Fat vs Muscle

I hear people say all the time "muscle weighs more than fat" I don't know who started this, but they must have missed school that day. There is absolutely no way that one pound can more weigh than another. A pound is a pound whether it is muscle, fat, feathers, rocks, cookies or apples. You cannot change how much a pound weighs.

The thing you need to look at is how much space it takes up. Muscle takes up so much less space. Like a pound of rocks takes up a lot less space than a pound of feathers. A pound of apples takes up less space than a pound of Hershey's kisses. So stop saying a pound of fat weighs more than a pound of muscle. That can never happen. These two weigh the same, but the one with muscles looks much smaller. That is because the muscles take up so much less space. To get a lean toned body you should focus on building lean muscle mass. Do not focus on what that number on the scale says. Focus on getting healthy and building your muscles. (Don't worry women you will not get bulky. We have less testosterone and our muscles will not bulk up like this).

 

 

I would much rather carry around some tangerines than some grapefruits. Wouldn't you? So be sure to focus on building those muscles!!

Strength Sunday

Leg days are my favorite days at the gym, but we cannot just work on the lower body and ignore the upper body. So one exercise that I enjoy doing for the chest is the incline bench press.

Now I know a lot of people say that they find the incline much harder than decline and regular bench press. I actually find that I like the incline the best. I feel like I do not struggle with it quite as much. Maybe I'm just weird :) Now of course it is definitely a good idea to have someone spot you when you are bench pressing. I try to spot my husband, but he says I seem scared when I do because he is lifting much more weight than I do.


Now this exercise is not complicated at all. First set your weight up. Typically the bar used weighs 45 lbs. If you want more weight than that add the same amount to each side of the bar to keep it level. Lie on the bench and take the bar off the rack and lower the barbell to your chest then press it up. Repeat this for 10-15 reps and replace on the rack. I typically try to do 3 sets of 15. Of course that last set I am struggling with more than the first set. The person spotting you should be standing behind the rack ready to grab the barbell if you need help. You also want to make sure that your grip is not too wide on the bar so you don't compromise your range of motion.


There is a lot of good information about the incline press on bodybuilding.com
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/schultz51.htm

Workout Wednesday

So this is another one of my love hate exercises. TRICEP DIPS!!

 

 

 

It seems so simple, but once you start doing a few you realize why I love to hate them, especially the next day :)  The triceps are the large muscles on the back of your arm. It is sometimes called a three-headed muscle because there are three bundles of muscles, each of different origins, joining together at the elbow.

So how can you achieve the horseshoe look for your triceps? There are lots of different exercises you can do to help build this muscle. One that was very scary for me was tricep dips. I did not want to do them for a long time, but now I try to do them along with my other tricep workouts if I can. To do this exercise you can do it in a gym or the comfort of your own home or while running at a track you can do them on a bench in between intervals. When I first did these I used my legs to lift myself up and down and thought wow this is not bad on my arms, but my legs are really sore. WRONG!! You want to push your body up and down using your arms not your legs. That way you are working the muscle you want. You will definitely feel them the next day in your arms if you do them right. Watch the video that is linked to see the right way to perform these.


http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/bench-dips



There are lots of variations you can do with this exercise. Like I said you can really do it from anywhere. You can also use two benches put your arms on one and your legs on the other and add weights to your mid section to add a little more difficulty. Have fun and go do your dips.


If you are interested here is a challenge for you to try with your dips. Just break them into sets.

 

Workout Wednesday

We should all strive to get at least 30 minutes of activity in everyday. I know some days are harder than others. There are some days when I get up that I do not want to do anything at all. I have found that the best thing for me is to do my workouts first thing in the morning. This way I get it done, and I am not worrying all day about getting something done. My husband and I go to the gym in the evenings 3 days a week. I try to get something done in the morning at home so that way I always have some sort of activity in. I like to do a lot of different exercises. Also what makes it fun is that my children will try to do the workouts with me. One of my favorites and theirs as well are wall sits.

Wall sits are exactly what they sound like. You are sitting against the wall. Sounds easy right? Well go do some I bet you will think differently. Make sure your legs are at a 90-degree angle, press your back against the wall, and hold it until you absolutely can't hold it any longer.Tip: Place your hands on top of your head or hold them out in front to add a little work for your shoulders. But whatever you do, don't cheat and rest them on your thighs! In a wall sit you are working the entire muscular system in your lower body.

The quadriceps and buttocks work to hold the body in place. Since this is an isometric exercise, the endurance in the lower body muscles improves the longer you hold the position. The wall sit-down exercise improves performance in running, skiing and any sport involving jumping. Practicing this exercise makes it easier to get up and down off the floor and to use the leg muscles to lift heavy objects.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/437325-proper-wall-sit-down-exercise/#ixzz2bLMUpIeq

 

 

 

You can vary this exercise by using a stability ball behind you, between your knees or adding weights. So go do some wall sits now. You quadriceps will thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strength Sunday

I know I have stated quite a few times how much I love strength training. Well my favorite day is legs day!! I can lift the most weight with my legs, I love all the leg exercises, I love feeling the new muscles in my legs after a good workout. One of my favorite leg exercises is the leg press machine.

 

 

 

When I first saw this machine I thought what kind of torture device is this? Well it is actually wonderful. While doing the leg press yes I do think to myself I hate this machine so much, but as soon as I am done I think wow I love this machine. You can put as much or as little weight on there that you like. I am trying to up my weight on it. Today I did the most weight I have done on it yet, and it felt fantastic. To do this machine you do exactly what it says. You are pressing  with your legs. You lie on the seat put your feet on the foot plate. Brace the abdominal muscles and push the platform away with heels and forefoot by extending the knees and hips and pushing the back into the seat pad. The heels should remain flat on the foot plate and the front of the foot or toes should not be used exclusively to move the pad forward. Do keep the head steady and back against the seat. Don’t lock out the knees in an explosive fashion but do express a full range of motion. Return the foot plate to the starting position by allowing the knees to bend under control while maintaining the feet flat on the surface. Repeat the exercise. As the (diagonal) leg press involves pushing a weight along an inclined track, rather than lifting it vertically, it is possible for strength trainers to press very heavy weights, compared to the weight they might use for other exercises.

 

 

The leg press works your hamstring, quadriceps, gluteus maximus and your calves (partially) Varying the angle between the sled and the backrest and/or the position of the feet on the plate puts more emphasis on one or the other muscle group. So go do some leg presses you will love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



I love strength training!!

I  have always heard that to lose weight you should increase your cardio. I joined the gym in February, however, I did not actually start going until March. My intentions were to go in and do cardio. I was going to use the elliptical and stationary bike. I have never really done strength training before, and I was very intimidated by it. Seeing all these men and women in shape who look like they know what they are doing is very intimidating. I actually did not want to do it at all. We signed up to work with a personal trainer, which was very scary and exciting for me. The philosophy of the program absolutely no cardio just strength training. I was happy that I would have someone there telling me what to do. I was nervous about my first session. I found out how much I really like strength training, and I actually HATE cardio. I try to get some cardio in because it does help to burn a lot of calories quickly, but the majority of my fitness routine is my strength training. The thing about cardio is yes it does burn a lot of calories really quickly, but as soon as you step off the cardio machine or stop running etc...you stop burning calories. With strength training you do not burn as many calories while doing it, but your body will continue to burn calories for up to 36 hours after your workout. That is much more appealing to me for sure. Strength training builds lean muscle which increases our metabolism, and you will continue to burn more calories each day. By speeding up metabolism you will burn more fat. The goal should be to burn fat and gain lean muscle, which you will not get from cardio alone.

I hear all the time "oh you do strength training you are going to get bulky". That is false. Most average women will not get bulky from strength training. That usually happens when women start taking supplements. Compared to men, women have 10 to 30 times less of the hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy. You will, however, develop muscle tone and definition. This is a bonus. So do not worry about getting big and bulky!

Unlike cardio, strength training is a great way to set positive, motivating goals that will keep you going to the gym week after week, month after month, and year after year. And, not to mention, allow you to achieve the body transforming results you’re after. Don’t focus on going to the gym just to burn fat and calories. Set performance goals and adjust your strength training program accordingly. I have set several goals for myself. I have never been able to do a pull up. This is a big goal for me. I want to be able to increase my weights on all the machines I do. It is a great feeling going in and doing an exercise with ease that was hard for me the week before. I was intimidated by the other people in the gym, but now all I am not worrying about them. The only person I need to be better than is me from yesterday. Strength training is also a good stress relief. There have been several times where I said I don't want to go to the gym today it is just a bad day. After getting my workout in though I always feel much better.

I loved working out with my trainer. He was awesome. He helped give me confidence, and helped me kick start my new fit lifestyle. We are no longer working with him because it was no longer cost effective. He helped set me up for success. Last week was the first week of not working with him. The problem is I started to feel unconfident and intimidated again. I have been doing these workouts for 4 months with him, but I felt like I did not know anything. Thankfully my wonderful husband is working out with me. He helps me with my workouts, and is helping me gain my confidence again. I feel like I do not know what to do, and as soon as he tells me I think yes I know this. I really enjoy working out with my husband, and hope we continue to workout together. I do, however, want to stop relying on him. I know the exercises I just need to get my confidence back up. I need to stay out of my head and focus on my strength training again.

 

 

I do some cardio to help burn quick calories, but I think that my main focus will stay on strength training. I have been building muscles in my body that I did not even know that I had. So try to incorporate strength training in your routine. Trust me you will not regret it. It has changed my life for the better.