fat loss

Why Spot Reduction is a Myth

Most newbie clients come to me wanting to spot reduce. They would say, “I want to get rid of this!” while pointing to a specific area of fat on their body. My response: If only we can! I would be a rich woman......

Spot reduction is a claim that if you target a certain area of your body when working out, then that specific area will reduce in body fat. For instance, doing a bunch of crunches will eliminate the fat from your abs. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

There have been many studies done on this subject, showing that resistance training on one specific area actually ends up giving off a generalized fat loss all over your body. In a recent study done by University of Connecticut, participants completed a 12-week resistance training program where their non-dominant arm was exercised - but not the other. They measured their subcutaneous body fat before and after the program and results showed that only overall fat loss occurred, and none specifically in the arm!

The reason? The fat in the fat cells are known as triglycerides and our muscle cells cannot use these triglycerides as fuel. Therefore, the fat must be broken down into fatty acids that enters the bloodstream. This means that the fat broken down can come from anywhere in the body, not just the area you exercised!

So then, you ask...why do we target specific areas when using weights? Why bother doing bicep curls or squats, if fat loss can be from anywhere?

The reason is that even though we can't lose fat from a specific place, we CAN build muscle there! There is no such thing as “being toned” - it is actually just having your muscle pop out after building them! So we need to do some resistance training to build muscle so it can show that defined look you want.

Of course, you still have to have a good diet to get the look you want. However, not everything is about caloric restriction- you want to make sure your metabolism is at a good place before you start cutting calories for fat loss. Otherwise, you can't sustain it for the rest of your life!

Need help with fat loss and muscle gain? Talk to Helen and she can help you get on the right track!


Why Eating Less Can Cause You to Store More Fat

A common problem I see with female clients is that the minute they want to lose weight, they cut calories drastically. And by drastic, I mean anything under 1200 calories is way too low, if you are over 5 feet tall. What makes me crazy is that there are articles out there saying “1200 calories” is the perfect amount for many people – that make no sense! Everyone has different metabolisms.

But, at the same time, I get it. I went through this myself — if you want to lose weight, you create a caloric deficit. You can do this by eating less or working out more. Some people choose to do both at once (which I don't recommend but that's a whole other topic).

However, when you eat less than ideal for your body weight, the problem most people run into is that after a certain amount of time, it slows down your metabolism. Your body is smart- it is always trying to be efficient and saving energy. If you eat a lot, your body is like, “Hey! Food is plentiful so we can keep using the energy stores!” But if you eat less, your body thinks, “Oh crap, survival mode so let's slow down the metabolism to store the energy as fat for later!”

How do you know when you are eating too little? Some potential signs:

  1. You don't feel hungry a lot. When your metabolism is slow you don't feel as hungry as frequently or at all. (Keep in mind you can also eat too MUCH and never feel hungry so this is varied from person to person).

  2. You workout frequently and feel tired. If you are active (do some physical activity everyday) but you feel tired a lot, then your body is telling you you may not be eating enough.

  3. You track your foods and are under 1200 calories a day.

How to Change Your Metabolism to Lose Fat

  1. Lift heavy weights with compound movements with appropriate rest intervals.

  2. Lift consistently – at least 2-3 times a week.

  3. Eat enough calories to support your heavy lifting. On days you lift, you should definitely be upping your calories with healthy carbs and protein.

  4. Get your calories up to a decent amount before cutting. Decent amount should be at least over 2500 calories for a woman. (Yes ladies, I am blowing your mind that you can eat this much and not gain weight). This strategy is called reverse dieting.

  5. Get a trainer to help customize the best food and training program for your goals.

Contact Helen to help you with changing your metabolism to a roaring one, to a point where you can burn calories while sitting on your butt at work! Email HelenLinFitness@gmail.com for your free phone consultation today.

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Why Cardio Sucks For Fat Loss

Want to lose Fat? Stop doing a bunch of cardio!


Are you someone who wants to "tone" and lose fat but spend your time running or doing a bunch of cardio and wondering why the fat is not coming off? Diet of course is important but also understand what you are telling your body when you do cardio all the time. 

CARDIO SUCKS FOR LONG TERM FAT LOSS.

Cardio is great for cardiovascular health.  It is great for improving your endurance.  But it is not going to build you muscle, aka the "toning" you desire.  When women want to "tone", what they really mean is they want to build muscle.  

Our body is a great machine that is good at any adaptation that we throw its way.  When you do a lot of cardio, you are sending an adaption signal to be good at endurance and you don't need a lot of muscle for endurance.  In fact, what happens is over time with excessive cardio, your body starts to store fat.  

Believe me, I was a marathon swimmer- I swam for 3-6 hours in the ocean or pool (5-6 days a week) and not lost a single pound - and my body composition looked the same.  My body had no reason to lose fat because as it adapted, it became more efficient to swim long distances which means it got easier and my body was not using much energy to do it.  

So what's the answer? RESISTANCE TRAINING.  When you do resistance training, you are now sending a whole different signal to your body to BUILD muscle.  

Why build muscle? It increase your resting metabolic rate! Even though side by side, an hour of cardio burns more calories than an hour of weight training, but every pound of muscle you gain you increase your resting metabolic rate by about 50 calories a day.  That's your body burning calories by doing nothing.  

For your cardiovascular health, keep your cardio to twice a week for 30 minute sessions.  Your daily movement can count towards your cardio.   Or a walk around the block with your dog.   But no need to spend 60 minutes on a treadmill each day.  Do resistance training 2-3 times a week is way more beneficial than a daily run (if your goal is to lose fat).  

As you build muscle and have a proper nutrition that goes with it, your body composition will change.  But the scale can go up or down depending on a variety of factors- sleep, diet, carbs (holds water), stress, and/or your workout.   You CAN LOSE WEIGHT AND NOT LOSE ANY BODY FAT!  You can also see an increase in scale when you start to build muscle as well.  That's why it's beneficial to work with a trainer who can help you monitor all these different aspects since the scale is very deceiving when you start doing resistance training.  

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WHY WOMEN SHOULD STRENGTH TRAIN - Benefits of Lifting Heavy Part 2

WHY WOMEN SHOULD STRENGTH TRAIN - Benefits of Lifting Heavy Part 2

Last blog discussed the mental hurdles women have to get through to show up in the weight room.  This issue I will discuss the benefits of strength training for everyone, no matter what stage of fitness you are at. 

Are you someone in any of these categories? 

1) Trying to Lose Weight / Change Body Composition - I'm sorry to break it to you but cardio sucks at changing body composition.  Any new stimulus will change your body in the beginning but cardio sends an adaption signal to your body and not muscle building, which means overtime, your body will adapt to any cardio you throw at it.  Women always tell me they want to "tone" their body; that toning is muscle and to build muscle you need to strength train.  

2) Improve Athletic Performance -  Most athletes know that strength training increases power, agility and even endurance. Yes, even endurance athletes need strength training to improve their performance. 

3) Prevent Injury - Everyone has muscular imbalances.  Whether you sit at a desk all day or are a fitness addict, strength training will correct those imbalances from bad posture to overuse from your athletic pursuits.  
  
4) Combating or Recovering from Illness - Exercise helps speed recovery from illnesses and diseases and strength training is necessary to get your body back in proper range of motion and mobility.  Cancer, Parkinson's, Ehlers-Dahlos...all need some sort of strength training program. 

5) Improve Quality of Life / Combat Aging - We ain't getting younger but we can feel like we are! Improve your mood, libido, sleep and overall daily function.  From personal experience, everyday I strength train, I feel stronger and younger.  If you have kids, you want to be able to pick them up without pulling your back, or even move furniture around with having to pop an ibuprofen after.  

Strength Training doesn't have to some long, tedious, scary-looking workout in a weight room at a gym with huge dudes.  To start, you can do it in the comfort of your own home with bodyweight exercises or something like a TRX.   As a trainer, I will always recommend doing the major compound movements with a barbell but if you really can't get to the gym, I recommend getting a TRX and doing some basic movements I will outline in my newsletters or on my Facebook page.  Once the TRX becomes too easy for you for resistance levels, then you can consider getting some weights or maybe get to your nearest gym!

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WHY WOMEN SHOULD STRENGTH TRAIN - Benefits of Lifting Heavy Part 1

WHY WOMEN SHOULD STRENGTH TRAIN - Benefits of Lifting Heavy Part 1

Culturally, women do cardio and men lift weights. For whatever reason this divide happens at every gym, and it wasn't really until Crossfit came along that they did a good job of making lifting seem cool to women.  Now we are seeing more women in the weight room, but it is still in the minority compared to men.  

Popular reasons for women not wanting to strength train:
1) Boredom.  Women often find the same lifts boring and can't stay excited to do it.

2) Lack of Education.  Women often don't understand the full benefits of why they should do it.  "Running is good enough for my health" or "These group exercise classes I do are enough fat burning for my health." 

3) Gym-timdation.  Women often find  the scary looking weights/machines intimidating to approach.  And they have no idea how to use them.  Not to mention the dudes who are grunting in the corner and women are worried the guys are judging or trying to hit on them.
  
4) Becoming The Hulk.  Women think you lift heavy and BOOM you become The Hulk.  Ladies, those images of shredded women you see take YEARS of training 5-6 times a week and they most likely take drugs.  

Once I became a trainer, I feel like I learned a secret that most women don't know:

Strength Training is the answer to everything. 

Do you want to...

Look sexier and feel more confident? Strength Train
Decrease bone loss as you age? Strength train
Combat and recover from disease and illness? Strength train
Pick up your toddlers or move furniture around without pulling your back out? Strength train
Increase your sex drive? Strength train
Do better at your sport without injury? Strength train
Feel more alert and creative at work? Strength train
Sleep better, improve mood and live a longer life? Strength train


You say, "Well my life is great now, I don't need it! How do strength training solve all these problems anyways?"  Tune into the next blog to find out!

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