May 2008

Women:  Get The Facts and Don’t Fear The Weights—Part II

Diet

Once you've got this figured out and have proper lifting technique and weight loading in place, then your next move is working out a good diet.

Far too many women also get set in the mind-set that they can make up for a less than proper diet by doing more cardio. While again, cardio will burn off calories so theoretically you can eat more food when doing more cardio, this is not the most productive way to go about doing things.

With high volumes of cardio women's bodies can react in funny ways and actually start to hold on to body fat more, so you will be short-circuiting your results by adopting this practice.

In all reality, the diet should be doing most of the weight loss for you (assuming this is your goal, likewise for those wishing to gain muscle mass), and then cardio is just thrown in to add heart health benefits and to help with nutrient partitioning (direct more of the calories towards muscle cells and fewer towards fat cells).

So, Do Men And Women Really Need To Train Differently? 

In a general sense, no. Both men and women need to apply the same general principles: heavy lifting, a proper diet, enough rest to ensure overtraining doesn't set in, and cardio to supplement their program.

Both men and women need to apply the same general principles: heavy lifting, a proper diet, enough rest to ensure overtraining doesn't set in, and cardio to supplement their program. 

Where women do differ - once you get down to much lower body fat levels and you are then trying to get rid of those last few pounds. At this point, due to estrogen levels and a mix of other factors it may be necessary to do some things slightly different.

Another area where females and males differ slightly as well is in total volume of the workout. Most often, females will have to scale back slightly on the volume of the workout (total sets of lifting performed), just because they frequently will have slightly reduced recovery capacities in comparison to most males.

This is an easy factor to get around though so long as you are paying attention to your workout program design and taking steps to ensure overtraining doesn't set in. 

So, next time you are contemplating what direction you should take your training and whether or not you need to set special circumstances for yourself being a female, keep this information in mind. 

Article reprinted with permission.  Author:  Shannon Clark.  
Look for Part II of  article in our May Newsletter.

 If you are interested in weight training, please call Ray or Christine at

832-755-1949 or visit our website @ www.TheFitEffect.Net

Supervised Workouts Improve Results

New research supports the benefits of hiring a qualified personal trainer to help you attain your fitness goals.

Twenty men ages 18 to 35 were placed on a 12-week resistance-training program. Half the group trained unsupervised and maintained their own workout logs. The other half received one-on-one supervision with a certified personal trainer.

In addition to keeping track of their workouts and charting their progress, the trainers provided spotting and advice to participants and made sure training loads were increased progressively.  Unsupervised participants made changes to their programs using the same principles and were self-motivated.

Both groups achieved significant strength gains; however, the supervised group also made significant improvements in body mass, fat mass and fat-free mass.

Researchers suggest that the trainer encouraged participants to use and tolerate greater training loads, thus eliciting greater gains than those who self-selected their training loads.

Source: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2000; 32, 6, 1175

The Fit Effect, LLC

www.TheFitEffect.net  *   ray@TheFitEffect.net   *     832-755-1949

Ray Bessette is a Graduate of the Professional Fitness Institute, NASM, ACE, NSCA Certified, and founder of The Fit Effect, LLC.  With over 26 years of experience in the fitness industry, Ray is committed to exceed his client's fitness goals by utilizing his education, knowledge and experience through motivation, communication and perspiration.    "By listening to every client’s specific needs I am able to evaluate and develop a structured program that will enable you to reach your wellness and fitness goals. Certified trainers play many roles in the client/trainer relationship. I will motivate, inspire, educate, and coach you to levels once accepted as unattainable."

Ray is also a NPC National Bodybuilding Competitor.

The information on this website is intended for information and reference only. It is not  and should not be a substitute for  professional, medical advice. Information on this site should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.
Our bodies are all different and you and your health care provider know it best.

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