Shape

You hear people say it all the time, "I need to get in shape!" "I used to be in shape." So, what exactly determines what shape you are in? Well, the shape you assume (i.e. how you look) is a function of two things: 1) Stress you put on the bone and muscle and 2) The amount of fat you have over that bone and muscle.
First of all, your skeletal and muscular shape is directly determined by what kind of physical stress you are placing on your bones and muscles directly. Have you ever noticed how broad swimmer's shoulders are? Or, how big soccer player's legs are? Coincidence?? Not at all. You see, the muscle and bone develops in proportion to the amount of physical stress placed on that part of the body. Dancers and soccer players are going to have larger and more developed legs than swimmers, for example. As stress (load) is placed on a particular body part, the muscle strengthens and hypertrophies (gets larger). The muscle, in turn, pulls against the bone which reiforces itself by becoming more dense and able to withstand the physical stress placed on it by the muscle. To get technical, the more volume that is placed on a particular muscle, the larger that muscle becomes. (Volume = load x sets x repetitions OR the total amount of stress placed on that muscle, day in, day out). On a somatic level, that particular part of the body gets bigger, which is not always a bad thing (ladies); we're talking muscle, not fat.
The second variable that determines our shape is the amount of fat, or stored energy, that we have overlaying the muscle and bone tissue. To put it in simple terms, the more you eat, and the less you burn, the more fat you will have deposited over your lean tissues. We are particularly concerned over the amount of abdominal fat that is deposited, as these tend to correlate wth diseased states - cardiovasular disease, Type II Diabetes, Congestive Heart Failure, etc. Your abdomen does not that get big in response to physical stress placed on it in the form of exercise, it gets big because of the amount of fat deposited there. In fact, exercise of large muscle groups, particularly of the legs, helps to diminuate the fat stored in the abdomen.
So, in sum, there are two primary factors that contribute to our shape: the amount of physical stress we place on any part of our body and the fat that is deposited over it. You can use this knowledge to design the body you want. Are your legs too big? Watch your diet, and take up swimming. Have a hard time building leg muscles? Try biking, dancing or heavy weight lifting for the lower body. Life is not just about what you look like, but most of us want to improve on one or more things. Now you have the knowledge to help you achieve your perfect shape! For questions, or more info, visit http://www.notimetowaistfitness.com/.

The Stress --> Indulgence --> Remorse Pathway...Can you relate??

I've noticed a pattern in my life. After a long, hard, stressful week at work, by the end of the week, I feel I deserve to reward myself. Perhaps your reward system, is a movie out, a long, languid love-affair with a cigar or other tobacco product of choice (which I do not recommend!), or a fine wine, cocktail or other adult beverage. But, without fail, my guilty pleasure is indulgence - and over-indulgence - in food and wine. This is so wrong on many levels.
First of all, I am a Personal Trainer and owner of my own fitness company which promotes a healthy lifestyle including proper amounts of exercise, a balanced diet and adequate amounts of sleep (as I'm writing this it's 2am, but that's another story for another blog). Where's the congruency in what I preach versus what I practice? Here's my analysis...
The MORE stressful my work week, the MORE I feel I owe it to myself to reward myself with food and beverage, the MORE remorse I feel at my over-indulgence. It's like a flow-chart or a biochemical pathway. Happens the same way everytime, without fail. So, here's my hypothesis...
Just like in biochemistry, most pathways are controlled via negative feedback. If the end material product becomes too plenteous, it backs up the system and the production of C which comes from B which started from A is halted so that C is never produced. In the pathway, or should I say viscious cycle of my life, when Remorse (my A) becomes too great, it backs up the Indulgence (B) and makes me change the source or amount of Stress (A) in my life (does anyone out there following this line of thinking? Can you relate??). So, by nature, negative feedback will make me alter my behavior to reduce the amount of Stress in my life so that it does not end in Remorse. Or, knowing this, I can choose to monitor the amount of Stress in my life so that it does produce Induglence, which in turn produces Remorse. But, on the other hand, Stress is the motivator that makes me change things in my life, set goals, precedence and even write this blog, so a little Stress has to be good, right? (I think they call that eu-stress...). I say all of this to say, I'm still aiming for balance. A little Stress to keep me going, but not so much that it ends in Remorse.
I guess I have picked the right career. I spend so much of my time and energy trying to find optimal health and balance in my life, I feel well-equipped to understand and help others around me who are going through similar situations. And I love doing it. It's my passion! I think I'll go back to bed now. Time to reduce the Stress...