Q&A for: 12-Aug-05
351. Q:
how does HIIT work? how many reps do i do? is HIIT 6 days a week, weight training for 3 days a week, and a good diet enough for me to shed the pounds? i'm 5'6 and 148 lbs. i feel fat. how soon before i start seeing the changes? is it true that my legs will become firm or something? please advise. i love your site.
A:
HIIT 6 times/week is too much. Try 3 days weights, 2-3 days HIIT and a good diet. That will be plenty to shed the unwanted pounds. You'll see first changes in a couple of weeks, but your goal is to have slow steady weight loss of around 1 pound per week -- this will ensure that what you lose is fat and not muscle. So be patient. Please read this article closely (including the two articles it refers to) and it should answer most of your questions, including how HIIT works. Then post any follow-up questions here. Good luck!
352. Q:
In addition to question 345.So if i work one part of mucles(example legs)one day can i sleep at night and work another group of mucles the next day?
A:
Yes, that's perfectly OK -- separating out muscle groups like that is how 'split' programs are structured. Just make sure that you have AT LEAST 2 full days every week when you don't do any weight training. I also recommend that every two months you take a full week off gym and then come back to a different routine. So if you were doing a 5-days-a-week weight routine for 2 months, then you'd take the week off and come back with a 3-days-a-week routine for another 2 months. After that you can go back to 4 or 5 days routines again. Vary the volume of your program (basically the number of sets you do in a week) throughout the year.
353. Q:
Why is fruit not a good alternative (to veggies let's say) when in the fat-burning stage??? Do they carry too many calories?? What do you think of the high calorie fruits (like bananas and avocados)?? Is it better to fuel up on these before, after, or before-and-after a workout?? Thanks in advance.
A:
Fruits have a lot of carbs that your body digests fairly quickly which is what you want to avoid. They are actually very healthy foods, but when your goal is cutting fat you should be looking for foods that provide slow-digesting carbs and green veggies are a perfect example of that. Avocados specifically are a bit different -- they have a lot of fat in addition to some carbs and some protein. They are also very healthy and actually more appropriate than things like bananas as long as you keep track of overall calories -- remember that one avocado can easily have 200 calories in it!
For your second question, you want to fuel up both before and after the workouts. Those two meals along with your breakfast should be your biggest and most important meals of the day.
354. Q:
I know that muscle recovery occurs during your resting time. So if you push your muscles further between your recovery times, then ur muscles will have to work harder during the actual recovery period. Will that give you optimal results?? Do you suggest 30 second rests between sets?? or less?
A:
If you lift weights that cause muscular failure after 12 or fewer reps, then you should take fairly long breaks in between sets. 2 or even 3 minutes may be appropriate after especially heavy sets. If you're able to do a set, rest for 30 seconds, and then repeat the same set with the same weight, that means you need to pick up heavier weights! When done at proper intensity, you should seriously struggle to match the first set with the second and third sets even with 2-3 minute breaks. Remember that your goal when lifting weights is to exercise at maximum intensity. By not giving your muscles enough time to recover in between sets, you are preventing them from exercising at maximum intensity and making your weights workout more like cardio.
355. Q:
two day recovery period?? --is that relevant if you are still working your muscles doing cardio in those days off?
A:
Cardio does slow down the recovery process somewhat, but you can't really avoid it with only seven days in the week. Because of this, I advise to not do too much cardio (2-3 times/week 20-30 minutes at moderate-to-brisk pace).
356. Q:
Is it true that your metabolic rate actually decreases if you workout too long??
A:
That is correct. Slower metabolism despite lots of weightlifting and/or cardio is another symptom of overtraining. It is actually very common among people who are so into exercising that they fall into 'more is always better' trap. How much one can train before overtraining can vary quite a bit from person to person, so I try to give guidelines that will work for an average man or woman. If you look at my sample routines, most of them are marked as 'low', 'medium', or 'high' volume -- that should give you an idea of the amounts of weights work that an average person should do in a week. A rule of thumb is to do between 2 and 5 hours of weights per week.
357. Q:
how do i get rid of man boobs?
A:
Please read this
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