Why Muscle is Necessary When Losing Weight
I recently got an email from a reader that liked my ideas on "mastering bodyweight", but wasn't sure that strength training was necessary.
He said:
"I like the idea of being able to master my bodyweight, but wouldn't just losing weight (especially fat) and getting your bodyweight as low as possible be the easiest way to do this? Couldn't I do this with just cardio conditioning?"
You could lose a lot of weight by just adjusting diet and doing cardiovascular activity (be it of the Long Slow Distance, High Itensity Interval Training, Medium Fast Distance, or Density Conditioning variety. But you still wouldn't have any muscle.
I don't want to use the whole "sprinter vs. distance runner" story here, because it's been done a bunch of times already. But look at most long distance runners - most have little muscle tone, aren't strong, and are "skinny fat" (i.e. - their skinny and weigh little, but many still have guts).
Why would you not want to be strong? Powerful? Explosive? For the most part, just plain cardiovascular activity won't get you that way...especially not over you entire body. Now, you could do Density Conditioning running hills, and that would get your legs in shape, and bodweight circuits could get your upper body in shape, but that wouldn't really be just cardiovascular activity anymore.
Need another reason? When losing weight, building muscle is actually one of the BEST things you can do. Why? Because muscle burns more calories at rest to simply maintain than fat does.
How many more? One pound of fat burns roughly 3-5 calories per day to maintain. One pound of muscle needs roughly 50 calories per day. So, if you could simply replace 10 lbs. of fat with 10 lbs. of lean muscle, you'd burn up roughly an extra 500 calories per day - with no other changes to your bodyweight, schedule, workout programs, or anything else.
If you replaced 10 lbs. of fat with 10 lbs. of muscle and went on to burn that extra 500 calories per day, you'd continue to lose roughly 1 pound of fatper week, with NO other change. (500 calories/day x 7 days/week = 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat)
Why would you not want to do this?
Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.
HOW TO MAKE TINCTURES FROM HERBS
The philosophy behind tincture is to capture the spiritual and physical essence of the plant. This is done by using the power of ethyl alcohol to dissolve and preserve the herb in question. The substance used to extract the herbs is known as the menstrum. The herbs you are tincturing are known as the mark. Tincturing will extract and preserve both the water-soluble and alcohol-soluble properties of an herb. In the interest of taking a more involved stance in their health, many people are turning to homemade tinctures made from fresh or dried herbs. Tinctures have proven to be more powerful and longer lasting than dried herbs. Dried herbs can get moldy or be eaten by insects, tinctures do not. Tinctures will keep up to two years and keep their potency if stored properly. Making your own tinctures will save you quite a bit of money. If you purchase tinctures in a retail store you will get a few ounces whereas if you make it yourself it will yield about a quart. When purchasing herbs, make sure you are buying from a reputable source. Better yet, grow your own herbs to be sure of the highest possible quality. When growing your own you can make any number of combinations to make up your tinctures. I have also found that when growing my own herbs I get the most enjoyment, knowing not only did I make the tincture but I grew the herbs. I become part of the process from beginning to end. There are several items that you will need to make your own tinctures. First you need either powdered herbs or fresh cut herbs. Vodka, brandy or rum, 80-100 proof to cover the herbs. Mason jars with lids. Muslin or Cheesecloth that is unbleached. Lastly, labels for the jars. You will need 7-10 ounces of chopped fresh herbs for every quart of vodka, brandy or rum. I prefer to use fresh herbs when making my tinctures. When using powdered herbs, I use 4 ounces of herbs to one pint of liquid. If you are making a tincture from bitter herbs it is best to use rum as it will mask the taste of the herbs. To make a non-alcoholic tincture use distilled water, glycerol or vinegar. Keep in mind that if you use vinegar the tincture will have to be refrigerated. Put your herbs in the mason jars and then pour the liquid over them so that it comes up to about an inch above the herbs. Seal tightly and label the jars then put them in a very dark, warm area. Keeping them in a paper bag has worked well for me. You will have to shake the jar everyday, several times a day if you can mange it. At first check the solution daily to make sure the vodka, brandy or rum still covers the herbs. Let the mixture steep for at least two weeks and up to three months. When you reach the allotted waiting period, line a sieve with the cheesecloth or muslin and pour the liquid thru the sieve into another bottle. Gather up the ends of the cheesecloth and squeeze to extract all of the liquid. You can now fill small bottles with droppers with the tincture for ease in use. Be sure to label the jar with the name and the date. The dose is one teaspoon tincture in a cup of tea, juice or water taken three times daily. There are no right formulas for making tinctures. Experiment with different combinations. Be sure you write down the formula so when you come up with a winning combination you will have it on file. Here are a few ideas for treating colds. Make tinctures from the following herbs: echinacea (leaves, flowers) elder (leaves, flowers, berries) eyebright (leaves, flowers) ginger (root) peppermint (leaves) yarrow (leaves, flowers) catnip (leaves)
Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved
Source : easy ezine article .com
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