Fitness Fabulousophy: 04/01/2013 "Do it For Me!"

Me in a bathing suit? Not hardly… least not this summer… but next year, you might just be seeing a little cheek! However, to do that I have to lose weight and build back muscle tone. Muscle is what gives tone and shape to your body and helps you look great in that bathing suit! Also remember that muscle is more dense than fat. It looks tighter, firmer, and healthier on your body than the same number of pounds of fat. So what is the best way to do it? Strength training through weights!

Now I know you are thinking, “I don't want to look like an Amazon”... no worries, the only women that achieve that status, set the bar to do so, and according to AOL Health, usually have to seek chemically induced assistance, as women do not normally make enough testosterone to get that big. I think you are safe!

So how do we get started? In general, to tone and shape up, the weight training can be in the form of actual weights or weight machines, or by using resistance bands or even your own body weight as in push-ups, pull-ups(yeah, I know right?). The important thing though is to push your muscles to the point of fatigue, until you can’t go any further.

How much strength training it takes to put on muscles varies from person to person, but it is recommended to begin with enough weight so that you can only do 8 to12 repetitions. If you can't quite do 8, then you need to use less weight. Do two sets of 8 to 12 repetitions three times a week. Another great thing about building muscle is that it can actually help you lose body fat. Now the  information I am relaying to you I obtained on my first visit to Private Workout, the gym I just joined, or from their website. I am just getting started, and would strongly urge checking with your physician before trying anything suggested here. I myself am under a physician managed weight loss program, as well as having incorporated the help of the gym and trainer services. So there... I have issued my obligatory disclaimer… we are good to go!

 I am enrolled in a "circuit weight training" program, which means I have 30 minutes to complete my entire workout, which involves an estimate of about six rooms of equipment( I didn't count on the first visit, so again this is an estimate). I go in a room, adjust the weights to my program, do my reps, change the weights, do another set of reps, then I have to move on to the next room and next set  of equipment... and I mean you have to go! There is this big booming voice that comes over the speaker GO!GO!GO! There is no time to waste, you keep moving.! I really like it, and though I am not very coordinated yet... I will get there!

Along with strength training,  proper nutrition is crucial in obtaining muscle. Protein is especially important in providing the fuel muscles need to repair themselves after a workout. Though body building is not our goal, I did find some important information on nutrition, supplements and goals setting at Bodybuilding.Com.  You can get more details from their website under the article New Year, Start Here: 7-Day Beginner Trainer. The link to the article is listed at the end of the blog. Here is a list of things I pulled from this article.  I have named it the “ Do it For Me” list:

“Do it For Me”

1. Write down your daily goals.

2. Sleep 7-8 hours.

3. Drink at least 6 glasses of water.

4. Include protein in each of your meals. 

5. Eat veggies at every meal.

6. Track your fitness and diet.

7. Go for a 20-minute walk.

8. Avoid crap foods.

9. Make a protein shake

10. Find a training partner or join a community program.

12. Pick your program and stay focused.

 

I have had a few people ask me recently why I am all of sudden committed to lifestyle changes that I have rebelled against my whole life. I loved my cigarettes and I loved my diet cokes. I hated exercise and I hated dieting. I hated people telling me that I needed to give it all up and to make healthier choices. So now I have had a complete mental breakdown, and have gone to the other side, and I will tell you why.

I was getting so heavy that I was considering bariatric surgery; the gastric-sleeve procedure to be exact. A $13,500 surgery, where 75% of your stomach is removed, your food is digested through a sleeve of an opening, so to speak. I have friends that had the surgery with much success, and claim they would do it again in a heartbeat. I was sold. My insurance would cover it, and my portion of the cost would be $3750. I would have to meet pre-surgery criteria mandated by the insurance company, to consist of three months of nutritional classes, a sleep study, psychiatric evaluation, physician evaluation, lab work up, cardio-stress testing, and EGD performed for stomach ulcer testing, giving up soft drinks, and I had to quit smoking. After all of the criteria had been met, the surgery could be scheduled. 

I scheduled all the appointments to meet the pre-surgery criteria. I stopped buying soda, I quit smoking, and two months into my appointments, and handing over copay, after copay, after copay, I just started questioning the whole thing, and had doubts. I started asking myself, “Before you go to this extreme, can you really say that you ever made a concerted effort to better your health on your own? An effort that encompasses all that it takes, to say you really tried?” Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a wonderfully remarkable procedure and I am all for it, should I fall flat on my face! I just know me better than anyone else… I know that if I do not try to make these changes on my own, and give it 200%, I will not feel good about myself. 

Something about giving up the smoking empowered me too. I decided to not to have the surgery. Instead, I am taking the money for  the surgery, and the money saved from my smoking cessation, and investing it in me!  The money I saved from the cigarettes alone pays for my club membership, and any supplements or occasional extra personal training sessions, and the money I save from the surgery, will go toward any other expense that I might incur toward my positive changes... hopefully smaller clothes!

Okay… there is my story. Enough said, except that eventually I think we just have to change the way we think about things. As you get older, you finally realize that long lasting effects do not materialize from "quick fixes". We have to quit being stubborn and give in to the truth! The term "giving in" generally gives off a negative vibe, but in certain instances can actually be proactive. Sometimes what we give into can make us better and stronger! I am feeling great about my choices. It is not going to be a piece of cake, and I know I will fall down, but guess what? God gave me two legs to get back up on, and two hands to dust myself off. Sooo... stay tuned my friends... its going to be a bumpy ride, but it will definitely be interesting! God is always with me, how could it be anything less than interesting and totally amazing!  

  ~Gina~ 

 

Links: 

 

“New Year, Start Here: 7-Day Beginner Trainer”

  

AOL Health

Body Builder Website

Private Workout

*** Friends, please, please check with you physician before starting or taking on any new diet or exercise program. Thank ya much!