The more I see hydrangeas, the more I love them! Such a lovely old-fashioned plant. I can't believe I haven't grown them before! It is so exciting to see the little ones I planted last year blooming. (so exciting they made it through the winter!) I am not certain if this variety is naturally...
-
Herşey Dahil Sadece 350 Tl'ye Web Site Sahibi Ol
Hızlı ve kolay bir şekilde sende web site sahibi olmak istiyorsan tek yapman gereken sitenin aşağısında bulunan iletişim formu üzerinden gerekli bilgileri girmen. Hepsi bu kadar.
-
Web Siteye Reklam Ver
Sende web sitemize reklam vermek veya ilan vermek istiyorsan. Tek yapman gereken sitenin en altında bulunan yere iletişim bilgilerini girmen yeterli olacaktır. Ekip arkadaşlarımız siziznle iletişime gececektir.
-
Web Sitemizin Yazarı Editörü OL
Sende kalemine güveniyorsan web sitemizde bir şeyler paylaşmak yazmak istiyorsan siteinin en aşağısında bulunan iletişim formunu kullanarak bizimle iletişime gecebilirisni
Strength Training for Women: Lift Weights for the Body You Want
By Fitness ve Body Blogçusu at 10:28
exercise, Fitness, Muscle, strength training, Women
No comments
Every single woman should lift weights. Yes, every one of them. I don't care if you're 14 or 72, you can still benefit from strength training.
The media has condemned strength training for women for years, saying that lifting heavy weights will make you appear "bulky" or manly, and that is 100% false. Some women seem to think that a dumbbell heavier than 5 pounds will give them magical giant biceps that appear overnight. I've heard so many celebrity fitness trainers perpetuate this myth and say that women are better off lifting really light weight for more repetitions to "tone" their muscles. First of all, the word "tone" does not mean anything. Our muscles either grow (hypertrophy) or deteriorate (atrophy). We can lose body fat to make those muscle more apparent, but we can't "tone." Lifting light weights for a lot of repetitions will not make you stronger or more toned, so you are effectively wasting your time. There, I said it. If you want to make the most out of your time in the gym, you need to lift heavier weights. Our bodies need to adapt to a stimulus. If we are doing the same exercise everyday (i.e. going on the elliptical for 30 minutes, and then doing 15 minutes of crunches and light dumbbell exercises), our bodies will never adapt.
I can promise you that in my two years of strength training so far, I have never been mistaken for a man!
Now that that's out of the way, strength training has tremendous benefits, specifically for women, who already have less muscle mass than men.
Those with more muscle mass burn more energy (calories) at rest. Yes, you read that correctly. If you have more muscle, you can eat more, because your body simply needs more calories to sustain this extra muscle tissue. "Each day, your body uses more than 35 calories to maintain each pound of muscle, while only 2 calories are needed to sustain a pound of fat (Westcott and Baechle 1998)."
Not only will you burn more calories in the course of the day, it has been proven in several studies (see sources below) that individuals with a higher lean body mass live longer, healthier lives. Strength training obviously makes your muscles stronger, but many fail to realize that lifting weights also strengthens our bones, tendons and our ligaments. If you want to avoid degeneration of your bones (osteoporosis) and connective tissue injuries later in life, strength training is extremely important. "Osteoporosis is partially preventable with adequate amounts of calcium in the diet, along with progressive high-intensity resistance training (Graves and Franklin 2001)." For women who are pre or postmenopausal, strength training is especially important to prevent further loss of muscle tissue.
In addition to the physiological benefits, there are many psychological benefits. Personally, I've proved to myself that I am capable of so much more than I realized. I recently set a deadlift personal record at 275 lbs (2 times my own bodyweight). I never would've dreamed of lifting that much weight. I know too many women who are unable to perform a push-up or a pull-up without assistance, which I believe are two movements everyone should be able to do.
Being a woman is not an excuse for being weak! Step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Make sure you have a friend with you who can make sure you are moving correctly. I promise you, you won't regret it!
Sources:
- "Strength Training during Menopause Offers Multiple Benefits." Human Kinetics. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2014.
- Physical Activity Across Adulthood in Relation to Fat and Lean Body Mass in Early Old Age: Findings From the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, 1946-2010
- Toss F, Wiklund P, Nordström P, Nordström A. Body composition and mortality risk in later life (2012)
Pre-Birthday Weekend Fun with Mom
By Fitness ve Body Blogçusu at 06:07
crowders mountain, elevation, hiking, life, mama, weekend recap
No comments
Mom and I had a lot of fun planned for the weekend. Unfortunately, her Multiple Sclerosis had other plans. I really, really want to complain and tell you how this disease ruins everything, all of the time, for fun things I want to do with my mom. It has been this way 9 years now. Not to mention seeing someone you love so deeply in constant pain. I am not going to do that though, it will not solve anything, and at the end of the day, I am thankful my mom is alive and was able to drive down and stay. At least she is staying an extra couple of days since she can't drive home right now. Silver lining, right?
We went out Thursday evening and had a good time. I was off Friday so we slept late; until 10 AM. Mom woke up and not feeling well so she took her medicine and spent the day vegging on the couch. I went hiking. It was a beautiful, warm day, but the hike was hard. I felt more tired than usual after the long week. Though it was difficult, I pushed to the top. As always, it was worth it!
When I got back from hiking, I was pretty tired and looking forward to just relaxing. However, mama was itching to get out of the apartment. I had been wanting to buy a new bag/backpack to use for hiking since the one I had was crappy and bounced off my butt a lot when I hiked (which is so annoying) so we went to the mall. I found one I loved and a Marvel one at that. My inner comic nerd was elated so I had to have it.
We then picked up a pizza for dinner and a couple of Redbox movies. "Single Mom's Club"; boring, I stopped watching after 45 minutes, but mom liked it. We did not watch "Jack Ryan", which was the one I really wanted to see.
Saturday, we slept really late. Mom had a tough time throughout the night. We finally were up and moving around noon and I decided to take her across the street to this really delicious breakfast restaurant. One can eat brunch at noon, right? Ha. I was craving pancakes something fierce. We needed to go out to get mom medicine anyway. When we get to the restaurant, I find out it is closed down. My luck, right? That's the thing about Charlotte, or any big city sometimes, it is hard to have a favorite restaurant because so many businesses come and go. Since breakfast is served all day at IHOP, we ended up there. The pancakes were really good, but nothing like the restaurant that was across the street from my apartment.
From consuming that amount of carbohydrates for breakfast/lunch, I was really tired after; super full and super tired. We picked up mom's medicine then went back to the apartment. I worked on my book for a couple of hours then went to the gym for 40 minutes of cardio and an upper body weight circuit. Again, it was not the best workout. The gym was too cold - I hate working out and "cold sweating", I hated all of my music, and it was all I could do to push through, but I did. I was over it.
I came back to the apartment, showered, and got decent. I put on my new outfit that we bought Thursday. I am no fashionita and I openly admit it. My style is faded torn jeans and a tank top.
Once I was ready, I went to go run a few errands and pick mom up her favorite Chinese dinner. A "Big Bang Theory" marathon was on and she had her favorite dinner brought to her; she may be sick, but that can help anyone, right? I made myself my favorite green smoothie to detox a little: fresh orange juice, kale, spinach, chia and flax seeds, pineapple, mango, and a green apple.
Then I went and met my girlfriend Alexis and her husband Daniel at the movies to see "Lucy". I have been waiting a while for this movie to come out and it was freaking awesome. I don't know how else to explain it. It was brilliant. It makes you think a lot about how we got here and the power of the human mind.... and how little we know about everything. If you have the chance, go see it! Oh and I scored a free drink. I love my Regal card.
Yesterday I decided to go hiking again. It was a non-lifting day at the gym and I love to workout outside when I have the chance. Back to the mountains I went. It started off as a hard hike. I have been out of it these past couple of days, I admit it. I was bloated, tired, and the weather was so humid and sticky, I couldn't breathe -- we had a big storm earlier in the morning. I debated on turning around many times. The thought of climbing to the top made me cringe. I did not turn around though. I made it to the top and it felt amazing. When I was coming down, I felt energized so I jogged most of the way. Not down the big part of the mountain because I would have killed my knees and fell on my face, but the parts that it was a little more even. I was soaked when I finished and felt really accomplished.
I went home to clean up after and get ready for church. It was the start of "Love Week" and there was a lot of volunteer things going on it. It was also week two of the #DeathToSelfie series. And I have to say, it was one of Steven's most moving services yet. He never ceases to amaze me.
Once church was over, I picked up my mom and she and I went to this really cool restaurant called "Char Bar No. 7". I have driven past it a lot over the years but had never actually dined there. The atmosphere was awesome with live music, an outdoor lounge, and though it was typical "bar food", the menu had a good variety and it was delicious! I had a really good strawberry and mint cocktail. They are just more fun out of a mason jar.
After dinner, we went back to my apartment so I could rest and get ready for the work week. I am thankful it is only 3 days for me. I am ready for a 5 day break!
Time is on Your Side
I had a nice chat with my Dad on the phone yesterday (while running), which has been a long time coming. It's amazing how you can keep thinking that you will call someone "tomorrow" or do something "in a few minutes" and all of a sudden hours, days or weeks slip by. I always thought that people who stated that they were, "SO busy" were just bad at time management. I haven't changed my mind about that completely; I have only just gotten worse at managing my own time.
While studying, I made a list in my head of all the things I have been wanting to do or needing to do in the last few months but have put off in order to study. I have mentioned before, but I was never any good at studying. However, this time, it's my job (and my pride!) on the line, so I am buckling down and trying to get it done. In 10 days, I will have literally HOURS of my life back. I am really, really looking forward to that day.
So I thought I would quickly share my list with you and then get back to studying again (and do another load of laundry, and get my lunch ready for tomorrow, and go set the rat trap in the garage, etc).
- Costco trip
- Pickling veggies (almost out of pickles)
- Trip to REI (need a new headlamp)
- Baking/cooking for fun (not just one pot meals for necessity)
- Get a massage (1 hour of bliss)
- Plan a vacation (well deserved!!)
- Catch up/visit with friends/family (on the phone and in person)
- Go camping (summer is nearly over!)
- Start taking more photos
- Organize my room / files (bought containers; now I just need to use them)
- Go browsing at Barnes and Noble (for hours...)
- Buy a few new tops for work
- READ A BOOK!
When you get busy, what takes a back burner? Is there anything you are looking forward to doing soon?
While studying, I made a list in my head of all the things I have been wanting to do or needing to do in the last few months but have put off in order to study. I have mentioned before, but I was never any good at studying. However, this time, it's my job (and my pride!) on the line, so I am buckling down and trying to get it done. In 10 days, I will have literally HOURS of my life back. I am really, really looking forward to that day.
So I thought I would quickly share my list with you and then get back to studying again (and do another load of laundry, and get my lunch ready for tomorrow, and go set the rat trap in the garage, etc).
- Costco trip
- Pickling veggies (almost out of pickles)
- Trip to REI (need a new headlamp)
- Baking/cooking for fun (not just one pot meals for necessity)
- Get a massage (1 hour of bliss)
- Plan a vacation (well deserved!!)
- Catch up/visit with friends/family (on the phone and in person)
- Go camping (summer is nearly over!)
- Start taking more photos
- Organize my room / files (bought containers; now I just need to use them)
- Go browsing at Barnes and Noble (for hours...)
- Buy a few new tops for work
- READ A BOOK!
When you get busy, what takes a back burner? Is there anything you are looking forward to doing soon?