Best Fitness Blog

By... Karli Taylor

In recent years, many studies have been published showing the benefits of weight training for women. Still, the number of women who take this recommendation to heart is still quite low. Most women who exercise are spending most of their gym time on cardiovascular exercise because they are afraid weight training will make the look bulky or they feel that walking on the treadmill is sufficient. Whatever your reasons for avoiding the weights, if you are a woman, here are some less obvious reasons reasons why you need to take strength training seriously.

In addition to getting stronger and leaner, adding weight training to your routine will help to decrease your risk of osteoporosis. Weight training can increase spinal bone density by up to 13 percent in just six months. This, coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium, can be a women's best defense against osteoporosis.

Did you know that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among women in the U.S?: Weight training can improve cardiovascular health in several ways, including lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol, increasing HDL ("good") cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. When cardiovascular exercise is added, these benefits are maximized, and your risk of heart disease is lowered!

If those reasons still aren’t enough to convince you to pump some iron, weight training will reduce your risk of diabetes. Weight training has been shown to improve the way the body processes sugar, which may reduce the risk of diabetes. Adult-onset diabetes is a growing problem for both women and men. Research indicates that weight training can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23 percent in four months.

Don’t you think that the benefits are worth the work?

Visit one of our Best Fitness Clubs to learn even more about this topic. We have locations in Albany,NY, Tonawanda, NY, Schenectady, NY, Erie, PA, Nashua, NH, Chelmsford, MA, and Drum Hill, MA.

BMR ... by Karli Taylor

The number one mistake that people make when they try to slim down is eating too little! Yes, I did mean to say that. Often times when someone is trying to lose weight, they cut their calories back too far and end up GAINING weight! So how much is enough?

Everyone is different - the calories that you require on a daily basis depend on a number of factors including your height, weight, density, age, gender and activity level. You can get a close to exact figure from most certified personal trainers, but if you want to do it yourself there are 2 decent options.
   
You can get a fairly accurate estimate by using an online BMR calculator or by using the following formula:

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

The resulting number will tell you roughly how many calories you burn while sitting still for one full day. If you are using an online calculator, there is often an option to add daily activity for a total caloric expenditure estimate.

If you are doing this all by hand (impressive) then follow these instructions:
If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : BMR x 1.375
If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : BMR x 1.9

Now you know how many calories you need to maintain your weight. If you want to lose weight safely, your goal is to create a deficit of 500 calories each day. You can do this by cutting out 500 calories of food, by adding 500 calories of exercise OR by doing my favorite option- a little bit of both. Creating a deficit of 500 calories a day for 7 days will result on 3500 calories in one week- that is the equivalent of 1 pound of fat.

Now - you may be saying that you want to lose more than one pound so you are thinking about creating a larger deficit.... Here's where most people go wrong- IT WILL NOT WORK. Depending on your body type, losing one pound of real fat may result in up to a 10 pound weight loss in one week. Fat holds a lot of water! If you create a deficit of more than 500 a day, you will start to access your muscle stores. Though this may result in greater weight loss up front, it will catch up with you a few weeks down the road as your metabolism actually slows down!

Weight loss is truly a patience game. The tortoise and the hare analogy strikes again...

Remember- slow and steady for weight loss, fast and furious for the speedwork!