Hugo Rivera New Site » Women’s Bodybuilding and Fitness

Do Women Only Need Cardio to Lose Weight?

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:46:53 +0000

This is a big myth that has plagued women in their efforts to lose weight! The truth is that while cardio can definitely help you lose weight and get into great shape, it is only one piece of the puzzle.

Now what I am about to say may come as a shock to many, but pay close attention because it is the truth!

Believe it or not, while cardiovascular exercise is a good tool to burn some extra calories and get in great cardiovascular shape, it does nothing to increase your body’s metabolism permanently or to help you tone your physique! If you want to create a state of metabolic momentum, weight training needs to be your main exercise along with some aerobics used as a supplementary exercise that enhances your cardiovascular system, your recovery from your weight training workouts and also increases your caloric expenditure.

It has been scientifically proven that subjects who embark on programs of this nature lose much more weight than those who just embark in an aerobics only program.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH?

As much as three times more body fat is actually lost during a program that combines weight training with aerobics! And on top of that lean muscle, which serves to give your body shape and also to increase your metabolism, is gained at the same time!!!!

People who only diet and do aerobics end up as a skinnier fat version of themselves. Because no weight training was done, muscle is lost and as a result the metabolism slows down. Thus, when people who fall in this category increase their calories a bit, they start to regain the weight. And as a result, their body never looks hard and fit.

However, consider the people that do embark on a program composed of weight training with some aerobics at the end. Performing the aerobics after the weight training will dramatically increase fat loss since the weight training will burn off most of the glycogen (stored carbohydrates) and thus, the only fuel source available to the body will be fat. In addition, as the weight gets lost, muscle is gained, which in turn not only increases the metabolism permanently, but also tones up the body. As you gain more muscle, your body shape gets better and fat loss becomes even easier since your metabolism is getting faster. When you reach your weight loss goal, maintaining the shape is easy since the metabolism will be operating in high efficiency! So as you can see, muscles are your best fat fighting allies and they are the key to permanent weight loss (Fat Extinction!). In addition, you will sport the hard looking and lean physique you have always been dreaming off.

Click Here for a Free Weight Loss Report

Using the 10 Sets of 10 Reps Natural Bodybuilding Workout for Women

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:47:19 +0000

In this article I talk about why10 sets of 10 reps natural bodybuilding workouts can also be used by women who are looking to get in great shape and even compete in figure competitions!

This week I answered the following natural bodybuilding question from a woman that is looking to use the 10 sets of 10 reps natural bodybuilding workout in order to get in great shape for her next figure competition:

I have started the natural bodybuilding workout you advise with the 10 sets of 10 reps. My legs and glutes are screaming after the leg workout. When I first looked at the workout I thought that it was too few exercises and I would not see results. Boy was I wrong!

How can that be though? When I look at what you have planned for Back and Chest, it just does not seem like it would hit all of the areas required to gain substantial muscle as a figure competitor. Usually for shoulders and back day I complete 6-7 exercises per muscle group. Why is this and do you recommend this program for a figure competitor?

Natural Bodybuilding Answer:

There are two reasons why the 10 sets of 10 reps workout routine works.

The exercises chosen are multi-jointed exercises that target the majority of the muscles of the area being trained. For example, for the Quadriceps routine, exercises like the Squats and Lunges pretty much stimulate all of the leg muscles.
The nervous system and the muscles are completely shocked by having to perform the same movement repetitively over and over again for 10 sets of 10 reps with limited rest in between sets. This shock in turn leads the body to super compensate by increasing the size of the targeted muscle fibers.

How to Target All Muscles

The key to a complete physique is to have a balanced development of all muscle groups. Because the 10 sets of 10 reps routine makes use of basic exercises that target the majority of the fibers from the muscle group being worked on, you will achieve balanced development. In addition, a technique I recommend to more advanced athletes, is to change the exercise used every time you workout as well. So for example, if in your last leg workout you used squats with a medium stance, the next workout you can use lunges, and the next one squats with a wide stance, etc. This not only provides further variety to the body (thus providing even more shock to the muscle) but it also helps to further ensure balanced development.

Is There Any Value to Multi-Angular Natural Bodybuilding Workout Routines?

For the bodybuilding, figure and fitness competitors I do advocate switching to multi-angular routines at a later training phase, just because the body thrives on change and multi-angular training will provide such change by stimulating growth from multiple angles in one workout. Especially 16 weeks out from a contest, I certainly recommend training with multiple angles in order to keep ensuring balanced development.

Final Verdict

For off-season/mass building training, few bodybuilding workout routines can beat the muscle mass building capacity of the 10 sets of 10 reps method. So if you are a figure competitor that is looking to put on some quality muscle size, I absolutely recommend it this workout! And for women who are just looking to firm up quickly and who have been training for at least a year, I recommend it as well!

Women's Fitness Topics and How To Use Natural Bodybuilding for Body Sculpting

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 08:42:48 +0000

In this article I discuss several women’s fitness topics and how to use natural bodybuilding for body sculpting.

The interview below on women’s fitness topics and how to use natural bodybuilding for body sculpting was performed by Randy Featherston of KBJS 90.3 FM in Jacksonville, TX when I appeared on his morning show and talked about women’s fitness topics. Items that we covered were differences in a woman’s training program, the biggest mistake that women make when they decide to lose weight, diet programs and the importance of supplementation. Because I figured that the content of this interview would be most helpful to my women readers, I decided to summarize the interview and create a transcript of the most important items that were discussed.

Interview on Women’s Fitness and How to Use Natural Bodybuilding for Body Sculpting

Randy Featherston [RF]: Today we have national best selling fitness author and bodybuilding expert HugoRivera at the show discussing women’s fitness. Welcome to the show Hugo.

Hugo Rivera [HR]: Thank you for having me here Randy. Always an honor to be at your great show.

[RF]: Today we are going to discuss women’s fitness, in particular how can a woman get in shape and sculpt her body. How do you define Body Sculpting?

[HR]: Body Sculpting is the activity of losing body fat while gaining a moderate amount of muscle in order to re-shape your physique.

The Results of Body Sculpting

Body sculpting is nothing more than natural bodybuilding but instead of concentrating on gaining alot of muscle, only a moderate amount is needed in order to achieve the desired fitness goal that a woman wants.

By using concepts that we have learned through natural bodybuilding we combine weight training exercise to gain some muscle and cardiovascular exercise to burn some calories and fat. In conjunction with a balanced diet that consists of small meals thoughout the day to boost the metabolic rate and accelerate fat loss while gaining some muscle, and nutritional supplementation, the results provided by the program can re-shape any woman’s physique in no time.

[RF]: Is there really any difference between a body sculpting program for women than for men? Are we not physiologically pretty similar?

[HR]: Great question Randy. We are physiologically pretty similar but women tend to store body fat in different places than men, mainly the hips, glutes and triceps (which is the back of the arms). Therefore, the natural bodybuilding routines for women should be designed to target those problem areas and tone them. In addition, caloric requirements for women are different than that of males as well.

[RF]: How many times a week would you recommend training for a woman looking to body sculpt?

[HR]: At the very minimum, 3 days a week of 20-45 minutes of fast paced weight training coupled with 3 days of cardiovascular activity.

[RF]: What is the biggest mistake that you see women doing when attempting to lose weight?

Three mistakes come to mind:

a) Doing too much cardio and too little weight training thinking that they are going to get huge muscles. Fact is that women do not produce the amount of testosterone necessary to look like an Arnold Schwarzenegger back in his bodybuilding competitive days for instance. I have trained with women who hit the weights as hard as I do and they look very fit and feminine, not big. So having said that, please do not be afraid to hit the weights hard!

b) Not eating enough. Girls, you have to eat in order to increase your metabolism and prompt your body to lose the body fat and gain the muscle. Otherwise, your body will rebel in response to the low caloric intake and instead will retain body fat and lose the muscle.

c) Obsessing about weight. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat so sometimes when you start a body sculpting program the scale does not move but inches do. So focus on inches lost and not on weight as the scale alone does not give you an accurate picture of what’s going on.

[RF]: What sort of nutrition program do you recommend for women who are looking to lose fat and firm up?

[HR]: For most women with pretty sedentary lifestyles, a diet consisting of 40% carbs from low glycemic sources such as brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and vegetables, 40% proteins from lean sources such as turkey, chicken breasts, lean fish and lean red meats, and finally 20% good essential fats, such as extra virgin olive oil, fish oils and flax oil, is best. Calories wise, 1200-1500 calories is enough for most though if your activity levels are higher, you will need to increase your intake. It is crucial that meals are consumed every 2-1/2 to 3 hours to keep feeding the body so instead of three large square meals we will be having 5-6 small meals instead. The least amount of meals any woman should have would be 4.

[RF]: How important are nutritional supplements for a body sculpting program?

[HR]: They are very important because with today’s processing of foods it is virtually impossible to get all of the nutrients that one needs from food alone. Therefore, I would recommend a good multiple vitamin and mineral formula with extra calcium to guard against any nutritional deficiencies, chromium picolinate and alpha lipoic acid to ensure proper insulin metabolism, a meal replacement formula with a ratio close to 40/40/20 if always “on the go” in order to facilitate the 5-6 meal consumption requirement, extra vitamin C for its immune system building and cortisol reduction properties, and some essential fats in the form of extra virgin olive oil, fish oils or flax oils.

[RF]: What are the type of gains that someone in this program would experience?

[HR]: Within two weeks they should see an immediate increase in muscle tone and inches lost on the problem areas. More energy and better outlook on life are just a few of the side effects that come from it as well.

[RF]: If you could give one tip to women who are looking to lose fat and firm up, what would that tip be?

[HR]: Be consistent, be determined and be prepared. If you do not prepare your food in advance then you will most likely fail. Also, do not be afraid of weight training exercise as weights are your best friends when it comes to reshaping your body.

Sample Dumbbell Only Natural Bodybuilding Workout for Women for Body Sculpting

This natural bodybuilding workout for women can be performed in the comfort of your home with just a pair of dumbbells:

Natural Bodybuilding Workout (A) – Monday

Dumbbell Squat 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Lunges (pressing with ball of the foot) 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Stiff Legged Dead-lifts 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

One Legged Calf Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Push-Ups (on the floor or against the wall) 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

One Arm Dumbbell Rows 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Dumbbell Flys on the floor 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Two Arm Rows (Palms facing down) 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Lateral Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Concentration Curls 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Natural Bodybuilding Workout (B) – Tuesday

Crunches 3 sets of 15-25 reps (30-60 second rest)

Leg Raises 3 sets of 15-25 reps (30-60 second rest)

Cardiovascular Workout: 20 minute walk outside (try to walk 1 mile in 15 min)

Natural Bodybuilding Workout (C) - Wednesday

Wide Stance Dumbbell Squat 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Lunges (pressing with ball of the foot) 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Stiff Legged Dead-lifts 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Lunges (pressing with heels) 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 sec rest)

Two Legged Calf Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Bent Over Lateral Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Lateral Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Triceps Kickbacks 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Natural Bodybuilding Workout (D) – Thursday

Crunches to Side 3 sets of 15-25 reps (30-60 second rest)

Knee-Ins 3 sets of 15-25 reps (30-60 second rest)

Cardiovascular Workout: 20 minute walk outside (try to walk 1 mile in 15 min)

Natural Bodybuilding Workout (E) – Friday

Dumbbell Squat 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Lunges (pressing with ball of the foot) 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Stiff Legged Dead-lifts 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

One Legged Calf Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Push-Ups (on the floor or against the wall) 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

One Arm Dumbbell Rows 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Dumbbell Flys on the floor 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Two Arm Dumbbell Rows (Palms facing up) 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Lateral Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Dumbbell Curls 3 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions 2 sets of 15 reps (30-60 second rest)

Natural Bodybuilding Workout (F) – Saturday

Bicycle Crunches 3 sets of 15-25 reps (30-60 second rest)

V-Ups 3 sets of 15-25 reps (30-60 second rest)

Cardiovascular Workout: 20 minute walk outside (try to walk 1 mile in 15 min)

I Added Bodybuilding Workouts to my Weight Loss Plan and Stopped Losing Weight – Why?

admin — Sun, 16 May 2010 06:45:58 +0000

In this article I talk about why if you add natural bodybuilding workouts to your weight loss program sometimes you stop losing weight.

This week I answered the following natural bodybuilding question from someone who is using bodybuilding training to lose weight:

Every week, I do cardio 4 times a week and I was losing about 2lbs per week. Now I added bodybuilding workouts on my weight loss exercise routine 2 times a week for 2 weeks and I haven’t lost a pound ever since. Could this be because I lose fat weight but at the same time I gained muscle weight?

Natural Bodybuilding Answer:

In many clients that I have trained, I have noticed that when they add bodybuilding workouts for the first time, the weight loss stops as muscle is being gained at a very fast rate. When muscle is gained at the same rate than fat loss is happening, then the scale will show no change. It is possible that by adding weight training you have gained 1.5-2 lbs of lean body mass to your frame and thus, assuming that you lost the same in fat, that is why your weight loss has stopped. If you see that your clothes feel tighter on the rest of the body but looser at the waist line then you know that this is the case.

However, if you see that the waist line is still the same then that tells me that your weight loss has stopped and it may be due to the fact that the extra calories being burned by the weight training may be putting you in a catabolic state where your body’s metabolism is not been fed enough calories to support all of the activity. If this is the case, you will typically feel very tired all the time. In such as case, make sure you are eating every 3 hours and that you are taking in at least 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of carbs per pound of lean body weight. Also make sure to get around 30 grams of good fats from either flax seed oil or fish oils.

Keep up the great work, take care and train hard!

Natural Bodybuilding Exercises for the Legs and Abs That You Can Do at Home Without Equipment

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 20:00:48 +0000

In this article I talk about what natural bodybuilding exercises women can do to shape up the legs & abs at home without equipment.

This week I answered the following natural bodybuilding question from a female client:

I don’t have time to go to the gym, and don’t really have any exercise equipment at home. What can I do to firm up my thighs, stomach. and love handles. Also can you recommend some warm ups as I hear they are actually important? Thanks!

Natural Bodybuilding Answer:

You can actually do a variety of body weight exercises from the comfort of your home. You can do:

For your thighs you can do:

Squats
Wide Stance Squats
Sissy Squats
Lunges

The lunges are the best in the list since you can do them in a variety of ways in order to target the front of the leg or the back. To emphasize the thighs press with the ball of the foot as you execute the movement. To emphasize the glutes and hamstrings simply press with the heels.

You can do lunges to the front alternating legs, or one leg at a time. You can do walking lunges or you can do lunges to side.

I suggest that in order to train your thighs you choose 3 thigh exercises and perform 3 sets of 15-25 reps resting 1 minute in between sets. That will give you a nice thigh workout. Below are a few examples:

Legs Workout (A)
Lunges (one leg at a time pressing with ball of foot) 3 sets of 15-25 reps (1 minute rest in between)
Wide Stance Stance Squats 3 sets of 15-25 reps (1 minute rest in between)
Lunges (alternating legs and pressing with the heel) 3 sets of 15-25 reps (1 minute rest in between)

Legs Workout (B)
Squats
Sissy Squats
Walking Lunges (pressing with heels)

Legs Workout (C)
Lunges to side
Wide Stance Squats
Lunges (one leg at a time pressing with heel)

Since you will not be using any weights you will be able to recover quickly and thus, you can perform these routines 3 times a week. If you want to, do Workout (A) on Monday, (B) on Wednesday and (C) on Friday.

For the abs, there are a variety of exercises that you can do in the comfort of your home. Since you did mention that you do not have a lot of time to workout, then do the ab workouts on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Here is what I recommend you do:

Note: Focus on contracting the muscle and on the execution of the exercise. Perform each repetition slowly and deliberately.

Abdominals Workout (A) – Tuesday

Bicycle Crunches 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)
Crunches 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)
Lying Leg Raises 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)

Abdominals Workout (B) – Thursday

Knee-Ins 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)
V-Ups 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)
Crunches 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)

Abdominals Workout (C) – Saturday

Partial Sit-Ups 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)
Lying Knee-Ins 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)
Twisting Crunches 3 sets to failure (30 second rest)

As a warm-up you can do a light walk outside for 6 minutes and if you want to include some cardiovascular exercise, perform a quicker paced 15-20 minute walk that has your heart rate between 120-140 beats per minute after the workouts.

Also remember that in order to burn fat you need to follow the appropriate diet program. Thus, a sample diet is presented below:

Meal 1 (7 AM)
1/2 cup of dry oats mixed with water
1/2 cup of egg beaters

Meal 2 (9 AM)
Meal replacement packet like Labrada’s Lean Body for Her

1/2 cup of oats mixed with a protein powder like Lean Pro8

1/2 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (Spectrum Brand is Best)

Meal 3 (12 Noon)
1/2 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Meal 4 (3 PM)

Meal replacement packet like Labrada’s Lean Body for Her

1/2 cup of oats mixed with a protein powder like Lean Pro8

1/2 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (Spectrum Brand is Best)

Meal 5 (6 PM)
1/2 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Meal 6 (8 PM)

Meal replacement packet like Labrada’s Lean Body for Her

1/2 cup of oats mixed with a protein powder like Lean Pro8

1/2 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (Spectrum Brand is Best)

Recommended Basic Bodybuilding Supplements For Women
(Essential to take)

Definitely make sure that you cover at least the basics of supplementation which are a Multiple Vitamin and Mineral formula, 3 grams of Vitamin C split in 3 equal servings throughout the day, extra Calcium (preferably calcium citrate for best absorption), 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate, and essential fatty acids coming from either fish oils, flaxseed oil, EFA Lean or extra virgin olive oil.

I’ll end by saying that as you get more advanced a pair of adjustable dumbbells will make a great investment as adding weight to these exercises will firm up these body parts much quicker. In addition, adjustable dumbbells will allow you to train all other areas of your body as well.

Best of luck!

Aerobic Exercise Basics – Aerobics for Fat Loss

admin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:20:11 +0000

Aerobic exercise such as walking, riding a stationary bike, or running is a good way to accelerate the fat burning process, as long as it is not overdone and as long as it is used only in addition to a good weight training program. It should never be used as a substitute for weight training since it does not permanently increases your metabolism and since it does not has the ability to re-shape your body.

Fat Burning Zone

In order for aerobic exercise to be effective, it needs to be performed within the fat burning zone. The fat burning zone is the zone at which you are doing enough work to burn fat. Your pulse (how fast your heart is beating per minute) determines this zone.

The fat burning zone formula is the following:

Fat burning zone=220-(Your Age) x (.75)

The result of your formula will give you an approximate value of how fast your heart should be beating per minute. For example, a 20-year-old would need to reach a pulse in the neighborhood of 150 beats per minute in order to be in the fat burning zone. It is important to remember that this is not an absolute figure, this is an approximation. So as long as you are plus or minus 10 beats from the number that the formula provides you with, then you can rest assured that you will be burning fat.

Best Times To Perform Aerobic Activity

Another important point that needs to be raised is that in order for aerobic exercise to be an effective fat burner it needs to be performed at the appropriate times. There are only two times that aerobic exercise is effective in burning fat.

1. In The Morning On An Empty Stomach: The best time to perform cardiovascular exercise is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach after drinking 16 to 24 ounces of water in order to prevent dehydration. When performed at this time you burn 300% more body fat that at any other time in the day because your body does not has any glycogen (stored carbohydrates-sugar) in the system to burn. Therefore, it has to go directly into the fat stores in order to get the energy necessary to complete the activity.

2. Right After Weight Training: The other time when aerobic exercise is effective is immediately after the weight training session. The reason for this is that when exercise is not performed first thing in the morning it takes your body approximately anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes to start burning fat. This is because that it how long it takes the body to deplete its glycogen stores and switch to a fat burning environment. Therefore, it would not be efficient to perform aerobic exercise by itself at any other time during the day because you would need to perform it for 20-30 minutes just to get to the fat burning stage and for an additional 20 minutes just so that you burn fat. This would give a grand total of 50 minutes a day and in my opinion, I think that unless you are a competitive bodybuilder with a perfect diet and a superb supplementation program designed to protect muscle mass, aerobic exercise should not be performed for more than 6 sessions a week of 20-45 minutes a day for males and 30-45 minutes for females since this would put you at a risk of losing muscle mass. Only competitive bodybuilders sometimes need to go as high as 45 minutes, twice a day, for seven days a week. Keep in mind however that this is performed for a short period of time and only in conjunction with a pre-contest diet which consists of a high frequency of meals and with supplementation like glutamine, which helps to protect muscle tissue. Remember that more is not always better and this is especially true when it comes to aerobic exercise.

Forms of Aerobic Exercise

Good forms of aerobic exercise are: stationary bike, jogging (this can also be done on a treadmill), fast walking (also can be done on a treadmill), stair stepper, elliptical machine, rowing machine, sets of sprinting, running, or any other form of cardiovascular activity that would raise your heartbeat to the fat burning zone.

Frequency and Duration of Aerobic Exercise

As far as frequency is concerned, I feel comfortable recommending 2 to 4 sessions of 20-40 minutes each for male bodybuilders in the off-season. If a contest is approaching, then I would gradually increase the activity to no more than two sessions per day, 7 days a week of 45 minutes each on the worst case for a short period of time. Remember, it is those long hours of cardio that cause bodybuilders to look like POWs (Prisoners of War) in the bodybuilding stage the day of the show. If you are doing 2 sessions of 45 minutes of cardio every day make sure that you take plenty of glutamine (15-30 grams per day) in addition to having at least 7 meals per day.

For women, due to their higher concentrations of estrogen in the blood and due to the fact that they have less muscle mass than a male, more frequent aerobic activity is beneficial. Therefore, I recommend an off season plan of 4 to 5 sessions of 30-45 minutes and if a contest approaches, I would gradually increase the activity to no more than two sessions per day, 7 days a week of 45 minutes each on the worst case.

Cycling of Aerobic Activity

During the off season, you may choose to cycle you aerobic activity in the following manner in order to prevent your body from adjusting to a specific pattern:

1. Cycle The Kind Of Aerobic Activity Being Used: Changing up the aerobic exercises prevents the body from getting so good at a specific activity that it becomes hard for you then to raise your heart rate.

2. Cycle The Duration Of The Activity: For example, a male bodybuilder that performs 3 sessions a week may do 20 minutes of aerobics on weeks 1& 2, 25 minutes on weeks 3 & 4, and finally 30 minutes on weeks 5 & 6.

A female bodybuilder can use the same pattern as well (e.g. 4 sessions performed for 20 minutes on weeks 1&2, 30 minutes on weeks 3 & 4, and finally 40 minutes on weeks 5 & 6). This form of cycling will not only keep the workouts interesting but it will also prevent the body from permanently adjusting to a given length of the activity. Remember, that as soon as the body adapts, it will be tougher to reach the fat burning zone and therefore it will be harder to use aerobic exercise as weapon against fat.

Conclusion

So there you have it. Now whenever you think about aerobic exercise, you no longer have to fear two hour sessions in a machine or losing muscle mass provided you follow the basics of aerobic exercise.

Myths of Women's Weight Training and Female Bodybuilding

admin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:25:36 +0000

The myths about women’s weight training and female bodybuilding do not ever seem to go away. With this article, I’d like to share the facts regarding weight training and female bodybuilding.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #1 -Weight training makes you bulky and masculine.

Due to the fact that women do not, and cannot, naturally produce as much testosterone (one of the main hormones responsible for increasing muscle size) as males do, it is impossible for a woman to gain huge amounts of muscle mass by merely touching some weights. Unfortunately, the image that may come to your mind is that of professional female bodybuilders. Most of these women, unfortunately, use anabolic steroids (synthetic testosterone) along with other drugs in order to achieve that high degree of muscularity. In addition, most also have good genetics coupled with an unbelievable work ethic that enable them to gain muscle quickly when they spend hours in the gym lifting very heavy weights. Believe me when I say that they do not look like that by accident. Women who conduct weight training without the use of steroids get the firm and fit cellulite-free looking body that you see in most fitness/figure shows these days.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #2 – Exercise increases your chest size.

Sorry girls. Women’s breasts are composed mostly of fatty tissue. Therefore, it is impossible to increase breast size through weight training. As a matter of fact, if you go below 12 percent body fat, your breast size will decrease. Weight training does increase the size of the back, so this misconception probably comes from confusing an increase in back size with an increase in cup size. The only way to increase your breast size is by gaining fat or getting breast implants.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #3 – Weight training makes you stiff and musclebound.

If you perform all exercises through their full range of motion, flexibility will increase. Exercises like flyes, stiff-legged deadlifts, dumbbell presses, and chin-ups stretch the muscle in the bottom range of the movement. Therefore, by performing these exercises correctly, your stretching capabilities will increase.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #4 – If you stop weight training your muscles turn into fat.

This is like saying that gold can turn into brass. Muscle and fat are two totally different types of tissue. What happens many times is that when people decide to go off their weight training programs they start losing muscle due to inactivity (use it or lose it) and they also usually drop the diet as well. Therefore bad eating habits combined with the fact that their metabolism is lower due to inactivity, and lower degrees of muscle mass, give the impression that the subject’s muscle is being turned into fat while in reality what is happening is that muscle is being lost and fat is being accumulated.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #5 – Weight training turns fat into muscle.

More alchemy. This is the equivalent of saying that you can turn any metal into gold; don’t we wish! The way a body transformation occurs is by gaining muscle through weight training and losing fat through aerobics and diet simultaneously. Again, muscle and fat are very different types of tissue. We cannot turn one into the other.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #6 – As long as you exercise you can eat anything that you want.

How I wish this were true also! However, this could not be further from the truth. Our individual metabolism determines how many calories we burn at rest and while we exercise. If we eat more calories than we burn on a consistent basis, our bodies will accumulate these extra calories as fat regardless of the amount of exercise that we do. This myth may have been created by people with such high metabolic rates (hardgainers) that no matter how much they eat or what they eat, they rarely meet or exceed the amount of calories that they burn in one day unless they put their mind to doing so. Therefore, their weight either remains stable or goes down. If you are confused about nutrition, please read Nutrition Basics.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #7 – Women only need to do cardio and if they decide to lift weights, they should be very light.

First of all, if you only did cardio then muscle and fat would be burned for fuel. One needs to do weights in order to get the muscle building machine going and thus prevent any loss of muscle tissue. Women that only concentrate on cardio will have a very hard time achieving the look that they want. As far as the lifting of very light weights, this is just more nonsense. Muscle responds to resistance and if the resistance is too light, then there will be no reason for the body to change.

Women Should Train Hard

I have trained with girls that train as hard as I do and they look nothing but feminine. If you want to look great, don’t be afraid to pick up the weights and lift hard!

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7 Tips to Make Your Cardio Workouts Exciting and Effective

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:10:19 +0000

Cardiovascular exercise is necessary for most of us in our quest to achieving the lean bodybuilding look that we are looking for. Few can achieve the lean appearance required to see a full six pack of abs without cardio. In addition to fat burning, cardiovascular exercise offers many benefits such as an improved glucose metabolism as well as a lowered heart rate, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Now that we know why we need cardio, let’s look at ways to make it more enjoyable and effective.

1. Choose A Cardiovascular Activity That You Like

While this may seem rather obvious, many people completely miss the boat on this one. Choosing an activity that you like will ensure that you keep doing it long term. There are many choices to pick from such as walking on the pavement, treadmill, an elliptical machine, stair stepper, recumbent bike, aerobics video, etc. Just choose your weapon of choice and go for it!

2. Choose Some Good Music Or A Good Workout Partner

I always notice that when I choose some good music (I like techno myself) I not only burn more calories during the activity than if I didn’t but also the time flies faster. I also seem to have a larger pain tolerance as my mind is concentrated on the music and not on what the body is feeling. The only time when I use no music is if I have a good workout partner with who I am competing against seeing who covers a larger distance during the allotted time.

3. Perform Cardio On An Empty Stomach or Right After The Workout

Glycogen levels (stored carbohydrates) are lower at these times, and thus, it is easier for the body to access fat stores. If not possible, then perform the activity 2-1/2 hours after a meal so that your blood glucose levels are not so high that all you burn during the activity is carbs. Note: even if carbs is all you burned, those are calories that would not have been burned otherwise so you are still benefiting.

4. Perform Cardio For A Minimum Of 20 Minutes And A Maxiumum Of 45 Minutes.

More is not better when it comes to cardio. Most of you will benefit from 3 sessions of 20-30 minutes. Never go above 45 minutes at a time when doing cardio as after 45 minutes the catabolic hormone cortisol will increase and you will risk losing muscle tissue and protecting fat! Only competitive bodybuilders may find themselves doing as much as 45 minutes twice a day before a show but that amount is kept for very short periods of time.

5. Perform The Cardiovascular Activity At A Comfortable But Challenging Pace

As beginners, you may want to perform the activity at a pace that allows your body to comfortably continue for the amount of time required (20-45 minutes). Once your body adjusts to that, you can start to move quicker and look for a more challenging pace. Eventually you will be able to achieve a heart rate that falls around what is called the fat burning rate, which is approximately: 220 – (Your Age) x (.75).

6. If Using Any Fat Burning Supplements With Caffeine, Take Them 30 Minutes Prior

If you take any fat burning supplements with caffeine, take them 30 minutes prior to your cardiovascular exercise as they may increase your work capacity, possibly your rate of fat burning, and your pain tolerance. Caffeine has been shown to improve all these items in several studies. In my own self-experimentation, I find that I do perform better and with less pain when I save my caffeine for before my cardiovascular workout.

7. Don’t Stick To The Same Exercise Or The Same Amount Of Time

Your body thrives on change. Do the same thing all the time and not only you get bored but also your body stops responding as it adapts! Once you are more advanced, make sure that you have 3 cardiovascular activities that you like so that you cycle them on almost a daily basis. In addition, feel free to do some days of 20 minutes at a very challenging pace and other days of 45 minutes at a more moderate level. Variety is the spice of life!