A Member’s Story…
“I just celebrated my three year anniversary here at Pittsburgh North Fitness and what I can tell you is that the workouts are so different, so unique….they really give you an effective workout. The trainers are great and I’ll tell you one thing if come here you will feel it, but you will look great!” – Ken R.
If you are afraid to lift weights because you are afraid of bulking up, you need to look at how you eat.
Women need to lift and need to lift heavy weight. Lifting doesn’t not bulk up women; it is poor choices that bulk up women when they lift. Or as Dwight Schrute from the Office puts it, “False, it’s not lifting weights that makes women bulky. It’s eating cupcakes that makes women bulky.”
As much as you may want to believe that you can go out Friday and Saturday night and eat and drink whatever you please and then burn it off in the gym simply doesn’t work. This is why most people fail to see their body change, at least change for the better. You can blame the workout program, but it is really the food and lifestyle habits that need changed.
This does not mean you can never enjoy your favorite foods or have a drink, but they do need to be controlled. Cheat 20% of the time and you should be fine that means 20% of your weekly calories come from “bad” foods and the other 80% come from “good” foods. Tracking it this way for a week usually reveals that you are only eating clean 50-60% of the time, here lies the problem.
And what about alcohol? Keep it to no more than six drinks a week and you will be fine. (Just don’t go out and buy bigger wine glasses.)
Here are three tips to ensure you never bulk up:
Stop worrying about bulking and start lifting!
If you are interested in seeing our strength training can change your body, get started with our 6-Week “Strong is the New Sexy” Challenge by clicking the link below.
These delicious skewers make for a healthy side to accompany any meal. Give them a try!
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
Recipe Resource: http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a43682/zucchini-cauliflower-skewers-feta-recipe/
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Give these delicious paleo friendly brownies a try.
Ingredients
Instructions
Recipe Source: http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/recipes/desserts/blueberry-espresso-brownies/
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Need a workout this weekend?
Give this weeks “Weekend Warrior Workout” a try.
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With all the conflicting advice and information available on exercise it can be difficult to know what to do and what works best to get into awesome shape, feel good, and have a body that you feel confident in.
Using our 16 years of experience in the fitness industry here are five mistakes we see many people make in their workout and fitness plans.
You Use Exercise As Punishment
Exercise is intended to be a reward for your body. Exercise should be something that makes you feel better, more confident, and add to your life. It should not be beat down that leaves you laying dead on the floor, or as a punishment for what you ate or gaining a few pounds.
You Only Do Cardio and High Intensity Interval Training
While cardio and HIIT can be beneficial and have a place in fitness, when they are the only form of exercise they can hinder your results. Overtime they both will cause a loss in muscle tissue, which leads to increased body fat percentages, and HIIT tends to make you extremely hungry afterward causing you to overeat.
This doesn’t mean that you have to give up your cardio or HIIT, you just need to limit them to 1-2 workouts per week and get in 2-3 total body strength workouts first. Following this order will get better results and create positive change.
You Don’t Eat Enough
You cannot restrict calories forever. Your body needs fuel to power through your workouts and keep everything running like a well oiled machine. When calorie restriction goes too long the body begins to lose muscle and gain body fat, leading to the dreaded skinny fat body type.
Also, as you change your nutritional requirements will change. As you get leaner and stronger your body needs more daily calories and needs a higher daily carb intake.
You Don’t Allow Your Body Time To Rest
Working out every day may work for short period of time, but it soon leads to burn out and an achy, tired body.
Three to four workouts per week is optimal and if you want to add a daily walk or light mobility work that will help you recover faster between workouts. Again as you get stronger you are able to stress the body more each workout and that stress requires more time to recover in order to keep making progress.
You’re Only Focused On Burning Calories
How many calories you burn in your workout plays a very small role in the results you get. It is very easy to get caught up in the calorie burn of your workout and feel the need to do more cardio and HIIT, as those tend to create a higher burn.
You will never out exercise a bad diet. So thinking you can go out drinking and eat bad tonight and then burn it all off in the gym is a recipe for failure. Clean eating done 80% of the time with a few strength workouts each week will beat the pants off of cardio and HIIT workouts when in comes to getting results and decreasing body fat.
Hard work and consistency are important for results, but it has to be the right consistent effort. If you’ve been making any of the above 5 Fitness Mistakes correct them in your routine and watch your results take off!
Related Articles:
We had a great turn out this past Saturday for our Nutrition Seminar, taught by PNF Nutrition Coach Courtney Kirkwood. In case you missed it here are five take-aways from her presentation on things to look for when shopping for food.
Eating clean can be very difficult, as there are many hidden ingredients in our food these days. The best rule of thumb is to look for items with the least amount of ingredients, look up the big “science class” words, and cook most of your meals at home.
If you would like more help with nutrition coaching, check out the link below.
Recipe of the Week – Almond Flour Chocoloate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Indulge guilt free with these delicious Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
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