5 Ways Strength Training Does More than Banish Bingo Wings

With spring coming up, you might be eyeing up your strappy tops with just a little bit of dread. No one likes to show off their dreaded bingo wings, so what do you do? You need to take your fitness into your own hands and get those arms the tone they need. As well as toning your arms, strength training has multiple benefits to your wellbeing, so if you need more motivation, here’s why you need to strength train (and LOVE every minute of it):

 

1. You Can Preserve Muscle Mass During Weight Loss: Wellness writer Leanne Beattie notes, ‘According to a University of Michigan research study, at least 25% to 30% of weight lost by dieting alone is not fat but lean tissue, muscle, bone and water. However, strength training helps dieters preserve muscle mass while still losing weight…Starting in their twenties, most people (especially women) lose half a pound of muscle every year if they aren’t strength training to preserve it. After age 60, this rate of loss doubles. But regular strength training can preserve muscle throughout the lifespan, and rebuild the muscle lost.’

 

2. You Can Eat More Without Gaining Weight: ‘Since muscle is active tissue (unlike fat, which is inert), it requires energy to maintain,’ says Beattie. ‘The more muscle you have, the more you can eat without gaining weight. Strength training can provide up to a 15% increase in metabolic rate, which is helpful for weight loss and long-term weight control. For every additional pound of muscle you gain, your body will burn about 50 more calories each day. A study by Wayne Westcott, PhD, from the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, showed that a woman who strength trains two or three times a week for eight weeks gains 1.75 lbs of muscle and loses 3.5 lbs of fat. And Johns Hopkins researchers found that while aerobic exercise burns more calories at the time you are exercising, your metabolism returns to normal about 30 minutes after you finish your workout. Individuals who perform strength training, however, elevate their metabolisms (burn more calories) for two hours after their workouts end.’

 

3. You Can Increase Your Bone Density: Beattie details, ‘A study conducted by Miriam E. Nelson, PhD of TuftsUniversity found that strength training increases both muscle mass and bone density. Dr. Nelson’s research showed that women who lifted weights did not lose any bone density throughout the study, and actually gained an average of 1% more bone mass in the hip and spine. Non-exercising women lost 2% to 2.5% of bone mass during the same period of time. Another University of Arizona study showed a 3% increase in spine and hip bone mineral density after an 18-month strength training program among women, ages 28 to 39.’

 

4. You Can Reduce Your Depression: ‘In a study of 32 men and women who suffered from chronic depression, Nalin Singh, MD and Tufts University associates divided the individuals into two groups,’ Beattie outlines. ‘They directed half to perform strength training while the other half received health information. After three months, 14 of the 16 members who lifted weights felt better and no longer met the criteria for depression. A Harvard study also showed that 10 weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counselling alone.’

 

5. You Can Prevent Diabetes: Beattie explains, ‘Research shows that strength training can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23% in just four months. As muscles contract and relax during exercise, they use sugar for energy. To meet this energy need, your body uses sugar supplies in your blood, reducing your blood sugar levels.’

Categories: banish, bingo wings, bone density, bone mass, gaining weight, lifted weights, muscle mass, preserve muscle, Strength Training, Weight Loss

Top Tricks For Getting The Body You’ve Always Wanted

We all have big plans to turn our abs into a washboard six-pack, but if your plans to achieve it have waned it may be time to try a new method. Weight loss expert Dr Jonny Bowden states that the dietary recommendations, with regards to lower animal fat, reduced saturated fats and carbs, have changed drastically over the past 30 years. There are many misconceptions about what we need to do in order to be lean and healthy, and also about what we should and shouldn’t be eating, meaning that ‘eating healthy’ could be wildly different for each person. Through no fault of their own much of the time, people are clueless about what they should be filling their plates with. But there are some lesser known techniques that could help you achieve a leaner physique by summer. While some of them may be unconventional, they could be the stepping stone you need to build a leaner body and meet those goals you’ve been struggling to reach.

The first tip is to train on an empty stomach. If you’re used to eating within 30 minutes before a workout, you’re probably familiar with the routine of fuelling up for your workout with 20g of protein and between 20 and 40g of carbs to prevent your muscles from waning, and supplying your body with energy. But if that hasn’t worked for you so far, you may find that skipping the pre-workout meal offers better results. This is an age-old trick that bodybuilders of the past used to do consistently, and it offered results. The best time to work out is after you’ve fasted all night, when your blood sugars are low, if you’re trying to burn fat. Because if you want to burn the fat you already have in your body, why would you want to load up on glucose and carbs and then simply burn those during the workout? If you can’t get through the workout on an empty stomach, opt for something light such as an apple or a scoop of whey protein shake with some berries. Be sure to drink plenty of water though, to keep your body hydrated as you exercise.

 

Don’t shy away from saturated fats – in certain doses, they are actually necessary for good health. It may sound counterintuitive, but fats nourish your skin, hair and nails, as well as providing the foundations for hormones such as testosterone. If we look back to cavemen, they didn’t fuel their bodies with low-fat foods – they ate whatever meats they could hunt or fish. By this reasoning, foods such as eggs, coconut and beef will provide your body with the right levels of fat you need to stay healthy. The best rule to stick by is to opt for foods where these fats are naturally occurring, and avoid foods which are processed and have too much fat. Opt for natural foods which have omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which have been proven to do wonders for your health. You should also reconsider your refined carb intake. Eating loads of carbs to fuel your workout is basically the same as creating an insulin fountain, which drives weight gain. Opting to focus on carbs instead of protein and fat, which have limited effect on insulin levels, raises your fat storage hormone and increases your chance of gaining weight. So aim to reduce your carbs and you’ll instantly lower your risk of gaining weight.

Categories: body, carbs, exercise, fitness, foods, gaining weight, lean muscle, saturated fats, weight, Workout

The Best Ways to Avoid Gaining Weight

It’s a common occurrence to find yourself gaining weight as you get older, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to stay slim as you age. There are just some different things you have to think about to ensure that you aren’t being stupid with regards to your approach.

It can be a shared experience; the pounds just seem to creep on with every passing year without us even noticing and, unfortunately, this is a phenomenon is supported by the facts. It’s known, for example, that starting at around age 40, the average American woman gains around a pound a year. That means that by the time you hit 60 you can be around 20 pounds heavier than you were. This can increase the risk of serious problems such as diabetes and heart disease.

When you first look at it, it can seem that the cause is simple arithmetic. If you eat more than you expend and eventually you’ll put on weight. But it can be far more complicated than this as other factors, from your hormone levels to the size of your dinner plate, can alter the equation. The chances are that the weight gain is caused by physiological and lifestyle changes that you weren’t even really aware of.

Some of the unwanted weight gain that occurs as you get older is natural. Starting in your late 30s, you begin to lose your muscle tissue, which is the body’s main calorie burner. It’s replaced by fat, and that only makes things worse.

Fight back against this by increasing the amount you exercise, especially with weights. This has the dual benefit of increasing metabolism and improving your muscles.

Google+
The Best Ways to Avoid Gaining Weight

Categories: American women, exercise, gain, gaining weight, increasing, older, weight, weight gain, year