weight training and women

Recently I have been seeing alot of female clients that have worries about gaining muscle mass when lifting weights. This worry is not as justifiable as most people think. For a woman to gain a significant amount of muscle is a hard thing to do for several reasons.

Most women do not take in enough calories or protein to sustain large muscles. To gain functional muscle (what everyone needs) will not ever make a woman look bulky. This should be the goal of a female lifting weights. This is achieved not through lifting heavy weights, but lighter weights and doing more repetitions

Of the three body types, mesomorphs gain muscle easier than others. That is, if you already have a good musculature before lifting, chances are you are going to gain more when lifting. The trick to lifting and not gaining at this point is to do high repetition endurance weight training workouts.

Since women predominately have a lean body type as far as muscle is concerned, and they want to keep it that way, they should take part in full body, or half body workouts. This way they are not concentrating on a muscle group causing too much growth, and they can keep their caloric expenditure high.

The goal of weight training for women is not to gain alot of muscle. It is to promote a high metabolic rate so they can burn more calories throughout the day. By doing this they will achieve weight loss while maintaining tone. So, ladies, while lifting avoid doing just legs, or just arms, or just abs, and instead concentrate on doing light weight full body workouts to get the results you want.

Finally, to gain significant amounts of muscle requires lifting weights five or six days a week. For my female clients and any woman for that matter, i recommend no more than three days a week for lifting. So, alternate weight training days with days just for cardio. You will be surprised with the results.

if you have more specific questions, please contact Jared.

supplement labels

Have you heard this lately, "I lost 20 lbs in 4 weeks, thanks to..." whatever supplement they claim to have taken. How bogus does that sound? Crazy right!

There are alot of claims out there that if you take this pill or that pill you will lose weight. Some of those claims may be true, but most are not. For those products that do deliver on their promise, have you ever looked at the label? The labels of supplements are tricky, aren't they. The proprietary blend of ingredients that may or may not be actually in the product and the amount of each not being listed, whats up with that?

The bottom line is that you cannot trust alot of what is out there. If eating right and exercising are not enough to get you through your journey of health, you options of trusted reliable products is very limited. At Hit Fit, we recognize this dilemma and have offered you an option. Advocare is supplement company that I trust and they people that are involved in the company, at any level, I trust as well. Hit Fit has become a distributer for Advocare and if you want to take something, I cannot think of a better, and safer, product on the market.

If you are going to be taking supplements at all, please contact me so I can tell you more.

thank you,

Jared Harrison
www.myhitfit.com

changing gears

Whether it was a new years resolution, or starting a new cycle in your training regimen, or starting to workout for the first time, alot of us a CHANGING GEARS!

Here are some things to consider when adopting a new program.
This change is going to be different than what most of us anticipate. You might be sorer than you thought, hungrier than expected, and your motivation might disappear. But the good news is that it is okay!
If your working out harder or more than before you are going to be sore at first. It is important to stay hydrated and stretched out. Getting a massage will also help to relieve such soreness. With fluid intake, you should consume half your body weight in ounces of water or more.
Your hunger is going to spike with the increase of caloric expenditure. Don't worry, you want your metabolism to speed up. But just because you are hungrier, does not mean you can go around eating whatever is put in front of you. Remember to keep eating clean foods and fresh vegetables. Increasing your food intake can be as simple as adding a post workout recovery drink, or adding another small snack during the day.
Motivation! Your results might not be as fast as you want. You might not hit your goal on time. Maybe your workouts are just harder than you thought they would be. Do not fret! The key is to make progress, if you are doing that, no worries, right! If you are not hitting your goals on time, contact a professional in your area and ask why, it might not be you. If your workouts seem to hard, back off a bit, you might be putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed too quickly. Remember, the most important thing is to make positive change in your body. At whatever pace this change takes place, its better than not making a positive change!

Good luck and Make Fit Happen!


Jared harrison
CPFT, RES-C
www.myhitfit.com

boosting caloric expenditure

these numbers are based on a 150 lbs individual but will help give you an idea of what daily activities can help with your weight loss goal!

p/h
cleaning, light (dusting, straightening) 240
cleaning, heavy (scrubbing, scraping) 432
dancing 370
gardening 324
moving (boxes) 504
mawing lawn (push) 324
strolling 206
walking briskly 297
vacuuming or mopping 150

keep in mind that getting to the gym is not always a must, especially if you have some of these activities to do that day.
have a great week!
Jared