The answer is both! Contrary to popular belief, incorporating some higher intensity training (lower reps, heavier weights) into your workout routine will not make you “bulky.” It might seem counterintuitive, but lifting heavy weights can actually help you get a lean body faster.

Of course there are exceptions, but most women tend to train with lighter weights (50-60 percent of their maximum capability) and higher repetitions (15-20+ reps per set) for each exercise. This approach isn’t necessarily wrong, but the downside is that it only develops endurance capabilities of the muscle (type 1 or slow-twitch muscle fibres) and neglects type 2 or fast-twitch muscle fibres, which are important for building new muscle tissue and developing strength and power.

We know what you’re thinking: Why would you want to add muscle tissue when your goal is to lose weight and/or get a leaner body? The answer is simple: Building muscle (or at least maintaining your existing muscle) is important for your metabolism, which is essentially the term for all of the chemical reactions that occur in your cells to provide energy for your body. Muscle tissue is much more metabolically active than fat. In other words, muscle requires kilojoules as fuel to sustain itself, even when you’re just sitting in front of your computer. Plus, a kilogram of lean muscle tissue takes up significantly less space inside the body than a kilogram of fat tissue. So dropping body fat and adding lean muscle mass is the ultimate combination to help you achieve a tighter, leaner version of yourself.

How should you train to get the best of both worlds? I’m glad you asked. After completing a dynamic warm up, start your strength training session by performing one or two multi-joint exercises such as squats, deadlifts, or chinups. Perform 3 sets with a heavier resistance (80-85 percent of your maximum capability) for 6-8 reps per set. This strategy will allow you to target those important type 2 muscle fibers while minimizing the (already small) potential for too much muscle growth.

With beginners, developing core stabilization is most important. The following three exercises should be performed for 2-3 sets of 30-60 holds. For the side plank and/or Pallof (cable or band) press and hold, you need to perform on both sides to complete 1 set.

1. Plank
Lie face down on mat. Place forearms on mat, elbows under shoulders. Place legs together with forefeet on floor. Raise body upward by straightening body in straight line (don’t let your hips sag). Hold position.

2. Side Plank
Lie on your side on mat. Place your right forearm on mat under your shoulder, perpendicular to your body. Place your left leg directly on top of your right leg and straighten knees and hips. Raise your body upward by straightening through your waist so your body is ridged. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds. Repeat on the opposite side.

3. Pallof (Cable or Band) Press and Hold
Adjust a cable machine so the pulley is at chest height. Grab the handle with both hands and walk out so there is tension on the cable. Now, turn 45 degrees so you face sideways in relation to the cable, and assume a hip-width stance with the handle at your chest. This is the starting position. Press the cable straight out in front of you and hold. Brace your midsection and do not let it pull your arms or trunk to the side; the object of the exercise is to resist rotation.

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Discover was to modify your life to achieve a balanced, healthy diet for long term effective weight loss. Following these principles will see you not only losing weight, but also feeling amazing.

1. Play by the numbers

No matter where it comes from, a kilojoule is a kilojoule, and it takes 14 000 kilojoules to gain or lose a kilogram. Want to shed a perfectly respectable 0.5 – 1 kilogram per week? Carve 2000 kilojoules off your day by thinking through your healthy food choices and upping your exercise.

But make sure you’re not cutting too many kilojoules. Drastically reducing food intake could slow your metabolism and sabotage your efforts to build muscle, which is needed to burn maximum kilojoules and be toned. To make kilojoules count, choose nutrient-rich healthy foods with a mix of protein, carbs and fats at every meal for an overall balanced healthy diet.

Find out how many kilojoules you should be eating to lose weight.

2. Consider nutrition first

Eat plenty of healthy foods full of the six nutrients most often lacking in women’s diets. The quality and length of our lives depend on our health; our bodies thrive only when nourished with optimal amounts of the more than 40 nutrients and 12,000 phytochemicals found in minimally processed foods.

And, these also aid in weight loss. If you focus more on your health and less on your waistline, you will automatically eat more low-kilojoule, nutrient-packed healthy foods, like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free dairy products and legumes, which help you maintain your weight.

3. Learn how to control food cravings

You’ve probably noticed that you feel your strongest food cravings at specific times of the day – or during your period. Understand why, and learn how you how to prevent yourself from overeating.

Cut out the specific items in whatever category – carbs, sweets, meat – gives you difficulty without cutting out the nutrition. Give pretzels the heave-ho but don’t dismiss wholegrain breads. Has ice cream become a problem? Instead, snack on single-serving portions of yoghurt.

4. Set your own rules

The best way to achieve that same clarity when you’re trying to lose weight is to set some rules. Find yourself snacking on cereal at night? Make an only-for-breakfast rule. If you slip, no cereal in your house for a month! Tend to dive into the breadbasket as soon as the waiter brings it around? Set a one-starchy-carb-per-restaurant-meal rule. If you want the bread, tell yourself before you head out that you’ll skip the potato or pasta that comes with your meal. To make the rules official, write them down.

5. Choose nutritious foods with staying power

Fill up on wholesome, fibre-rich, water-filled healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, which fill you up faster for longer on fewer kilojoules. And how you eat is as important as what you eat. A growing body of research shows that the best way to keep your metabolism revved and body-fat levels low is to feed yourself in small amounts. Eat airline-size (rather than restaurant-size) portions of healthy foods like meat, fish, pasta, grains and desserts. And eat every three to four hours, for a total of five mini-meals per day.

6. Enjoy food

You’re much more likely to stick with a diet if your food looks, tastes and smells delicious. Feeling deprived will only backfire. Make a plan you can live with by livening up healthy foods with herbs and spices like basil, coriander, curry and ginger; aromatic veggies like garlic and onions; and condiments like mustard, hot pepper sauce or salsa. Experiment with new nutritious foods: Tantalize your taste buds with two new fruits or vegetables at each meal. Try different cold/hot cereals and breads. Don’t declare high-fat favourites “off limits”; savour them in small amounts to maintain a balanced healthy diet.

Try these 5 fabulous 5-minute meals

7. Strive for an overall balanced healthy diet

For energy, satisfaction, staying power and good health, aim to eat a healthy balance of protein (15-20 percent of your total daily kilojoules), fat (less than 30 percent of your total daily kilojoules) and carbohydrate (50-55 percent of your total daily kilojoules) each day. Rule of thumb: Fill three-quarters of your plate with plant foods, leaving the rest for small amounts of fish, fat free milk products and nuts or seeds.

See a visual representation of what your plate should look like.

We’re giving you a free pair of socks with the June 2012 issue of SHAPE magazine (on sale 16th May) because we know how frustrating it is to search for a pair of socks when your gym glass starts in half an hour.

We want you to get active and creative with your free pair of SHAPE workout socks. Try them on and start moving – whether you jump, run, dance, or skip, do anything to rock your socks! Get a friend to take some pictures and you could win awesome prizes.

Competition starts 16th May and ends 13th June. Check back next week for more information.

Did you know?
The earliest socks were made from animal skins gathered up and tied around the ankles. Can’t imagine exercising in these babies could have been easy!

And BANG! We’re off! My first race ever (ok, besides the bit I did in school at our annual athletics events)!

The first km we took really slowly, just making our way out of the crowd. I felt fantastic for the first 5k’s.  By the 6^th km the hills started and I felt tired and struggled a bit, but Dean Street’s downhill saved me as I regained much-needed energy and strength as we ran towards Main Road.  It’s amazing what random things you think about while running, thoughts that pop into your head from nowhere.  I ended up having a chat with myself about how beautiful the weather and sunrise were, as well as the way the light fell through the trees, and how Rubi and Diego would’ve loved running with me… It’s weird how whenever I run I always think of my dogs and I miss them, as I know how much they love running and how inspiring animals are in their love and need for exercise.

So I get to the last km and it’s uphill all the way to the field at UCT where the finish line is. I go up slowly and slow down from tiredness once I hit the field. Then I see Liam, a friend of mine, who’d already completed the race and suddenly he shouted to me, “If you sprint, you can make it in under an hour!”  From somewhere I found strength to make my little running sticks go faster and I finished the race in 59:50 minutes! My goal was to run the whole 10km and I did. Happiness, an amazing sense of accomplishment, pride and pure stoke flooded through me.

When I started at SHAPE on the 1^st of December last year, I couldn’t even comprehend that within the next five months I would have completed a 10km race in less than an hour.  This just confirms how much we are capable of and what we can accomplish by just going for it.

Thanks to the great training that the Sports Science Institute offers through their OptiFit programme I was not really stiff after the race and I enjoyed it so much that I’ve just signed up for the 21,1km OptiFit programme. We start next Thursday with an easy 9k’s…

The OptiFit champions of May 2012.

If you are going to indulge, right after an intense workout is the best time to do it. Indulging in your splurge meal following a rigorous training session is best because your body is primed to take all the sugars from your forbidden snack and preferentially shuttle them towards your muscles (instead of storing them in fat cells).

One of the hardest things about controlling your weight is getting your body to take the food that you eat and put it to good use. When carbohydrates hit your bloodstream, they may go to your fat cells for storage or to your muscles for fuel. We know which route you would prefer your body to pick, but controlling the fate of food you eat is more complicated than just hoping – except right after you exercise.

After you exercise your muscles preferentially soak up more carbohydrates and sugars than other areas of your body do (like fat cells). They do this because muscles need the extra fuel to recharge and recover from your workout. So, if you are going to indulge, after an intense workout is the time to do it.

Is there a downside? The downside comes with overindulgence. Following an intense workout, you want to help refuel and recharge your body as quickly as possible.

Research shows that many aspects of post-exercise recovery are time sensitive. If you overindulge you can slow your recovery process in two different ways. The first is slowed digestion. Eating a lot of food, especially high-fat foods, can take a long time to digest. This delays the speed in which your body will be able to get nutrients to your hungry muscles. The second is priority. Your body only has a set amount of blood and energy that it can use to carry out the processes it needs to in your system. If you over burden your system with food immediately after exercise, it will need to shift its focus to digestion, and not recovery.

If you want to occasionally indulge following an intense workout, just be careful to not overdo it and you’ll be fine.

In simple terms, metabolism is the rate at which your body breaks down the nutrients in food to produce energy. Body composition is a determining factor, and the more total fat-free mass you have (including lean muscle, bones and organs) the higher your metabolic rate will be.

Studies of identical twins suggest that your baseline metabolism is determined at birth, but having a naturally slow metabolism does not mean you’re destined to be overweight. Drastic diets are a sure way to further slow down your metabolism, however, as your body is designed to conserve (rather than burn) energy when food is in short supply. This eating plan has been specially designed by Johannesburg dietititan Tabitha Hume to prevent that effect and make the most of your metabolism.

Why this plan works

• It has three meals per day, with an adequate supply of carbohydrates, which are thermogenic (they are energy burners). This keeps your metabolism revved throughout the day. Missing meals or having too few carbohydrates will slow your metabolic rate.
• It uses low-GI and medium-GI carbohydrates that keep you feeling fuller for longer, and stimulate good digestion. These carbs also keep insulin secretion low, which helps your body use fat stores more effectively.
• It includes lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. These are high in fibre, which stimulates digestion, and they supply vital vitamins and minerals that maintain optimal metabolic processes.
• It includes a high amount of fat-free dairy, which has been scientifically associated with more rapid fat loss and better insulin sensitivity.
• It provides high-quality lean protein for muscle development (the primary source of a good metabolism). The steady supply of correct carbohydrates ensures that there is protein sparing for maximum protein delivery to muscles.
• It includes a single caffeine drink each day. Research has shown that having one caffeine drink each day is beneficial to metabolic stimulation and insulin sensitivity — but having more than one undoes this effect as it may lead to an increase in the stress hormone, cortisol, which aids fat storage and metabolic decreases.
• It includes small amounts of sugar, which is a medium-GI carbohydrate. Research finds that the more people use moderate amounts of sugar, the less likely they will be to binge eat. But, as always, the key is moderation, so stick to the amounts recommended in the plan.

Special notes
- The products and brands mentioned in this eating plan have been specially selected by dietitian Tabitha Hume for maximum results. Carbohydrates are low- or medium-GI, proteins are lean, and dairy products are low-fat or fat-free.

- Water is essential for optimal metabolic functioning and you need 6–8 glasses a day.

- When buying mayonnaise, tinned soups and pasta sauces, make sure the product has less than 10g fat per 100g.

RECIPES

Pasta Alfredo (Serves 4)
1. Cook 2 C durum wheat pasta until al dente.
2. Gently dry-fry one chopped onion in a heavy-bottomed pot, using only chicken stock water when it sticks. When browned, add 1/2 C water and simmer till soft.
3. Add 3 rashers finely sliced Weigh-Less bacon, and toss until cooked through.
4. Add 1 punnet sliced mushrooms, 1 clove crushed garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. When mushrooms are limp, add 1/2 tin low-fat ideal milk and 1 t maizena pre-mixed with a little water to form a paste.
6. Stir until thickened, and serve immediately over pasta. Top with chopped parsley.

Beef Stir-fry (Serves 4)
1. Cook 1 C rice (dry portion).
2. In a wok, place 250–500g extra-lean beef strips, and sear lightly (don’t cook). Remove from heat.
3. In a jug, mix 1/2 C soya sauce, 1 t maizena, 1 T brandy or sherry, 1/2 t ginger, 1 clove crushed garlic, and 1 T brown treacle sugar. Set aside.
4. Chop 1/2 cabbage, 3 carrots, 5 spring onions, 1 punnet button mushrooms; add 1 punnet mung sprouts and 1 punnet sugar snap peas.
5. Place wok with meat on high heat and add vegetables. Toss until just beginning to wilt (do not let them go limp and soggy). Add sauce, and toss until all vegetables and meat are covered, and sauce thickens.
6. Serve with rice and freshly chopped green chillies.

Chicken a la King (serves 4)
1. Cook 1 C rice (dry portion).
2. In a heavy-bottomed pot, dry-fry 1 chopped onion, using only a little chicken stock water when it sticks. When onions are browned, add 1/2 C water and simmer until soft.
3. Meanwhile, slice 4 skinless chicken breast fillets into cubes.
4. When water from the onions has evaporated, add in the chicken pieces and toss until sealed.
5. Add 1 chopped green pepper, 1 punnet sliced mushrooms, 1 T sherry, and toss in pan until vegetables have wilted.
6. Stir in 1/2 C low-fat ideal milk, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cooked rice.

Oriental sauce: Mix 1/4 C soya sauce, 1 t wasabi and 1 T sweet chilli sauce.

Chicken sosaties (serves 4)
1. Slice 4 chicken breast fillets into thick cubes. Chop onions, green peppers, and 4 Weigh-Less bacon rashers into pieces.
2. Thread these ingredients, alternating them with chunks of tinned pineapple and whole button mushrooms, onto skewers.
3. Marinade in sauce: 1 C tomato sauce, 1 C soya sauce, 1/2 C chutney and juice from the tinned pineapple.
4. Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 180 degrees C for 45 minutes or cook on the braai.

Baby potato salad
Boil and cool baby potatoes in their skins, chop and mix with just enough light mayonnaise to cover them and freshly chopped parsley. One portion is 4–6 baby potatoes.

Carrot salad
Grated carrots, chopped tinned pineapple, and a little orange juice