Strickland Fitness

If you are like most, the thought of “bulking up” from lifting weights while trying to lose weight is scary. Well let me be the one to ease your worries. It is very hard to bulk up. Most body builders need twice as much time to put on half as much muscle weight than others need to lose in body fat. To gain a lot of muscle or bulk up, you need to lift very heavy weights and consume more calories than normally needed. Lifting weights will help you to lose body fat. In fact, it is essential.

For people who are trying to lose weight: When we lift weights, we burn calories. When we burn calories, we burn fat calories. When we burn fat calories, we lose weight. Of course, it’s not that easy. This is what happens over time. Lifting weights also puts on lean muscle. This lean muscle continues that fat burning process because fat burns in the muscle. So the more muscle you put on, the more fat you burn.

Don’t be afraid of bulking up while weight lifting. Unless that is what you are trying to do, it is much harder than you think. Don’t forget, if you are not eating healthy, you are already working against yourself.

Is it ok to take time of off working out?

Yes. It is definitely ok to take some time off. You do not want to over train. Rest is good, but active rest is better. If you need a break to rejuvenate, walk or ride a bike outside. After a week of active rest, you can go back to the gym feeling refreshed and ready to hit it hard again.

Do I really need to eat breakfast?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! After a night of sleep, your body needs the energy to start the day. That energy comes from food. Eating a healthy breakfast will spark your metabolism.

I hear that eating small meals every couple hours is better than eating 3 meals a day. Is that true?

Very true. Just like breakfast, you need to ignite your metabolism. Eating every couple hours will keep giving your body energy. If you give your body energy in the form of healthy food, it will not rely on fat for energy. Therefore, it will not feel the need to store fat for energy.

If I eat every couple hours, won’t I be eating too many calories.?

You will not be eating too many calories if you take your goal for total daily caloric intake and divide it up between all the meals.

How much rest do I need between workouts?

You need 24 -48 hours of rest between heavy workouts. Time is needed to repair muscle fibers. Most muscle growth happens during rest, not during the workout.

Which is better to drink during a workout, a sport drink or water?

Water is generally better to drink. Most sport drinks have a lot of sugar and more calories than you would think. If you are trying to lose weight, hydrate yourself with water rather than 250 empty calories. If you need a little flavor, just add some lemon or orange slices to your bottle of water.

A good way to condense a workout without minimizing results is to train your whole body at the same time. It’s also a great way to raise your heart rate so you can get a little cardio training in there as well. There are many exercises you can do which work your upper body, lower body and core all at once. I will go over a couple of these body blasting exercises.

Squat plus military press

You will need a pair of dumbbells that you can lift over your head 10-12 times. If you are trying to add size, add a couple pounds to the dumbbells.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart (feet should be pointing straight forward) and hold the dumbbells at your shoulders with your palms facing inward towards your body. Lower yourself into a squat. Your hips should go backwards as if you were going to sit in a chair. Keep your back straight and stop when your knees hit 90 degrees or you feel your upper body starting to lean forward. Now rise to the standing position while extending the dumbbells above your head. Your palms should rotate outward while you lift the weight. The ending position should be you standing straight with the weight in full extension above your head. The spine should be in a neutral position with no arch in your back. Bring the weight back to the front of the shoulders and repeat. Do 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Birpie to jump squat

You will not need any weights for this exercise. From the standing position, bend down until your hands reach the floor (you can bend your legs if needed to reach the floor). With your hands on the floor, kick your legs back in one fluid motion until you are now in the push up position. Be sure to keep your abs strong when your feet hit the ground as to not let your back hyper extend. Do a push up. You can also do a knee push up if needed. Immediately jump your legs forward to the starting position (you should now be squatting down with your knees bent and your feet and hands next to each other on the floor). Now explode out of this position jumping as high as you can extending your arms over your head. This whole movement should be smooth and uninterrupted. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.

So I have decided for my upcoming wedding, I am going to put on a few pounds of muscle. My shape is good, but I want to be ripped in my tux. I don’t want to look like Arnold in “True Lies” or anything, but a bigger James Bond is my goal. I am going to blog a few of my muscle building workouts to keep everyone posted of my work and progress.

My basic regime will consist of a high calorie low fat diet, 3-4 days of sprints in the pool, and 3 hard workouts a week. My metabolism is pretty fast so I have to be very careful of not losing weight in the whole process. Stress can be a huge factor when it comes to fitness goals, so plenty of rest and a peaceful wedding planning will be a must. My fiancé is the perfect partner so I should be well on my way on that side. The rest will be up to me.

If you have some goals you are working towards and you want some tips, email me. I will post your goals (keeping you anonymous of course) and the tips to go with it. I can also post your ongoing progress to help keep you accountable.

Why do we give up on our goals? Why do we put aside all of our hard work because the end results just seems too far away? Sometimes the gratification we are looking for only comes when the final product is established. Wouldn’t it feel great to have that gratification all the time? How do we get that when it comes to our fitness goals? The answer is setting short term goals for long term success!

If you want to lose 20 pounds, make that your semi-long term goal. Your long term goal should be to keep it off. Make losing 5 pounds your short term goal. After you lose that, make 5 more pounds your next goal. You will feel the gratification of reaching each goal giving you the determination to keep going. Losing all 20 pounds will come with your continuous hard work and persistence. You will also not have the feeling that the 20 pounds is too far away and it is taking too long.

Another great tool for your fitness goals is to keep a log of everything you are doing towards your goal. Whether it’s losing weight, gaining muscle, or just maintaining your already achieved success, log it. If your goal is to lose weight, write down what you are eating, drinking, your cardio, and your resistance workouts. That way you can go back and see what has been working for you or against you. If you put on a few pounds and you don’t know how, you can go back into your log and see what you were doing. This will keep you accountable for your results. This will also make you want to do more towards your goals so you can write it down.

When I ask a client how many calories they think they take in per day, the answer they give me is usually far less than the actual number. I ask them to write down everything they put into their mouth for a few days and then I count the calories. They actually are taking in almost 500 more calories than they thought. Their nutrition changes immediately. You can make fewer calories a day your short term goal. The long term goal will come with it automatically.