Skinny-Fat

I read a fantastic hub this morning which inspired me to write one myself. The hub I`m speaking of is about our need, or the need society has placed on us, women in particular, to be skinny. It is titled "Putting An End To Skinnyness" if you`d like to read it. My kudos to the writer.

Most of my life I have been considered thin, as far as the eye can tell. My numbers on the scale have always been within 'normal' range limits for my height. My BMI (body mass index) has always also been withing limits, high limits, but in range nonetheless.

During one of my daily learning sessions with the Google Master, I can across an article in which they used the term skinny-fat. According to the 'Urban Dictionary', skinny-fat is used to describe people who look good in clothes but are flabby underneath. Hmmmmm......Sounded like someone I saw in the mirror everyday. I did some more digging on the benefits of having muscle and here is what I found.

Core training is often neglected in one`s strength training routines. We go to the gym and huff and puff and drip sweat doing 'chronic cardio' but we don`t train our cores besides the occasional crunch set. Your core is your abs, your obliques, and your back. I like to include my quads, or upper thighs in layman`s terms, and buttocks as part of my core as well. It inspires me to work them. Our core is one of the reasons we can move and stand. A weak core will lead to back pain and poor balance. That`s one of the reasons dancers and tight rope walkers train their cores so habitually; it`s good for balance.

While weight isn`t the focus here, who doesn`t want to lose 1/2 inch or more for their clothes to feel a bit more comfy? I know I do. Building muscle lets you eat more and still lose inches. This is because muscle is more active than fat. It takes more energy to sustain muscle; fat just sort of lays there while the molecules inside muscle are always moving. We can eat more and still lose inches! Eat the right things though! Lifting just twice a week will cut your fat percentage by three percent in just ten weeks.

Lifting weights strengthens bones. Osteoporosis is a big deal among American women. We are shrinking as we age and weak bones increases your chances of falling and breaking a hip or a wrist. If you lift weights regularly for six months, your bone density increases by thirteen percent!

Feeling blue? Pick up some weights and kick some ass! Weight lifting not only increases confidence but it releases those feel good hormones and lifts your mood. Researchers at Harvard have actually proven that patients being treated for depression respond at an equal level when they replace lifting weights for counseling. And it`s much, much cheaper!

After burns don`t just occur with space shuttles! It happens with muscles too. After a woman does a strength training workout, she burns approximately 100 more calories in a twenty four hour period. After a year, she`s burned enough to lose those last five pounds we all talk about, just from the after burn.

Type two diabetes is on the rise. Muscle mass dispels blood sugar, which in turn helps to keep type two diabetes at bay.

Having muscles makes you stronger which means you`re less likely to get hurt doing menial tasks. Lifting a toddler, pulling groceries out of the car, lifting your senior Golden Retriever into the back seat...the list goes on. These tasks are more likely to hurt you if you`re not strong.

There are many reasons to add some muscle to your body, I have only named a few. Don`t worry about bulking up. That is a myth. Unless there is synthetic intervention, women cannot get big like men can. We simply don`t have the amount of testosterone they do. That`s not to say we can`t get thicker than what we like. To prevent that, just lift lighter with more repetitions. Usually twelve to fifteen reps is the rule of thumb for building long, lean muscles; while eight to ten reps of a heavier weight brings more bulk.

You can substitute anything that weighs something for the medicine ball. A milk jug is a great substitiute!

The planks can be done unelevated.