Myth or Fact?

"By only lifting 3-8 pound weights I will achieve my goal of getting a toned body"

MYTH or FACT?

MYTH

I always want to giggle at the women who come into the gym, lift their 3 lb weights and expect to get "toned". How much does a can of soup weigh? How much does your 3 year old weigh? Probably more that 5 lbs. To build muscle you need to place stress on your muscles, stress that your muscles are not used to. So if you lift your 3 year old kid 15 + times a day, lifting a 5 lb weight 10 times at the gym isn't going to cause your muscle to adapt and change to the stress placed on it. Make sense?

Women should not worry about "bulking up" unless you are taking steroids. The key to being fit and looking toned is building lean muscle mass, you are going to have to lift heavy weights in order to accomplish this.

The number of repetitions, sets, days of the week you work out, and how your program is developed will help you to achieve different results including Endurance, Power, Stabilization, and Hypertrophy (muscle bulk).

This is just an intro to how women should be using weights to gain lean muscle mass so if you would like me to post more specific ideas such as example work out plans let me know and I would be happy to go into further detail. Let me know what your goals are and I'll try to get into more depth on how to achieve them.

Early Morning Workouts: what to eat

I usually like to get up and eat something about a half hour to an hour before my workouts so I make sure i have energy to get a great workout. Eating before hand worked well when I used to workout around nine or ten, I had plenty of time to eat and digest something.

My sister and I have recently started working out with each other in the mornings around 6 am. So this means I'm dragging myself out of bed around 5:55, throwing my clothes on, and running wildly out the door with no time to eat. This has not been great on my body, I get into the gym and I'm practically already shaking before my work out. This has lead me to write this post about what to eat before an early morning workout.

As a general rule, Carbs digest faster than Proteins or Fat so I'm going to say that eating something rich in Carbohydrates is going to do you well if you're just waking up and running out the door to your workout. As well Carbohydrates are easily converted by your body into energy.

Eating something before you workout that is high in fat or sugar can actually make you sick, and slow you down. As well remember that yes it is important to eat before you work out but don't eat too many calories, which as well may be hard for your body to digest.

Snack Ideas:

Whole grain toast with peanut butter

A banana and low fat yogurt

Cereal and Milk

Power Bar and Water

Everyone is different and so eating some of the things listed above can have a bad effect on you. I know many people that cannot eat dairy before their workout with out feeling sick. So i'd say try out a couple different things and notice how you feel before, during, and after your workout and go from there :)

Homework!- What do you eat before your workout? Do you eat before a workout? When (how close to your workout) do you eat?

Winner!

The winner of the giveaway is......

drum roll please....

Lori!

Thanks to everyone who entered, I'm sure there will be more giveaways to come in the future!

Follow this blog!!!!

Follow my blog and be entered to win a FREE FITNESS CONSULTATION including Body Fat % testing, Fitness Evaluations, and a 30 minute Personal Training Session. You must enter by Thursday September 22 at 11:59 pm.

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Be entered again when you leave a comment on the blog about your favorite way to exercise.

Who, What, When, Where, How?

Who:Hello! I'm Laura Titensor. I'm a gall who has a passion for wellness, fun, and adventure! I'm a Fitness Professional (aka a personal trainer), a TRX instructor, and a Zumba instructor.

What: I've created this blog as a tool to family, friends, colleges, strangers, and everyone who wants to improve their "wellness". I like to use the word Wellness because if i were to use the word fitness we would be ruling out any mental aspect of our bodies health.

Wellness is consdidered to be an active process of becoming aware of and learning to make choices (healthy choices) that lead toward a longer and more successful existence.

I don't know exactly what this blog will be, maybe exercise ideas, recipes, interesting articles...my goal is to simply be a source, to spread the word, to influence, and to educate.

When: ALL THE TIME! Your wellness, your health, your happiness is a constant on going Action.

Action is an act that one consciously

wills and that may be characterized

by a physical or mental activity.

Where: Anywhere and Everywhere

How: I will work as hard as I can to supply reliable, up to date, information for you here. Your homework is to try it out. Tell me if it works, what doesn't work, something different that worked for you. I want to know YOUR SUCCESS STORY, your struggles, your goals, and your passions.