Tag: weight lifting for women

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Healthy Wife…Happy Life: A Healthy Kind of Sexy

What do you think about when you think SEXY woman? Do you see a younger version of yourself? A magazine model you wish you looked like? Or do you think “we’ll I’m pretty sexy”? I hope its the latter but for most women we constantly analyze our bodies and pick apart every single bit until there is nothing left but negativity. Then try to feel up for bedroom time with the hubby, not!

So no matter where you’re starting in your health seeking journey, the end result can be a healthier and SEXIER you! Why not? Why not feel so good about yourself that you look forward to being in the buff!! I don’t have to tell you that your husband or significant other will be thrilled that you feel so good about yourself that you want to share that excitement. It’s a win-win.

No more stress about having to have sexy time; nope, you’ll look forward to it just as much as your GUY! So this sounds great right? How can you make it happen?

Here is the first time that I’m going to suggest you actually start on a new healthy routine TODAY. I’m not just going to suggest that you think about being healthy, remove negative thoughts and outside factors that are getting in your way, or make room financially for the important stuff. Nope, today I say “start today”. There is no time like the present to start your healthy eating and exercise. So will you automatically feel better, healthier, and sexier on day one? Well this might sound silly but yes, within a few days to a week you will already feel so much better about yourself. Then it’s day by day as you improve your health and YOU WILL FEEL PRETTIER, HAPPIER, SEXIER…just taking the steps will change your whole mindset and its your mindset and thoughts about yourself that matter – not other peoples’ opinions.

Because I don’t want you to delay another day, read these tips to get started now:

  1. Eat 5 balanced meals each day consisting of 40% carbs, 35% protein and 25% fat. Women should aim for 1500-1600 calories and men 2000-2100 calories per day.
  2. Drink a lot of water – way more than 8 glasses a day!
  3. Clean out the junk food and don’t buy more. When it’s time for a cheat meal, go out to eat and don’t bring any home with you. When you keep the junk away there is nothing to tempt you!
  4. Since I mentioned cheat meals, make sure they are just “MEALS” not “DAYS”. You can have 1-2 cheat meals each week. Make them special nights out so you look forward to them.
  5. Eliminate or significantly reduce alcohol consumption. Perhaps have a drink with your cheat meal but then back on the sober bandwagon!
  6. Exercise 5-6 days each week; 2-3 of those days should incorporate 30-45 minutes of strength and resistance training and all of the days should have some cardiovascular training for 30-45 minutes.
  7. Step on the scale just once a week and always the same day and time. I recommend Friday morning before you do any cheat meals over the weekend!

Check in often for tips, recipes, and motivation to keep you on your journey. Start TODAY and the SEXIER YOU is not far away at all!

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Start Hitting the Weights Ladies!

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Want to look good in a bikini? Then start hitting the weights ladies! Above is Stephanie Check competing in her very first NPC Bikini competition. Here she is roughly 105 lbs and trust me…she didn’t get there by doing a bunch of cardiovascular training. She was hitting the weights HARD and HEAVY throughout her entire prep and never did she get big or “bulky” muscles.

One of the most common exercise myths that I come across regularly is that women should avoid lifting “heavy” weights so they don’t get “bulky” muscles. In reality, it’s physiologically impossible for a woman to build large bulky muscles no matter how hard she hits the weights at the gym.

Of course there are certain weight lifting manners and techniques that are more conducive to “bulking up”; however, it all comes down to sex hormones. Men are able to put on bulky muscle mass for one reason only – the male sex hormone- testosterone. Testosterone promotes protein synthesis and increases red blood cell production, which has an anabolic effect on muscle mass and bone density. Women produce very little testosterone and primarily produce the female sex hormone, estrogen. Unfortunately, estrogen is responsible for many unwanted effects on the body such as higher body fat, increased cortisol levels, and fluid retention, as well as decreased muscle mass and bone density; however, by lifting weights women can combat all of these negative side effects that they experience from estrogen.

Weight lifting places stress on your skeletal muscle, tendons, ligaments and bones. Over time, your muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones adapt to this stress to better handle it in the future. One way the body adapts to the stress caused by lifting weights is by reducing estrogen levels and increasing testosterone levels – this is true for both men and women. This does not mean that women will produce testosterone and build big muscles like a man. This simply means that women will experience a small reduction of estrogen and a small increase of testosterone, which results in an increase in: bone density, red blood cell production and metabolism, as well as a decrease in body fat and fluid retention.

Women who lift weights also have a reduced risk for developing heart disease and osteoporosis, which are the top two afflictions women suffer from in the United States today. Every woman can benefit from the health advantages received from regularly engaging in weight training. Just 45-60 minutes of weight training two days per week will greatly increase your physical fitness and decrease your risk for many diseases and disorders.

So to all the females out there who workout regularly…don’t be afraid to lift “heavy” weights for your ability! It’s not going to make you “bulky” and muscular! If it were that easy to get big and muscular I’d be an IFBB Pro Bodybuilder!

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My Top 5 Tips for Weight Management

Justin Check, Fitness Expert

It can be very confusing for someone to manage their weight with all the fad diets, weight loss gimmicks, and nutrition misinformation out there. So I’m going to tell you my top 5 recommendations that you should always follow that will make weight management easier. No tricks or miracle supplements here…just lifestyle habits that yield permanent results!

 

 

“I want to lose weight by eating nothing but moon pies, which have significantly less gravity than earthier foods such as fruits and vegetables.” – Jarod Kintz, I Want

Tip #1

Portion Control– Our bodies require only so many calories and macronutrients at any given time. Everything from gender, activity level, exercise history, muscle mass, and genetic predispositions (just to name a few) dictate one’s daily caloric needs. The easiest way to properly portion your meals is to divide your total needed daily calories evenly across all your meals.

For example, if you need to consume less than 1,500 calories/day to lose weight and you eat 5 meals per day then each of your meals should be no more than 300 calories each. This will not only ensure that you stay under your target calories for the day, but also that your body is burning each meal for fuel and not sending excess calories to fat cells.

Tip # 2

Use MyFitness Pal- The bottom line for losing weight is burning more calories than you consume each day. In order to do this you must keep a food log to track how many calories you’re consuming. There’s a great weight loss tool that I recommend to all my clients called MyFitnessPal. Not only does it roughly calculate your daily calorie needs for you, but it also has an electronic food database with over 2,000,000 food items that you can search and log in your daily diary. By recording everything you eat and drink, you can make sure you stay under your allotted calories for the day and start losing the weight!

Tip #3

Follow the MyPlate Guide-MyPlate was designed by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) to help average Americans manage their weight. The MyPlate nutritional guide helps you to properly balance your calories, make better food choices and develop healthier eating habits. It’s very easy to follow and ensures that you eat a well-balanced diet that satisfies the USDA’s recommendations.

Tip #4

Drink Plenty of Water- The quickest way to add unwanted calories to your daily intake is by drinking sugary, carbonated beverages. Ditch the sodas and all other flavored beverages and replace them with plain water. A general rule of thumb is to drink at least 8 large glasses of water per day, but I recommend at least 1 gallon per day.

Tip #5

Get Plenty of Physical Activity- Exercise not only burns immediate calories, but increases your overall metabolism and caloric needs for the rest of the day. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) recommends that American adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week and 2 or more days of strength training every week. My recommendation is to workout more days/week than not, so a minimum of 4 days/week for at least 60 minutes each.

Forget the fads and one trick fixes. The only way to truly manage your weight is to religiously practice healthy lifestyle habits like the ones mentioned above. You’ll see permanent results, feel good, and know that you’ve earned it!

Feel free to post any questions or comments you have on my Facebook business page: www.facebook.com/checkfitness and be sure to check back frequently for my latest blog articles on NO B.S. FITNESS.