Stop Watching The Scales!
Its not the weight you are that’s important its what the weight is made up of!
Three important reasons for you to pick up some weights and make yourself stronger
This week, I’m sharing three reasons for you to pick up some weights and make yourself stronger. Skinny is out and a strong looking physique is definitely the new sexy. You just have pick up a magazine to see that having some meat on your bones is a good thing. Toned and muscular women are now gracing the covers of popular magazines and even celebrities are sporting a more toned appearance.
All joking aside, the media may continue to show us what they think is an acceptable body type for 2013, but a healthy body never goes out of fashion. Have you heard of the term skinny fat? This is when someone may look skinny but has an unhealthy internal body-fat ratio that is detrimental to his or her health. I know there are also many people who may look a little larger but are a picture of health internally.
If you have read any of my previous posts you will know by now that my focus with any exercise plan is to benefit the inside of your body as a priority. The bonus is that exercise changes both your internal health and your external appearance. Take a look at my top three reasons why you should add weight/strength training to your life. Making time to lift a weight correctly will help you gain a little muscle and positively impact your health.
Three reasons to get stronger now:
Burn more calories
By lifting weights and becoming strong you’ll be changing every aspect of your body. People with increased muscle-mass burn more calories at rest than those without. It takes more energy for your body to sustain lean muscle and, therefore, your resting metabolic rate may increase as a result of lifting weights.
Improved bone density
Weight-bearing exercise is very beneficial for bone health in people of all ages. The aging process is linked to a decrease in bone density and a greater risk of fractures. And, this New York Times article shows that lifting weights can increase your bone density by as much as 2-8% per year, so consider how you can add weights to your workout because your bones rely on resistance training to stay healthy and strong.
Improved performance
If your body gets used to lifting weights, imagine how much easier just lifting your own body weight will be! Improved strength means that your daily activities will become easier and, if you are training for a sport, an increase in muscular strength can drastically improve your performance.
Strength Training:
Becoming stronger has so many benefits and you don’t need to be worried about starting to look like an out-of-proportion body builder,. Trust me when I say that unless you are dedicating hundreds of hours to lifting serious weights, and following a very specific body-building nutrition plan, the chances of you getting bulky are slim. Adding weight-training to your routine two to three times a week and eating a protein-rich diet will have you well on your way toward achieving a healthy physique.
Don’t be afraid of lifting heavy weights but do make sure that you start out with manageable lighter weights, so that you can focus on technique for 12-15 reps and slowly work your way up to heavier weights. As you increase the weight you are using, decrease to 8-10 reps. Your body will start adapting to weight training right away, so get started today.
I hope I have convinced you to get strong and add some weight training to your life, and, if my health reasons aren’t enough to convince you to start reaching for that dumbbell… let fashion be your guide!
Written by Samantha Clayton. Samantha is a paid consultant for Herbalife.
What physical therapists want you to know — and do
This article takes advice from physical therapists to make sure you never need to see one of them! Heed their top 10 tips to ward off aches and pains.
When its comes to maintaining good posture, for example, spending 30 mins at the gym each week dosent compensate for the 40 hours + spent at your PC each week. The article includes tips from Robert Forster Los Angeles-based physical therapist to 38 Olympic medalists and member of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness.
Good posture starts from maintaining activation of your transverse abdominals (the deepest layer of your abs). If you have a sedentary lifestyle — or a typical 9-to-5 job — these muscles become less activated as you age, so your lower back loses its main support. That allows the rest of your upper body to slouch forward, applying more pressure through the lower discs of your spine. Eventually, you overload your tissue, which can lead to system overload and failure — or a herniated disc, arthritis or muscle strain. So keep your shoulders back over your hips to maintain the alignment
Pull, don’t push
In the gym, you should do more pulling exercises than pushing exercises. Most injuries and painful conditions are caused by weakness of the muscles in the back of the body. That’s because the typical gym program focuses on stretching the “glamour” muscles in the front of your body and those you see in the mirror. Pulling exercises include lateral pull-downs, low rows and hamstring curls. Pushing exercises include bench presses, biceps curls and leg extensions.
Stretch
You need to stretch daily. The connective tissue structures of your body — the tendons, ligaments and fascia — will shorten naturally every day if you don’t stretch. Stretching is important in the morning to get your body ready for the ergonomic stress related to daily activities. You should also stretch before and after all workouts to prepare your body for exertion and recovery. Finally, stretching at night will reduce stress and improve rest.
For optimum fitness, include posture and stretching exercises in your program.
Take The 24 Fit Challenge
The typical scenario is you joined a Health Club, Leisure Centre or Gym and were given an exercise program, but without any guidance on nutrition or the way nutrition works in harmony with exercise? So, normally within 6 – 8 weeks you feel despondent because you are not getting the results you expected? This is why 80% of memberships get cancelled or frozen.
There are 3 key elements to the 24Fit Challenge:
1. Good nutrition, with a personalised programme.
2. Exercise programme(strength training as well as cardio) for 24 weeks.
3. Track results, ideally using body composition testing. An essential part of a weight-loss program involves noticing your progress which will keep you motivated and on track.
1. Good Nutrition – Ask any fitness pro or nutrition expert and you will hear weight loss is comprised of about 80% diet and 20% exercise. For fitness 50%/50%. The Herbalife programme provide all the nutrition your body needs on a daily basis for less calories, so your energy improves as your weight and inches go down. The programmes help you to gradually change eating habits, though getting into the routine of eating 3 times a day( or every 3 hours if working out), getting protein(plant and animal protein) into every meal and, finding alternatives for carbohydrate based snacks.
2. Exercise -” Many people say that, as they age, they eat and exercise the same amount but still gain weight. One of the main causes of this is loss of muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn. Strength training preserves and even increases muscle mass, keeping metabolism at a high level. Genetically, women have less muscle than men, and as a woman ages, the preservation of lean muscle becomes vital”. Tom Holland, Exercise physiologist. Hit a weight plateau? Step up your strength training. It builds muscle & increases your metabolic rate. The 24 Fit Workout includes flexibility and posture exercises as well as cardio and strength training workouts. To help preserve muscle mass, aim for at least 20 grams of protein at very meal. Have you had your shake after your workout?! “Important! Don’t skip your protein shake after you exercise and think that you’ll save calories! A protein shake after training accelerates lean muscle growth, which in turn revs your metabolism and burns more fat.
3. Tracking Results – Ask most gyms, leisure centres or health clubs what results they get for their clients? And you will normally get a blank expression. Are they scared of what they will find? An essential part of a weight-loss program involves noticing your progress. Yes you can step on the bathroom scales but they don’t take into account your body’s composition. This is what your body is made up of, how much fat you have relative to lean tissue. By figuring out your body fat percentage you can get a better look at how your body is composed and how “healthy” you are and what progress you are making. Motivation is key to success so when you see impressive improvements you will keep going! Reductions in body fat% & visceral fat%, along with increased muscle mass, (remember, healthy lean muscle burns calories) you will also see things like a reduction in your metabolic age.
More details on the 24 Fit Challenge