YOU ARE NOT TRAINING HARD ENOUGH!!

YOU ARE NOT TRAINING HARD ENOUGH!!

·        ARE YOU NOT GAINING MUSCLE?

·        ARE YOU PROVIDING YOUR BODY WITH AN AMAZING COMBINATION OF MACRO AND MICRO-NUTRIENTS AND STILL NOT ABLE TO SEE THE RESULTS?

·        ARE YOU GIVING YOURSELF ENOUGH REST AND SLEEP TO RECOVER AND REGULARLY GO TO THE GYM AND STILL CAN’T SEE THE TREMENDOUS RESULTS YOU ABSOLUTELY DESERVE?

pic credit : youtube.com

1.  You’re Not Training Hard Enough

If you’re not training with intensity, not changing the tempo or progressively increasing the weight then your muscles won’t get bigger and stronger. Compound training is a key element to this. Focus first on movements such as deadlifts, squats, overhead press etc.  Go hard and heavy (within your limits) and challenge your body. You know you’ve trained with enough intensity when you can’t do another rep in correct form or particularly experience soreness the other day. Start with a weight you can lift for eight reps, but not more than ten. Increase the weight and do six reps; add more weight and do four reps; increase again and do two reps.

pic credit :burnthefatblog.com

2.  You’re Not Changing It Up

From time to time, our bodies hit a plateau. You may be doing everything right, but nothing is happening. A simple fix to this is shuffling up your workout schedule. Try swapping dumbbells or free weights in place of barbell, or trying CrossFit, Zumba, Tabata, kickboxing to the mix for a couple weeks. Our bodies too get bored just as we do.

Whatever your goals are, remember you must work under your ability, push your body to a little new limit, eat healthy, rest well and take a professional guidance along the way to make sure you are getting the best out of your workout.

pic credit : dailymail.co.uk

 A good workout routine needs the following:

1.  Training days arranged to allow for adequate rest

2.  Muscle groups arranged so over-training does not occur

3.  Muscle groups arranged so that each muscle can be worked to maximum effect

4.  A good selection of compound and isolation exercises

5.  Good warm up and cool down

 

3.  Your recovery between sets is too short.

Performing multiple sets in rapid succession doesn’t help you gain muscle; there’s a reason why the bulkiest people in the gym tend to hang out on one bench for a while. We’ve been pushed lately to do as minimal time as possible between sets, because of the trend toward CrossFit and those types of training. If you’re looking to gain strength and size, you need to have a bit more time for recovery to occur.

pic credit : focusedcollection.com

4.  Your exercise technique is bad

You’re doing the right exercises, but are you doing them right? If you want to place the maximum amount of stress on the muscle, and prevent serious injuries, you must execute every movement with correct form. Don’t copy  others  in the gym, this is how bad habits cultivate. Here are a few general rules that apply to most exercises:

• Keep your reps slow and controlled
• Don’t use momentum to move weight (no swinging!)
• Use a full range of motion
• Don’t lock joints out at the top of movements

pic credit : nhs.uk

5.  You’re doing the wrong exercises

This goes hand in hand with a solid workout routine. Doing the wrong kind of exercises is a common mistake made by newbies. Usually, the rookie lifter is either doing too many isolation exercises and not enough compounds, or only doing exercises they like or feel the most comfortable in. That is not a very good approach to begin with.

Big compound movements recruit the most muscle fibers and place the most stress on the body. Those are your big muscle builders. 

 Here are some big mass builders that you must include in your routine to see amazing results:

1.  Squat

2.  Deadlift

3.  Wide grip pull ups

4.  Chin ups

5.  Rows

6.  Bench press (dumbbell and/or barbell)

7.  Triceps Dips

8.  Shoulder press (dumbbell or barbell)

pic credit : pinterest.com

 Train harder  each week and get the body you always wanted !!

You can interact with me via dm on instagram @fitindianwoman and facebook page @KRITIKA KOTNALA . I would love to hear from you !!.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF WORKOUTS , THE BENEFITS  THEY OFFER AND HOW MANY OPTIONS YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE FROM OR CHANGE TO.

WEIGHT TRAINING AND ITS PERKS FOR THE BODY AND MIND

·           improved sense of well being – resistance training may boost    your self-confidence, improve your body image and your mood.

·           improved sleep.

·         increased confidence.

·        enhanced functional performance of everyday activities. 

 ·       improved muscle strength and tone – to protect your joints from injury.

·        maintaining flexibility and balance, which can help you remain independent as you age.

·        weight management and increased muscle-to-fat ratio – as you gain muscle, your body burns more kilo joules when at rest.

·        may help reduce or prevent cognitive decline in older people.

·        greater stamina – as you grow stronger, you won’t get tired as easily.

pic credit : trainright.com

CARDIO AND ITS PERKS FOR THE MIND AND BODY

·        It helps you burn fat and calories for weight loss.

·        It makes your heart strong so that it doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood.

·        It increases your lung capacity.

·        It helps reduce your risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.

·        It makes you feel good, and can even provide. temporary relief from depression and anxiety.

·        It helps you sleep better.

·        It helps reduce stress.

·        It improves your sex life.

·        It gives you more confidence in how you look and feel.

·        Weight-bearing cardio exercise helps increase your bone density.

pic credit : coach.nine.com.au

CROSS-FIT AND ITS PERKS FOR THE MIND AND BODY

CrossFit brings together knowledge from a diverse background of exercises to form one full-body workout full of benefits. Specifically, CrossFit workouts cover the whole “10 Fitness Domains” including:

·        Coordination

·        Agility

·        Balance

·        Accuracy

·        Cardiovascular and Respiratory

·        Stamina

·        Strength

·        Flexibility

·        Power

·        Speed

 pic credit :cbc.ca

DANCE AND ITS PERKS FOR THE MIND AND BODY

·        improved condition of your heart and lungs.

·        improved general and psychological well being.

·        greater self-confidence and self-esteem.

·        better social skills.

·        stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis.

·        better coordination, agility and flexibility.

·        improved balance and spatial awareness.

·        increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness.

·        increased aerobic fitness.

·        improved muscle tone and strength.

·        weight management.

·        increased physical confidence.

·        improved mental functioning.

 pic credit :sydneydancecompany.com

YOGA AND ITS PERKS FOR THE MIND AND BODY

·        Improves your flexibility

·        Builds muscle strength

·        Perfects your posture

·        Prevents cartilage and joint breakdown 

·        Protects your spine

·        Betters your bone health

·        Regulates your adrenal glands

·        Relaxes your system 

·        Eases your pain

·        Uses sounds to soothe your sinuses

pic credit : theurbanlist.com

When you have so many options to choose from , which gives you better health and mindfulness then why do you have so many excuses to skip the workout !!!

 You can interact with me via dm on instagram @fitindianwoman . I would love to hear from you !!.

TRAINING YOUR ABS DAILY TO GET A SIX PACK OR A STRONG CORE?

TRAINING YOUR ABS DAILY TO GET A SIX PACK OR A STRONG CORE?

Having a slim waistline or defined washboard abs is naturally an obsession that motivates people to intensively work their core muscles. But when do you know you have done too much? can you work your abs daily ? Can you over train your abdominal muscles? Yes, there is too much in this aspect as well, And you can over train your abs but how quickly you get to that point depends on the amount of slow twitch fiber you have in your abs and how much you exercise. Your abs are just like any other muscle that need recovery time between workouts to stimulate growth. And unless you're adding significant resistance to your ab routine or working them so hard that they are noticeably sore the next day, you're safe to work them every day.

pic credit : nowloss.com

DO YOU THINK TRAINING YOUR CORE DAILY WILL GIVE YOU THAT SIX PACK?

If your goal is to tighten and tone your midsection, you might be wondering if you can do a daily abs / core workout. Your core includes muscles around your hips, abdominals and lower back, so it makes sense that you want this area to be strong. Your abs are engaged regularly during the day and not just in leg raises and crunches. They possess your center of mass and provide you the required ability to stabilize, twist and bend. While performing lunges, balancing on yoga asanas or maintaining a good posture during a military press, your abs are totally activated throughout. you essentially do "work" them every day already, even without intending.

pic credit :topfitnessmag.com

Yet no amount of abdominal work by itself is going to miraculously burn fat from your midsection or anywhere else on your body and show that marvelous set of abdominals that you possess. You really have to reduce your overall body fat percentage, and bring it near to 10-12 % if you want visible washboard abs.

pic credit : audiomania.it

And its not just about burning the fat. You have to make the abdominal muscles grow! .So, they are visible protruding out.

pic credit : facebook.com 

Training your abs

High Intensity / Low Repetition Abdominal workout

In this type of training, you work your abs 3 times a week. You should wait at least 48 hours before repeating a strength training routine or targeting the same muscles until the soreness disappears. In case you are still sore wait another 24 hours or switch to a lighter routine to avoid derailing your schedule, but NEVER over exhaust you already sore muscles. Those who do aggressive strength training exercises need to be even more careful. High intensity exercises routines usually have much greater incidents of muscle damage.

pic credit : abmachinesguide.com

Low Intensity / High Repetition Abdominal workout

Toning exercises consisting of lower intensity (using light weight or no weight, low difficulty exercises) with high reps per set (3-4 sets of 12-20 repetitions) which makes a little longer for you to tire those muscles you target. Depending upon the soreness these exercises can be performed daily or on alternate days to strengthen the muscles and make the abdominal muscles grow.

pic credit : neilarey.com

You can interact with me via dm on instagram @fitindianwoman . I would love to hear your reviews and valuable suggestions !!!

HOW TO GAIN WEIGHT THE RIGHT WAY

How to gain weight the right way

(Gaining more muscle mass and less fat)

The Ectomorphic body and weight gain issues

Ectomorphs have a fast metabolism, which is both a blessing and a curse. A high metabolism makes is easy to shed weight and become lean, and it mostly appears that they can eat whatever they want to and not gain an inch on their bodies. However, as their age advances, the metabolism of the ectomorphs slows down, primarily due to low muscle mass, which simultaneously results in gaining of body fat.

Ectomorphs must eat foods rich in natural and complex carbohydrates. Approximately 50 to 60 percent of calories should come from carbs, 25 percent from protein and 25 percent from fat.

pic credit :-lifehack.org

What can you do to reach your goal muscular weight?

·        Weight Training

Yes, I said it! Exercising won’t make you lean but will help you put up muscle mass for sure. To increase strength, build more muscle mass, and sculpt your dream body, a weight-training routine with weights heavy enough to lift is essential for the ectomorph. Heavier weights and completing three to five sets of approximately eight to 12 reps for each muscle group shall work wonders for you within a few months itself.

pic credit :- shreddybrek.com

·        Pre- and Post-workout Nutrition

About 30 minutes before a workout, make sure to eat or drink a poly complex carbohydrate and some protein, such as fruit (ex. Banana) or toast with almond butter/ peanut butter. This pre workout meal shall keep you energized during your workout. And don’t forget drink enough water during your workout. You can also consume a good protein shake in the middle of the workout if it lasts for more than an hour.

You must consume your post workout meal 30 to 40 minutes after your workout. The ideal post-workout meal has a ratio of 3:1 or 4:1 carb to protein to help quickly replenish your glycogen stores and repair and build muscle fibers. 

pic credit :- pinterest.com

·        Throughout the day nutrition

To be brutally honest, eating three meals a day won’t work for your body type because it already burns enough calories in your resting time than you are able to give it to retain. Once you are ready to begin, you will have to eat at least 6-8 meals each day and that too at frequent intervals (such as every two hours). Out of these meals, you can have 3 major meals and 3 small meals or snacks. And not very ordinary snacks but energy dense ones.

 You can keep breakfast, lunch, and dinner as main meals and add healthy snacks between them. This way, you will not only be able to keep energy levels high throughout the day but also give your body those extra calories and proteins needed to build up those muscles.

pic credit :- lybrate.com

To give you a rough figure your daily calorie count looks like this: 

·   Total Calories to be consumed – 2000-3000 cal

·   Protein – 160-180g

·   Carbs – 400-450g

·   (healthy) Fat – 60-70g

Mostly people try restricting either carbs or fat when trying to lose weight. This is not a very good approach as it will make it harder to get in enough calories. High-carb and good fats foods  must be consumed if weight gain is a priority for you. And never to ignore the proteins.

Intermittent fasting is absolutely not recommended for you. It may be helpful for weight loss but can make it much harder to eat enough calories to gain weight. So why would you even restrict your calories when you want to load more?

You must create a calorie surplus, i.e. put more calories in your body than it consumes throughout the day.

Let me make it easier for you: -

·        If you want to gain weight slow and steady, aim for 400-500 calories more than you burn each day.

·        If you want to gain weight fast, aim for around 700–1,000 calories above your maintenance level. But make sure in this case that you workout as well.

·        This calorie increase estimates may vary from person to person depending upon your basal metabolic rate.

pic credit :- journal.crossfit.com

You don't need to count calories each time, but it would really help to do it for the first few days or weeks to get a feel for how many calories you’re eating.

ALSO

Relying completely upon weight gainers may prove to be fatal in the long run. Instead of using mass gainers, I would suggest you use a better sources of protein like whey protein and casein protein ( MILK and milk PRODUCTS). Eat plenty of complex carbs and workout and voila! you have your dream weight and body structure!

If you are still unable to gain weight you may want to consider some conditions and get some tests done: -

·         Diabetes: Having uncontrolled diabetes (mainly type 1) can lead to severe weight loss.

·         Eating disorders: This includes anorexia nervosa, a serious mental disorder.

·         Thyroid problems: Having an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) can boost metabolism and cause unhealthy weight loss.

·         Infections: Certain infections can cause someone to become severely underweight. This includes parasites, tuberculosis etc.

You can interact with me via dm on instagram " fitindianwoman "or my facebook page " fitindianwoman " I would love to hear from you !!.