Proteins are the building blocks for muscles. Whether you are trying to
build new muscle or maintain what you have, muscles need protein. And they must have enough. Consume at least 1 gram of protein for every two pounds of body weight, and on days when you are very active consume 1.5 grams for every 2 pounds. Make sure you are consuming
protein with the 8 essential
amino acids, or else your body will not be able to use the protein you eat.
These are minimum requirements. Those training extremely hard may need additional protein.
Do you find yourself really hot after a walk, run, or other physical activity? Good! This means your metabolism, the rate at which your body burns energy, is in high gear and you can use this to your advantage to increase flexibility at this time. After your
exercise, drink at least 8 ounces of water and than begin to stretch for 5-10 minutes. As you muscles are warm at this time, they will respond better to the stretching and feel better the next day because they will relax in a lengthened state instead of in a short, contracted state.
Stretching post exercise also aids in recovery. This is a must do……
If you are
strength training hard at least twice per week and are not seeing results, ask yourself these 4 questions: am I using too much or too little weight, am I overtraining, am I using poor form, or am I not getting enough sleep and good
nutrition? If you answer yes to any of those questions, address it and give yourself a couple of weeks to start seeing results. After that, if you are still concerned, consult a personal trainer or instructor as to how you can change your workout.
eFitness for Life will gladly assist you with your plans and programs to ensure your continued progress.
Anything is better than nothing. There is some data however that states in order to strengthen your heart and reap the benefits, you should be active at least every other day of the week, averaging about 4 days a week. Ideally, your activity should be about 30-45 minutes in duration, and should be an intensity level of a 5 or 6. (Zero equals sleeping and ten equals maximum, all-out effort). Try to mix cardiovascular exercise and
strength training.
Just get busy. That’s the bottom line. Missing a day here ir there or taking a week off is good, but your goal is to be consistent over your lifetime. This is a journey, one you must come to enjoy.
Let’s kill this one quickly. There is NO SUCH THING as spot reduction. Ignore the infomercials! Direct abdominal training will strengthen the muscles around your midsection and improve your posture, but being able to see your abdominal muscles has to do with your overall body fat levels. Decrease overall body fat through sound whole body training and your abs will appear!
“You can’t pick and choose areas where you’d like to burn fat,” says Phil Tyne, director of the fitness center at the Baylor Tom Landry Health & Wellness Center in Dallas. So crunches aren’t going to target weight loss in that area.
“In order to burn fat, you should create a workout that includes both cardiovascular and
strength-training elements. This will decrease your overall body fat content,” including the area around your midsection, he says.
DIET plays the most vital role in overall bodyfat levels!