Q&A for: 28-Jan-07
1974. Q:
I need to lose about 10-15 pounds And I have 1 month to do it. My question is How?
A:
Unless you're very overweight (more than 50 pounds over your recommended weight), losing 10-15 pounds in a month is a bit too fast. For an average person looking to lose fat, I recommend losing about 1 pound per week. Gradual weight loss like that allows you to maintain relatively high metabolism for loger time which in turns allows more fat loss over long term and much easier time keeping it from coming back. Still, 10 pounds in one month is quite doable and likely to do more good than harm.
As to how to lose weight successfully like that, please read my fat loss article. The advice there applies to virtually all weight loss cases. The only difference in your case, if you are trying to lose weight more aggressively is that you will be eating fewer calories and perhaps doing more cardio. But again, consider taking 2-3 months to lose those 10-15 pounds -- you'll be much more likely to get (and keep!) the results you want.
1975. Q:
Mike, my shoulders still don't seem to be developing, I do lots of shoulder press, side raises, front raises, but it seems that my biceps are still much bigger
I don't even train my biceps. please help.
A:
Try doing less for your shoulders. Your biceps apparently respond well despite little or no direct work and it may be that your shoulders are the same way. Remember that shoulder are involved in most chest and some back exercises, so they're easy to overwork. Take a break from doing direct shoulder work and then come back at much lower volume -- as few as just three sets of dumbbell presses per week and nothing else.
1976. Q:
Explain how the skeletal system and circulatory system work together?
A:
One can write books that explain it all, but I'll try to be brief... The easiest way to think of it is that the skeletal system provides the rigid yet movable structure that supports everything else. The joints in your skeleton allow for various degrees of movements in various body parts. The muscles provide the means to pull certain parts of the body closer to others (muscles can only pull, not push -- but the net effect of their action can be to push off depending on which side of the joint the tendon joining the muscle to the bodypart lies). The circulatory system then provides the fuel -- both glycogen and fatty acid as well as oxygen -- for the muscles. Finally your nerous system provides a means of conscious control of the muscles.
1977. Q:
If I(I’m male) weigh 13 stone at 6 foot 2 inches and I’am roughly 23% body fat –about 3 stone– how much would I have to weigh to be at 10% body fat? How much space would that amount of fat that needs to be lost, take up? By the way, I’m really glad your still keeping this excellent website going, it was such a long time(7th January) since we last heard from you - I was worried the site might be closing. Keep the great info coming!
A:
I will definitely continue to answer questions and keep the site going! I just can't promise it'll be as fast as before. I'm a bit skeptical that you have 23% body fat at your height and weight -- at 6 feet 2 inches and 182 pounds (13 stones) you have perfectly average healthy weight. I would guess you are closer to 18% body fat -- remember that body fat measurements are notoriously unreliable.
Assuming you are 18% body fat, you have 33 pounds of fat (about 2.3 stones). When a healthy average male like you loses weight he can expect that about two thirds of weight lost will be fat, assuming a good diet and exercise program. So, if you lose 20 pounds (1.5 stones), about 14 of them (1 stone) will be fat and in the end you'll weigh 11.5 stones of which 1.3 stones will be fat -- close to 10% body fat.
Unfortunately, in practice, once you break below 12-15% body fat losing further fat becomes quite difficult for many people, so it's unlikely you'll be able to diet and exercise your way straight down to 10% body fat. More likely you'll have to lose some weight and cut some fat, then bulk up a bit to restore muscle mass and raise your metabolism, then restart on losing weight again. You may even have to repeat this cycle a few times before you finally get to 10% body fat. Hope that helps!
1978. Q:
how can i lose my hips and love handels fast
A:
There is no fast way to make serious improvements to your appearence or health, but if you resolve to make real changes for the better in your lifestyle and be patient and disciplined, I promise you that you can lose all the fat you want -- please read my fat loss article to learn how.
1980. Q:
i want to lose my stomach, i am over wieght for my height. i weight 245lbs. and i am 5'8' tall.
A:
First thing you should do is get your doctor's OK to start on a diet and exercise program. Then please read my fat loss article and the articles it links to until you really have a good idea of how to approach fat loss. Then it's just a matter of self-discpline and patience -- it may take you a year or more to reach your ideal weight, but you should just take it day-to-day and enjoy and take pride in the steady progress towards your goal. Best of luck!
1981. Q:
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE WITH REGULAR FAT AND THE FAT THAT YOU GET WHEN YOU'RE PREGNANT? WHY IS IT SO MUCH HARDER TO LOSE?
A:
The fat is the same, but hormonal changes in your body due to pregnancy make your body more likely to try to hang on to fat. Aging has the same effect. An added difficulty for new moms is the fact that they don't have much free time with a young child to raise and look after However the best approach is still the same: healthy balanced diet and well-rounded exercise program that includes whole-body resistance or weight training. Please read my fat loss article and good luck!.
1982. Q:
About the spot reduction thing, I understand you can't lose weight in that area, and its good to do a full-body workout, My question is: If you do exercises that target the chest for example(bench press,etc.) wouldn't the muscle there then burn fat in that area? Because I have man boobs and I read if you keep workin out the chest, eventually the boobs will either go away or become pecs. Thanx
A:
No, it really does not work that way at all. There is no magic shortcut to spot reduction -- your body will 'decide' how and where to burn fat and there is nothing you can do to nudge that decision towards one direction or another. However it is true that building up muscles in certain areas can mask the amount of fat you have there, giving you a better appearence. A good example of that is building up chest muscles, especially upper chest -- a built up chest with the same amount of fat can look much better.
1983. Q:
how do you get rid of love handles
A:
Please read my fat loss article.
1984. Q:
im 16...and i work out alot...i been trying to cut back some because ive dropped a good bit of weight...i was getting pretty muscular in the summer but still not were i wanted to be...i want to get build...get muscle and get big...please point me in the right direction of what to do...thanks!
A:
It sounds like you already know how to work out, so the remaining secret for you to getting big is diet! Eating right is probably more important for building muscle than for losing fat! You'll need to eat a lot to allow for slow gradual weight gain (1 pound every 2 weeks is a good aggressive pace for somebody your age). You'll also want to be careful to eat healthy foods and not too much because you probably don't want too much new fat. Read the article I linked carefully, put together a good diet for yourself based on its recommendations, and enjoy your muscle gains!
1985. Q:
I've heard people say that you can't work the same muscle everyday, but to change up and you will get better results. So my question is that statement true? I so taebo four days a week with resistance bands, but my four days are all in a row. Should I split my four days up? My last question is, will the resistance bands do the same as lifting weights?
A:
Yes, I would certainly recommend splitting up those four days, especially if you repeat the same routine every time. As far as resistance bands, I personally don't like them too much -- their resistance does not match the natural 'strength curve' of our muscles so they start out too easy and become too hard towards the maximal muscle contraction. However resistance bands are certainly better than nothing and if you enjoy working out with them, then by all means continue while perhaps experimenting with light freeweights to see if you can eventually incorporate them into your routine as well.
1986. Q:
Hey Mike how you doing. I got a quick question and im wondering if you can help me. I used to be an overweight kid in my younger days. I had a lot of fat but I lost weight like at the age of 15 im 17 now. My problem is that I have so much chest fat and im wondering if you can E-Mail me like a plan or diet i must follow to loose the chest fat. I tried benching and lifting weights and I can tell my cest is strong inside but I have a lot of chest fat and its more like man boobs so I was wondering if you can help me on what should i do?
A:
You'll find that you'll lose some of that fat naturally as your body matures over the next couple years. Besides that, please read my nutrition article to learn how to eat healthy for fat loss. Between your continuing workouts, natural body changes, and better diet you should have no problems taking care of that extra chest fat.
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