Strong Girls

CFU highlighted a common complaint in their post the other day that I want to repost and expand on here, because it is THAT important.

Jenna is one strong gal! To all the ladies out there ask yourself if Jenna is stronger than you. You probably said yes. Now ask youself if Jenna is bigger than you. You probably said no. Now guess how she got so strong. Hopefully you said by lifting very very heavy weights and if you did you would be right.

Why am I bringing this up? I keep hearing ladies say "I know my body and if I lift heavy, I get big".Wrong! if you lift heavy you get strong…bottom line. If you eat to get big, then and only then will you get big. Lifting heavy actually aids in losing fat. So gals, if you want to sit down and go over the science behind this come ask me. Otherwise just take my word for it and start lifting heavy with no worries! And an added bonus is that strong girls are sexy!

Understand two things: 1.You are what you EAT 2. You cannot work off what you EAT

Food is an important part of your training regimen and how you eat will determine how you look, feel and perform. Your muscles are fueled by something called glycogen and this glycogen is basically sugar in your muscles that gives the muscle fibers energy to contract. Everything that you do to workout is based around this glycogen and after your workout everything is based around getting the glycogen back and strengthening those muscle fibers. If you lift heavy and eat clean you will get strong and lean, however if you lift heavy and eat crappy you will get some strong and lots of big. What I often hear and see is "I will eat crappy today and run it off tomorrow". Technically yes you could eat a 5000 calorie meal and do a workout the next day burning 5000 or more calories however realistically this will not happen (unless you are Michael Phelps). More important than calories there is an associated hormonal response which occurs from your food. When you eat an unbalanced high fat/carb meal it spikes blood sugar and throws off your hormonal balance and shifts from using fat as the primary fuel source (ideal) to glycogen as the primary fuel source. This explains why some people work out intensely and still complain about stubborn belly fat… change your fuel and you will change your fitness.

And yes, strong girls ARE sexy. Keep up the lifting ladies J

Nutritionize!

Ritu

UPCOMING EVENTS: Nutrition Seminar @ Crossfit Unlimited – Saturday April 17 – 10am

This seminar is open to all and is free! Come learn how simple tweaks to your nutrition lifestyle can maximize your performance and help you look and feel better.