That's Fit

Do you lift weights to burn calories? Fight fat? Whittle away at your waist? Yes, Yes, and Yes for me. Do you use strength training as a stress buster, though? Not sure I tackle lifting as a means to stress reduction but I must say it's a definite side effect. And if keep at my weighty endeavors, I might teach my body to regularly recover better from stress.

People with decent muscle mass have an easier time recovering from mental stress, says RealAge. Use dumbbells, resistance bands, or your own body weight to build muscle and you'll be one step closer to mastering stress reduction. Why? Because lean body mass (more muscle, less fat), helps the body normalize blood pressure more quickly after a stressful event. A fit body does a better job of ridding itself of sodium, you see, and that takes a big load off your heart and arteries when stress starts to surface.

Time to lift, my friends -- lift your body healthy and lift away your stress.

Have you ever heard a guy say that he needs to shed a few pounds, make some tiny changes in his lifestyle, and -- BOOM! -- he's at his goal weight? I know that's how it is for my dad. He'll state he wants to lose weight, drop desserts for a week, and all of a sudden he's down five pounds. Quite frankly, it's annoying. Granted, this is a bit of a stereotype -- not all men can lose weight easily. Differences in body chemistry, lifestyle habits, and other health factors can make it difficult for some men to lose weight. But, as a general rule, most men can lose weight more easily than women. Why is that?

Men have a larger muscle mass which helps them burn 30% more calories. Women have the added disadvantages of extra body fat and a predisposition to store fat. Also, many women retain water at least one week each month. There are other reasons men might have an easier time with weight loss, too.

When it comes to exercise, most people start a program -- or are at least think of starting a program -- because they want to lose weight. Like I said, this is most people. But, it's not everyone.

Hardgainers -- that is, people who have difficulty putting on weight of any kind -- usually turn to weight training as a means of bulking up. These folks are usually classified as ectomorphs; the skinniest of the three somatypes, they are characterized by long arms and legs and a short upper body and in most cases have long, thin muscles. While the concept of somatypes is a bit outdated these days, labeling hard gainers as such serves the general purpose for the sake of this discussion.

However, try as some hardgainers might to pack on a bit of muscle, many find this task to be quite difficult. While this may be due to any of a host of reasons, there's a strong possibility that it may be related to the amount of cardio being performed. Because of the metabolism-boosting effect cardiovascular exercise has on the body, a hardgainer may have trouble holding onto enough calories to build and retain new muscle. Again, I'm speaking in very broad and general terms here, but this is pretty much the gist of it. So, if you happen to be someone who can't seem to put any meat on your bones, you may want to cut back on the time you spend on the treadmill and instead focus on mass-building, compound lifting moves.

Some of us exercise merely for the sake of staying in shape and feeling healthy. But for some, the point is to build muscle for an impressive physique. If you're someone who's interested in the muscle growth process, you should know that alcohol certainly isn't helping -- and, in fact, it's probably holding you back.

According to Sean Nalewanyj, author and natural bodybuilder, there are 5 main ways in which alcohol works against building muscle mass.

1. It negatively affects protein synthesis
2. It lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen
3. It causes dehydration
4. It depletes the body of vitamins and minerals
5. It increases fat storage

Not that you can never go out and have a good time, but doing it too often -- even every weekend -- may make all the work you're doing in the gym a waste of time.

And even if you're not trying to bulk up, the same still applies. As with most things, moderating your alcohol intake is key if you're looking to stay fit.

A recent study finds that drinking skim milk after working out is twice as effective as soy milk in building muscle mass.

Not only that, but those of you looking to gain muscle mass may be wasting your money on all those dietary supplements. In fact, Dr. Stuart M. Phillips, the study's author, told Reuters: "I have done these calculations and figure that ounce for ounce milk is 20-30 times less expensive than most supplemental protein sources available."

Most supplements provide you with "fast," or quickly digested proteins, which certainly promote muscle formation. However, the supplements don't contain "slow" proteins, which work to prevent muscle breakdown. Cow's milk has both.

It should be noted that these claims are speculations, based on tests conducted after one workout. While I'd like to see more investigation, in the meantime, I might test this out myself. A little muscle mass on my scrawny frame certainly wouldn't hurt, and there's no way you'd catch me buying all those pricey supplements.