Fab Five Fit Facts

Things to think about as you embark on getting fit or continue with staying fit…

Strength training is great for fat burning. When you strength train a time or three a week, you increase you metabolism. The calories you burn during and after strength training along with the toning results you see from strength training is well worth the work. Each time you strength train, your muscles are working hard and this creates tiny little tears that require rest for reparation and recovery. Always allow 48 hours or more between strength training sessions to recover and grow stronger and more toned.

Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) do you know what that is or what yours is? It’s a great tool to have in your tool box. Most people’s RMRs are well above 1000 calories per day which means if you were to stay in bed all day and do absolutely nothing you’d burn your RMR amount in calories per day. Some people under eat thus putting their body into a starvation mode and slowing their metabolism. Always be sure to take in plenty of calories per day, by plenty I mean a respectable amount for your activity level.

Why not look at the scale? Have you ever hopped on the scale, you know you’ve been eating really well and working really hard to find that you’ve GAINED weight? Yup, I bet we’ve all been there. Check in with how your clothes are fitting, do your measurements, you’ll find you’re doing a lot better than you thought. You might even want to readjust your goal weight while you’re on your fitness journey, you may realize you’ve shot too low.

Muscle is denser than fat. Going hand and hand with not paying attention to the number on the scale, remember that muscle is denser than fat. Fat takes up much more area in your body so as you begin and continue to tone, you’ll notice your body becomes leaner though the number on the scale may not. Again, pay attention to your measurements.

Strength training at home. Many people think you have to go to a gym to tone up, but really you have everything you need right at home. You can perform push-ups to tone your chest, tricep dips on a chair for the back of your arms, and wall-sits for your thighs, just to name a few. If you like the gym, by all means, go there to get in shape, if you prefer to work out at home, or just don’t find the time to go to another location to workout, there are plenty of strength training exercises you can do at home, even while watching TV!

For answers to your questions, please visit me on my Facebook page at: http://tinyurl.com/LCfitnessFacebook or drop me a tweet on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sLoLCfitness I’m happy to answer any fit questions you have and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll find it for you.

Best of luck in your fitness endeavors!

9/9/9 9 exercises, 9 times, 999 seconds

further description of 9/9/9 exercise suggestion found here at the LC Fitness blog...

9/9/9... try this on for size, 9 squats, 9 seconds rest, 9 wall push-ups, 9 seconds rest, (fill in the sequence with right leg lunges, left leg lunges, tricep dips, bicep curls, crunches, reverse crunches, oblique crunch right, oblique crunch left, swim move, until approximately 999 seconds, any questions let me know!

squats

stand with feet hip distance apart, chest lifted, shoulders back, abs tucked. Sit tailbone back as if reaching for a chair behind you or hovering over a public toilet seat. push through your heels to rise. repeat.

wall push-ups

same stance as squats, but stand in front of a wall. place hands wide on the wall & perform a push up like you would on the floor. if you feel it a lot in your shoulders, stop, widen your hands further, and resume.

lunges

begin with same stance as squats. step one foot out, dip back knee straight down towards the floor (no need to touch the floor, keep some space) with good posture. Check front knee to be sure it does not track forwards, should remain behind your toes. At bottom of the movement, both knees should be at approximately 90 degree angles. rise, repeat. (remember right leg, then left leg for 2nd set.)

tricep dips

sit on a dining room chair, feet hip distance apart. keep your hands right next to your butt. leave the hands where you placed them, slide your tailbone down the front of the chair, rise, repeat.

bicep curls

with or without hand weights, utilize your brain to focus on the work in the biceps. same starting stance as squats. let your arms hang by your sides, palms facing out. squeeze your biceps to lift hands towards your shoulders, lower, repeat.

crunches

lie on your back on the floor or mat, knees bent, feet hip distance apart. pull your belly button towards your spine. Fingertips behind your head, contract abdominals to lift your upper body slightly off the floor, lower, repeat.

reverse crunches

same start position as crunches. lift your feet off the floor until legs are at a 90 degree angle. relax your upper body. contract your lower abdominals to barely lift your tailbone up off the floor, lower, repeat.

oblique crunches

same start position as crunches. lift your upper body like you did with crunches then add a twist bringing your shoulder towards your knee. lower and repeat then switch to the other side.

swim

lie face down on the floor or mat arms and legs out. lift right arm and left leg, switch, repeat.

do a bit of stretching when you finish, and enjoy the feeling of 9/9/9! :)

sloLCfitness.com

What Does "Toning" Really Mean?

"All of us want to "tone" our muscles to achieve a cut, fit look. But what exactly is "toning"? Let me clarify a little: The word "toning" has nothing to do with the size of a particular muscle; it refers rather to making a muscle lean by burning intramuscular fat, and conditioning the muscle for better performance.

You can't actually build muscle mass unless you're eating more calories than you're burning, but you can tone a muscle to make it leaner."

i snagged this information from part of an article posted: http://www.jillianmichaels.com/ you know, jillian michaels, one of the trainers on the biggest loser... she has an online training program too, and provides great info. I went to her site and receive the free emails... Go check it out... if you sign up for her training program instead of mine, i'm cool with that! In fact, I'd love it if you tell me how it goes for you! Thanks. :)

sloLCfitness.com