Q&A for: 3-Nov-06
1861. Q:
Hey Mike,I am Mohammed from Egypt,170 cm 85 kg
Are the 8 minutes abs video enough to build up good abs muscles? or I need more ?plz Im confused coz the abs excersises are many and 8 miutes abs are easy to do
A:
If you want to have well-defined ab muscles, then actually exercising abs is only a very very small part of what you need to do, so the type of ab exercises you do really doesn't matter. I wouldn't pay anything for any ab exercise program or ab exercise equipment because they will all give about the same result. What REALLY matters in getting ab muscles to stand out is losing a lot of body fat. Without losing all that fat you'll never see the definition on ab muscles, no matter how many ab exercises you do. The best way to lose body that I know of is described here. Good luck!
1862. Q:
what percentage of fat should you have in your diet?
A:
I recommend 20-30% of your calories to come from fat. By comparison, a typical American diet contains roughly 50% of calories come from fat.
What's more important than how much fat, however, is what kind of fat you are eating. Just like with carbs, not all fats are equal. Majority of your fat calories would ideally come from monounsaturated fats contained in olive oil, avocadoes, some nuts, and animal fats. The rest of your fats should come from a mix of polyunsaturated omega-3 (fatty fish, flax seed -- try especially to get omega-3 into your diet), polyunsaturated omega-6 (nuts, seeds, vegetable oils), and saturated (eggs, butter, and other animal fats).
Fats to absolutely avoid are trans fats, hydrogenated oils, fried foods, sweets, and junk foods. These contain extremely unhealthy and fattening fats.
1863. Q:
should i take carbs with my protien shake in the morning during my growth phase. I already take carbs during my energy phase with my proteing before and during my workout and also during my anabolic phase directly after my workout.
A:
If you mean whether you should take high-glucose carbs, then no. It only makes sense to take these carbs around the workout time, though personally I don't think even this practice is necessary (you can read more here). It definitely doesn't make sense to take high-glucose carbs at other times.
If on the other hand you mean whether you should eat carb-containing foods in general, then yes I firmly believe you need to have some carbs in every meal, though more towards the beginning of the day and around workout and less (green veggies) towards the night. You can read about my diet recommendations here.
1864. Q:
What do you recommend to strengthen the lower back
A:
Deadlift is the single best lower back exercise and possibly the best exercise overall (with other possibilities being the squat, and the clean). You can find it on my Essential Exercises page. When performing the deadlift it's very important to maintain good form to avoid injury. Your abs should be tensed to stabilize your torso and your back should be straight, not rounded.
If you are not comfortable with performing the deadlift or other advanced lifts, you can start by doing the 'supermans' -- lie flat on your stomach, arms extended in front of your head and simultaneously or alternately lift your legs and arms and hold them in the air for couple seconds before lowering them back. Then repeat.
1865. Q:
does doing cardio before lifting help to lose weight? i hear that it shrinks muscle im trying to lose a beer gut any ideas or workout routine i could do ? thanks
A:
I would do cardio separately from weights, but some people feel stronger after doing some cardio first, so if that works for you, go for it! As far as losing the beer gut your progress will be much much faster (and lasting) if you make an effort to improve your diet as well. Read my fat-loss article and the articles referred to in there to learn the basic approach to diet and weight training. After that you can fill out my Fitness Guide to get a complete diet and exercise program. Good luck!
1866. Q:
Hey Mike, I'm 16, in Grade 11, and want to lose weight. I currently weigh about 230lbs, and want to get below 200. I have the obvious problem of any teenager wanting to lose weight - the environment I live in.
School cafeteria's obviously have unhealthy food. I've tried preparing healthy food before, but we just don't have anything that is easy and quick to make. I can't make it in the morning because of how early I have to wake up to begin with.
I live in a very rural place, rural as in an hour from somewhere with over 1000 people, rural as in, I don't even live in a town, and the only town close only has a small grocery store, bank, and a gas station. There are no gyms or places to buy equipment within an hour and a half.
I've tried a few workout programs of yours before, and I just can't do them. I have weights, but only one of each. I mean, I have one 5lb, one 10lb, and one 15lb. Only one of each. I have no pull-up bar (and I can't get one any time soon). I'm worried about doing the program using weights and such, because I don't know how to do them quite right, and I don't want to try without anyone to show me.
That leads me to your no equipment program, I suppose. Is it as effective as using dumbells? I was wondering a few other things that I can't quite fit into a paragraph, so excuse me for the lack of their organization:
I feel I have to eat while I'm watching movies or tv. Any healthy things, that still taste good and aren't hard to grab and eat that you can suggest? My family doesn't eat too healthy, so does not necessarily eating healthy all the time have so large an affect on trying to lose weight if I follow the work-out?
Any suggestions on keeping on track trying your no equipment workout, or any workout? I tend to be able to do it a week or two, but then I get tired of it and I just stop. I get bored and unmotivated, and I was wondering how I could keep it up?
Okay well, if you can find some things to answer in there, thank you. I really want to lose this weight so I can feel a lot better about myself, but I'm kind of lost on how to do it and how to stick with it within the kind of society a 16 year old lives in. I have very little control over where I go or what I can do where I live, or what I can eat for supper.
Thank you.
A:
You certainly should not feel frustrated just because the first couple times you tried to lose fat it didn't quite work out -- the same happens for virtually every one else before they stick with it for good and most people have more favorable conditions that you have. So most importantly, never give up on yourself!
As far as practical advice... Yes, no-equipment program is quite effective when you give it an honest shot. No program can make any difference in just a couple weeks. You have to keep at it for months. If you fall off the wagon and stop exercising, just forget about it and start again. If you don't have a pullup bar, try doing equivalent of dumbbell rows (see my Essential Exercises) with the dumbbells that you have and/or some improvised household weights (fill a bucket with sand and keep adding sand to make it heavier as your strength improves over time). Take up walking/jogging/running (your stamina will improve with time) or another form of cardio.
As far as diet, you'll just have to do the best you can. When you get strong craving for snacking have some celery or broccoli nearby (or an apple, if you absolutely can't stomach those two). Buy a lot of plain old-fashioned oatmeal in bulk and use it for breakfast and maybe other meals -- add fresh cut-up fruit and/or cinnamon for taste. If you are eating what you know to be unhealty, eat less and maybe pick out the more healthy parts (a burger patty is much better than the buns which are in turn much better than french fries, for example). Drink plain water instead of sodas and juices. Hardboil some eggs and keep in the fridge -- they make a quick and healthy snack or meal by themselves. Do your best to find time to prepare a whole-wheat bread egg or tuna sandwich the night before (stored in the fridge) to take to school in the morning.
Hope this gives you some ideas. But most importantly don't give up too easily. It will take time and many starts and stops, but you can most definitely do it. Good luck!
1867. Q:
Hi,
Mike, 1'm 15 and my height is 175cm and my weight is 59kg. I go to the gym 3 times a week training on almost all parts of my muscle and i play soccer, cross country cycling, mountain biking and windsurfing during the other 4 days of the week. I eat 4 meals a day, 1st meal - 2 slices of wholemeal bread with tuna in water. 2nd meal - fish soup with rice. 3rd meal - papaya. 4th - Is brown rice with 200g of lean chicken fillet with lots of vegetables. What am i doing wrong as i am trying to lose the last bit of fat around my belly area. I used to be quite chubby and i have lost fats on my face, arms, legs, chest and below the chest area and i can see some pecs under light. What do you advise mike.
Rgrds
Andrew
A:
It sounds like you are doing all the right things and then some! The only advice I would have regarding the diet is to add some healthy fats -- olive oil, eggs, nuts. More importantly however I would make sure you do NOT lose any more weight because you are already approaching underweight category which is not good, especially at your age when you're still growing.
As far as losing that last bit of fat, you'll need to patient and maybe re-evaluate whether you really have much fat left to lose -- it's very unlikely at your height and weight. My approach would be to stabilize your weight to make you don't lose any more. Then make an effort to actually gain some weight and muscle by eating more and continuing to lift weight. Gain weight slowly (a kilo per month or even slower) for maybe 4-6 months -- if you gain too fast you'll gain a lot of fat. My guess is that the natural tendency to build muscle and burn fat at your age will leave you in very shape at that point and you'll be quite happy with how you look. Most importantly, however, again, is that I would not advise to continue to lose weight to avoid health issues. Good luck!
1868. Q:
How often should you take a break from creatine? Also is it ok to workout for longer than 8 weeks w/out a break when bulking?
A:
I would advise taking at least a month's break from creatine after staying on it for two months. Some people stay on creatine year-round and there is no evidence that it's harmful, but as a general rule of thumb I think it's a good idea to take breaks from a supplement that's naturally generated by your body -- so your body doesn't 'forget' how to make it, if you will (though of course it's oversimplifying).
As far as staying on a program more than 8 weeks, certainly, it's OK to do it at least once. Some people can benefit from extremely strenuous long-term programs and it's a worthwhile experiment to see if you might be one of them. On average however about 2 months on a program before taking a break is a good rule of thumb. Going over that limits by a few weeks is no biggie either, of course.
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