Thursday 071115

REST!

As I preach the gospel of TitanFit/CrossFit, I often get the "I don't want big bulky muscles" response from women. STOP IT! My response is, has been and will always be - women need to build muscle MORE than men!

The following is an excerpt from an article entitled Strong, Lean and Happy - Why every woman should strength train.
By Selene Yeager, Prevention

the link for the article is:
http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100172177&GT1=10514

Strength training works because making muscles fires up your metabolism and keeps your body running at its fat-burning best. (This is why many men can toss down a bucket of wings and a pitcher of beer without a worry about weight gain — they naturally have more muscle.) Every pound of muscle on your body burns between 30 and 50 calories a day — even when you're sleeping. Every pound of fat burns only two to five calories. Women often blame their weight problems on sluggish metabolisms when what's really to blame is their lack of muscle.

Unless you start strength training, the problem only gets worse. As we get older, we naturally lose some of our muscle mass. Starting somewhere after age 35, women start losing about a half-pound of muscle a year. By the time we are 50, that can jump to up to a pound loss each year. That's why women in their late 30s and 40s often complain that even though they are not eating or exercising differently, they are still gaining weight — they are literally losing metabolism-revving muscle.

The good news is that you can stop early midlife fat spread in its tracks just by adding a little muscle. Researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts found that people who strength trained for 12 weeks and increased their muscle mass by just 3 pounds could eat 15 percent more calories — that's about 300 calories (the amount in two slices of cheese pizza!) a day for an average woman — without gaining an ounce. Even better, they also lost fat pounds in the process.Over time, these muscle-metabolism gains can add up to major fat losses.

OK, enough words, like they say, a picture speak a thousand words...

Real women (Not models types) doing real pull-ups

95 lbs OHS

showing the benefits of squats

OK, next time you go to the gym, bypass the stationary bikes and elliptical - with its never seen in everyday life motion. Bypass the spin class, juice bar and cardio theatre. Bypass the "toning" classes, turn off America's Top Model, those darn reality shows and whatever they are showing on HGTV. Pick up a barbell.

If you are new to lifting, unsure where and how to start, Come to TitanFit or find a CrossFit affiliate (we're world wide, check the affiliate link on the left border of this page) and start to get really fit.

Photos courtesy of CrossFit.com (http://www.crossfit.com/)