Rich here..hope your enjoying this awesome Friday! I myself can't wait for the weekend since we're looking at the mid-70's outside! (Great time for a run, fellow Hoosiers! LOL) Okay, so today I wanted to post about a common question I get from people and clients alike. Maybe you've been asking this on your journey to getting fit, losing weight, or toning. Ever asked this question:
"Rich, I'm getting stronger, have more energy, and I'm losing inches, but the scale's just not moving..what gives?!?"
Are you going through that? You're working really hard, hitting the weights, running on the treadmill, etc. but when you step on that scale in the morning..ya feel like the works not paying off? Well, I'm here to tell you that it IS working. What you need understand is how body composition, lean muscle, and fat works. See, your body composition is made up of two things: 1.) Your lean muscle, bones, etc. and, 2.) your visceral (or body) fat. These two parts are vital to your understanding if your trying to lose weight, gain muscle..whatever your fitness goal might be. When wanting to lose weight, you must remember the difference between to two, and also understand WHY they are so different. Take a look at this picture below:
As you can see, there really IS a difference. When looking at 5 pounds of body fat (above in yellow) in compared to 5 pounds of muscle (below in red), body fat takes up much more space in the body than lean muscle will. So what does this mean for your goals? This is what I tell my clients: if your noticing your favorite jeans aren't as tight, your arms are toning up, or your feeling more energized, your body is making a change by lowering body fat and adding more quality muscle! I know some of you ladies are saying, "Wait, I don't want to be bulky, Rich!" My answer: don't worry, you won't! First, women don't have the amount of testosterone men to do get huge, and also, for women looking to lose weight, weight training will benefit you greatly. When you add muscle, your metabolism increases; meaning you burn more calories (and as a result, more body fat) than if you were to just hit the elliptical for 30 minutes. In fact, by just adding 1 pound of muscle, you can help you burn 50-60 MORE CALORIES PER DAY! Not a bad deal, huh? And even better, muscle takes up way less space on the body, meaning you will look leaner, more toned, and even burn calories while sitting. (Nothing like burning serious calories while watching, 'Agents of Shield' right?) Look that the picture below. They all weigh the same, but the difference is in their body composition. You can have more lean muscle than body fat, or visa versa, but with lean muscle you will look slimmer and trimmer, burn more calories, and STILL weigh the same..my question to you: which one would you rather have?
We spend way too much time judging our progress on what the scale says, and that's not always the best judge! Weight always fluctuates, and many times it's based on what you eat or drink. Say you eat ate out a lot this past weekend, and then hit the scale the next morning. Oops, the scale went up 2 pounds! Does that mean your training isn't working? No, it just means you had more dense calories that day, and with a little cleaning up of your diet and weight training, you can take that weight right off! So don't let the scale fool you from what's really happening. If you keep on lifting, keep up the cardio (or both at the same time..but that's another post!) your results will come, you'll look great, be leaner, and have the body you were meant to have. That's all for now for this weeks, "Ford Fit Tips" Do you have a question you'd like me to discuss? Leave a comment or send me an email, and I can write on it in the near future..I'll see you next week!
Rich Ford
FordFitness1 Personal Training-Indianapolis
Boot Camp Challenge - Indianapolis
fordfitpt@gmail.com
www.fordfit1.com
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