Q&A for: 24-Oct-05
811. Q:
how many calories do sit ups burn?
A:
Please see Q&A #808
812. Q:
Mike i have fallen in love with you site but i have noticed you dont say good things about diet pills. I my self take stacker 2 do you think i should stop? My main goal is to look good and be healthy and i have started the diet plan you have and i am hopeing that will help because like many MANY others on the sitei have man boobs but since i started working out my chest and useing your diet i have noticed improvement. But back to my question do you disaprove of diet pills?
A:
Thanks for compliment and I'm very glad my advice is helping you! You're correct, I'm not a fan of diet pills. Several reasons:
- Horrible hype, misinformation, and plain lies surrounding them. There hasn't been a singly reputable scientific study published on any fat-burning supplement, as far as I know. There's plenty of references to 'studies' in the ads which are either not substantiated or turn out to be funded by the pill maker. TV, web, magazines, are all flooded by a huge number of ridiculous claims for these pills which are plain lies hiding behind the 'actual results may vary' disclaimer. The anecdotal evidence you get from people is heavily tainted by the ads hype, so it's not reliable either. Bottom line, it's safe to conclude that some supps helped some people lose some amount of weight in some period of time, which may or may not be better than they could've lost without the supp.
- Loss of focus. This is actually the bigger issue. Most (not all!) people treat diet pills as some sort of replacement for a healthy diet and exercise. In fact, most commercials are aimed at this perception: 'Lose 20 pounds in one month without exercise and eating all the chocolate you want'. So instead of focusing on having a good diet and a good training program, people start asking which pill is the best. And that's where all the hype and misinformation comes in. In the end, the person still does not know how to eat right, still doesn't exercise, and even if he or she manages to lose some fat thanks to the pill, it's only a matter of time till the fat comes back.
- Health risks. Nobody has any idea about the long-term risks of these supps and many people suffer obvious short-term side-effects including anxiety, insomnia, digestion problems, headaches, etc. And yes, in extreme cases, death. Ephedrine seemed perfectly fine for years till all the death stories starting appearing and then it was banned. Who's to say the same won't happen to the current roundup of fat-burners? And ephedrine was just as 'natural' as any of the current ones -- an extract from a plant. Same anecdotal evidence that says the pills work also says that some people get both psychological and physiological addictions to these drugs, including suffering through withdrawals.
That's about it in the nutshell :) If you choose to take diet pills, please understand the health risks and do not treat your diet and exercise with any less attention as you would have without the diet pills.
814. Q:
If you have gynecomastia, does it prevent you from gaining muscle on your chest. I have a small case of gynecomastia, and noticed that my inner chest isnt that developed. My upper is.
A:
No, it should not affect your ability to gain muscle and in fact the gaining of muscle should mask gynecomastia quite a bit. For your inner chest, try close-grip bench presses (hands about shoulder-width apart or even a little closer). It's a tremedous tricep exercise that happens to hit the inner chest very well too.
815. Q:
my highet is 5'4 my weight is 145 pounds it is good or not.
A:
It's right at the upper limit of recommended weight for that height. So it's OK. The recommend weight for 5'4 is between 120 and 145
816. Q:
how many feet in a 5k
A:
5 kilometers is 3.1 miles or 16400 feet.
817. Q:
what is a good time for a 5k
A:
Sorry, that's a little too open-ended, depending on whether you're man or woman and what level you are. Olympic level for men is well below 14 minutes, for example.
820. Q:
I'm a 41 year old woman, I've been weight training 3 times a week. My question is how long does it take to build a pound of muscle?
A:
For a 41-year old woman it can take a very long time. Women in general gain muscle MUCH slower than men and it only goes down with age. If you've just started training, you'll get what's called 'beginner gains' -- relatively quick changes in body compostion -- so you may gain that pound of muscle without any change in weight in a month or less. But past the first couple of months, the rate of muscle gain will slow down significantly. You can try a muscle-building diet (which involves slight overeating to gain weight), but it's virtually guaranteed to put on quite a bit of fat as well as muscle. Unfortunately fast quality muscle gains are just not something a 41-year old woman is built for :) If you're interested in trying a muscle-building diet anyway, please read my nutrition article and then fill out Mike's Fitness Guide specifying 'Gain Muscle' as your goal for a complete diet suggestion. Again though, keep in mind that it will be extremely difficult for you to gain new muscle without simultaneously gaining new fat.
However, If you're weight training to help you lose fat, don't despair about inability to gain new muscle -- your existing muscle mass, when properly exercised, will have a very potent fat-burning punch on its own! The fact that you're weight training now is much more important than exactly how much muscle you have when it comes to the amount of fat you'll burn. So keep lifting! :)
821. Q:
Is working out monday-friday and resting on saturday and sunday a good idea?
A:
I'd try to split it up so you have a break every 2-3 days, assuming you're weight training. The way you're doing it, you're more likely to have subpar workouts by the time Thursday and Friday roll around because you're burnt out from so many weight training days in a row. Having said that, I know people who follow that schedule and have good success. So just pay attention to how you're feeling and how your workouts go and if you start sensing tiredness, restructure your schedule. I'd also advise to drop down to 3-4 workouts/week after some time. 5 is at the upper limit for most people. Do 2 months of 5-days-a-week and the 2 month of 3-days-a-week. After that you can go back to 5. Just vary it up a bit to let your body recover.
823. Q:
What is the best way to strengthen my upper body and have ripped muscles
A:
Weight training is certainly a good place to start: please read my weight training article. I describe bodybuilding-style training there, which is not strength-specific, but will certainly give you very good strength gains anyway.
As far as ripped muscles, that'll take both substantial muscle mass and low body fat, which is not something that'll happen quickly for anyone -- it'll take years. Half of that is weight training which I referenced above and the other is nutrition.
824. Q:
How would you guide a pregnant woman through a workout after she gets the ok from her doctor?
A:
That's really not my area of expertise, so I'd rather not give any advice here, sorry. I will just say that even pregnant women can safely participate in weight training, but the details are, again, better left to somebody who has more experience in this area than I do.
825. Q:
how often to exersize
A:
It depends on your goals, but for an average person looking to lose some fat and maybe build some muscle... Anywhere between 2 and 5 days a week for weight training, 1 hour or less per session. For cardio my recommendation is only 2-3 times/week, 20-30 minutes at a time -- I like to structure fat-loss around primarily diet and weight training. However if you enjoy cardio, you can certainly do it more often, even every day. If you do a lot of cardio, keep your weight training to fewer sessions and vice versa.
826. Q:
I know you're not a doctor, but have you ever heard of the muscles in the outer thighs spasming after about 30 minutes of walking?
A:
I don't think I've ever come across that, but I suppose it's conceivable to get cramps just from walking, especially if you're overweight and/or out of shape. If you recently worked out legs or did some cardio or sports, then it's also more likely.
Diet-wise having enough potassium in your diet and drinking plenty of water will help muscle cramps in general. You can get potassium from a variety of foods, including bananas, oranges, lima beans, spinach, and many other veggies, fruits, and legumes.
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