by Kiele Wilson, Owner of ReNewed Strength
Myth #1: Doing Aerobics will help me lose unwanted pounds.
For years, cardio or aerobic activity has been touted as the answer to all of our fat loss problems. People and companies have made millions selling equipment and videos surrounding this theory.
Does this sound familiar to you…go to the gym, get on a treadmill, set it to a speed and /or level and go for an hour. Go home, eat “well” and repeat the next day. Either you or someone you know follows this exact routine or similar without seeing any results. Day in and day out, the frustration mounts as more and more time and energy is wasted. What’s the next step? Consult a “professional”. Many personal trainers will tell you to work harder at it, try to be in the mythical “fat burning” zone longer then you’ll see those results. Did you know that a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting to see different results?
Working harder and/or longer doing aerobics will not get you to your fat loss goal. So what is the solution? Replace those long boring cardio sessions with high intensity interval training. A study done in Australia showed that short intense bouts of strenuous exercise with periods of rest in between will burn fat much faster than cardio activity. A good example of this is to compare the body of a marathon runner vs. a sprinter. A marathon runner has very little lean muscle mass and has a higher body fat%. A sprinter has great muscle tone and body fat % in the single digits. Why is this? “Interval training” creates enough of a disturbance to your system that your metabolism will burn calories for up to 24 hours afterwards trying to readjust to what has been done. In addition, this type of activity is complementary to strength training because it doesn’t prompt your body to rid itself of its lean muscle mass. In other words, fat will start to “melt” off.
Myth #2: Strength training or weight lifting will make me bulky.
This is one of the biggest miscomprehension's among women when it comes to fitness. I believe this paranoia stems from 2 things. 1) When most men hit the weights, they are looking to achieve just that: big, bulky muscles. 2) The women competition bodybuilders. We all have the picture in our minds of a woman’s head essentially placed on a man’s body in a bikini. What many women don’t realize is that these women use steroids to increase their muscle growth, hence the reason that many of them need to get boob jobs.
Strength training is in fact the most efficient and surefire way to achieve the body that most women desire. As you work with weights, you will build up your lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is the primary source of calories burned while at rest. This means that while you’re sleeping, you are also burning calories. Another benefit of lean muscle mass is that it is responsible for muscle tone. This means that those areas that jiggle and wiggle as you go about your day will firm up, alleviating that problem.
A study done showed that when women used heavier weights (much more than 5-10 lbs.) and lower reps (6-8), they burned more calories in the hours after training. Let me put it this way. There’s 168 hours in a week. If you are only able to dedicate 3-4 hours a week to working out, that leaves about 165 hours in the week. What do you think makes more of an impact on your overall weight loss? Those 3-4 hours while working out, or what your body does during the remaining 165 hours? I’ll let you make the logical decision.
What about the bulking up concerns? Here are 3 reasons you should erase this concern from your mind.
1) Women lack the levels of the muscle building hormone Testosterone. Without these levels, our muscles are unable to grow to the size that men’s are.
2) Every muscle consists of muscle fibers. Generally, women have smaller fibers than men, making it much less likely that our muscles will ever reach the size that men’s do.
3) By nature, women have more body fat than men. Fat takes up more space per pound than muscle. As you work with weight and replace that fat with muscle, you will actually be decreasing your body size, rather than increasing it.
To have a better picture in your mind of what weight training can do for a woman’s body, go to www.jamieeason.com. I don’t know any woman that wouldn’t want to have a body like hers. Let me tell you that you’ll only achieve that by working with weights and following the right nutrition plan.
Myth #3: The less I eat, the more fat I’ll lose.
On the surface, this sounds right. And, just like the cardio myth, this may work at first. However, the efficiency of your body to adapt to situations creates almost the opposite effect than what you are looking for.
Your body doesn’t realize that the food is there on the table and you are just choosing not to eat it. All it knows is that you aren’t getting the nutrition you need. Therefore, your body will begin to store up in order to meet the demands of everyday life. This storing can be even more pronounced if you are working out, adding to your energy expenditure.
When your body is looking for the most efficient way to conserve energy, it will begin to rid itself of lean muscle mass. As I have mentioned, lean muscle mass is the primary source of energy used while at rest. In fact, your body will add to its fat stores in this process because fat uses almost no energy while at rest and can be used to create energy when needed.
So by eating a diet almost void of fat and carbohydrates, you are actually causing your body to store these things, making it much harder to lose weight. You will also find that you have no energy on a regular basis, again a result of your body being in conservation mode.
Rather than going on a fat and calorie restrictive diet, make a change to your eating habits. It is imperative that you are giving your body quality foods for energy and proper function. In other words, a calorie is not a calorie. Try eating 1000 calories worth of lucky charms, vs. 1000 calories worth of leafy green veggies, high quality protein, etc. Which do you think will help you to feel better? Here are a few tips to follow to create a healthy nutrition plan.
1) Avoid highly processed carbs such as bread and pasta and look to get most of your carbs from fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
2) Be sure that you are getting a well balanced intake of fats including saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. These fats are things your body needs to function properly both mentally and physically.
3) Eat 5-6 smaller well rounded meals throughout the day rather than 3 large meals and 2 small snacks. By doing so, you are keeping your metabolism running steadily throughout the day, rather than causing it to slow significantly while your body processes a large meal.
4) Maintain a good intake of lean proteins and fiber. Your muscles need the protein to stay strong and healthy, and fiber will help you to feel full longer, alleviating those hunger pains. Fiber also maintains healthy digestive function.
Take this advice to heart when deciding on an exercise routine and you will maximize your time spent working out. Exercise doesn’t have to be boring, long and drawn out. It should be something you enjoy doing because you are seeing those results!
Kiele Wilson, Owner
ReNewed Strength
(970) 210-6309
www.renewed-strength.com