Burn Fat and Build Muscle

The tough thing when searching for a women’s workout is, some work and some don’t.  It doesn’t matter if your just starting out or have been following a fitness regimen for some time now.  There are a few things that you should be aware of when looking for new exercises routines to help you maximize the potential of attaining your goals.  For best results, you need to keep an eye out for these five key principles to help you see results quickly:

1)  There is not difference in workouts between men and women – Contrary to what you may believe, there is no difference between a man and women’s muscle.  With that being said, there is no difference between a female or male workout program.  However, a man and woman’s goals need to be the same so that an identical plan will work for both.  It should go without saying that weight amounts will differ from male to female.

2)  Commitment – If you want to achieve your goals you have to put forth a consistent and sustained effort.  Once you have a plan you have to stick to it.  In the least your workout program should entail you exercising at least 3 times per week.  In an ideal world, this would stretch to 5 or 6 days.

3)  Variety – Do you know what the definition of insanity is?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.  This is no different when we exercise.  You’ll find that you get to a point when stop seeing results.  If you have variety in your plan, this won’t become an issue.

4)  A high level of intensity – This is like that old saying, “You put crap in you’ll get crap out”, or something like that.  Another words, if you go about your workout program in a lackadaisical manner then that’s the kind of results you’ll see.  You need to push yourself if your going to see results and attain your goals.

5)  Make sure you use proper form – This should go without saying but there are plenty of women out there who are just sloppy.  When working out proper form is key to not only achieving optimal results but more importantly, avoiding injury.  The last thing you need when your starting to see results from your hard work is a injury set back.

So those are the 5 key principles that should be followed when looking for a women’s workout.  There more like common sense really if you think about it.  When you discover a program that entail’s all these attributes you’ll be well on your way to a better you.

So many people are under the illusion that a proper diet is not that important when trying to build muscle.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  If you ask anyone with any kind of credibility they’ll tell you that a proper diet is about 70% of the battle when it comes to sculpting your physique.  This is especially true when trying to pack on quality muscle.

To build quality muscle you need to know what foods are optimum for lean muscle building.  I say lean because what’s the point of building muscle if it is buried under a bunch of fat?  Doesn’t really make sense now does it which is why you need to know what to eat to avoid fat build up.

Below I have listed a few different types of foods broken down by proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables.  Keep the following in your diet and you’ll see progress faster than you thought possible.

Proteins:

Chicken breast, lean ground turkey, swordfish, top sirloin steak, egg whites or substitutes, low-fat cottage cheese, salmon, tuna, lean ground beef.

Carbohydrates:

Baked potato, sweet potato, squash, brown rice, oatmeal, beans, corn, apple, orange, fat-free yogurt, whole wheat bread.

Vegetables:

Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, spinach, tomato, peas, artichoke, zucchini, cucumber, onion.

With the above list of foods you could easily put together a few high quality meals everyday.  Try and avoid adding to much to the foods above like sauces, cheeses and butter.  These tend to have a lot of fat unless you get something that is low in fat.  Try to keep your meals a little different every time so you don’t become bored with what your eating and then be tempted to cheat.  Stick to these foods and you’ll soon see that burning fat and building muscle is a snap.

There are a lot of people out there who want to build muscle and burn fat.  Who doesn’t right?  I mean, we all want to look like our favorite actor or actress, athlete or superhero, physique wise that is.  We know we need to eat right and get rest but how do you choose the right workout program?  Don’t worry, below I’ll let you in a 2 simple tips to choosing the right program for you.  Just ask the following two questions and you’ll be well on your way to finding the right program for you.

1.  Do you want to build muscle or burn fat or both?

If you want to build muscle then you’ll want to stick with a program that focuses on a lower repetition and high weight style.  If your wanting to burn fat then the optimal program will involve high repetition and low weight resistance.  Finally, if you want a little of both then want a program that involves medium weights and medium reps.

For example, a building muscle routine would workout a muscle with enough weight that you can only get between 5 and 7 repetitions.  A fat burning routine would involve enough weight that allows you to get out 12 to 15 repetitions.  And finally, if your focusing on both at the same time you want to workout with enough weight to where you can lift 8 to 11 repetitions of a given weight.

2. What is your budget like?

The reason I ask this is can you afford to go to a gym?  If so, you can follow a muscle building program that utilizes machines and free weights.  If not, you’ll need to improvise and focus on other means to stimulate various muscles of your body.  You can go old school and do push ups, pull ups, sit ups, run or jog, curl full milk jugs, go to your neighborhood park and work out there, etc..  Don’t laugh, this can be a very effective way of achieving your fitness goals.

It’s really pretty simple when you step back and analyze your particular situation.  For example, if you want to burn fat but have a limited budget, you can follow a nature program.  Go to your neighborhood park and run the trails.  Most parks have a workout area as well where you can do pull ups and various stretching exercises.  The point is it’s easy to design a custom program for yourself when you answer the above questions.