Q&A for: 14-Sep-05
506. Q:
Mike, a Reply for Q505. couldnt i just make it a little simpler? with school and other things going on i dont have much time, and i just wanted to have a somewhat simple schedule without getting into all thhis. and if i go 2 weeks resting i would most definitely feel like im losing my strength and all.
A:
OK, let me try to simplify :) ... Your 5-day split is good, just make sure to stay in gym for 30-60 minutes of hard lifting each day.
507. Q:
how can i lose 16 pounds of fat in 1 month and burning 450 calories daily what should my schedule be or how many times a day or how much should i eat
A:
You cannot lose 16 pounds of FAT in just one month. You could lose 16 pounds of WEIGHT (which includes fat and muscle tissue, among other things) but that would be very counter-productive since you won't look any better than if you lost just 6-8 pounds of actual FAT (which is about most fat an average person can realistically lose in one month). Worse yet, fat weight loss like that almost guarantees that all that fat will come back fast (since you'd lose muscle when muscle is by far your best ally in burning fat).
So don't look for quick fixes and instead commit to take as much time as necessary to lose the extra fat FOR GOOD. That means losing weight no faster than 2 pounds per week and preferably even slower that that. Please fill out the Fitness Gude specifying 'Lose Fat' as your goal and follow the diet + exercise programs it provides. Good luck!
508. Q:
i have man boobs how can i get rid of them
A:
Please read this carefully and follow its instructions. Good luck!
509. Q:
I want to lose a few pounds within 5 weeks for a trip. If I cut out cardio just until my trip and used the 20 minutes I'd spend on cardio for weight training instead, will I lose weight faster or slower?
A:
Losing a few pounds in 5 weeks is quite easily done. There's nothing wrong with 20 minutes of cardio a few days a week, but yes, you do also need to do weight training for optimal fat-burning. When you weight-train, make sure you use heavy (heavy for you, not heavy for someone else!) weights and focus on big exercises like the squat, deadlift, lunges, rows, and presses. Doing small stuff like bicep curls alone will do nothing for fat burning.
So my advice to you would be to keep cardio as is, but add heavy whole-body weight training AND, if you're not doing it already, adopt a fat-burning diet. You can fill out the Fitness Guide questionnaire specifying 'Lose Fat' as your goal to get a complete weight training and diet prescription. You don't need to follow them exactly of course, but they should give you a good idea of what to do. Losing 5-6 pounds of fat in 5 weeks is very doable. Good luck!
510. Q:
Shouldn't we ignore the scale during weight training?
A:
Good question! Yes and no :) Let me break it down... Suppose you're training to lose fat... Then you should ignore the weight scale in the sense that fast weight loss (when you see 1 pound less on the scale every other day) is NOT your friend. Instead you should use the scale to make sure your weight loss stays slow and steady, 1-2 pounds/week, which is the true FAT LOSS zone. And if you're a beginner then you can make good progress in losing fat and building muscle at the same time so your weight doesn't change at all!
If you're training to build muscle, then you should pay attention to the scale again just to make sure your weight gains are very slow and steady -- 2 pounds per month or slower! Fast weight gains will simply result in a lot of unwanted fat, but little or no new muscle compared to slower weight gains.
Finally if you're an athelte training for strength, then you should only use the scale to make sure that extra weight gain doesn't hinder your performance in other aspects of your sport. If you're a running back in football, you want to stay lighter to be faster. If you're a wrestler, you need to make sure you stay within your weight class.
So the scale is most definitely NOT be the ultimate indicator of your progress -- your looks and your strength are the true measures of that. The scal is however a useful tool to make sure you stay on track.
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