TRAVEL BLOG

For those who believe lifting weights will make you lose feminine curves, I am here to say it's a myth. We simply don't have enough testosterone naturally to produce extreme muscle mass.  We can create a firm, tone body with the help of weight resistance training. A small part of how we are built is also based on genetics . Every woman is different with the look weight training provides. This is called life and normal. As long as we maintain our lifting program along with healthy eating , we can enjoy a well-sculpted physique for life.  We may see over-developed women bodybuilders who appear 'manly' but this is often times created using illegal drugs, steroids, and male sex hormones. For us regular gals not on the bodybuilding circuit and just hitting it hard in the gym, this is not our norm. We may create some muscle, but nothing to the degree of lean mass enhanced with steroids. This is a whole other level of muscle development not applicable to active women in the

The only stimulant I use to improve my workouts is coffee. Unregulated supplements come with too many health risks and who knows what's really in the stuff. Coffee contains caffeine, tastes amazing, full of beneficial antioxidants and a natural stimulant to boost my workouts. Chronic studies have provided positive findings for caffeinated coffee improving athletic performance and other health benefits. It is said to increase our metabolism, reduce induced exercise muscle pain, improve mental focus, increase fat burning, and reduce the risk of disease. The thing is you don't need that much coffee for effective results. More is not better and one to no more than 2 cups of black coffee is what's recommended according to research. I thoroughly enjoy my large mug every morning and admit to adding a small amount of creamer. I haven't been able to develop a taste for straight up black coffee. I happen to be one of those people who is caffeine sensitive so drink half-calf and

Adopting a healthy lifestyle and achieving fitness goals can provide a feeling of accomplishment in the beginning. We plug into our fitness apps, fit bits, eating right and motivated to exercise. We are in fitness euphoria and experiencing self-motivation at its peak. We are determined and feel nothing will get in the way of reaching our goals, right? This is awesome but the struggle is usually not in starting but in the maintaining . We all need to start the process of getting healthy but even more important is being able to continue the lifestyle. As we progress in our fitness journey, things often become less important. Our determined mental game starts to soften. Week three of the start may not feel as good or exciting anymore. Other things take priority and somehow being too busy to exercise or eat right dampen our motivation. Week four seems to be filled with obligations that become more important than the promise we made to ourselves to get healthy. Week five may involve a lon

Getting fit has nothing to do with going on a diet. In fact, I came up with an acronym for the 'diet' word and how it affects us: D: Depressing I: Illogical E: Extreme T: Taxing How many times have you heard someone say they are on a diet? Diet trends are numerous and marketed ad nauseam. Diets may have a place in clinical scenarios but really not something for us regular people who may be sedentary or even active adults wanting to get back in shape. Nutrition does play the largest role in our health and fitness . This doesn't mean restricting our calories by means of a fad diet is the way to a fitter body. It simply means eating better food for our goals. Actually not eating enough can work against us causing our body to hold onto fat stores. Diets are also not lifetime sustainable because they can be too restrictive and remove important macronutrients from our daily food intake. We function best eating all macronutrients including lean proteins, healthy fats, and good car