Are fitness apps there to help us be productive or can they be counterproductive?
In this day and age, it is not uncommon to see people glued to their smartphones or tablets. Of course "there's an app for that!"
I thought that I would explore the pros and cons of the fitness app craze. Do they help our performance or just get in the way?
A very big market
There are so many different apps in the market that are labeled in the health and fitness genera that it can lead to feeling overwhelmed when wanting to find what will work best for you. I am not going to go into detail with all the different specialties, instead, I'm going to just talk in generalities.
I use one...or more, maybe
OK, so when I first started out with fitness I didn't know what I was doing so I turned to YouTube for guidance. Easier to follow along than to go out in uncharted territory. Once I got my bearings and things got going, I wanted to track reps and weight so that I could one up myself the next time around.
What are the benefits
There are many good aspects to using some sort of fitness app. If you are like me and love lists, tracking, and journaling, you can find one that is like that all rolled into one. Who doesn't want a place to keep accountable for some goal they have? If you can see it consistently then you are more than likely to be encouraged during the journey and end up reaching that goal.
Is there a downside
The most important thing I think there is to remember not to get caught up with the numbers and not get down on yourself if you don't reach that goal right away. It should be all about the journey, so if you keep that in mind then actually finding the right app would be your only downside....oh and internet connection!
I use JEFIT on my Kindle and it gives you workout plans that as you go along you can track the reps and weight and it times your rest for you. bodybuilding.com has kind of the same thing per each workout you pick. Now these are for weightlifting, I'm not sure about just general workouts.
*This is just my opinion on fitness apps and do not want you to think that you need an app to get fit, I just happen to need extra help.
** Do you use a fitness app? What kind?
When trying to achieve muscle gains you should take every little bit of help you can get. One of those things would be protein powders.
Newbie
I knew nothing about protein powders before my journey to be fit. There were so many different kinds that it just confused me. You have your Whey, Soy, Isolate, Concentrate,and Casein. I wasn't even sure that I needed that much protein (still in old diet mode) It was a little weird for me when I heard that I needed 1g per pound of body weight.So I went to the big box store and got what was cheapest.
Research
Then I asked my cousin for advice. He was on the weight lifting journey also and had more experience than me. He was able to give me some good pointers that were very informative. I figured I had better also take the time to research what a protein even is and why it was I needed so much. It's always nice to have someone to go to for things like that and if you have that someone, take advantage.
Do you or don't you
Now I had to share that I found an article on WebMD that said you shouldn't need a protein shake if you eat a healthy diet. I personally don't eat a very healthy diet (often enough) and that way I know I'm not getting enough protein so I will choose to add a protein shake to my days.
Hey, that's good Whey
So I found this article that was very informative on protein. It states that when looking for a powder you need to chek the ingredients list and if the first one is whey isolate then it is high quality and can be broken down easy. The higher that percentage the better. They say go for over 80%.To calculate the percentage of protein per serving, divide the number of grams of protein in a serving by the serving size and then multiply by 100. http://blog.proteinco.ca/protein-percentage-calculator/
When and Why
If you are looking for a protein for after a workout and that also has the amino acids for recovery, then you should check and see if it contains Isolate. Looking for a night-time protein to help with recovery overnight then make sure it has Casein in it. Anytime throughout the day than your protein should be concentrate.
You want muscle not fat
Also, when picking a protein powder you want to look at the amount of carbs and fat that they contain. The percentage should be lower than 6% on both. You can get your healthy fats in your diet you don't want it in your protein powder.
The takeaway for me was, first, figure out if you need to be using a protein powder and then figure out how much you need. Then make sure to read your labels and not just go with what is cheapest.
*Do you use a protein powder? What type works for you?
Are you not seeing the gains you want? It could be your diet.
Being self-aware
As a female , some of us are more self-aware and may have struggled with diet. We may think that we need to look the way society wants us to look.
Guilty
That is why I am writing this post. I AM one of those women! I'm so self-conscious about how I look and have been a yo-yo dieter for years.
Lightbulb moment
So when I first started on my journey to like my body all I wanted to do was strip away the fat and that was my only goal. Then 20lbs later I realized I wanted to look healthy and tone not super skinny.
You mean I have to eat
In order to have the muscle tone I wanted, I had to do what I was scared to do.....EAT! Now we are not talking about everything and anything. Good fuel food, food that gives you nutrients and healthy fats.
Are you sure I can't just lift more
I wanted to stay a caloric deficit and still get gains. Yeah, doesn't work like that. I was just burning up the muscle I was adding.
Stubborn
After 2 months of getting stronger but not seeing results I decided I needed to throw the scale out and not freak out about some carbs. I hadn't had a waffle in years or brown rice. It was a slow process but eventually I didn't feel guilt.
Learning to balance
Getting gains is not all protein, protein, protein. You need to to have those healthy fats and complex carbs. Veggies are our friend. Hello, Popeye loved spinach and look at the size of his biceps.
The takeaway is Yes, your diet does affect your gains so you should take it seriously. Go for 1- 1 1\2 grams of protein per pound of weight and up your calories to account for physical activity.
*How do you feel about your diet? Does it affect your gains?
Do you do high reps or heavy weight?
In wanting to achieve that sculpted body that you can be happy with, how should you go about it?
High Reps
You can opt to spend more time doing high reps, which usually consist of around 20 per set. This is something that was thought to be best by many Mr. Olympia competitors. The bad thing about high reps can be the strain on the muscle with constant repetition. I can see where if you were nervous about using a heavy weight that this would appeal to you. This article suggests you can do both and it has an example workout.
Heavy weight
If you would rather not spend the time it takes to do a high volume workout than to stress the muscle you can opt to lift heavy weights. Now just because you are lifting heavy weights does not mean that you will "look bulky" It takes time to achieve that look and also you have to consider diet. I found this article so informative!
Doing both
In my research for this post, I have come to agree with many people who feel that you should try to incorporate both. I myself, I do 4 sets in which 2 I do heavy weight up to 12 reps and the other 2 I do lower weight up to 20 reps. My husband has just got into weight training and he does a high rep workout and seems to like it. This article discusses the pros and cons of each way to lift weights.
* Which way do you weight train and why?
