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The picture (left) is a replica of 5lbs of Fat (the yellow mass) and 5lbs of Muscle (the red mass). Since fat takes up a lot more space than muscle, you can see how you could gain 5lbs of muscle and lose 5lbs of fat and actually be smaller even though the scale says you weigh the same.
It is important to understand what your body goes through when you begin an exercise program. This is also why we now have the InBody 320. A standard scale does not effectively measure FAT LOSS, only overall weight.
THE NEED FOR MORE MUSCLE Most women will say they don't want to "BULK UP", but the truth is, most women couldn't even if they tried. Others say they will start lifting weights once they lose some weight first, but lifting weights speeds up the metabolism helping you to lose weight faster. This is why you need to increase your lean muscle mass.
Women lose about 10lbs of muscle every decade. One pound of muscle burns 6 calories a day where a pound of fat only burns 2 calories a day. This is why your metabolism slows down when you lose muscle and speeds up when you increase lean muscle tissue.
HOW TO GET RID OF CELLULITE
Cellulite is basically clumps of enlarged fat cells in supported loose skin. Like a deflated water balloon that becomes bumpy and unshapely, fat is more noticeable when more body fat is gained and muscle is lost. As you lose fat and gain muscle, the clumps will reduce in size and the skin will appear smoother and more firm.
The appearance of cellulite can actually APPEAR to increase in the beginning of a diet program just because as you lose fat, your skin is a little looser than it use to be when it was packed with fat. Eventually your body will catch back up, lose the excess skin and gain the muscle needed to make everything look great again. So, if you were getting worried because your skin was kind of soft and mushy, when it once was firm - even if it WAS from fat!...don't be scared. It's just a phase and your body will change.
HOW TO PRESERVE MUSCLE It is important you not only weight train, but you eat to maintain lean muscle mass. Your body treats muscle as a luxury and fat as a necessity. If you don't eat enough, your body will use your muscle for energy. This means you will lose lean muscle mass and, in return, your metabolism will slow down making it even more difficult to lose weight.
1. Eat 5-6 times a day in order to keep your metabolism up. 2. Make sure you are getting enough protein. Women who lift weights want to eat approximately .5 -.75gms of protein per pound of ideal body weight. If you want to be a 140lb lean woman, you would take in about 70-105 grams of protein in order to promote muscle growth and help healing from training. 3. This is for all of you that are addicted to crash diets. Try slowly reducing your calories each week in order to maintain the lean mass and a high metabolism. In other words, don't go on a unrealistic starvation diet which will not only make you miserable, but you'll be more likely to burn valuable muscle. For example, a bodybuilder will cut his calories a little each week in order to be as lean as he or she can while maintaining the most muscle mass. If you cut calories too drastically, you may be shooting yourself in the foot. 4. Don't be afraid to lift HEAVY!! You must challenge your body to improve. Remember, women can't build muscle as easily as men so DON'T WORRY!
WEIGHT TRAINING In our opinion, diet is by far the most important part of losing weight, then burning calories and then weight training. BUT, a combination of all is ultimately the best and the most effective for weight loss.
COMMON MYTHS ABOUT WEIGHT TRAINING:
Crunches will give me a six pack. They may, but if you aren't eating right and doing enough cardio to lose your body fat, you may never see them. Most of the time, the answer to the "pooch" is cardio and reducing your calories.
Weights will make me look like a man. Only if you take testosterone. Most women don't have enough testosterone to promote masculine muscles. Weight training will actually help you slim down when combining it with diet and aerobic activity.
Lifting weights makes you gain weight. Well, muscle does weigh more than fat, but it also burns more calories than fat. In the beginning, you may have a temporary weight gain, probably for the water we retain in the muscles (which actually makes our muscles feel firm). Don't stress about that. In the long run, it is SO much more beneficial to add weights to your program.
You should lift light and a lot of repetitions. You should exhaust the muscle no matter how many repetitions you do. It doesn't matter if you are lifting 10lbs and doing 100 repetitions, if you never reach exhaustion then you are not working the muscle effectively. Normally the standard is 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions for upper body and 15-18 for lower body. No matter how many repetitions you choose to do, the last 3-5 should be extremely difficult. Just think of it like this: A pianist can't play the same piece over and over and get better. They must attempt harder pieces in order to improve. In the same way, you must challenge your body in order for it to improve and change.
NOW - CHECK OUT OUR MEMBERS BEFORE & AFTERS! They want to encourage you. They all say, "If we can do it, you can too!"
BEFORE & AFTERS AND TESTIMONIALS _________________________________________
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