Q&A for: 6-May-07
2215. Q:
I was reading questions 82 to 84. What I found interesting is that you did not consider then guy who was 6 foot and 200 pound to be either very muscular or very chubby(fat) for his height. I know that you are not a fan of bmi as it does not take account of muscle weight and body fat percentage. At 6 foot, bmi would put a 165 pounds(roughly) as a middle figure with a spread of 14 pounds or so above or below 165 pounds – this spread would be a healthy weight. 200 pounds would end up well into the overweight category for a 6 foot male. I know bmi is not exact, but the fact it gives such a large weight spread within the healthy weight range would allow a person to vary from a slight, very lean to a very muscular or pretty chubby(fat) build. In question 82, you said that if the person asking the question was happy with the way the look, that weight and body fat are not worth worrying about, how can that be so when this person would a appear to be significantly overweight with fat – they did say they did not have a muscular build. I will say, if a person looks thin or looks big it doesn’t matter what others think as long as the individual is healthy and happy with themselves.
A:
The person in those questions said that he looks slim and not muscular, so it's difficult to guess what their body composition is. And they didn't state their height in question 82 so I was answering it based only on what they said. At 6 feet, 200 pounds he certainly is either quite muscular or has quite a bit of extra fat which should be noticeable. Since the person specificall said that neither is the case, it was difficult for me to second-guess them. In situations like this 'internet personal training' is quite limited -- the only way to settle this is to actually see the person.
2216. Q:
Can I do bodyweight exercises for two consecutive days or more or do muscles need a one day break? Is it harder to gain muscle if they dont get a day's rest?
A:
Most bodyweight exercises are 'light' enough that you can do them daily while still benefitting from muscle growth and strength increases. One possible exception to this is pullups, which is relatively high intensity even if one is in good shape.
The general guidelines are to take at least a day's break between bouts of high intensity exercises for the same muscle group and also to not exceed the total of 10-15 sets of high-intensity to-failure exercises for the same muscle group in one week. 'High intensity' in this case is defined as 12 or fewer reps of an exercise before muscular failure. Of course if you only do 1 to-failure set per day, then it's most likely OK to repeat it daily.
2217. Q:
how many calories does walking 1000 steps burn if you weight 250lbs
A:
1000 steps is roughly half a mile and would probably burn about 80 calories.
2218. Q:
how do i get rid of my man boobs
A:
Please read this
2220. Q:
Ive taken up weight lifting again after quite a long lay-off. Im experiencing pain that seems to be coming from inside my elbows. Am i starting off too heavy after lay-off? The pain seems to be worse when performing bench presses or tricep dips. Will it just go away as i start to aclimatise myself with weights again? Thanks Mike
A:
No, any joint pain like this is not normal and should not be ignored. Most likely you injured your elbows (perhaps by jumping to high a weight without proper warmup) and now every time you 'work through the pain' you are making it worse. You need to take a break from all exercises that cause this pain until the pain goes away entirely. If it does not go away you probably want to consult a doctor or physical therapist. But the bottom line is that no pain besides muscle soreness is good or should be ignored. Good luck with your recovery!
2222. Q:
HI MIKE. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW CAN I LOSE WEIGHT FAST BECASUE I'M
16 YEAR OLD IN I NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT SO PLEASE HELP ME.
A:
First thing you need to do is realize that fast weight loss is neither healthy nor will give you the results you probably want nor will allow you to keep the weight off for good. Instead of looking to lose the weight fast, resolve to lose it the right way.
Good news is that at your age losing weight the right way is not difficult at all, though it will take time. Most important thing is to change your diet so you eat healthy nutritious foods instead of heavy but nutritionally worthless processed foods that most people eat. Focus on eating lots and lots of vegetables (raw, as much as possible) -- other than corn and potatoes which are too starchy. Also eat fruits (again whole raw fruits), whole grains (plain old-fashioned oatmeal is great! Whole-wheat bread is OK in moderate amounts), lean fish and meats, and in moderation eggs and dry-roasted nuts (not oil-roasted). Read my nutrition article for more detail on what to eat and what not to eat. At your age don't worry too much about how much you eat, but instead focus on eating the right stuff.
Besides eating right you need to increase your activity level. This can come from almost anything -- walking/jogging/running/hiking, biking, rollerblading,s swimming, playing sports, mowing lawns, washing cars, painting fences, etc etc. The point is to be active. You can certainly take up weight training too if you have adult supervision and access to equipment. Or you can start doing this program. Shoot for at the very least one hour of physical activity daily.
Between eating healthier, being much more active, and your continuing natural growth and development you can shed the extra fat no problem AND make sure it never comes back. Once again, don't look for quick weight loss but instead focus on making meaningful changes to your lifestyle. If you do lose weight, make sure it's very slow -- no faster than 1 pound per week at the fastest (slower is better). Good luck!
2224. Q:
Hi, Mike. I'm an 18 year old girl, have 135 lb. I want to lose weight, my really big plan is 118 lb. I'm trying to really exercise daily, total body workout and some belly and shoulders workouts, I bike few minutes everyday, I try to walk a lot and I'm taking karate twice a week. The problem is that I can figure a healthy diet with some cut calories but I don't want my basal metabolism to start burning less calories a day, so I don't have an eating schedule and don't know what food is best to eat... lot of times I end up with some junk food or I just eat a lot...
A:
Your training plan sounds very good! As far as diet, if you have not done it already, check out my Nutrition article to see what foods to eat to keep your metabolism as high as possible. Then you can fill out Fitness Guide specifying either 'Tone' or 'Lose Fat' as your goal to set a sample starter diet and tips on how to customize it for yourself.
Once you have your diet plan you'll always know what and when to eat. Of course you won't stick to it exactly every day, but it should help cut down on the current food confusion. Good luck!
2225. Q:
why can i exercise and not lose weight
A:
Exercise alone is no guarantee of weight loss. If your diet is poor, then you can not lose weight or even gain weight while exercising. A poor diet may be not just eating too much, but also possibly eating too LITTLE or eating wrong foods. Check out my nutrition article to read how to eat right.
2227. Q:
i want 2 gain weight...ne suggestions?
A:
Sure! Gaining weight is not hard -- you just have to eat A LOT! If you already eat a lot but are still not gaining weight, you have to eat MORE! Anybody can gain weight if they just eat enough. Some good heathy foods that add calories easily are dry-roasted nuts, natural peanut butter and bananas.
If you are specifically looking to gain muscle you can get a starter diet by filling out Fitness Guide specifying 'Gain Muscle'. From there just keep adding calories as long as needed to gain weight.
2228. Q:
hi mike, im bulking at the moment, and wondering if potatoes are a good source of carbs? it wont be an everyday carb, but maybe a couple times a week. ive heard from somewhere they ahve lots of sugar, so they are bad? is this true?
A:
Potatoes are not the best carb choice. They don't contain sugar as such, but your body digests them very quickly, like sugar, so they have the same effect. However couple times a week potatoes are not gonna hurt your progress. Of all potatoes, the best choice are young small red potatoes boiled with skin.
2229. Q:
if i take no explode, will the muscles stay with me? unlike some creatines jus leave after u done taking it?
A:
I usually don't comment on individual supps, but given a choice between proven plain old creatine monohydrate and a hyped up new supp like no-xplode, I would go with creatine monohydrate. There's no evidence that nitric oxide does anything for your muscles in the long term (it does provide a quick muscle pump but that just temporarily makes you look buff) and it may actually be hazardous to your health. Stick with creatine monohydrate.
2230. Q:
I want to gain a good deal of muscle before next basketball season. i need to advance my spead and verticle to the next level. i have been working out alot but want that extra boost. my friends tell me that NO- Explode could do jus that. i have optimum whey and was wondering if NO- Explode would pack on some muscle and make it stay?
A:
See my response for the question about no-xplode right above. For basketball-specific training look into plyometrics. Unfortunately I haven't got around to adding a plyometrics section to this site, but I would recommend this book if you are serious about improving your basketball performance.
2231. Q:
How many punds can you loose in a week if you did 80 sit ups a day?
A:
You won't lose weight this way. Even hundreds of situps alone are not going to do anything for you and doing just 80 situps per day will do even less. Please read this for an effective way to lose fat and weight.
2232. Q:
mike, im bulking right now. how can i tell that i'm actually gaining weight? i bought an electronic scale, and i've been weighing myself naked every morning after i go pee. the probem is my weight still fluctuates alot every day. one morning i was 212, the next 215, then back to 213.4, and it keeps going all over like that.
A:
You are right that day-to-day weight fluctuations will be all over the place so you can't use them as your guide. However over the course of several weeks a general pattern should emerge. For example, if in week 1 your weight bounced between 212 and 215 and in week 4 it bounced between 214 and 218, then you can tell that you've gained 2-3 pounds in those 4 weeks which is a pretty good aggressive weight gain pace.
2233. Q:
Hi Mike. My program is as follows. Could you advise if im doing something in the wrong order? Any help appreciated as always.
Mon - Back, Biceps Wed - Chest, Triceps Fri - Shoulders Sun - Legs
A:
That looks like a solid split. Your shoulders may be pretty tired after the chest/triceps workout, so you could potentially swap chest and back days to allow a little more time in between chest and shoulders. But that is a very minor point and may not be necessary at all. Your program should be good.
2234. Q:
how do I get skinnier legs without building muscle
A:
Check out Q&A #2234.
2235. Q:
I need to find a protein supplement that contains no soybean. Any suggestions?
A:
Many or even most whey and egg protein supplements contain soy lecithin derived from soybeans, which I assume does not fit your requirement. But as far as I know casein protein supplements don't contain any lecithin, so they may be your best your best bet -- check with wherever you buy supplements. My favorite brand for protein supplements is Optimum Nutrition -- they tend to be cheap and of good taste and quality. Most supp retailers carry them.
2236. Q:
How many calories will I burn if I run 4 km
A:
Around 300 calories.
2237. Q:
do you competitive swim faster in cold water or warm?
A:
I haven't heard of any experiments done on this, but my guess is that you'd swim faster in warmer water because the colder the water the more energy the body has to expend on just maintaining its normal temperature and bloodflow to the extremeties is weakened in colder water. In warmer water more energy should be available for the actual swimming.
2238. Q:
What are some good Whole body weight training exercises?
A:
Check out this program
2239. Q:
does bread make u fat
A:
I wouldn't say that bread alone makes you fat, but it is more likely to make you gain fat than if you ate the same number of calories from a better source of carbs such as old fashioned oatmeal or brown rice. If you do eat bread, go for whole-wheat or other whole-grain (not just 'multi-grain' -- it has to say 'whole-grain').
2240. Q:
how long does it take to getvery noticebale benefits when working out?
A:
That's a very subjective question -- depends on what you consider 'very noticeable'. You will certainly see some changes within a month, and in one year you can look like an entirely different person if you have a good program and are disciplined to stick to it.
2241. Q:
how to get a 6 pack
A:
Getting a six-pack is all about getting overall low bodyfat (10% or lower for most people). The way to low bodyfat is of course, by losing the extra fat as described here.
2242. Q:
How many calories does a person burn without exercise?
A:
Every second of our lives there's a million processes happening in our bodies all of which require energy and therefore burn calories. However, exactly how many calories are burned can vary enormously from person to person, depending on age, gender, level of physical activity, diet, health, etc. An average person probably needs 2000-2500 calories daily.
2243. Q:
how to have a strong chest
A:
The single best chest exercise is the bench press (with either barbell or dumbbells). So the short answer is you build a strong chest by doing bench press. The long answer is that there are two aspects to strength... First there is amount of muscle. More chest muscle will make your chest stronger. The best way to build more muscle is by 'bulking' -- weight training in parallel with intentional overeating to slowly gain weight (the slower the weight gain, the less new fat and more new muscle it'll result in). If you are interested in bulking, start by reading my Nutrition article and Weighttraining article and then filling out Fitness Guide specifying 'Gain Muscle' to get a starter program.
The second part of the long answer is that it's possible to train specifically to increase strength without necessarily trying to increase amount of muscle. This program is designed to do just that -- make you stronger in three most basic exercises: squat, deadlift, and bench press. If you are not interested in squat and deadlift, you could just do the bench press portion of the program. The idea behind this program and others like it is to train your nervous system to more effectively utilize the muscles you already have to lift more weight.
2244. Q:
how can i build mucsle and gain some fat
A:
If you don't mind or actually want some fat gain along with muscle gain, then you are in luck! All you need to do is have a good weight training program such as any of the 'Split' ones I list in my Weight training article AND a diet on which you eat enough food to slowly gain weight. If you are finding that you are not gaining weight, then you simply need to eat more! For some people it can almost mean force-feeding themselves, but anyone who really wants to, can gain weight by simply eating more.
2245. Q:
how many calories does jogging on the spot for 10 minute periods burn?
A:
Depending on the intensity it would probably burn between 50 and 100 calories.
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