.muscle is my camoflage.



Photography by: Paul Buceta; Model: Lori Harder;
from Oxygenmag.com

  There are all kinds of myths surrounding muscles and women who want to have lean and fit bodies.  The more I read, the more I learn that muscle is certainly a superhero itself and not a villain.  There are "profound physiologic and metabolic benefits to building muscle." Some of which are as follows: 

• high-caloric burn (which means you burn more calories when you have more muscle)
• removes sugar from your bloodstream 
• keeps joints and ligaments strong

So if you are doing regular exercise and have incorperated weights, here are some basic guidelines to follow to insure that your program is growing calorie-burning muscle:

• allow you to build muscle safely and confidently (don't compromise proper form for high numbers of weight or reps.)
• be customized to accomplish your fitness goals (it is important to know what your aim is before you begin)
• take into consideration any areas of injury or weakness (nurture your body as you build it to be stronger.  make sure to not over do it and potentially cause long-term damage.)
• be versatile and progressive (keep your program dynamic and make sure to change the intensity as well as the types of moves you do at least every 10 days to insure you don't plateau.)
• have fun! (if you have a good time you will be more likely to stick to it and are sure to see results.) 

I was reading yesterday in Smart Girls Do Dumbbells, "Muscle is a better camoflage for your body flaws than wearing black.  The important issue to remember about muscle is that it is a compact tissue, heavier in composition than fat.  So even though it may weigh a bit more, it looks a lot less.  As you build muscle, and lose fat you might be suprised to find the scale doesn't always reflect a big number decrease but thats okay...the muscle you're growing makes a more beautiful, firmer, healthier-looking and feeling body."

-Judith Sherman-Wolin, author. Smart Girls Do Dumbbells. ACSM Health Fitness Instructor, NSCA Certified Personal Trainer.

 

So, don't be afraid of building muscle.  You're body knows just what to do with it!

 

 

 

.make one decision.

In my experience, there are thousands of choices to make daily.  Most of these are driven by habit and have long ago lost the need to put much discipline behind participating in them.  Yet, every waking second of every day we make choices.  

Recently, I made one decision that has changed my mental perspective, and my physical body.
I decided to live my entire life, with intension.  Now, that might sound weird...now that I typed it...but-stay with me.  I can tell you that I started to exercise on a regular basis.  So, I move daily, with intension.  I also started to eat healthy.  Not to diet, but to feed my body as if it is something sacred and a cherished vessel-. So, I eat every three hours-with intension. 

I feel as though it is much more difficult to be confronted with choices to make daily.


As each day passes since I made the ONE DECISION, I am not guilting myself, or depriving myself of anything.  I have built a new habit to live with intension-so I have been set free of trying to want things in this life and feel like they are not in my reach.
I have known, and continue to learn, when you stand for something, there is opposition.  There are distrations.  However, I am committed to make my health, my well-being a priority in this life, so I am able to be fully alive and truely be fearless.