Building Muscle: Pros, Cons, ProCons (know your goal)

Building muscle IS for everyone, we do it from birth. With the rise in the popularity of Olympic Lifting and Cross-Fit (two different entities) style workouts, there are more individuals both male and female gaining lean muscle mass. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that more Americans are getting off of their rear-ends and becoming more active. Nonetheless, given the obvious pros, there are some cons to building muscle as well...just ask the Governator!

Pros:
- Burn fat at a high rate
- Decreased fat production (muscles use sugar/carbs to work, any excess, stores itself as fat)
- Increased Sex Drive
- You look good!
- Increased attraction to potential sexual partners ;-)

The list of pros can go on and eventually overlap with many of the pros from staying physically fit. Reading this, you are probably amped about building muscle; you should be! But, be careful, there are some cons that accompany the pros.

Cons:
- Too much muscle can put unnecessary stress on your skeletal system (increases risk of injury)
- Focusing solely on muscle development does not get you in shape (you need cardio too!)
- If your developed muscle is not maintained, you will atrophy (the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body.) in your muscles
- If your developed muscle is not maintained, your lifestyle must change, starting with the way you eat
- Decreased sex drive if muscle is not maintained. 


There are some other cons that can be mentioned. The moral at hand is to not bite off more than you can chew. If you want to look like the hulk for summer, be sure that you are ready to continue working equally, if not harder, in the wintery months. 

I will leave you all with my favorite effect which I refer to as a ProCon of building muscle, you get to  EAT MORE FOOD!!!!

Live Well, Be Strong!
Ramon Clark

US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin Resigns

 The name Dr. Regina Benjamin is not really a household name, but it should be. After four amazing years serving as the US Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin will step down from her post.

Our hats go off to Dr. Benjamin for being a major advocate for disease prevention, maintaining healthy lifestyles and wellness. She has helped to shift the awareness of Americans on pressing issues  such as America's obesity epidemic. 

Dr. Benjamin released the first ever National Prevention Strategy, as well as The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. 

We can only hope that our next Surgeon General continues to further Dr. Benjamin's efforts to help us do our part; starting with ourselves!

Live Well, Be Strong! 

Welcome to our blog of enlightenment

Welcome to our wonderful blog of enlightenment. Here we will post
-news from the fitness and wellness world
-new exercises, tips, tricks, and recipes
- social events and...MUCH MUCH MORE!!!!

Be sure to visit regularly!
Live Well, Be Strong!!!