by shin Otake
Despite your efforts, it’s not your fault you haven’t been able to achieve the lean, toned body you deserve, so don’t be too quick to blame your age or genetics…
Just look at what we’re surrounded with—celebrities who are paid big bucks to endorse fitness products. You’ll see them on T.V. touting, “You can get a totally sculpted body in just 10 days, all you have to do is buy my latest and greatest whatcha-ma-call-it exercise gadget!”. (You know the drill)
Sheesh, for the right amount of money, these people will say just about anything.
…And is it just me or have you noticed how all the fitness magazines are overrun with ads for “miracle” fat-burning supplements? Listen, the magazines aren’t going to tell you the truth about those bogus fat-burner pills scattered throughout the pages when that’s where all their advertising dollars are coming from.
It’s almost to the point you need to hire a private investigator just to figure out what’s legitimate and what’s not!
So if you’ve been working out with nothing to show for it but a pairs of worn out sneakers and clothes that look the same on your body since the day you joined the gym, isn’t it time you changed something?
I don’t want you to waste another minute of your time using the ineffective, inefficient methods plastered all over the internet and magazines, so today I’m going to debunk THE most common workout myth and share my proven methods that’ll turn your body into a fat-burning furnace. You’ll be back in your two-piece before you know it!
First, let me ask you a quick question…
Do your workouts focus mostly on cardio (jogging, aerobics, elliptical) or doing isolated exercises with small pink dumbbells (to avoid getting “bulky”)? Or, maybe you take those fitness classes that promise to “lengthen” your muscles for a thinner look (Pilates or yoga ring a bell?).
Listen, I have nothing against Pilates and yoga (or the color pink), I think they’re great, but NOT when it comes to burning off tons of fat and getting a slender, sculpted body.
Here’s the thing: If you’ve been avoiding the weight room (or using “girl” weights) for fear of bulking up, you’re missing out on your body’s most efficient fat-burner…muscle.
Now, please read carefully because I want to finally put one of the most common misconceptions to rest:
Lifting weights, will NOT make you “get big or bulky” or look like one of those muscle-clad women on the cover of a bodybuilding magazine—not even close!
Unlike men, your body doesn’t produce enough testosterone to stimulate large, bulky muscle growth.
Those masculine looking gals you see on the cover of magazines are juicing up with testosterone and spending HOURS everyday in the gym.
I’m not sure if you know this or not, but it’s really difficult for a woman to develop muscles that are popping out all over the place like that. In fact, it’s so hard that even though these ladies spend hours in the gym everyday, they still have to use illegal substances to get that big!
What you WILL get by ditching the Barbie weights and picking up more challenging weights is a super-lean, toned and tight body.
Here’s why…
One pound of muscle can burn up to 20 calories a day.
That means if you just replaced 5 pounds of fat with 5 pounds of lean muscle, you’re essentially burning an additional 100 calories a day.
Not to mention, muscle takes up MUCH less space than fat. Take a look:
By shedding unwanted fat and replacing it with lean muscle, you can increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (your metabolism) by up to 15%. That means you have the potential of burning 15% more calories a day without lifting a finger!
But, if you’ve already been lifting weights and still have stubborn fat and cellulite lingering around, here’s something you should know (and this is where most women go wrong)…
If you’re doing countless reps of isolated moves (like bicep curls, leg lifts, and tricep kickbacks, etc…) in an attempt to “spot treat” specific areas of your body, you will never get you the results you’re after.
You see, even though your body tends to deposit more fat in certain areas as opposed to others, burning it off doesn’t work the same way. For example, if you tend to carry more weight in your hips and thighs, doing isolated exercises like leg lifts or inner and outer thigh machines won’t help those areas slim down.
To transform your body from head to toe, you’ve got to workout using full-body exercises.
Let me explain…
Full-body exercises demand that more muscles be used at the same time. This places significant metabolic stress (the good kind of stress) on your body, which responds by producing a flood of fat-burning hormones.
Isolated exercises on the other hand, simply don’t recruit enough muscle fibers to make this process even possible— and that’s why your trouble spots never seem to get any smaller.
Let’s look at an example (there are over 40 full-body exercises, but this is one of my favorites): The Squat Press Up
This movement involves the use of all of your lower body muscles (quads, hamstrings, and glutes) along with your upper body muscles (shoulders, arms, chest, and upper back) and your core stabilizer muscles.
As you can see, this full-body exercise demands the use of your entire body.
Not to mention, full-body exercises are also functional, meaning they mimic the way your body naturally moves. So it’s no surprise that when you workout using these exercises, daily activities become even easier and your overall fitness level vastly improves.
Isolated exercises simply can’t accomplish the same level of results (no matter how many of them you do) because they only work one muscle group at a time.
Think about it…your body works as a whole – the sum of it’s parts – never in isolation.
When’s the last time you participated in any activity that required you to use only one muscle at a time? So why would you train any differently?
Full-body exercises are the biggest metabolic boosters and by implementing these turbo-moves into your workouts, you’ll finally be able to unleash your full fat-burning potential—getting you slim, toned and super fit.
Here’s the video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Y_bcT0Xvyl8]