I was acquiring more energy than ever before! No doubt the weight training placed a premium on my appearance!
Since SHAPE and MUSCLE is the name of the game in bodybuilding competition I was all over it! I entered my very first competition and won!
Now with 30 plus years experience and 17 titles under my belt I can say I have learned a vast amount of knowledge in nutrition AND weight training.
Genetics do play an important role! THANKS MOM AND DAD!! :)
Calorie consumption is a major factor as well. I was eating approxiamately 4000 calories a day when I was competiting. That combined with heavy weight training, low reps helped pack on the muscle and be the "one to watch out for" on the posing dias!
I have slightly different goals now, obviously!
So...here it is... if you want to burn body fat and have a nice lean physique you have to train right! Know what your doing and be organized in the gym or wherever you train!
Hire a personal trainer to help get you started and educate you on what type of program you should be on. (very important)
Women are so worried about
getting too muscular. They want to "tone" and "shape" their bodies, and they don't realize that these are just other terms to describe muscular development. They think toning and building are two different things, but they really aren't.
The differences are just in degree, not in kind. Actually the fear fo getting too big is expresssed primarily by newcomers to weight training. Once people actually start working out , two things happen.
1) They begin to see changes in their bodies and like what they see, and...
2) They realize how hard you have to work and how difficult it is to develop a really significant amount of extra muscle mass.
Unfortunately, muscles atrophy with age as we get older the more muscle we tend to lose. The average (not very active) person may lose an estimated 50% of his or her muscle tissue between the ages of 18-65.
In fact, the loss of muscle and youthful muscle tone is one of the charastics of the aging body.
So,
GET ACTIVE, PUMP SOME IRON!!
As a general rule, stick with 8-20 repetitions. This will provide you with the best combination of muscle tone, shape, strength, size and proportion. AND FOR PETE'S SAKE, DON'T BE AFRAID TO GO HEAVY!
Ok, let's use biceps for example (my favorite): if you want to complete 20 repetitions on a bicep curl the 20th repetition should be an
all out effort in good form. By that I mean, the very last rep should be very difficult to perform.
If you can do 20 repetitions on bicep curls and feel like you could go on, the weight is too light! A qualified trainer can help you select the proper weight to use so you can go after that fitness goal, whatever it may be.
Remember this: If you don't know where you are going you are going to end up somewhere else!
So, when you do your repetitions, do not explode and try to move your weights fast. This gives you control and through control, you develop and avoid injuries. You don't get any points for finishing your set faster!!
I Hope this helps clear up some confusion on "bodybuilding/weightraining/toning/shaping" or whatever you want to label it!
I would love to
hear from you!
