If you have stubborn body fat that just does not want to burn off, there is hope. Don’t take shortcuts though. Testosterone, growth hormone, muscle growth and fat loss work together to give you the lean, healthy body you need and want.
Take care of your body. Workout hard and smart. Be consistent.
Do the Right Type of Workouts
According to the research, heavy weight lifting gives you exercise-induced testosterone increases. This will help you build muscle mass and burn fat without fear of “bulking up” like a man.
To lift heavy enough, your repetition range for exercises should be between 3-5 (you would have a difficult time lifting these repetitions). You would typically do 4-5 sets of each exercise. Compound movements like squats, rows, pullups and shoulder press give you more exercise-induced testosterone.
Rotate heavy lifting days with light lifting days (10-12 reps per exercise, 3-4 sets). Do circuit weight training with the lighter weights (little or no rest between sets). You will need more rest between sets when you lift heavy (1-2 minutes rest between sets).
Women can also burn more fat by increasing exercise-induced growth hormone. Growth hormone is also important for building muscle. Intense circuit weight training and interval cardio workouts will increase your body’s growth hormone.
Get Your Rest
Not getting enough sleep will cause all kinds of problems like:
1. decreased energy during the day,
2. constant cravings for sugary foods (for quick energy),
3. metabolism problems,
4. stress-out feelings and
5. decreased workout performance or skipped workouts.
You can maximize growth hormone levels by getting 7-9 hours of deep sleep each night.
Being “too busy” all the time is not good….sometimes we use it as an excuse to not do the things we should—like exercise.
Also, when you wake up during the night because you can’t sleep, you are likely to eat when you should be sleeping. And, you will throw your metabolism “out of wack.”
Researchers have found that the less sleep the test subjects got, the higher their body fat. The shorter sleep time altered the subjects hormone levels, energy decreased and appetite increased.
Sleep (rest), recovery (from workouts), healthy nutrition and regular exercise work together to make you fit and healthy.
Stay Away From Long-Term Stress
According to an article in Prevention Magazine:
“Stress activates the fight-or-flight response, the body’s involuntary response to a threat that makes our hearts pound and our breath shorten. Chief among the hormones released during this response is the stress hormone cortisol.”
“Cortisol automatically kicks up your appetite, prompting you not only to want to eat huge quantities but especially to want sweets and simple carbohydrates-foods that make insulin levels spike and then plummet, which may leave you feeling hungrier than ever-and eating again, says Prevention advisor Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and author of Fight Fat After Forty (Viking Press, 2000). “Stress fat” is also concentrated in the last place you need it: deep in your tummy.”
Burn your stubborn fat and shape your lean body for good.
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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Her Fitness Hut
