10 Reasons Why Women Need to Lift Weights
By Whitney Provost
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Many women believe that the only way to lose weight is to do cardiovascular (aerobic exercise). So they jog or take aerobics classes five times a week. Eventually, though, they notice that while their bodies are a little smaller, there are still a lot of flabby and jiggly bits. Sound familiar? Aerobic exercise is important for good health, but it's only half of the equation. Keep reading for the other half.
For optimal fitness, longevity, and a lean body, weight training is essential. If you avoid pumping iron because you're afraid of getting "bulky," then you're missing out on one of the best fat-burning methods around.
When you're weight training, you shouldn't rely exclusively on the scale to gauge your progress. You can use a body fat tester or a tape measure to track how many inches you're losing. The size of your body will shrink as you shed fat and build muscle, but your weight may not change as dramatically as you expect. Besides, what's more important, the number on the scale or how you look in your skinny jeans?
If you're still not convinced that you need to lift weights, here are 10 reasons why you should reconsider.
1. Burn more fat. Researchers at Tufts University found that when overweight women lifted heavy weights twice a week, they lost an average of 14.6 pounds of fat and gained 1.4 pounds of muscle. The control group, women who dieted but didn't lift weights, lost only 9.2 pounds of fat and gained no muscle. When you do an intense weight-training program such as ChaLEAN Extreme®, your metabolism stays elevated and you continue to burn fat for several hours afterward. During regular cardio exercise, you stop burning fat shortly after the workout.
2. Change your body shape. You may think your genes determine how you look. That's not necessarily true. Weight training can slim you down, create new curves, and help avoid the "middle-age spread." Just look at the amazing body transformations of the women who've completed P90X®. Dropping only 3 percent of your body fat could translate into a total loss of 3 inches off your hips and thighs. And no, you won't bulk up—women don't have enough muscle-building hormones to gain a lot of mass like men do. If you keep your diet clean and create a calorie deficit, you'll burn fat.
3. Boost your metabolism. The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism will be. As women age, they lose muscle at increasing rates, especially after the age of 40. When you diet without doing resistance training, up to 25 percent of the weight loss may be muscle loss. Weight training while dieting can help you preserve and even rebuild muscle fibers. The more lean mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you'll burn all day long.
4. Get stronger and more confident. Lifting weights increases functional fitness, which makes everyday tasks such as carrying children, lifting grocery bags, and picking up heavy suitcases much easier. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular weight training can make you 50 percent stronger in 6 months. Being strong is also empowering. Not only does it improve your physical activities, it builds emotional strength by boosting self-esteem and confidence.
5. Build strong bones. It's been well documented that women need to do weight-bearing exercise to build and maintain bone mass, and prevent osteoporosis. Just as muscles get stronger and bigger with use, so do bones when they're made to bear weight. Stronger bones and increased muscle mass also lead to better flexibility and balance, which is especially important for women as they age.
6. Fight depression. You've probably heard that cardio and low-impact exercises such as yoga help alleviate depression, and weight lifting has the same effect. The endorphins that are released during aerobic activities are also present during resistance training. Many women find that regular strength training, in conjunction with psychological treatment, helps lessen their depression symptoms substantially.
7. Improve sports fitness. You don't have to be an athlete to get the sports benefit of weight training. Improved muscle mass and strength will help you in all physical activities, whether it's bicycling with the family, swimming, golfing, or skiing . . . whatever sport you enjoy.
8. Reduce injuries and arthritis. Weight lifting improves joint stability and builds stronger ligaments and tendons. Training safely and with proper form can help decrease the likelihood of injuries in your daily life. It can also improve physical function in people with arthritis. A study conducted at the University of Wales in Bangor, United Kingdom, found that mildly disabled participants who lifted weights for 12 weeks increased the frequency and intensity at which they could work, with less pain and increased range of movement.
9. Heart health. More than 480,000 women die from cardiovascular disease each year, making it the number-one killer of women over the age of 25. Most people don't realize that pumping iron can also keep your heart pumping. Lifting weights increases your "good" (HDL) cholesterol and decreases your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol. It also lowers your blood pressure. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that people who do 30 minutes of weight lifting each week have a 23 percent reduced risk of developing heart disease compared to those who don't lift weights.
10. Defend against diabetes. In addition to keeping your ticker strong, weight training can improve glucose utilization (the way your body processes sugar) by as much as 23 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 weeks of strength training can improve glucose metabolism in a way that is comparable to taking diabetes medication. The more lean mass you have, the more efficient your body is at removing glucose from the blood, which can reduce complications from diabetes or even help prevent type 2 diabetes in the first place.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Faith and Action
God says to trust in Jesus for all things are possible through him. God also says you step closer to me and I step closer to you. You stand still and I stand still.
"Faith without action serves no real purpose." - Jim Rohn
From my own observation most religious people seem to have a huge mental gap between faith and action. They talk faith but give their faith some weak little meaning with some weak little actions creating weak little results in their lives. And it's not just religious people it's far to many non religious people to.
I'm a non denominational Christian with a very personal direct relationship with god and I do not go to church. Here is what I believe:
God gave us autonomous minds so we can have faith, philosophy, and ACT! You will NOT increase your health, your income, or your spiritual wellness unless YOU ACT.
You are exactly where you are suppose to be at in your life by the decisions you've made and actions you've taken. You're health, income, and spiritual problems will not be solved by faith alone. You must ACT!
Religious people take up the bulk of the obesity epidemic in America. The most common philosophy I hear from religious people who are not doing well is, "god will take care of me". I've got news for you. If all you have is faith and you aren't taking those actionable steps to give your faith any meaning then god is standing still for you giving you enormous opportunity to take those actionable steps and change your life. Take one step closer toward god and god takes one step toward you. Take one step closer toward wealth and wealth takes one step toward you. Take one step closer toward health and health takes one step closer toward you. You get the idea it's very simple stuff!
Point of truth.
If your faith isn't given any meaning with good actions then your faith is just silly and it's folly. Your commitments are only as strong as your actions and your faith without any works is just dead faith.
I'm personally not going to dishonor my god, the earth, the universe, myself, or nature with a folly faith and belief because I understand the consequences of inaction and I understand those consequences are inescapable. I hope you understand this to.
The challenges in your life are not there to keep you from where you want to be. They are not meant to invoke the foolish belief that I see all too often in the religious community of, "faith alone is enough I don't need to act." God gives us challenges to give us OPPORTUNITIES to seek the knowledge to get the things that we want. This is what I personally believe. My belief affects my daily ACTIONS. And my daily actions driven by my faith allows me to literally shape the life of my dreams and to pay it forward for other people.
And get this... It doesn't matter if you are religious or not. If you believe in god or not. These are natural laws of the earth that exist for you to harness and shape your life how ever you want. Most of us don't even seem to scrape the surface of our own personal potential because of our weak little belief systems. We die with more than 90% of our potential completely untapped! Even after all I've accomplished I know that my potential is so much greater than my accomplishments. My goal in life is to see how close I can come to tapping my full potential while I'm here on this planet earth. I hope you have that goal as well. And I hope you realize the only way to move closer to your own human potential is with ACTION fueled by Strong unshakable faith.
Bridge the gap between faith and action. Honor the god of your choosing and see what happens in your life over time. It's exciting!!!
Have faith, DO faith!
-Tom
"Faith without action serves no real purpose." - Jim Rohn
From my own observation most religious people seem to have a huge mental gap between faith and action. They talk faith but give their faith some weak little meaning with some weak little actions creating weak little results in their lives. And it's not just religious people it's far to many non religious people to.
I'm a non denominational Christian with a very personal direct relationship with god and I do not go to church. Here is what I believe:
God gave us autonomous minds so we can have faith, philosophy, and ACT! You will NOT increase your health, your income, or your spiritual wellness unless YOU ACT.
You are exactly where you are suppose to be at in your life by the decisions you've made and actions you've taken. You're health, income, and spiritual problems will not be solved by faith alone. You must ACT!
Religious people take up the bulk of the obesity epidemic in America. The most common philosophy I hear from religious people who are not doing well is, "god will take care of me". I've got news for you. If all you have is faith and you aren't taking those actionable steps to give your faith any meaning then god is standing still for you giving you enormous opportunity to take those actionable steps and change your life. Take one step closer toward god and god takes one step toward you. Take one step closer toward wealth and wealth takes one step toward you. Take one step closer toward health and health takes one step closer toward you. You get the idea it's very simple stuff!
Point of truth.
If your faith isn't given any meaning with good actions then your faith is just silly and it's folly. Your commitments are only as strong as your actions and your faith without any works is just dead faith.
I'm personally not going to dishonor my god, the earth, the universe, myself, or nature with a folly faith and belief because I understand the consequences of inaction and I understand those consequences are inescapable. I hope you understand this to.
The challenges in your life are not there to keep you from where you want to be. They are not meant to invoke the foolish belief that I see all too often in the religious community of, "faith alone is enough I don't need to act." God gives us challenges to give us OPPORTUNITIES to seek the knowledge to get the things that we want. This is what I personally believe. My belief affects my daily ACTIONS. And my daily actions driven by my faith allows me to literally shape the life of my dreams and to pay it forward for other people.
And get this... It doesn't matter if you are religious or not. If you believe in god or not. These are natural laws of the earth that exist for you to harness and shape your life how ever you want. Most of us don't even seem to scrape the surface of our own personal potential because of our weak little belief systems. We die with more than 90% of our potential completely untapped! Even after all I've accomplished I know that my potential is so much greater than my accomplishments. My goal in life is to see how close I can come to tapping my full potential while I'm here on this planet earth. I hope you have that goal as well. And I hope you realize the only way to move closer to your own human potential is with ACTION fueled by Strong unshakable faith.
Bridge the gap between faith and action. Honor the god of your choosing and see what happens in your life over time. It's exciting!!!
Have faith, DO faith!
-Tom
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Poverty to Wealth Empowerment
With all my HEART, You're broke not because of what happened to you. It's because of you. I know poverty and wealth first hand on a very personal level. Poverty is uncomfortable, degrading, and it's entirely reversible no matter how bad the circumstances.
I figured out how to go from being broke and poverty stricken from a few years ago to some awesome wealth and liberation from "Hard times" in a jerk face economy. It wasn't my Team Beachbody opportunity. My Team Beachbody opportunity was only the vehicle.
The true engine behind change, as well as every other person who changed their life, is in the mind. It doesn't start with the economy. It doesn't start with what happens to you or what's going on around you. It starts in your mind. If change doesn't begin in your mind FIRST then it's not going to occur in your life, period.
Two things happened that changed everything and I've found this to be true for EVERY rags to riches success story. These two things are entirely duplicable by ANYONE especially YOU. 1.) I changed my belief in my self and my personal philosophies that drive my daily rituals for some new daily rituals that were more supportive of my dreams than my old daily rituals were. 2.) I changed how I respond to what happens to me. You shape your life by responding to the good and the bad things that happen to you whether you believe it or not.
If you're broke and poverty stricken I'm telling you this with all my heart to give you hope that drives you to new actions because hope alone is not a strategy or a solution to anything. I'm absolutely certain you can come out of hard ship and THRIVE with a simple change in your belief system.
The popular and truly poisonous belief for most people is they believe the reason they are broke is because of the economy and fallen on hard times. If this is your belief I empathize with your hard ships but it is not the economy. If you're over 18 there is nothing legislating a poverty or a wealth stricken life for you. It's your belief, your personal philosophy, your daily rituals, and how you respond to what happens to you. It's not the fact you might be a single mom getting help from the government because you can't make ends meet and a job that pays you less than the bare minimum to just get by. It's your belief system, your personal philosophies that drive your daily action and how you respond to what happens to you.
This truly offends some people. Welcome to your permanent house guest; poverty. Don't be offended. Feel EMPOWERED. That's what this is about. It's not to offend or make you feel scorn. If it makes you angry that's not all together a bad thing. Many times we don't change something until we are angry enough first so if anger leads to change leads to a better life for you then get angry.
Complacency is another popular poison in our culture. Get mad and don't take it anymore! You are a POWERFUL human being capable of shaping your life any which way you want if only you wouldn't be so damn complacent. This isn't some arbitrary positive affirmation I'm feeding you. I'm saying it because I know with absolute certainty that it's true! It's been validated time and time again by every person working in the same economy as you and I who went from rags to riches often times coming out of devastation greater than yours or mine. It's the same economy. The only difference is YOU.
The economy, politics, being a single parent, on disability, abusive child hood, fallen on hard times etc.... People who mean well fill our heads with this kind of poison as justification to not be doing well. "Oh johnny it's ok you're on hard times right now because of the economy." Or, "Suzie your a single mom on disability there is nothing you could have done to avoid being broke and on assistance". Friends who say these things mean well and I truly do empathize...but... That's how a friend who means well helps a friend to stay broke year after year. It's poisonous. It's pure head trash. Cut it out your friends don't need your help to stay dirt poor head trash is everywhere stop contributing to the epidemic. Try rebelling against that garbage with a greater will to succeed and see what happens. There is nothing less empowering than to tell a person, no matter how bad it is, that they are broke because of environmental variables they have no control over.
And here is why...
All of us NEED difficulties and opportunities, good times and hard times, a bad economy a good economy and so on to give us a wide scope of good and bad things to respond to. We NEED things to happen to us the good and the bad. Most of what happens to us we have no control over. But we control our response to what happens to us 100% of the time. If you're reading this and your broke then BURN this into your mind as deep as you can it's how I got out of poverty it's the same opportunity for you to get out of poverty to... You NEED to change how you respond to what happens to you. You NEED to ESPECIALLY change your response to the bad in your life. Bad and Good events are ALL opportunities to shape your life any which way you'd like. Without the Good and the Bad that happens to you there is no opportunity to change anything that you need to change.
Begin to see difficulties and bad events in your life for what they are. They are all opportunities for you to respond. It's your consistent response to what happens to you that shapes your life. It's your consistent response to what happens to you that keeps you broke OR brings you into wealth OR takes you from wealth to poverty. Are you beginning to see how powerful you can be just by changing how you respond to what happens to you? God I hope so.
You might have it really tough right now. But I promise you there is always going to be someone who had it tougher than you who changed how they respond to what happens to them and came out of it in a big way in the SAME economy that you're in. Whats the only difference if the economy is the same for both the broke person who stays broke and the broke person who discovers personal wealth? It's YOU. Would you rather believe you can totally change everything by changing your mind first or would you rather hear a well intended friend tell you that there is nothing you can do because the economy is bad right now? And if you're the well intended friend trying to help a friend which message would you rather have? The one of empowerment or the one of hopelessness?
Compassion.
The emotion often lost in cyber translation. When I say things like, "its not the economy it's you" it's coming from my heart because I believe it with absolute certainty. It's all 100% compassion and understanding. If you could hear my voice you'd know it.
You see I was there I know it very well. When you come out of poverty and into wealth it's going to be because you changed your daily rituals and how you respond to what happens to you. You changed your mind first and then your life followed! Once you have the validation from the results in your life to prove it works then you're going to be driven by that big heart of yours to pay it forward any which way you can. It's exciting for me to be able to look a broke person over the age of 18 right in the cranium and say to them, "You messed up... But what you don't know yet is you are POWERFUL you can change all of it by changing how you respond to what happens to you and putting some more supportive daily rituals in motion in your life! Others in the same economy you're working in discovered personal wealth. They are no better than you. You can do this."
Heart.
It takes no guts and no heart whatsoever to tell a friend they are broke and in hard times because of the economy and some other things that happened to them that they have no control over. It takes guts, compassion, and a BIG heart to tell a friend, "I feel you... but you're exactly where you're at in your life because of the decisions you've made. Whats exciting about that is if it makes you uncomfortable you have enormous power to change all that."
I want you to know that you're in the same economy, the same political landscape, the same planet, and bound by the same natural laws of the earth as every other person who discovered their own personal wealth, health, liberation, and happiness. The only difference is YOU. If you're uncomfortable where your life is then change your mind first and your life will follow. EVERY time.
Here is your challenge to help you live a healthier, happier, more full filling life. Start the challenge IMMEDIATELY because procrastination is the cornerstone of all poverty and action is the way to living better.
1. Swap out some daily rituals not supportive of living better with some that are more supportive of living better. 2. Change how you respond to what happens to you. 3. If you're telling friends they are where they are at in their lives because of what's happened to them stop doing that and instead let them know they can change everything by changing their daily rituals and how they respond to what happens to them. The latter is empowering for change. The other is poisonous and incapable of empowering anyone for change unless they rebel against you.
I'd love to hear about your success. Write / call me share with me what you've changed and how it's affected your life. Truly I LOVE success stories and I'd love to hear yours. Get started on that right away!
- Tom
I figured out how to go from being broke and poverty stricken from a few years ago to some awesome wealth and liberation from "Hard times" in a jerk face economy. It wasn't my Team Beachbody opportunity. My Team Beachbody opportunity was only the vehicle.
The true engine behind change, as well as every other person who changed their life, is in the mind. It doesn't start with the economy. It doesn't start with what happens to you or what's going on around you. It starts in your mind. If change doesn't begin in your mind FIRST then it's not going to occur in your life, period.
Two things happened that changed everything and I've found this to be true for EVERY rags to riches success story. These two things are entirely duplicable by ANYONE especially YOU. 1.) I changed my belief in my self and my personal philosophies that drive my daily rituals for some new daily rituals that were more supportive of my dreams than my old daily rituals were. 2.) I changed how I respond to what happens to me. You shape your life by responding to the good and the bad things that happen to you whether you believe it or not.
If you're broke and poverty stricken I'm telling you this with all my heart to give you hope that drives you to new actions because hope alone is not a strategy or a solution to anything. I'm absolutely certain you can come out of hard ship and THRIVE with a simple change in your belief system.
The popular and truly poisonous belief for most people is they believe the reason they are broke is because of the economy and fallen on hard times. If this is your belief I empathize with your hard ships but it is not the economy. If you're over 18 there is nothing legislating a poverty or a wealth stricken life for you. It's your belief, your personal philosophy, your daily rituals, and how you respond to what happens to you. It's not the fact you might be a single mom getting help from the government because you can't make ends meet and a job that pays you less than the bare minimum to just get by. It's your belief system, your personal philosophies that drive your daily action and how you respond to what happens to you.
This truly offends some people. Welcome to your permanent house guest; poverty. Don't be offended. Feel EMPOWERED. That's what this is about. It's not to offend or make you feel scorn. If it makes you angry that's not all together a bad thing. Many times we don't change something until we are angry enough first so if anger leads to change leads to a better life for you then get angry.
Complacency is another popular poison in our culture. Get mad and don't take it anymore! You are a POWERFUL human being capable of shaping your life any which way you want if only you wouldn't be so damn complacent. This isn't some arbitrary positive affirmation I'm feeding you. I'm saying it because I know with absolute certainty that it's true! It's been validated time and time again by every person working in the same economy as you and I who went from rags to riches often times coming out of devastation greater than yours or mine. It's the same economy. The only difference is YOU.
The economy, politics, being a single parent, on disability, abusive child hood, fallen on hard times etc.... People who mean well fill our heads with this kind of poison as justification to not be doing well. "Oh johnny it's ok you're on hard times right now because of the economy." Or, "Suzie your a single mom on disability there is nothing you could have done to avoid being broke and on assistance". Friends who say these things mean well and I truly do empathize...but... That's how a friend who means well helps a friend to stay broke year after year. It's poisonous. It's pure head trash. Cut it out your friends don't need your help to stay dirt poor head trash is everywhere stop contributing to the epidemic. Try rebelling against that garbage with a greater will to succeed and see what happens. There is nothing less empowering than to tell a person, no matter how bad it is, that they are broke because of environmental variables they have no control over.
And here is why...
All of us NEED difficulties and opportunities, good times and hard times, a bad economy a good economy and so on to give us a wide scope of good and bad things to respond to. We NEED things to happen to us the good and the bad. Most of what happens to us we have no control over. But we control our response to what happens to us 100% of the time. If you're reading this and your broke then BURN this into your mind as deep as you can it's how I got out of poverty it's the same opportunity for you to get out of poverty to... You NEED to change how you respond to what happens to you. You NEED to ESPECIALLY change your response to the bad in your life. Bad and Good events are ALL opportunities to shape your life any which way you'd like. Without the Good and the Bad that happens to you there is no opportunity to change anything that you need to change.
Begin to see difficulties and bad events in your life for what they are. They are all opportunities for you to respond. It's your consistent response to what happens to you that shapes your life. It's your consistent response to what happens to you that keeps you broke OR brings you into wealth OR takes you from wealth to poverty. Are you beginning to see how powerful you can be just by changing how you respond to what happens to you? God I hope so.
You might have it really tough right now. But I promise you there is always going to be someone who had it tougher than you who changed how they respond to what happens to them and came out of it in a big way in the SAME economy that you're in. Whats the only difference if the economy is the same for both the broke person who stays broke and the broke person who discovers personal wealth? It's YOU. Would you rather believe you can totally change everything by changing your mind first or would you rather hear a well intended friend tell you that there is nothing you can do because the economy is bad right now? And if you're the well intended friend trying to help a friend which message would you rather have? The one of empowerment or the one of hopelessness?
Compassion.
The emotion often lost in cyber translation. When I say things like, "its not the economy it's you" it's coming from my heart because I believe it with absolute certainty. It's all 100% compassion and understanding. If you could hear my voice you'd know it.
You see I was there I know it very well. When you come out of poverty and into wealth it's going to be because you changed your daily rituals and how you respond to what happens to you. You changed your mind first and then your life followed! Once you have the validation from the results in your life to prove it works then you're going to be driven by that big heart of yours to pay it forward any which way you can. It's exciting for me to be able to look a broke person over the age of 18 right in the cranium and say to them, "You messed up... But what you don't know yet is you are POWERFUL you can change all of it by changing how you respond to what happens to you and putting some more supportive daily rituals in motion in your life! Others in the same economy you're working in discovered personal wealth. They are no better than you. You can do this."
Heart.
It takes no guts and no heart whatsoever to tell a friend they are broke and in hard times because of the economy and some other things that happened to them that they have no control over. It takes guts, compassion, and a BIG heart to tell a friend, "I feel you... but you're exactly where you're at in your life because of the decisions you've made. Whats exciting about that is if it makes you uncomfortable you have enormous power to change all that."
I want you to know that you're in the same economy, the same political landscape, the same planet, and bound by the same natural laws of the earth as every other person who discovered their own personal wealth, health, liberation, and happiness. The only difference is YOU. If you're uncomfortable where your life is then change your mind first and your life will follow. EVERY time.
Here is your challenge to help you live a healthier, happier, more full filling life. Start the challenge IMMEDIATELY because procrastination is the cornerstone of all poverty and action is the way to living better.
1. Swap out some daily rituals not supportive of living better with some that are more supportive of living better. 2. Change how you respond to what happens to you. 3. If you're telling friends they are where they are at in their lives because of what's happened to them stop doing that and instead let them know they can change everything by changing their daily rituals and how they respond to what happens to them. The latter is empowering for change. The other is poisonous and incapable of empowering anyone for change unless they rebel against you.
I'd love to hear about your success. Write / call me share with me what you've changed and how it's affected your life. Truly I LOVE success stories and I'd love to hear yours. Get started on that right away!
- Tom
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