secret to rejuvenating your body, regaining lost vitality and improving the quality of your life? Download my free ebook “I’ve Found the Fountain of Youth – Let Me Show You Too!” Fountain of Youth.

If you are looking to lose weight permanently go to Fitness Weight Loss for a free ebook and check out the new Hot Metabolism Fitness System.

Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner who coaches clients to look and feel younger. In her nearly 30 years of fitness and bodybuilding competition experience she has helped thousands of people start their journey towards being strong, fit and youthful at any age.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carolyn_Hansen
http://EzineArticles.com/?Want-to-Hear-the-Truth-About-Why-You-Are-Really-Overweight?&id=4120813

In addition to Carolyn’s resources, I recommend that you check out The Fat Burning Furnace.

Often times we hear people talking about having a slow metabolism or how everyone’s metabolism slows down as they get older.

Your metabolism is not a physical part of your body, such as your heart or liver, but is the collection of chemical processes your body uses to convert fuel into energy.

Most of this fuel to energy conversion takes place in your muscle tissue.  Beginning around age 30, your body slowly but surely, year by year, begins to lose muscle mass.  So your metabolism, or your body’s furnace, actually gets smaller rather than slower.

Unfortunately, there’s still plenty of stored fuel – fat – that needs to be burned!  But since the furnace is smaller, less fat is being used so more is being stored.

What can you do to prevent or reverse the effects of this “slowing” metabolism?

The answer is strength training.  Building and maintaining muscle tissue is the only way to ensure that the fuel (fat) continues to be burned rather than stored.  And the more muscle you build, the more fat will be burned. Even when your muscles are at rest, the fat burning process continues.  .

You need to do some type of resistance exercise 3 times per week.  To provide the resistance you can choose resistance machines, weights, resistance bands, or even your own body weight.

The earlier you begin a strength training program, the better.  But it’s never too late to start. If you are reasonably able bodied, there’s no excuse for letting your body turn old, weak, and  squishy.  If you will spend 90 minutes per week, your body will reward you by staying strong, healthy, and lean for decades!

** When you sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive a free copy of the ebook, “7 Secrets of Permanent Fat Loss & Fitness”.

Can strength training actually reverse the aging  process?  Aging is related to the loss of muscular strength as well as muscle mass.

Research has shown that this muscle loss is due to a combination of factors including inactivity and lower levels of antioxidants.  The good news is that research also shows that strength training can increase antioxidant enzyme activity thus helping to reverse the aging process at a deeper level than merely cosmetic.

Aerobic activity is great for conditioning your heart and lungs but it does not build muscle.  No matter how much time you spend on aerobics, after the age of 40 your body begins to lose more and more muscle mass, which leads to aging.

To reverse this aging process you must not only keep your muscles strong but build more muscle to make up for what you are losing each year.

Strength training is not a synonym for body building.  You can build muscle without bulking up by selecting the type of workout you do.  Using more repetitions of lighter weights will build toned but not bulky muscles.

There are even some strength training exercises you can do using just your own body weight.  Try these:

• Standing push-ups: Put your hands on the edge of the kitchen counter shoulder width apart.  Lower your chest slowly to the counter, then push back up.
• Squats: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.  Bend your knees and lower your body as though you were going to sit on a chair, then raise back up.  You can hold on to a bar height counter for stability if needed.

Ask your doctor or a fitness trainer for advice on designing your workout.  But do it today – it’s never too late to start strength training but you can’t reap the benefits until you start!

Exercise resistance bands are rapidly gaining popularity as an alternative to weights.  But what are resistance bands and what can they do for you?

Resistance bands are stretchy elastic bands that come in a variety of sizes, resistances, and colors.  You attach them, most commonly to a door, and the band provides resistance for you to pull against.

I think the greatest advantage that resistance bands have over weights is the cumulative effect of the tightening band.  If you lift a 5 lb. weight, it provides 5 lbs. of resistance throughout the whole movement.  But as you pull against a resistance band the resistance increases as you pull it more taught.  You can build more muscle more quickly.  And we all know that more muscle leads to more calorie burning and quicker fat loss!

From a safety standpoint, you’re extremely unlikely to overextend any joints, which is always a possibility with weights.  And you won’t hurt yourself if you drop a resistance band on your foot!

As with other forms of exercise, resistance bands help increase endurance, reduce stress, and boost energy.  The low impact nature of resistance bands helps build joint strength and increase flexibility.

There are lots of advantages to adding resistance bands to your workout routine.  They are really inexpensive compared to other home gym equipment and very versatile.  You can add a band to many of the movements you already use, such as bicep curls or lunges, to increase the intensity of your workout.  They are small, flexible, and portable.  Put one in your purse and you can pull it out for a quick 5-minute workout almost anywhere!

Click here, exercise resistance bands to learn more about how to use them.

Is this your image of strength training?

Back in the day, it was assumed that strength training was for men only.  We equated strength training with pictures of grotesquely over built, oily, fake-baked men in tiny weenie bikinis!  But today we have come to understand that those were extreme examples of bodybuilding which had nothing to do with health or fitness.

So what are some of the benefits of strength training for women?

1. Strength training speeds up your metabolism which leads to increased fat burning.  Combining strength training with cardio will lead to more and quicker fat loss than cardio alone.  Muscle tissue even burns calories when at rest so the more muscle you add the more fat you burn!

2. Strength training fights osteoporosis. Working your muscles in a targeted, intense way increases bone density by increasing the pull on the bones to which the muscles are attached.

3. Strength training improves balance. You not only build stronger muscles and bones, but also stronger tendons and ligaments.  As you get stronger you also become more coordinated and thus less likely to fall and injure yourself.  If you do fall, you have muscle tissue in place to act as padding for your bones and joints.

4. Strength training helps you feel and look better. Body fat is reduced and lean muscle is increased.  Toned, firm muscles pad your skin to prevent jiggly arms and droopy skin.  You feel energized and confident.  Strength training can even improve your posture!

When designing your fitness program, be sure to include strength training as well as cardio for the best all around routine for total body fitness.  Ask your doctor or a fitness professional for advice on setting up your strength training program.

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