How to Do a Perfect Push Up

I recently did a guest post on my friend Caitlin Weeks' blog, Grass Fed Girl.  Caitlin is a nutritionist and author of the e-book Mediterranean Paleo Cooking.

In my opinion, the pushup may well be the best upper body exercise a woman can do. This is because it strengthens your chest, sculpts your back, shoulders and arms and tones your abs, butt and legs. Working all those muscles at once burns tons of calories and can even help give “the girls” an extra boost. Yes, ladies, the pushup is the bomb!

Read the rest here.

Age More Gracefully By Lifting Weights

Research shows that between the ages of 30 and 50, we are likely to lose 10 percent of the total muscle in our body.  By the time we are 60 that percentage will double.

To make matters worse, it's likely that lost muscle is replaced by fat over time, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  It was found that even people who maintained the same body weight for 38 years lost 3 pounds of muscle and added 3 pounds of fat per decade.  Not only does this make us look flabby, it increases our waist size.  This is because 1 pound of fat takes up 18 percent more space on our body than 1 pound of muscle.

 

I'm sure most of us can attest to the above.  I know I can!  When I hit my 30's I was shocked when I gained about 17 pounds and couldn't fit into most of my clothes.  After being in denial for a few years, I decided to hire a personal trainer.  That's when I discovered how much I enjoyed exercising and lifting weights.  Also, if I was going to age gracefully I needed to make lifting weights a regular part of my life.

I just recently turned 39 and am more determined than ever to continue lifting weights so I can age gracefully.  Will you join me?

Contact me today for your free consultation.

Tammy Foxx

tammy@tammyfoxx.com

415.317.6827

 

 

 

 

Burn More Calories By Lifting Weights

Lifting weights increases the number of calories you burn while you are sitting at your desk or on your couch.  One reason for this is that your muscles need energy to repair and and upgrade your muscle fibers after each resistance training workout.  A University of Wisconsin study found that after performing a total-body workout comprising of just three big-muscle exercises, metabolisms were elevated for 39 hours afterward.  In addition, a greater percentage of calories from fat were burned during this time, compared with those who did not lift weights.

Even though many feel that jogging burns more calories than weight training, scientists at the University of Southern Maine found that lifting weights burns as many as 71 percent more calories that originally thought.  They calculated that performing just one circuit of eight exercises - which takes about 8 minutes - can expend 159 to 231 calories.  This is about the same number of calories burned by running at a 6-minute mile pace for the same duration.

Contact me today for your free consultation.

Tammy Foxx

tammy@tammyfoxx.com

415.317.6827

Lose 40 Percent More By Lifting Weights

I've just let you in on one of the biggest secrets in fat loss.  You've probably been told that the key to losing fat is aerobic exercise.  While aerobic exercise is very important, weight training has been proven to be far more valuable.

Researchers at Penn State University put overweight people on a reduced-calorie diet and divided them into three groups.  Group 1 did not exercise.  Group 2 performed aerobic exercises three days a week.  Group 3 performed both aerobic exercise and weight training three days a week.  Each group lost about the same amount of weight...21 pounds.  However, Group 3 (the group that lifted weights) lost about 6 more pounds of fat than the other two groups.  Why?  Group 3's weight loss was almost pure fat, while Groups 1 and 2 lost about 15 pounds of fat along with several pounds of muscle.  If you do the math you will see that lifting weights led to a 40 percent greater fat loss.

Other studies have shown that dieters who do not lift weights, on average, 75 percent of their weight loss is from fat and 25 percent is from losing muscle.  Losing that 25 percent may reduce your scale weight, but you will probably not like the way you look.  The term for this is being "skinny fat".  Besides how you will look, you are more likely to gain back more of the fat you lost.  However, weight training will protect your hard-earned muscle and burn more fat instead.

Next week, I will share another reason with you why lifting weights gives you an edge.

Contact me today for your free consultation.

Tammy Foxx

tammy@tammyfoxx.com

415.317.6827

If I Lift Weights Will I Bulk Up Like a Man?

No. Weight training will not make women bulk up…even if they lift heavy weights.

• Women have much lower testosterone levels than men (up to 15-20 times less).  This means they’re not able to gain muscle mass like men.  Testosterone is one of the main hormones involved in muscle growth. 

• The perception that if women lift weights they will bulk up like a man comes from the female bodybuilders we see on the cover of bodybuilding magazines and in competitions.  More than likely these women use anabolic steroids (a.k.a. man-made testosterone), along with other substances to build their large amount of muscle and bulk.

• When women lift weights their muscles are getting toned and not bulking up.  This is essentially bodybuilding without testosterone. Since the testosterone is not present in sufficient amounts, the muscle will develop, but it won’t gain a large amount of mass.  This “toned” appearance comes from removing the fat that is covering a well-developed muscle.

• Muscle bulk comes from a high volume of work. The average women might only spend 3 hours per week in the gym lifting weights.  Whereas female bodybuilders consider weight lifting a part-time job and may spend as many as 20 hours per week in the gym just lifting weights.  The average woman will perform 24-36 reps per body part.  Whereas a female bodybuilder might perform 72-108 reps per body.  This higher volume (72-108 reps) causes considerable muscle damage, which in turn, results in hypertrophy (muscle growth). The considerably lower volume (24-36 reps) will build more strength and cause minimal bulking.

• Bulking up is calorie dependent.  This means if you eat more than you are burning, you will gain weight. If you eat less than you are burning, you will lose weight. Unfortunately, most women perceive any weight gain as “bulking up” and do not give attention to the fact that they are simply getting fatter. Female bodybuilders follow a very strict, regimented, and high calorie eating plan in order to bulk up.

So, Ladies, get off the treadmill and spend some time in the weight room and show those men what you can do!

HOW MANY CALORIES SHOULD I CONSUME PER DAY?

This is a question, I am asked by almost every new client.  A simple strategy is to multiply your desired body weight by 10 to 12.  Then consume that many calories per day.

You determine your multiplier -- 10, 11 or 12 -- by how active you are.  So, if your desired weight is 120 pounds and you work out 5 days a week, you would multiply 120 by 12.  This will give you  a target of 1440 calories per day.  Use your best judgment, and adjust your intake if your are not achieving your desired results.

To ensure you are meeting your calorie requirement, keep a food journal.  For more information about why keeping a food journal is important, refer to my previous blog post "SIX REASONS TO KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL".

If you have any fitness or nutrition questions you would like answered in future blogs, please email them to me at tammy@tammyfoxx.com.

SIX REASONS TO KEEP A FOOD DIARY

1. Account for all those 'little extras'

Many people eat healthily at mealtimes, but snack poorly in between. If you're aiming to lose a pound a week, just a few extras (e.g. a can of coke, a cookie and a packet of potato chips) during the day prevents you from seeing results on the scales.

Writing down everything you eat demonstrates the cost of those 'occasional' nibbles.

2. Know when you can afford to treat yourself

Conversely, keeping track of your food intake over the course of a day or a week gives you the freedom to enjoy a treat every once in a while - guilt-free. If you know you have calories to spare for the day, and no chocolate has passed your lips for six days, you can indulge yourself!

3. Be aware of when you're eating

Keeping a food diary highlights patterns, showing if you overeat at particular times. Perhaps you binge late at night, because you've been eating too little all day. Or perhaps you graze constantly. Keeping a food diary helps you to see if you need to change your habits.

4. Fight 'portion creep'

Those of us who've been dieting or maintaining for a long time often get used to "eyeballing" portions rather than weighing everything out. But if your weight loss has plateaued, or if those pounds are edging back on, keeping a diary means you need to weigh your foods. That "medium" portion of pasta or rice might be bigger than you think.

5. See your habits changing

It can be motivational to look back on a food diary from a few months or even years ago and see how your nutritional choices have changed. Perhaps you've curbed your chocolate habit, or maybe you now eat proper meals instead of junk-food snacks. And if you're having a bad day, flicking back to a "perfect" week in your diary is encouraging: if you did it once, you can do it again!

6. Boost your self-control

Knowing you have to write down everything you eat makes you think twice about that donut, or that second plateful at a buffet. Even if you're the only person who'll see your diary, recording your food intake is a very easy way to improve your self-control.