Sometimes we get so caught up in all the media hype on fitness and exercise and weight loss that we lose our focus on common sense science and the realities of how our bodies do and do not work. One of the areas in which I see this with younger women just getting serious about their workouts.

Dallas personal trainer Kyle Osteen is featured in an article in Pegasus News this week and he offers some sound, sane and actionable advice in answer to questions posed by students at Southern Methodist University. He covers several keys to getting fit and in a way that people can easily understand.

On refueling after a workout:

Osteen explains what nutrients are needed after a workout and how to refuel without undoing your hard work.

The point of refueling is that it is all going into your muscles or liver and it helps build muscles and repairing what you just did to your body. It is important to eat within 45 minutes to an hour after working out. If you drink a 20-ounce Gatorade and have a protein bar, you will be fine.”

On whether girls will get too bulky from working out:

Joel explains that girls just don’t have the high testosterone levels that guys do, which is why most women aren’t going to get bulky muscles unless they are taking steroids or really working hard to bulk up.

Girls get so worried about bulking up, but you can not naturally put on muscle like guys can. Also, muscle really does not weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound. But a pound of muscle takes up a lot less room than a pound of fat.”

On the proper training schedule:

You could do five to six days a week if you really wanted, but you would need to talk to someone and figure out exactly what you should be doing. If you are strength training every day, then you better be doing a different body part every day. But you still need a rest day. You can do recovery days where you are still doing stuff and being active, but you are letting your body recover.”

On interval training:

If you are going to do cardio, I think it is best to do intervals. Run for 30 seconds as hard as you can and walk for two minutes. It only takes 20 minutes.”

On the importance of sleep:

If you are not getting enough sleep, your body will not release the hormone that tells you when you are full. More importantly, sleep is when your body is repairing itself and you are building muscle. When I am in the gym, I am not actually building muscle while I am there, it is later on.”

This is all sound advice and science-based information, but that kind of stuff gets lost in all the hoopla sometimes. I love that Osteen addressed several important aspects of fitness in one article, with plainly articulated information that women can actually understand and use. Check out the article to read more of his advice and answers!