Are Muscles Our Fat Burning Machines?
Muscles are fat burning machines. As muscles grow, they make your body look tone, and they metabolize fat. Muscles physiologically convert stored energy into more muscle fibers which make up the components of muscles. When you build muscles, you want to give each muscle group two days to recover. The recovery process the 2 days following the workout is when the muscles actually will build. If you do all the exercises on the workout sheet, wait 2 days then on the third day do all of them again (ex. Monday, Thursday). If you want to do these exercises more than 2 days a week, split the muscles up into 3 or 4 groups.
For example, for working out 3 days a week do:
- Monday- leg and abdominal workout
- Tuesday- chest, shoulders, and triceps workout
- Wednesday- back and biceps workout
It doesn’t matter if the workouts are on the following day because there are different muscles being worked. The legs have an entire week to recover before leg day again.
Let’s try to challenge ourselves mentally and physically. Doing these exercises correctly should cause good burning pain in our muscles. Anything physically challenging is always mentally challenging. The control you have over your mind will determine your muscle building results. In order to get to the good muscle burning pain we need to talk to ourselves in our heads positively. Positive and encouraging self-talk will get us the best results when working out.
The person that talks to you the most is yourself. You are constantly talking to yourself in your head. Pay close attention during your workout to the things you’re saying to yourself. Practicing positive self-talk will become easier the more you do it.
Examples of positive self-talk:
- I can do this
- I am strong
- I have done harder things than this in my life
- I have done this before, I’ve done this weight before, I’ve done this exercise before
- If other people can do this so can I
- I am driven
- I will perform better during my sports if I just do 15 more repetitions
- I will make it to 3:00 minutes or I will make it to 15 repetitions
Repetitively say your why. Here are examples:
- I won’t be winded when I play with my kids
- I will not let this burning defeat me
- I am a new person
- My past is not my future
- This hurts but it’s going to make me feel better
Our bodies are a direct reflection of what our minds are saying or not saying!