I am a fitness freak. Which may come as no surprise at this point. I probably am spending more hours at the gym than I do at home. While I am not a trainer or a fitness professional by any means, I am passionate about my health and fitness which is one of the reasons I concentrate so much on it. The other reason is it is just plain fun for me. I have made a ton of friends at my Crossfit gym, so I never dread going there.
As I continue on my fitness journey, many things have changed for me along the way. I am growing muscles that I never knew existed, I actually have a little bit of a butt now and I have had to completely change my thinking about nutrition. All new things for me! But as I continue to get stronger, I have had to learn how to feed myself the correct things so that I am not hurting my body along the way. I am in no way an expert at this stuff and not a pro-athlete either but I have learned that what you eat really does effect the way you perform.
After shooting this cute fitness look by Public Myth, it got me thinking about myths relating to women’s fitness that have been well, pissing me off lately. Why is it that women are afraid to lift weights? Or eat meat? Or to take a supplement? These aren’t things that are just for men! People ask me all the time, “Aren’t you afraid of getting big?”. The answer is “NO”. I am not training to be a body builder here, I am just trying to get stronger and look/feel my best. So if you want to burn fat, lose weight, build muscle, look toned and well overall like a hottie then you should continue reading this article.
Myth 1. Lifting Heavy Will Make You Look A Man
We’ve all heard that one. And yes, any woman who lifts weights over time will become stronger and look more muscular but they won’t instantly grow a pair and start looking like a man. The women you see in body building magazines work extremely hard (like crazy hard) to look like that, so don’t think that if you add a few pounds to your squat or deadlift that you are going to look like the incredible hulk. If you want to burn fat and gain muscle tone, then lifting heavy is something that you need to be doing on a regular basis.
Myth 2. You Should Limit Your Protein Intake
When you work out hard, you have to make sure you don’t shortchange yourself by not feeding your body. People on a calorie-restricted diet should be especially cautious about consuming enough protein. If you know you aren’t eating enough meat, try supplementing with a protein shake after your workout. I eat meat but I know that I am not eating nearly enough for the amount of work I am doing, so I always pack a protein bar or shake in my bag to quickly refuel after workouts. Feeding yourself the right things is essential to building muscle and helping your body repair itself. Find more info on how much protein you should be eating here.
Myth 3. Eating More Than 3 Meals A Day Will Make You Fat
The total number of calories you take in is much more relevant to your body weight than the number of meals you eat each day. If you eat more calories than you burn and you’ll gain weight; eat fewer than you expend and you’ll lose weight. But breaking your meals down and having more smaller meals, may make you less likely to splurge for the bad foods between meals. Honestly, this is something that I have stopped worrying about since I started working out as much as I do. Where I used to watch what I was eating for fat and calories, now I am having to make sure that I am taking in enough and usually I fall way short. So I have to make a conscious effort to eat more than I normally would. More info on how much you should be eating here.
Myth 4. Women Don’t Need Supplements
If you eat a clean and extremely well balanced diet, you may not need a supplement but chances are that you aren’t getting all of the vitamins that you need to refuel your body after a workout. I know I don’t. In the morning I usually try to take a daily women’s multivitamin and a teaspoon of fish oil. Occasionally I will take pre-workout before a hard workout to help get me going but I don’t recommend using one if you are sensitive to caffeine. The best thing I have found for my muscle recovery are Amino Acids also known as BCAAs, these are essential for me to help rebuild my muscles after lifting. Highly recommend you buy a bottle of this stuff if you are working out and lifting hard. My favorite is the watermelon flavor, yumm.
Don’t let these myths get in the way of your goals and what you are trying to accomplish. Get out there and kick butt, girl!
Sarah is wearing: Bra (Public Myth), Jacket (Public Myth), Leggings (Public Myth), Sneakers (Nike), Sunglasses (Ray Ban).
Sarah’s Favorite Supplements:
xo
Sarah
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