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QUESTION
AND ANSWER
Q: I’m a 26 year old female and stand 5’2” and weigh 130
pounds. Am I too fat for my height?
A: Without knowing your fat content and bone structure it’s hard to
tell without seeing you but here are some guidelines. First of all in
the book ‘Get Fit Stay Fit’ there is a height weight chart that will
fit most everyone’s needs and according to it’s guidelines you could
stand to lose a few pounds. But here’s the catch…remember muscle
weighs more than fat. You could be this lady of steel and in which case
you are probably just fine. A quick check without looking at the charts
would be to do this. Give yourself 100 pounds for the first 5 feet of
your height and then add 5 pounds for every inch that you are above 5’
and now give or take 10 percent. So according to this formula, a healthy
weight for you should be 110 pounds give or take 11 pounds. So you could
stand to lose between 9 and 20 pounds.
Q: Are workout videos good for you?
A: Anything that gets you moving is good for you. If you do jumping
jacks while waiting for the bus, it’s good for you. Workout videos
usually don’t have more than 30 minutes of aerobic training per tape
and these workouts are generally low impact. For a person of about 150
pounds this would translate into burning between 170 to 250 kcal. per
workout. To burn fat you need to expend at least 300 kcal. at least 3
times a week. So try to choose tapes that have longer aerobic workouts
or go for a walk or choose some other way to burn fat. In the book ‘Get
Fit Stay Fit’ there is a great activity guide that will show you what
activity will burn how many calories and you can find the activity that
is just right for you.
Q: Why am I still getting Fat when I’ve cut out fat in my
diet?
A: Reducing dietary fat does not necessarily mean you will reduce body
fat. Excess carbohydrates can be stored as fat once the liver and
muscles levels are full, and excess protein can be stored as fat once
the muscle tissues have had their share. So you may be cutting back on
the amount of fat you are eating but you may be eating too many
calories. If you eat more then you burn you will store the excess as
fat. Check out the formulas in the book ‘Get Fit Stay Fit’ to see
how many calories you should be eating in your diet and then you can
properly design a weight management program that will personally suit
your needs.
Q: What do I need to eat to gain more muscle?
A: Well for starters only protein can become part of new muscles, but
carbohydrates provide the fuel for you to exercise. If your carbohydrate
intake is too low your body will go into the muscles to get the energy
that it needs to perform the demands you put on it. So if you want to
gain muscle mass efficiently make sure you eat enough carbohydrates
before and after workouts so the protein you consume can do the job of
building your muscles.
Q: If I eat too much at a party should I limit what I eat the next
day?
A: I wish it was that simple. If you eat too much in one day, your
excess calories will be stored as fat. By trying to make up for it the
next day by limiting what you eat will lower your metabolism so you’ll
burn even fewer calories. Don’t punish yourself for having a bad day
and just try to get back to your normal eating habits. If you really
feel you should do something, then perform extra time in your aerobic
workouts. This will hopefully make you feel better and perhaps help you
lose the extra calories you stored.
Q: How can I prevent all the muscle gains I’ve made from one day
turning into fat?
A: If you stop exercising your muscles in about four weeks will start to
lose some strength and size but they will not and can not turn into fat.
What sometimes happens when you stop exercising is you continue to eat
as if you were burning all those calories, but you’re not. So those
excess calories will be stored as fat. What you have to do if you stop
exercising due to an injury for example, is to adjust your eating habits
to account for this, and eat fewer calories. Once you resume working out
you can increase your calories.
Q: What is the best time of the day to work out?
A: Anytime! Whatever works best for you, your schedule and when you have
the most energy. Your body will burn the same amount of calories doing a
certain activity in the morning, as it will in the evening. In the book
‘Get Fit Stay Fit’ there is a great activity guide that will show
you what activity will burn how many calories and you can find the
activity that is just right for you.
Q: What is a healthy diet?
A: A healthy diet contains the proper amount of essential nutrients and
calories that can reduce the risks of disease and help you to live a
full and active lifestyle. This diet contains the proper balance of
carbohydrates, fats and proteins. And you must eat a variety of
different foods, because no one food can give you all the nutrients your
body needs. For example oranges may be an excellent source of Vitamin C
but contains no Vitamin B12. Cheese provides a good source of B12 but no
Vitamin C. Check out the section ‘What’s in a serving’ in the book
‘Get Fit Stay Fit’. This food guide will help you to balance your
meal plan so that you choose foods from all the basic food groups.
Q: I’m afraid to weight train because I don’t want to get big
bulky muscles, what should I do instead?
A: Weight training combined with a proper diet will help you gain muscle
mass but only if you perform low rep, heavier than normal weights. Your
body has two types of muscle fiber; white (fast twitch) muscle fiber and
red (slow twitch) muscle fiber. When you perform low rep (less than 6
reps) heavy weight exercises your white or fast twitch muscle fibers are
doing most of the work and you will gain strength and size. In the 6 to
12 rep range you use both your red and white muscle fibers and you can
build size to your muscles. When you perform reps in the 12 to 20 range
your red muscle fibers do most of the work and although you may gain
some size and definition, you are increasing the aerobic capacity of the
muscle you are working. So if you want to gain a little muscle mass, but
mostly shape and tone keep your reps high. If your goal is get big, lift
heavy and keep your reps low.
Q: Will doing aerobic stop me from gaining muscle mass.
A: It depends on how much aerobics you are doing. If you were running a
marathon then the answer would be yes. If you train aerobically for long
periods of time, you will burn muscle as well as fat. So if you want to
gain muscle try to keep your aerobic training to between one and three
hours per week. Do not cut it out of your workouts because it will help
you to improve your cardiovascular system, increase your metabolism and
help you to recover more quickly from heavy weight training.
Q: I get confused on when to breathe when lifting weights?
A: Breathing should be so natural, but it can be confusing when you
start to think about what you are doing. Just ask a golfer if he inhales
or exhales on his back swing and watch him hit his next shot into the
woods. The basic rule is to exhale on the toughest part of the movement.
So in pushing motions like the bench press the toughest part would be
when you push the bar off your chest, so you should exhale. In pulling
motions, like pull downs, the toughest part would be when you pull the
bar towards your chest so you should exhale. If you are lifting
something than you should exhale as you lift the weight. You should
never hold your breath as you exercise. Breathing will also prevent you
from grinding your teeth as you perform heavy workouts.
Q: Can I workout if I’m sick?
A: Yes and no. If you just don’t feel well, sometimes working out can
help lift you out of whatever you are experiencing. If on the other hand
you have a fever, you should wait until the fever goes away before
working out in the gym. If you simply must work out when you are sick,
try to lower the intensity of your workout and let your body try to heal
itself. Working out while sick can sometimes lengthen or worsen your
illness because your immune system has to do double duty. It has to deal
with the stresses of your illness and the physical stresses of you
working out. So if you give yourself a break you will hopefully be back
to optimum health quicker.
Q: Are vitamin supplements necessary?
A: If you know you are getting all your essential vitamins and minerals
from your diet than vitamin supplements are not necessary. But how many
of you know if you are or not? If you lack just one of the essential
vitamins or minerals, chemical and enzyme processors in your body can be
impaired. Vitamins and minerals are needed for forming hormones, turning
food into energy, and building a strong immune system. Almost every
function in your body revolves around the use of vitamins and minerals
in order to perform properly. If you consult with your doctor, he or she
could recommend a good multivitamin/mineral supplement that would be
good for you.
Q:
I'm a Personal Trainer just starting out.
I
just got a request to train an overweight 13-year-old girl. I've been
thinking of a circuit routine with light weight in a 20-25 rep range 3
days a week as well as low intensity aerobics 3 days a week. I'm a
little new to this, I was wondering if you could give me any training
tips for a young girl or if what I was thinking is a good program for
someone that young. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
A:
The secret with training adolescents is you have to make it fun
and at the same time challenging...the circuit weight training is not a
bad idea but you must be careful you don't allow her to lift too heavy
because they are still developing and care should be taken...(especially
if she is just starting to menstruate).
I like the approach of cross training.
I'm not sure where you live ...but if the
weather is nice...going for a hike....biking...even canoeing, can get
the teen active and that is the key, as well as working on a proper diet
strategy that can give her the nutrition required for a growing girl.
She could also be
involved in a team sport such as soccer...lot's of running which is
good...or play tennis...There are so many elements to consider and a lot
of personal trainers look at kids and treat them like adults. They
will get bored going to a gym several times a week...but they won't get
bored if they are doing different activities...even Badminton and
bowling...gets them moving and at the same time you can teach them by
not teaching them. Make it
fun...make it unique and at the same time challenging.
Q: Someone once said
to me that if I'm going to eat Power Bars, I might as well be eating
Snickers....is this true? Power Bars are my favorite snack bar
because their new varieties taste good to me. I've tried others
that just don't cut it. However, if I'm hurting my good
nutrition habits I suppose I can cut them out. Are Power Bars bad
compared to other energy bars?
A: Power bars are an interesting
topic. I guess it depends on what you are using them for.
And your friend who suggested you might as well eat a snickers bar is
partially correct. You see once you look at the ingredients of
most power bars and dissect it ....they are sugar...sugar and more
sugar.
If you are looking for a quick high and don't
care about your insulin ups and downs then sugar...in the form of simple
carbs will usually satisfy your needs. But if you’re looking to
maintain some sort of consistency...with lasting energy without the
highs and lows then you should try to eat complex carbs.
I hope this answers your question...but there
are many different kinds of power...protein and energy bars...some are
better then others, but if they work for you then that's all that
matters.
Q: Is
aerobics better for getting into shape then weight training?
A:
Any form of activity is good, walking to the store instead of
driving, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, but if you truly
want to reshape your body then you must do some kind of weight training.
As I discuss in my book ‘Get Fit Stay Fit’ when you gain
muscle, you also increase your metabolism because your body needs more
energy to maintain its new muscle and fat needs hardly any energy at
all. So if you are looking
to lose weight, then weight training along with a proper diet gets right
to the core of the problem. Now
if you just do aerobic activities, and eat less you will lose weight
eventually but it may not give you the results you are looking for.
If you start out your aerobic routine say having a pear
shape…you will like I said lose weight but still have a pear shape,
mind you hopefully a smaller pear.
So if you truly want to transform your body and burn fat then
nothing beats a proper weight-training program.
Q: Is
weight Training only for young people?
A:
NO. I’d love to leave it
at that but let me say that as we age we lose muscle mass.
And it starts at around 25 years of age.
From your early thirties to mid sixties your body fat levels can
double. We get older, we
get fatter…we get fatter, we lose muscle mass…we lose muscle
mass…we get weaker and lose our strength…we lose our strength we
feel old, fragile, weak and begin to have all sorts of health problems.
This progression can be stopped and aging baby boomers are
starting to catch on. In
fact the largest and fastest growing section in the fitness industry are
of men and women over the age of 50.
No matter what your current level of fitness is, if you are
healthy you are ready to step into the weight room of a gym.
It’s also a very good idea if you haven’t exercised in a
while that you have a physical and let your doctor know what your plans
are. I’m sure he’ll not
only help but also encourage you and give you guidance as well as the
health care professionals at your local club.
Q:
I can’t find the time to exercise, but really need to lose
about 25 pounds. What
should I do?
A:
Well for starters, no one has the time to exercise.
I have yet to meet anyone that has said to me…I’m bored I
think I’ll start to workout. In
today’s fast paced world no one seems to think they can find the time
for something new. We all have the same amount of time 24 hours a day…1,440
minutes and yet some find the time and others just say they are too
busy. Once you prioritize
and plan your workouts, you’d be amazed that you really do have the
time. You don’t have to be in a gym 2 to 3 hours at a time…but
a 40 minute workout with time to change etc…You should be able to be
in and out within an hour. When
you plan your day to include your workout, then you will get it done and
you’ll also be surprised that you found that extra hour that you
didn’t think you had. Having
a healthy body and not exercising it is like having 20/20 vision and
never opening your eyes. You
should make exercising a part of your daily routine, like eating and
brushing your teeth.
Q:
Should I eat something before I workout like an energy bar?
A:
It all depends on what your goal is.
Is you are concerned only with your performance then you should
consume some sort of carbohydrates before and after you workout like an
energy bar or sport drink. But
if your goal is to lose weight then it is not a good idea.
If you supply your body with carbohydrates (energy) before you
work out, then as you work out you will burn what you supplied for
energy instead of going into your fat cells and pulling out fat and
burning it for your energy. So
instead of burning fat you are saving it.
Cut back on your carbs and your body will burn more fat. So for maximum fat burning it is always best to exercise on
an empty stomach.
I know you want to get in
shape and look great. Whatever
your fitness goal…to slim down…gain muscle…tone your arms or
flatten your tummy…I’m here to help you accomplish your goals and
to improve your fitness level. If you have enjoyed this article and
the many other free features on my site, and would like some more
comprehensive information such as fitness books and CD's to aid you
in achieving your health and fitness goals, please visit my
ONLINE STORE where you will find innovative natural health and
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BEST YOU CAN BE !
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