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FIT TIPS FOR LADIES LOOKING TO GET LEAN . . .
Nicky Jankovic International Cover Model and Exercise Science
To be in great shape takes hard work, commitment, persistence, consistency and patience. Anyone who has built a great physique has a strong sense of character and worked on many of the important attributes it becomes to be a successful person in general. There is no ‘easy’ way...trust me if there was, I would have found it ;-)
I am often asked the formula for success to getting in shape. Aside from the above it truly is a combination of proper nutrition, weights and cardio and quality supplementation. That is the equation!
Training + Nutrition + Supplementation = Health and Fitness Goals.
The most common mistakes I see woman make when trying to change their body is:
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1. Only doing cardio
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2. Not including weight training
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3. Lifting heavy weights on their lower bodies
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4. Not eating enough protein, or food in general
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5. Dropping calories too low
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6. Chopping and changing plans before the body has time to change
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7. Thinking protein powders and supplements are for ‘the guys’ |
Cardio is great for.....
Cardio is great for burning calories and reducing body fat, however it will only create a smaller version of the body you already have. Women almost kill themselves with cardio in an attempt to ‘lose weight’ and get in shape. They often end up losing scale weight, and yes if their nutrition is right a lot of it will be fat and not muscle, BUT they don’t change the shape of their body so never get to a place where they are happy with the changes. To create a lean, athletic, toned physique you HAVE to do weight training.
There are some simple rules that I follow when training woman. I have been working and studying in the industry for almost 12 years. During this time I have tried many training styles and techniques. I don’t necessarily believe there are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways, but I do believe there are ‘more’ effective ways when deciding how to train a woman’s body. I attack a woman’s upper and lower body differently. I have found this to work extremely well for the vast majority of woman, there are always exceptions.
For most woman it is generally a struggle to.....
For most woman it is generally a struggle to build lean muscle in their upper bodies, as opposed to their lower bodies. We aren’t designed to have big strong arms and shoulders like men due to our child-bearing genetic code. Most women make the mistake of training with light weights and high repetitions as they fear ‘bulking’ up like a man. This WILL NOT happen ladies. You must realise though, to build lean muscle so you have nice capped shoulders, toned arms and a wide back you must life HEAVY weights for around 8-12 repetitions. This is the secret to used by body-shapers or figure competitors (the girls with the best physiques). They train to broaden their shoulders and widen their back, to create the illusion of a smaller waist and narrow hips! It is a pretty simple idea, by training and building muscle in your upper half, it instantly will make your lower half look smaller.
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Lower body we take a different approach. It is still ok to train with your reasonably heavy weights; however the repetition range should be a lot higher (between 15-25). Most women find that they build muscle in their lower body relatively easily, so you need to focus more on shaping the muscle through plyometric exercises and giant sets. Plyometric exercise involves a rapid muscle lengthening movement (eccentric phase), followed by an explosive muscle shortening movement (concentric phase). This type of training is a great way to increase muscle power, and condition the muscle. There are concerns of the increased of risk of injury with this training technique. However when performed correctly and the exercise selection is appropriate, plyometrics can significantly reduce the risk of injury as they not only strengthen the muscles, but also the tendons, ligaments; and improve a person’s balance and stability. Giant sets are combing more than two exercises consecutively without rest in between sets. This type of training really shocks the muscles, forcing the body to activate many more muscle fibres than it normally would to performing these exercises. By incorporating these training techniques into your workout routine you will lean out your legs and reshape your lower body. Another important component to creating a lean tight lower body is to include hill sprints, outdoor sprint sessions and stair runs.
What we put into our mouths.....
What we put into our mouths is one of the most over looked part of a healthy lifestyle plan. You cannot balance out a bad diet with good training. In fact if you are training hard, it is even more important to feed your body quality nutrition. A great physique is made in the kitchen. There are some basic principles to building a good meal plan.
The first place to start is to aim for 6-8 meals every day, every 2-3 hours. This will keep your metabolism firing and your body in fat burning mode. If you skip meals you will confuse your body into thinking you are going into starvation. This results in a slow metabolism, and your body to hold onto fat stores as a protection mechanism. You must regularly eat to get lean! Start to shift your focus more towards correct macro-nutrient (proteins, carbs, fats) requirements rather than overall calories.
Make sure each of these meals includes a lean protein source such as chicken, fish, tuna, egg whites, protein powder or lean cuts of red meat. You can also include low fat dairy sources (watch the sugar content), like cottage cheese and yoghurt. Protein is an important part of every cell in your body, and no other nutrient plays as many different roles in keeping you alive and healthy. It is vital for the growth and repair of your muscles, bones, skin, tendons, ligaments, hair, eyes and other tissues and without it you would lack enzymes and hormones required for metabolism, digestion and other important processes. It is of particular relevance if you are trying to build, or maintain lean muscle. The other benefit of protein is that it has a good satiety effect, which means it will help give you a feeling of fullness.
If you are trying to build lean muscle and be able to train hard, you must eat carbohydrates. The timing of the carbohydrates you eat is important. Eating complex carbohydrates first thing in the morning will help fuel your body for the day after fasting through the night. Your body requires carbohydrates for energy so be sure to include sources around training times. That means having a source of carbohydrates before, during and after to get you through your workouts, and ensure your body has the nutrients to recovery and grow. The best sources are traditional oats, sweet potatoes, brown rice, rice cakes and fruits.
Vegetables are also carbohydrates but try to think of these more as a great source of fibre, nutrients and as a ‘filler’. The rest of the meals in your day should include a variety of vegetables and salads to help keep your body full of vitamins and minerals, as well as keeping you full. They are extremely low in calories (most), and therefore you can eats lots of them without putting on weight. The other bonus of eating your greens is that because they are so full of fibre, your body has to work hard to digest them, resulting in your metabolism being increased.
Based on 6 meals a day you could structure you meals as, 3 meals with carbohydrates and 3 meals with salad/vegetables. For example, breakfast, your meal before training, and your meal after training, add your carbohydrate sources to your protein, then the other 3 meals rely on your salad and vegetables alongside your protein and fats.
Fats are another important factor in......
Fats are another important factor in the nutrition equation. They play a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, promoting healthy cell function and are necessary for fat- soluble Vitamins A, D, E, and K to be digested, absorbed, and transported. Often women cut out all the fat from their diet and then are left wondering why they cannot reduce their body fat any lower. The body requires a certain amount of healthy fat supply and if it ceases to get it, it will not release the remaining fat stores. Fat, like protein will also keep you feeling fuller for longer. It is important to realise that even with good fats, each gram of fat has 9 calories (protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram), so over double that of protein and carbohydrates. So you need to be careful in the amounts of fats you eat. Eat too many calories from any source and you will gain weight. Healthy fat sources include foods like nuts, olive oil, avocado, and seeds.
Cheats - Allowing yourself the odd high calorie/high sugar food will....
Cheats - Allowing yourself the odd high calorie/high sugar food will help you stay on track and be involved in life’s activities. What works best for me is to know that I have two opportunities available a week, where I am free to eat something I want if I really feel like it. I like having the option to make the choice for myself rather than telling myself my cheat meal has to be on a particular day at a particular time. I have tried scheduling, however often I don’t feel like having it at that time. It really is finding what works for you. I know many competitors plan their cheat meal for a certain day and that is their reward for sticking to their plan throughout the week, and they have a lot of success with this approach. In most cases, I find that if I always leave myself with a choice, I generally decide not to have it and decide instead to have a lean body. The worst thing to tell yourself is that you ‘CAN’T’ have, because as soon as you get that in your head, you want it more, and the more you say no the bigger the blow out tends to be. If you do slip up don't beat yourself up about it. It happens! The best thing to do is enjoy the food, move on and get back on track. You don't want to make yourself feel guilty, because in most cases us girls end up telling ourselves 'Well I have messed up now so I might as well each as much as I want and get back on track tomorrow.' Then we try to make up for it by doing extremes the next few days, then back to the binge etc...and the cycle continues. So again if you slip up....accept it, move on, and get straight back on your plan!
You must remember.....
You must remember though to build and shape a desirable figure takes TIME! It is not something you do in a couple of days, weeks or even months. Of course you will start to notice changes after around 6-8 weeks if you exercise correctly and feed your body the right nutrition, BUT you must be patient and stick with it long enough to see these changes. For me personally, I have been involved in exercise all my life, and started resistance training 15 years ago. Over the years I have focused on improving different areas of my body, and with consistency year round have got my body to a place of maintenance. However, there is still many times where I re-focus and work on bringing up a certain muscle group that I feel could be improved. To make significant changes be prepared to commit to the long haul and make training and good food a new lifestyle habit.
A note on diets: There are many different diets and eating plans on the market these days. The majority of them work, however people often don’t (or can’t) stick to them long enough to see results. When deciding on improving your daily food choices, make sure you find a plan that will work for you. You need to find something YOU can stick to day in/day out, year round for the rest of your life. Create a nutrition goal that becomes a lifestyle.
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