Newsletter

HotBod November 98
By Brad Schoenfeld, CSCS

Welcome All: Thanks for subscribing to the HotBod newsletter. Each month we'll explore issues relating to the three major areas of fitness: exercise, nutrition and supplementation. Your comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome.

EXERCISE CORNER

Many women feel that cardiovascular exercise is the best way to achieve the body of their dreams. While cardiovascular exercise is certainly an important component in a workout, weight training, debatably, is even more important. The following are but some of the reasons why your should incorporate weight training into your routine:

Increases Strength: While most women do not aspire to be powerlifters, increasing your strength is nevertheless quite important. Strength not only helps you to perform everyday tasks, but it also improves overall health and well-being. People lose roughly 1% of their muscle mass per year after the age of 35 if they do not train with weights. The only way to remedy this problem is by training with weights. This can be especially important for the elderly. A recent study showed that nursing home patients who were put on a strength training program were 50% less likely to suffer hip fractures (which occur because a person cannot support their own bodyweight and hence they tend to fall and fracture their hips!), than patients who did not perform strength training.

Increases Bone Density: People lose up to 1% of their bone density per year after the age of thirty. Eventually, this can lead to osteoporosis, a debilitating bone disease. Post-menopausal women and those with small bone structures are especially prone this malady. Weight training is the only activity that actually increases bone density and counteracts the debilitating effects of osteoporosis.

Increases Metabolic Activity: Muscle is the only bodily tissue that increases your body's metabolism (which increases your body's ability to burn calories). Studies show that adding a pound of muscle can help the body to burn an additional 30 to 50 calories a day at rest! Thus, anyone looking to lose weight, or maintain their ideal weight, is well served to train with weights. An argument can be made that weight training is even more important than cardiovascular exercise in long-term weight management.

Promotes Better Posture: A properly constructed weight training program develops the muscles of the back and shoulders (teres, rhomboids, trapezius, etc.). These muscles are responsible for supporting the scapula and therefore improving posture. Consistent weight training will help you stand straighter and more authoritatively, projecting an aura of self-confidence.

Improves Self-Image: As the saying goes, "when you look good, you feel good." There is no better way to transform your body than through weight training. While cardiovascular exercise can help to shed excess fat from your body, weight training will 'shape' the muscles and give your body a sleek, toned appearance. Many women are relatively thin but still complain of being "flabby". Weight training is the best way to maintain a "hardbody".

Reduces Stress: Weight training is a great way to channel stress and can be very therapeutic. The physical aspect of training with weights requires a great deal of mental focus and helps to alleviate outside distractions. Moreover, exercise causes the brain to secrete endorphins, which are chemical messengers that serve to give a person feelings of elation. After an intense session, your problems should be gone.

Improves Performance in Sports: Weight training is one of the best ways to increase athletic prowess. Virtually all athletic activities require muscular strength and agility. By training muscles specific to certain sports, performance can be improved in everything from skiing to tennis to golf.

NUTRITION CORNER

There is a prevailing attitude amongst many women that as long as they eat "fat-free", they will lose bodyfat. While it is true that cutting fat out of the diet is essential to long-term health and weight management, nutrition is much more complex than merely eating 'low fat'.

When you ingest refined sugars (sucrose), the pancreas secretes insulin to remove sugar from the blood. Insulin is a hormone that has many responsibilities. One of the effects of insulin is to aid in the storage of fat into fat receptors. When sugar is ingested in large amounts, insulin tends to be oversecreted and fat is more likely to be stored into receptors.

Thus, don't be fooled by claims of 'no fat'. Learn to read a food label and stay away from foods that are loaded with sugar!

SUPPLEMENT REVIEW:

Recently, there has been a tremendous amount of publicity given to creatine. ATP is the primary source of fuel for your body in anaerobic activity (i.e. weight training). When ATP stores are depleted, creatine takes over to provide additional energy for your workout. After creatine supplies are exhausted, the body has no more energy and reaches failure.

There are claims that supplementing with creatine can help to add further energy for your workout. The theory is that creatine supplementation will give the body extra creatine stores to utilize. While some studies have shown that creatine does provide increased muscular force, other studies have shown only minimal benefits from creatine supplementation, provided that a person is not severely deficient in creatine (it is found in food sources such as meats, poultry, etc). Outside of anecdotal reports of muscular cramping, the product appears to be completely safe.

The feeling here is that creatine will only be of real benefit if you are at an elite level of sport. If you are a competitive athlete, creatine can help to cut a millisecond off your sprint time or pump out an extra rep in powerlifting meet. In final analysis, though, it will not transform your physique and, considering its relatively high cost, has limited functionality.

SUPPLEMENT GRADE: B-