The Best and Most Simple Tips for Women to Stay in Shape
Dec 20, 2021 mindpumpStaying in shape doesn’t have to be a complex process. As with most things in life, you can get the most of the results you want by doing the small things, consistently.
Eating in a Calorie Maintenance/Surplus to Gain Strength, and Muscle
Way too often, women are marketed to eat very little, and starve themselves if they want to look good. The reality is this couldn’t be farther from the truth. To get that nice, “toned” look, what most women need is to first eat in a surplus to put their body in a state of gaining muscle and strength. When you say you want to get toned, that basically translates into muscle. A defined body is just one that added size, and then got rid of a bit of excess body fat to achieve that look.
I always get female clients asking to lose weight, but I’ve never gotten a client that was eating enough to even maintain their physique! They all came eating 1300 calories or less, and expecting me to help them lose more weight. I can’t take someone who is already starving, and help them shed more fat. They need to build their metabolism back up. If you want that nice, trime look, you need to add calories back in.
Resistance Train 2-3x a Week
We can all agree eating more calories would be a nice convenience. Well, muscle is calorically expensive to have. The more muscle you have on your frame, the more calories you burn at rest! How great is that! The most effective way to achieve adding more muscle is a resistance training program. You don’t have to go 5-6 times a week. Going just 2-3 times a week will add all the muscle you are probably looking for, and will help speed up your metabolism and get you eating more calories than ever!
Cardio doesn’t achieve this. It’s not a strong enough stimulus, and your body trains itself to get MORE efficient at burning LESS calories every time you practice aerobic activity.
Focus on Compound Movements
This was another mistake I’d see female client’s not doing. “I don’t want to get too bulky”. Think about every guy you’ve ever seen in the gym. They will spend their ENTIRE lives trying to get “too big”, and maybe 1% will ever achieve it. So if that’s the case, how then, can a woman with significantly lower testosterone expect to do so in one month? This again is manipulative marketing done by supplement companies to get you to buy their products.
I used to use Miss New York as an example several years back. Now, I’d imagine, most women would agree anyone competing for Miss America isn’t too bulky. Well, they did an interview with Miss New York asking what she did to achieve her body. Guess what lifts she focused on? Deadlifts, squats, and overhead press. That’s right. She did the same lifts all women think will get them TOO bulky!
Focusing on the compound movements, simply allows you to hit several muscles in one exercise, thus managing your time efficiently, and maximizing the growth within a session versus trying to so all those smaller butt kicks, and bicep curls to hit the same exact muscles.
Focus on Mostly Whole Foods
Where people’s bodies fall off the wagon is usually the quantity of food. Now, I’m not completely against processed foods. I LOVE chips, dips, and every snack you can think of. I realize they aren’t the most ideal for your health overall, but I also like to leave space to enjoy them still. The problem with processed foods (from a staying in shape standpoint), is that they’re designed to make you overeat.
A big bag of potato chips has about 5 whole potatoes worth in it. The difference is, I bet you could EASILY destroy that bag of chips, but couldn’t eat 5 plain potatoes without getting full. Let’s not forget, the chips are also doused in fats driving the calorie count up even higher. So in both cases you are shooting for the same amount of food, but one causes you to undereat, and the other causes you to overeat.
Take any diet and this is why people have such success on it. Most diets (vegan, keto, paleo) force you to eat mostly unprocessed whole foods with no caloric additives. Because of this, just like in the whole potato example, You end up getting fuller quicker, and satiated for longer. The cravings go away because your blood sugar isn’t spiking all the time, and the foods tend to be more voluminous.
You don’t need to calorie count, or weigh your food. Simply focus on mostly unprocessed, whole foods, and you should find your natural fullness hormones kick in more appropriately. While you are at it, drink more water! This will further help with fullness and hydration.
