Benefits of building muscle!

Jan 14, 2015

 So today is day 15 post op. It's official, no weight loss on the scale for 3 days. I've hit my first stall, but I really don't care! I feel FANTASTIC! My measurements say i'm shrinking. My jeans are a bit looser and my body feels energized! My restrictions ended yesterday and I did some resistance training at the gym. Nothing too intense, but it was enough to give me a nice endorphin rush and that bit of muscle stiffness that tells me I gave my muscle tissue something to add to! I can't explain how much I've missed this feeling! There is NO better high than the natural one your body creates with it's own chemical responses! Even though I've been heavy for most of my life, I've always been active in sports and physical activities and since 2000 until about 2 years ago, I'd been working out at a fitness center. However as the increased weight and age started having an effect on my joints and bone health, I wasn't able to workout the same and gave up my membership. Losing my muscle tone and strength as well as my cardio endurance had been harder on me physically, mentally and emotionally, than the weight gain itself. Hence, I started this WLS journey. As someone who HAS spent many, many hours at the gym in the last 15 years, I realized I have a bit of advice that's worth passing on to others who maybe don't have as much experience or knowledge about working out or the best way adding exercise to their own WL journey in a positive way that doesn't make it a agonizing experience. These are a few tips I've gotten through the years and are what kept me going to the gym when I first started out and otherwise might have given it up. First and most importantly, you don't have to kill yourself for a beneficial workout! Whether you walk a mile or run a mile, they end up being equally effective because although running may burn more calories initially, the longer you work out, the longer your metabolism stays revved up. So if you run a mile in 15 minutes, you burn more calories during the run than if you walked for 15 minutes, but when you WALK a mile, it takes longer and that longer time extends the amount of time AFTER the workout that your metabolism runs higher. Secondly, if you use a treadmill or stationary bike or elliptical machine and are just starting to incorporate exercise into your lifestyle, use the MANUAL settings. Most machines have a chart for target heart rates that shows cardio/fat burn numbers and you want a machine that has the monitors on the handles unless you have a separate device that monitors your heart rate as you work out, like a fitness watch or wrist monitor etc. Getting your heart rate to the target zone and keeping it there is the key to making your workout the most effective. So for fat burn, if your target heart rate is 120-140, you can manually adjust the machine as you work out to get to that zone and keep it there. The surprising thing about this, is that you should feel completely comfortable at the pace that puts you in your zone. You should be breathing at a comfortable rhythm not gasping and panting and getting stitches in your sides. As a matter of fact, you'll probably find that if you ARE gasping and panting, your heart rate is too high and if you slow down the pace, you'll not only breath easier, but you'll burn more calories and break a sweat. Eventually you'll be increasing your pace because as your body become more fit, you'll need to work a bit harder to get your rate into your target zone, but your comfort level will still match this. The point is, you SHOULDN'T be killing yourself on these machines for 30 minutes to get a workout, it's actually working against you if you're beet red in the face and your heart is racing out of control so set your pace and adjust it during your workout to keep your heart rate in the low end of the target zone and you'll see that not killing yourself on the machine is not only possible, but is also the most effective. AND, you won't want to take a louiseville slugger to the machine when your done. You'll actually enjoy the endorphin rush afterwards and look forward to doing it again. But if you've only been focused on cardio then you're depriving your body of some wonderful health benefits and might want to consider adding strength training to your workout routines... If you're looking to tone or build some muscle to help combat some of the inevitable loose skin, I'd start with resistance machines before free weights if you're at a gym or fitness center. And keep in mind that for toning, you want lower weight and more repetition where as for muscle building, you'll go for higher weight and smaller reps. You don't need to turn your arms and legs into jelly and then suffer near rigor mortis for the next 3 days to give your muscles a healthy workout. When you set the resistance weight, you should be able to easily push, pull or lift them through your entire set of reps without getting harsh muscle burn or being unable to complete the full amount of reps and sets at all. You should end each set with only a mild sense of fatigue or muscle burn that still allow you to rest and then do the next set. If you set the resistance to a comfortable weight, you might do something like 30lbs resistance with 10-20 reps for 3 sets, resting for 30 seconds to 1 minute between sets. If your struggling to finish a set because the muscles burn or get shaky, lower the amount of weight resistance!  Remember to breath out during the strain and in during the release. After you work out, you want to take in protein!!! This is the muscle building block of the body and will ensure your work outs burn fat while your body uses your protein to repair and build your muscle tone!!!!! When you first start working out, you ARE going to experience muscle ache and fatigue as well as some stiffness. Most of the stiffness is actually from the tendons and ligaments so the best way to feel better is to carefully stretch the sore areas through out the 2 days following the resistance workouts. DON'T work the same machines and same muscles everyday, give them a day or two in between, target different areas on a schedule, like legs on mondays and wednesdays and arms on tuesdays and thursdays, back and shoulders or abs on fridays and sundays etc, you get the gist of it. As your body gets used to the workouts, the tendons and muscles will adapt and your post workout aches and pains will lessen, and you'll mostly feel mild muscle fatigue, but when you see the results and reap the benefits of less joint pain and body aches from your increasing muscle strength, the mild fatigue and adrenaline rush added to the flood of post workout endorphin's will become addictive and you'll actually crave this healthy high! Until your body adapts to a regular muscle work out, remember to take your time, don't over fatigue your muscles, drink extra water, stretch out good before and after the workouts and don't be afraid to use some chewable Tylenol to help with the initial aches and pains. And remember to take in protein immediately following your workouts! I know for those first starting out, that the initial muscle aches and pains and tendon stiffness can be alarming, but trust me, the body adapts and the more you continue these workouts, the less intense these post workout aches,pains and stiffness will be! Here is the BEST reason to continue with them and to make them a part of your workouts. Cardio is great for the metabolism and heart health but muscle building and toning is equally important for total body health, not only is muscle leaner than fat and helps your body function with fewer aches and strains on your joints, but MUSCLE BURNS MORE CALORIES THAN FAT! What this means is that even at rest, if you weigh 150 lbs but carry more lean muscle than someone who weighs 150 lbs with less lean muscle, you will not only be in a smaller pair of jeans, but your body will be burning more calories through the day to sustain that muscle than someone of the SAME weight with less muscle. Basically what i'm saying is carrying more lean muscle mass is just as beneficial to your metabolism as a cardio workout because muscle will demand it's share if your daily calories to sustain itself and therefore use up more of your daily caloric intake. With less muscle, your body is more likely to store excess calories to fat. Now with all this said, I will tell you one last thing you may or may not know but should, so you don't get scared off of muscle building or toning workouts. *Muscle weights MORE than fat so as you incorporate strength training into your workout and build muscle, you may see an increase on the scale, but DON'T, DON'T, DON'T let this discourage you!!! The number on the scale may go up but I promise you, the size of your clothes will go DOWN!!!  I have weighed 190lbs and been in a size 14 jeans and have also been 165 lbs and been in a size 16 jeans when I had less muscle mass and more fat. Take body measurements with a sewing tape measure and use those measurements to gauge your progress along with the scale and you'll see what I mean...

 Here is a picture to show you the difference. Which would you rather have filling out your clothes? Keep in mind that while you're still working down to reach your goal weight and maintenance, as you continue to eat healthy and exercise, the numbers on the scale might fluctuate some as you add muscle, but they will still go down, you just may see it in a more step like process rather than a steady slide. I hope I'm not coming off as "preachy" in this post, but I figure we all joined this site to look for answers to questions and support in our WL journey's and many of us are seeking any tips, advice and knowledge that will help us reach our goals and live longer, healthier lives. This is one area where I feel like I can contribute to that and help others who are like minded in their goals for not just losing weight, but for also trying to improve their overall fitness and body health. I'm not a fitness trainer or expert but everything i've posted here has come from personal trainers and fitness professionals I've worked with through the years at Lifetime fitness and other centers and from many years of research and my own experiences and success with fitness workouts. I'd love to share advice and tips with anyone else who's like minded and am always looking for new information and ideas so if this is helpful to anyone or you have anything to add, PLEASE DO!  p.s...This is a picture I use for inspiration. I weighed 195 lbs in this but was working out every day at the gym and wearing a size 14 levi's. Even though I was just shy of 200 lbs, I had more lean muscle than fat and was in the best cardio shape of my life. I can't wait to get there again and then hopefully,continue to work down to goal!

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