Now this is one of the fundamental points of weight training. If you ignore this principle or overlook it you could find yourself frustrated and eventually giving up on your prgramme altogether. We don't want that. So keep this very important point in mind and you'll enjoy a long and successful relationship with your gym and your body.
By using the training principles espoused in this blog you will be putting, not just your physiological but your neurological systems under stress. Wait, what? That doesn't sound good? It's perfectly natural and quite normal. Basically what we're discussing here are the systems of your body that are involved in the process of building muscle, losing weight etc.
Remember, the point of this blog is to educate as well as equip. So getting back to the systems involved. Before you can lift your arm, bat an eyelid or show an awesome smile, your brain has got to send a signal to your muscles. That uses energy, believe it or not. Training to get a healthy body is going to take many, many signals from the brain to the muscle groups to force them to grow.
Likewise the muscles are going to be pushed beyond their limit, remember homeostasis, in order to grow. So we can see that both of these systems will need time to recover. They both work together and will need to be rested in order for the growth to take place.
Now, getting to the crux of the matter: we will train only three times a week while on this programme and weekends will be off. So we'll train 3 days in the week, if you can manage Monday, Wednesday and Friday that is great, if you work any other 3 days of the week remember that you must train every alternate day and then have two full days off for maximum recuperation.
You may be asking yourself if all of this really is necessary. Yes it is. Research has shown that the body needs about 48 hours to recover and that is provided that proper nutrition is being administered as well. Since we are starting out on our journey and won't be causing serious muscle breakdown for a few months we'll use this train and rest system for now.
As you progress however and get stronger, you will need more time off between workouts but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. With that said, you have enough information now to get you into the gym where you can start to build, break and build again. This is really an exciting journey. It is one that has changed my life and I'm certain it will change yours.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Should Women Lift Weights
Let's dive straight in here and tackle the question that most women are plagued by: if I lift weights won't I get bulky and lose my feminine physique?
The short answer is no. Allow me to expound on this for a minute ladies and hopefully after reading this you will have a new zest for the gym.
A quick study of human muscle tissue will show that there are no major differences between muscles in men and muscles in women. Let me say that again. My wife and I have the same muscle types in our bodies. We're both human and so our physiology is the same.
The reason that men can build big bulky muscle is because of the hormonal difference between men and women. The very substance that makes us different, quite literally makes us different. Men have testosterone which enables us to build big bulky muscle, while women, as you well know, have estrogen which allows female bodies to develop to a certain point and no further.
Just a quick side note here: there are professional female bodybuilders who lift weights and are bulky and those women will tell you that they take testosterone supplements to enable their muscles to develop to that level. So ladies, unless your body decides to start producing large quantities of testosterone, don't be afraid of lifting weights.
Hope that clears up some of the fallacies of weight lifting. Now, on to the reasons why you most definitely should be lifting weights. You're gonna love this. Lifting weights has the following good side effects:
So drop the fear and get back to the gym. Remember to apply the principles of training so that you can progress and not regress. Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
The short answer is no. Allow me to expound on this for a minute ladies and hopefully after reading this you will have a new zest for the gym.
A quick study of human muscle tissue will show that there are no major differences between muscles in men and muscles in women. Let me say that again. My wife and I have the same muscle types in our bodies. We're both human and so our physiology is the same.
The reason that men can build big bulky muscle is because of the hormonal difference between men and women. The very substance that makes us different, quite literally makes us different. Men have testosterone which enables us to build big bulky muscle, while women, as you well know, have estrogen which allows female bodies to develop to a certain point and no further.
Just a quick side note here: there are professional female bodybuilders who lift weights and are bulky and those women will tell you that they take testosterone supplements to enable their muscles to develop to that level. So ladies, unless your body decides to start producing large quantities of testosterone, don't be afraid of lifting weights.
Hope that clears up some of the fallacies of weight lifting. Now, on to the reasons why you most definitely should be lifting weights. You're gonna love this. Lifting weights has the following good side effects:
- It builds lean muscle which is metabolically active ( basically means you're a fat burning machine all day long)
- It strengthens your bones (no osteoporosis for you as you age gracefully)
- It gives you incredible energy (be a mom that can play with her kids:-))
- It will improve your circulation ( healthy bodies make for healthy minds)
- It will make you happy ( endorphin release)
So drop the fear and get back to the gym. Remember to apply the principles of training so that you can progress and not regress. Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
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