What weight should I choose?
This is one subject that messed me up for a long time. Should I get a heavier weight or do a few more repetitions? Well, the answer lies within what you want out of strength training and what muscle you’re currently training. I’ve noticed that lifting 200lbs for 6 reps can do a lot for a chest but not too much for a bicep. There are also other little factors that come into play like how many sets you complete for the same muscle, or which motion your doing in the exercise. Here is a simple explanation for you to determine what you’re going for. First and for most you have to determine what your looking to get out of strength training. Is it muscle size, strength or tone? I know you can also be looking for a mix of all 3 but you have to prioritize to what you want the most. Muscle size requires heavy weight in low repetitions for not so many sets, but you also might want to work that particular muscle more times a week basically the same motions (exercises). For example, you want to get the chest large? Lift heavy weights (struggling from the beginning, all the way to muscle failure), maybe 6 reps on the regular bench 3 times a week; by the 3rd week you’ll have a chest bulging through your shirt.
If you are looking in the area to just have a stronger muscle, then your approach is slightly different. First off you want heavy weights, for a stronger muscle you’re going to have to tier as many fibers as possible and give them the longest time to recover. In addition, execute the exercises in an explosive matter. Lift the weight as fast and “explosive” like as you can (without hurting yourself). This insures you get the muscles deep in there that only ever show when you’re “exploding” so to speak. Those muscles are usually 25% of extra strength that usually only show when you’re full of adrenaline. You’ll also want to consider doing a few more reps on your exercise, and not work it out as often throughout the week. So an example of a strength building set up, you can lift heavy weights for about 8 reps, but don’t exercise that same muscle for an entire week. You also want to do all possible movements of the muscle. Example, for chest don’t just do the bench and that’s it; do the straight bench, then some butterflies, the incline, decline, ext. don’t stick to the same exercise cause then you’ll only gain strength in that movement.
Finally there’s toning, with toning you’re basically just shaping the muscle and maintaining muscle memory. You benefit by gaining strength and muscle size but the effect is more calm and longer of a process. You usually gain endurance the most when it comes toning. With toning you can lay off the heavy weights, you still want weights heavy enough that you’re struggling on the last 3 or 4 reps but can still continue. Toning also requires the most diversity among muscle groups. What does that mean? Well, you don’t want to just work out chest, do some chest then some shoulder a little bit of back; basically anything that is “connected”. Also like muscle strength, you’ll also want to work on all motions of the muscle. Like the bicep, it doesn’t just lift you palm up to your chest but it also twists your wrist. So make sure you do a lot of different exercises of the same muscle group. Now the number count on toning should look something like 10-12 reps on a lot more of the same muscle exercises.
Now for the amount of sets you do on an exercise should depend on what muscle your working out. Basic rule of thumb here is the larger the muscle the more sets. Quads are very large muscles, when you work them out you should do 4 sets. On the flip side, your triceps is decently small; they should only do 2 sets. Your goal has a little to do with it also. If your toning you’ll want to diversify rather than do more sets, but if your building muscle you’ll want to do more sets than diversify. All in all, strength training, no matter how you approach it, will give you all 3 effects (size, strength, and tone). You just might to consider the different outcomes of the different ways of strength training and approach them according to your goals.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Know How Your Body Works To Lose Fat And Build Muscle
Your body requires energy throughout the day. When you sleep, shower, work, ex; your body is burning calories at a certain rate. That rate is your metabolism. That rate is determined by what you eat, how often you eat it, and what extra activities (other than eating and sleeping) you do throughout the day.
One of your first goals for your diet is to speed up your metabolism. You need to eat several times a day, every 3 hours or so. This makes your body used to burning calories at a high rate because it knows your going to replenish the calories with 2 to 3 hours. This also perverts overeating in one sitting, which makes your body slow down to be able to process it all (and once it does, it’s more than likely considered most of your food as storage(storage=fat) because you haven’t been moving much since you over ate.)
What you eat has a lot to do with the speed of your metabolism. Your body just like it gets used to certain time frames, it also adapts to eating habits. There are 3 sources of energy for your body; fat, carbohydrates (carbs), and proteins. Fat and Carbohydrates are the kings of calories. Fat is known as a storage calorie, its put in your body as storage for later usage (in case you haven’t eaten in a while, or the world ends and there’s no more food, then your body planned ahead and has fat to be able to burn the make calories so you don’t starve to death). For every one gram of fat there is nine calories. Fat is necessary in a everyday diet, but there are fats that have benefits. Like nuts and fish have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, but those are good for you and without excess promote weight loss.
Carbs is where it gets a little trickier. There are 2 types of carbs, simple (fast) and complex (slow). Every gram of either carb is worth 4 calories. Simple carbs or fast carbs is sugar. Sugar is immediately turned into usable calories (energy). Sugar is necessary and great for energy you’re going to use soon, but all excess is turned into complex carbs. Complex carbs or slow carbs is fiber and all other carbohydrates. Slow carbs give endurance, gives you “equal” energy throughout the day. Carbs help the most with hunger. Excess slow carbs get turned into fat for storage. Fiber is very necessary and good for you.
Last but not least are proteins. Proteins help with muscle structure and healing. I don’t think excess proteins turn into anything but its never good to abuse. When working out proteins should be the main part of your energy consumption, unless you’re a muscle monster on TV. then you would make slow carbs your mains source of energy (so you can work out all day with constant energy).
The last main metabolism accelerator is working out. Strength training (lifting weights) is the king of accelerators; then cardiovascular training (fast pace moving) in 2nd. 3rd, is stretching. Everything else you do in the day helps too but these are the ones you need to do to get your metabolism like race horse. The main point of working out isn’t speeding up your body (metabolism), its breaking muscle fibers and rebuilding them. When you work out your basically breaking muscle fibers, and when you’re not working out there rebuilding; that process of rebuilding is what makes muscles bigger stronger. You have to let your muscles repair though, so you should never work out the same muscle group twice in a row. While your muscles are repairing you should stretch. Stretching tones the muscle, forms it, and shapes it. And the cardio is great to burn calories, maintain a fast metabolism, and keep you in shape.
Going out to eat just is never healthy. What says low fat is sugar crazy and what is low carb, is full of fat. And what’s fat free and low carb is so processed that it’s not really food. It’s a gelatin with color and flavoring. So keep it natural, organic preferably (but it cost moreL).
Ok so, you’re probably thinking you’ll never see chocolate again. Well, it’s up to you. Cheating is tolerable, just don’t over do it, and don’t cheat often. I try to keep it under one cheat a week. Now when you cheat there are 3 things you have to consider. Is it processed or natural? What time is it? And how much am I going to cheat? If its processed take it real easy, real careful how much you eat (I would keep it under 200 calories) If it’s naturally fat or sugary then you can let go a little more. Make it more like a meal of cheating (like a nice fat hamburger w/ onion rings) A day of cheating is definitely excessive and not recommended if you truly want to achieve results.
What time of day also influences on your cheating. For example, if I want a chocolate bar I would have it as a snack but I wouldn’t eat a meal for 4 hours afterwards instead of 3. (An extra hour “relying” on the bar.) Same rule applies to a cheating meal (eat again 4-5 hours after cheating). I would also make sure that the meal prior and following to the cheat, is the complete opposite (completely low fat, low carb, super healthy). It also helps if you include your workout sometime after the cheat.
It’s also scientifically proven that stress and anger can directly affect your metabolism, immune system and nervous system. That means stress can make you fat, sick, and in pain. So live happy, don’t stress yourself. Take 15 minutes a day to just take deep breaths, relax, and if it doesn’t interfere with relaxing, plan out your day.
Now you’ve got down this far in my paper and your probably a little overwhelmed with info. But you have to believe in yourself and think positively. Look in the mirror, imagine what you want and where you want it, and then make it happen. But in reality, we start seeing some results, or somebody tells them good job with the working out and you tend to think “ok, I’m good” but you have to keep going. You’ll lose track of your goals if you start settling for what you have. But also vice versa, don’t over do it. Too skinny or too muscular is a horrible sight. So diet and exercise according to what your goals are.
Maintenance is easy. Once you’ve reached your goal or you want to take a break without losing what you worked for, you continue with the diet as much as possible. If you do continue dieting your workouts can be shorter (30 minutes or so, if not, then keep workouts at 45 to 60). Do mostly cardio, just to keep the metabolism fast, and burn calories. If your losing muscle or don’t want to lose strength, include a strength training in there; but you don’t have to workout everyday, maybe 2 or 3 times a week. Yoga and stretching are still recommended while in maintenance so you don’t lose flexibility.
As a final comment I also recommend to have sex. Yeah that’s right, lots of sex. Even if it’s self inflicted the benefits can still be cashed in. (I know AWESOME!) The releases of a large number of endorphins in your brain (you know from what!J) cause your body to not only accelerate its metabolic rate but it also releases amino acids and vitamins into your blood stream; the effect is a faster/stronger muscle rebuild.
One of your first goals for your diet is to speed up your metabolism. You need to eat several times a day, every 3 hours or so. This makes your body used to burning calories at a high rate because it knows your going to replenish the calories with 2 to 3 hours. This also perverts overeating in one sitting, which makes your body slow down to be able to process it all (and once it does, it’s more than likely considered most of your food as storage(storage=fat) because you haven’t been moving much since you over ate.)
What you eat has a lot to do with the speed of your metabolism. Your body just like it gets used to certain time frames, it also adapts to eating habits. There are 3 sources of energy for your body; fat, carbohydrates (carbs), and proteins. Fat and Carbohydrates are the kings of calories. Fat is known as a storage calorie, its put in your body as storage for later usage (in case you haven’t eaten in a while, or the world ends and there’s no more food, then your body planned ahead and has fat to be able to burn the make calories so you don’t starve to death). For every one gram of fat there is nine calories. Fat is necessary in a everyday diet, but there are fats that have benefits. Like nuts and fish have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, but those are good for you and without excess promote weight loss.
Carbs is where it gets a little trickier. There are 2 types of carbs, simple (fast) and complex (slow). Every gram of either carb is worth 4 calories. Simple carbs or fast carbs is sugar. Sugar is immediately turned into usable calories (energy). Sugar is necessary and great for energy you’re going to use soon, but all excess is turned into complex carbs. Complex carbs or slow carbs is fiber and all other carbohydrates. Slow carbs give endurance, gives you “equal” energy throughout the day. Carbs help the most with hunger. Excess slow carbs get turned into fat for storage. Fiber is very necessary and good for you.
Last but not least are proteins. Proteins help with muscle structure and healing. I don’t think excess proteins turn into anything but its never good to abuse. When working out proteins should be the main part of your energy consumption, unless you’re a muscle monster on TV. then you would make slow carbs your mains source of energy (so you can work out all day with constant energy).
The last main metabolism accelerator is working out. Strength training (lifting weights) is the king of accelerators; then cardiovascular training (fast pace moving) in 2nd. 3rd, is stretching. Everything else you do in the day helps too but these are the ones you need to do to get your metabolism like race horse. The main point of working out isn’t speeding up your body (metabolism), its breaking muscle fibers and rebuilding them. When you work out your basically breaking muscle fibers, and when you’re not working out there rebuilding; that process of rebuilding is what makes muscles bigger stronger. You have to let your muscles repair though, so you should never work out the same muscle group twice in a row. While your muscles are repairing you should stretch. Stretching tones the muscle, forms it, and shapes it. And the cardio is great to burn calories, maintain a fast metabolism, and keep you in shape.
Going out to eat just is never healthy. What says low fat is sugar crazy and what is low carb, is full of fat. And what’s fat free and low carb is so processed that it’s not really food. It’s a gelatin with color and flavoring. So keep it natural, organic preferably (but it cost moreL).
Ok so, you’re probably thinking you’ll never see chocolate again. Well, it’s up to you. Cheating is tolerable, just don’t over do it, and don’t cheat often. I try to keep it under one cheat a week. Now when you cheat there are 3 things you have to consider. Is it processed or natural? What time is it? And how much am I going to cheat? If its processed take it real easy, real careful how much you eat (I would keep it under 200 calories) If it’s naturally fat or sugary then you can let go a little more. Make it more like a meal of cheating (like a nice fat hamburger w/ onion rings) A day of cheating is definitely excessive and not recommended if you truly want to achieve results.
What time of day also influences on your cheating. For example, if I want a chocolate bar I would have it as a snack but I wouldn’t eat a meal for 4 hours afterwards instead of 3. (An extra hour “relying” on the bar.) Same rule applies to a cheating meal (eat again 4-5 hours after cheating). I would also make sure that the meal prior and following to the cheat, is the complete opposite (completely low fat, low carb, super healthy). It also helps if you include your workout sometime after the cheat.
It’s also scientifically proven that stress and anger can directly affect your metabolism, immune system and nervous system. That means stress can make you fat, sick, and in pain. So live happy, don’t stress yourself. Take 15 minutes a day to just take deep breaths, relax, and if it doesn’t interfere with relaxing, plan out your day.
Now you’ve got down this far in my paper and your probably a little overwhelmed with info. But you have to believe in yourself and think positively. Look in the mirror, imagine what you want and where you want it, and then make it happen. But in reality, we start seeing some results, or somebody tells them good job with the working out and you tend to think “ok, I’m good” but you have to keep going. You’ll lose track of your goals if you start settling for what you have. But also vice versa, don’t over do it. Too skinny or too muscular is a horrible sight. So diet and exercise according to what your goals are.
Maintenance is easy. Once you’ve reached your goal or you want to take a break without losing what you worked for, you continue with the diet as much as possible. If you do continue dieting your workouts can be shorter (30 minutes or so, if not, then keep workouts at 45 to 60). Do mostly cardio, just to keep the metabolism fast, and burn calories. If your losing muscle or don’t want to lose strength, include a strength training in there; but you don’t have to workout everyday, maybe 2 or 3 times a week. Yoga and stretching are still recommended while in maintenance so you don’t lose flexibility.
As a final comment I also recommend to have sex. Yeah that’s right, lots of sex. Even if it’s self inflicted the benefits can still be cashed in. (I know AWESOME!) The releases of a large number of endorphins in your brain (you know from what!J) cause your body to not only accelerate its metabolic rate but it also releases amino acids and vitamins into your blood stream; the effect is a faster/stronger muscle rebuild.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
More Basics On Losing Fat And Building Muscle
Not including snacks:
4 proteins (chicken, whey, turkey, meat, ext.)
2 dairies (yogurt, milk, cheese, ext.)
1 fruit (mix them up, they all have different health benefits)
2 veggies (mix them up, consistency makes veggies boring)
2 carbs ( pasta, bread, cereal, potatoes, rice)
1 fat (avocados, flax seeds, nuts, coconut)
The number is how many servings you should include of each category of food not including snacks. Your going to have 3 main meals (500-600 calories each) and 2-3 snacks between the meals (100-200 calories each [if you have 3 snacks, lean more towards the 100 calories each.]). Every serving is 100 calories, except proteins which is 150 calories per serving. So for example if you have a sandwich with ham and cheese, that would 2 servings of bread (I know 200 calories in bread? Just like that!? Each slice of bread is about 100 calories.) , ~3 oz of lean ham is 150 calories so there’s another serving. And a slice a cheese is about a serving (check your nutrition labels!) so that comes to a grand total of 450 calories and you took out 4 servings off of 3 different food groups. So a sandwich can’t be a snack, but it’s not enough for a complete meal, so add lettuce and tomatoes for another serving.
It’s not that hard once you get used to it. Veggies is the hardest to fulfill because it takes a lot of veggies to make up 100 calories, so if you want you can split it off into every meal of the day a ½ serving. If there is a meal you can not miss it’s breakfast. When I wake up I’m rarely hungry out of bed, but you got to eat soon. So what I do is a make a shake in the morning with a serving of milk, oatmeal (uncooked), whey protein powder, and strawberries. It’s not heavy on your stomach, its 500+ calories (so it’s a meal), and it’s easy and quick to make.
Ps: you should also drink 12+oz of water when you wake up; this is because your body hasn’t received any water in 8 hours so you are dehydrated when you wake up. I personally wake up, drink a 20 oz bottle of water, drink my shake, take my joint repair and multivitamin pills, and from there I brush my teeth and get ready for the day.
4 proteins (chicken, whey, turkey, meat, ext.)
2 dairies (yogurt, milk, cheese, ext.)
1 fruit (mix them up, they all have different health benefits)
2 veggies (mix them up, consistency makes veggies boring)
2 carbs ( pasta, bread, cereal, potatoes, rice)
1 fat (avocados, flax seeds, nuts, coconut)
The number is how many servings you should include of each category of food not including snacks. Your going to have 3 main meals (500-600 calories each) and 2-3 snacks between the meals (100-200 calories each [if you have 3 snacks, lean more towards the 100 calories each.]). Every serving is 100 calories, except proteins which is 150 calories per serving. So for example if you have a sandwich with ham and cheese, that would 2 servings of bread (I know 200 calories in bread? Just like that!? Each slice of bread is about 100 calories.) , ~3 oz of lean ham is 150 calories so there’s another serving. And a slice a cheese is about a serving (check your nutrition labels!) so that comes to a grand total of 450 calories and you took out 4 servings off of 3 different food groups. So a sandwich can’t be a snack, but it’s not enough for a complete meal, so add lettuce and tomatoes for another serving.
It’s not that hard once you get used to it. Veggies is the hardest to fulfill because it takes a lot of veggies to make up 100 calories, so if you want you can split it off into every meal of the day a ½ serving. If there is a meal you can not miss it’s breakfast. When I wake up I’m rarely hungry out of bed, but you got to eat soon. So what I do is a make a shake in the morning with a serving of milk, oatmeal (uncooked), whey protein powder, and strawberries. It’s not heavy on your stomach, its 500+ calories (so it’s a meal), and it’s easy and quick to make.
Ps: you should also drink 12+oz of water when you wake up; this is because your body hasn’t received any water in 8 hours so you are dehydrated when you wake up. I personally wake up, drink a 20 oz bottle of water, drink my shake, take my joint repair and multivitamin pills, and from there I brush my teeth and get ready for the day.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Lose Fat Build Muscle Basics
Basic do’s and Don’ts
· Replace all dairy to no fat or low fat (no fat cheese, yogurt, milk, ext.)
· Chicken, turkey, and whey should be your main source of protein but you should include red meat at least once a week, pork once a week, fish twice a week, and vegetable protein(beans) once a week
· Water only!!! About 3 liter a day (no soda, iced tea, sugar-free drinks…. Nada) if you absolutely need coffee in the mornings, only have 1 cup and follow it with lots of water
· Dressings – stick to vinaigrettes with extra virgin olive oil or canola oil (light on the oil) for creamy dressings use low fat ( don’t get fat free creamy dressings)
· All carbs must be multigrain or whole wheat (read ingredients! Most breads say wheat but are made with unbleached wheat flour, if it doesn’t say 100% whole wheat don’t get it)
· DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF!! Its better you eat a little junk food than go over 6 hours without eating
· No alcohol :( (alcohol is fermented sugar that once in your system, returns back into sugar and all excess carbohydrates turn into fat for storage.)
· No sugar free products! Sucrose and aspartame have not only been proven to be extremely bad for you in everyday usage but it also prevents weight loss. If you want sugar, go for the natural stuff like sugar cane or brown sugar or raw sugar.
· Better yet just stay away from all processed food.
· Get a lot of sleep. Minimum of 8 hours (I know you have no problem with that)
· Don’t eat fast. Take your time eating.
· Get to know your kitchen. Not only is it fun and awesome when you get good, but it’s also the only real healthy way of eating.
· DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST!!!!
· It’s hard to balance a good form of vitamins and minerals through basic food consumption. Take a multivitamin in the morning; and even better if you can take a joint repair pill also (like glucosamine with msm). These pills help with cartilage rejuvenation, joint lubrication, mobility, and flexibility.
· Drink room temperature water when working out. Drinking cold water can shock your whole body.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Are You Really Losing Fat?
Some people believe that when they’re fasting there losing weight. Yes, that’s true you probably will lose so weight, but is that weight you really want off? When you’re fasting for so long your body goes into a metabolism shut down mode. It turns all available energy (calories) into fat for storage, so you actually gain fat. So why does the scale go down? Because you’re losing muscle! Excess muscle breaks down and goes to waste because more muscle requires more energy to sustain. Your body will lose muscle to lower its MBR (metabolic rate – how much your body consumes just to stay alive, like your heart, lungs, brain, it all needs energy to run). As most people know muscle weighs more than fat, so you’re gaining fat, and losing muscle. That’s why the number on the scale goes down but you’ll measure and look the same (actually you’ll end up looking less toned); so lesson learned, eat more (healthy stuff) not less. Keep that metabolism fast and you don’t have to worry about too much else.
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