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Q&A for: 7-Jul-05

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Ask Mike Your Fitness Question:

79. Q: would using a sauna help me to lose weight.

A: No. While saunas can be great for your general well-being, they will not help you lose weight or lose fat. All the weight you lose in the sauna is due to sweat, so it's just water weight. Once you get out of the sauna and resume your regular routine, your body will rehydrate, get back the water it lost and your weight will be back to where it's started. Saunas are good for you and I do not mean to discourage them in any way. They are just not going to help you lose weight.

While on this topic, note that gimmicks like running out in the heat of the day, running in heavy clothing or running in rubber/plastic suits are all completely useless in trying to lose weight. Running itself will bring you some benefits when done in moderation, but making yourself sweat more while running has absolutely no benefit and can be very dangerous taken to the extreme (such as rubber/plastic suits). Sweat is not fat and sweating more does not burn any more fat. Remember to always stay hydrated while running, especially in hot weather.

80. Q: since the leg and arm muscles combined has much more muscle than the ab muscles wont weightrainig the arms and legs be much more beneficial in burning the fat around the stomach area versus just doing stomach exercises and ab exercises?

A: Yes, you're mostly correct. Muscle mass in your body is distributed roughly like this: legs and back (including upper back and traps) have the most muscle by far, then chest and abs, and finally shoulders and arms typically have the least muscle mass. In order to maximize the benefits of weight training you should most certainly train as many different muscles as possible. So as you said, to burn stomach fat (or any other area of fat) most efficiently you should train your whole body. Doing hundreds of crunches will strengthen your abs but it will not burn the fat on the stomach nearly as fast as a whole-body routine.

If you look at the training routines I give in the weightlifting article they all work all the major muscle groups and will probably hit 80-90% of your entire muscle mass. And by emphasizing free-weight training (as opposed to machines) they will also train all the little stabilizer and assist muscles that don't get proper workout with machine equipment.

81. Q: Can you tell me what exercises I can do to work my whole back,including one that isolates the lower back. Free weights only.

A: Absolutely! The best lower back exercise and one of the best exercises overall is the barbell deadlift. Put the bar loaded with weights on the floor, with your feet directly under the bar squat down so your knees are bent at about 90 degrees and your back STRAIGHT, grasp bar with a shoulder width or slightly wider overhand grip or mixed grip (one hand over and one hand under -- this helps hang on to the bar better). Maintaining straight back extend your hips and knees simultaneously until you're standing upright. Reverse the sequence to return to the starting position. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to maintain good form (straight back, shoulders pulled back slightly, knees bent at the bottom of the motion, feet directly under the bar so it almost scrapes your shins on the way up) throughout the deadlift motion. Do NOT load up the bar with so much weight that you cannot maintain good form. DO start with very light weights until you are completely comfortable with the exercise. Bad form on deadlifts can cause lower back injury, but when done properly these are incredibly effective whole body exercises that especially hit the lower back. Few people do deadlifts anymore (or squats for that matter) but don't let that scare you off. As long as you have have no pre-existing medical condition and you do them properly, deadlifts must have a place in your training program. As a bonus, doing deadlifts without straps to help you hold the weight will provide great workouts for your forearms.

For the mid-upper back the most common exercises are various pullups, pulldowns, and rows. Pullups are one of the most basic bodyweight exercises (you're pulling your own bodyweight up) and you can do it with a variety of grips. As always, I recommend variety whenever possible. Pulldowns are a machine variation on pullups and are nice because you can control the weight you use. Do NOT do pulldowns behind your head like some people do -- it puts your shoulders in vulnerable position and has no added benefits. Also don't swing your body back trying to pull the weight down -- only your arms should be moving during the exercise. Rows are done in bent over positions, either one-handed with a dumbbell (often kneeling on a bench) or standing two-handed with a barbell. Make sure to keep your back straight while doing rows. Again, a variety of hand grips can be used. There are also row machines that you can throw in for still more variety.

At the base of the neck and stretching out to shoulders are your traps. Sometimes these are considered part of the shoulder complex, but I'll cover them here. They get hit with great effectiveness during deadlifts, but you can hit them more directly too, using shrugs. Shrugs can be performed with dumbbells and with barbells. You simply stand up straight holding two dumbbells or a barbell and shrug your shoulders up lifting the weight slightly, hold it there for a moment, then lower the shoulders back down. The shrugging motion should be limited to the upper body, not the whole body swinging up.

These are the essential back exercises. Almost all good training programs will include deadlift and at least one of many variations of pullup/down or row. Sometimes programs will omit deadlifts, but then they better include squats and/or straight-legged deadlifts (a variation where you don't bend the knee, but only at the hip) and/or 'good mornings' -- all these exercises work many of the same muscles as the deadlift. I consider shrugs to be more optional since the deadlift hits trap muscles quite effectively on its own.

82. Q: I'm 200 pounds but most people usually underestimate my weight by 20 pounds . I am not muscular and have a body composition of only 20% so I dont know why I weigh so much considering that I look rather slim and I am of medium frame.

A: It could be for a number of different reasons...

• How tall are you? The taller you are, the heavier you'll be. Every inch of height adds 7-10 or even more pounds to the bodyweight for an adult male. So if you are, say, 6 foot 3 inches then 200 pounds is not much at all.
• 20 pounds one way or the other in somebody else's estimate is not that much, really. You're probably fully clothed when they make that judgement and they are are not necessarily good at estimating somebody else's weight. A 10% error is not that surprising.
• Are you pretty certain of the 20% body fat estimate? Average male has 15-20% bodyfat. You say that you look slim, while I would say that a below average male does not look slim in general. So perhaps that 20% body fat estimate is not correct? Was it taken by a professional trainer using calipers?

I would not recommend worrying too much about your absolute weight or even exact body fat percent. Instead ask yourself if you wish to improve your current physique and if so, how? If you are happy with the way you are, it doesn't really matter how much you weigh or what your BF% is. If you do want to make improvements, then stick around on this site, learn about proper dieting and weighttraing both for muscle gain and fat loss, and ask more questions as they come up. Good luck!

83. Q: In reference to question 82. I am 6 feet tall. even if I'm only wearing shorts and a t-shirt people think im 175-180 pounds. My dad who is only 1.5 inches shorter than me weighs also 200 but he looks 50 pounds heavier than me.A professional assessed my body composition at 19% using calipers.My doctor told me that I weigh a lot because I have heavy bones.I just wanted a second opinion.

A: That's interesting... A doctor and a professional are probably more than qualified to make those statements (certainly more than I can over the internet :), so I would trust them. Though at 6 feet, 200 pounds it does still seem strange that they have you pegged at 19% BF while from what you are saying your appearence is slim. Heavy bones should not increase body fat percent.

One thing about heavy bones is that most such people have relatively thick forearms and are typically inclined to gain muscle faster than an average person. You can get some confirmation of their diagnosis by measuring the circumference of your wrist joint. At 6 feet tall, if your wrist circumference is 7.25 inches or more, that's a pretty good indication that you have thick heavy bones. Another measurement you can make is your waist at the level of bellybutton (on an empty stomach) -- I would say that if it's 34 inches or less at 6 feet 200 pounds then you certainly do not have much fat on you (though it still would not explain how they measured you at 19% BF).

84. Q: In reference to Question 82. I want to improve my physique so that I have a chiseled look around the neck and jaw area. I noticed that people in really good shape you can see very clearly the outline of the edge of their jaw.do you know what I mean? I dont know what Body composition I would need to get that look but that is my goal.

A: I would say that in general you'll need to get down to somewhere around 10-12% body fat for that look. 10% BF is also the typical body composition for seeing all of your six-pack, though again it can vary both up and down for some.

At 6 feet 200 pounds, even with heavy bones, you definitely have room to safely lose some fat, say down to 180 pounds. If you are at 19% body fat, it means you have around 38 pounds of body fat now. If all 20 pound that you lose dropping to 180 are fat, then you you'd end up with just 10% body fat! It's more likely to be something like 15 pounds fat and 5 pounds muscle, but even that would give you 13% body fat and you would be very close to your goal. At that point you can reevaluate your progress and decide whether to continue to lose fat or try to bulk up with a little muscle (which would make future fat loss easier).

Therefore I recommend a fat-burning diet with a goal of losing about one pound per week (slow weight loss ensures true fat loss as opposed to muscle loss), combined with a good weight-training program, combined with some light cardio (optional). Read the weight training and nutrition articles in the Articles section of this website. The weight training articles gives several sample programs to follow -- pick any one that appeals to your the most ('Split' ones are good). The nutrition article should give you an idea of how and what you should be eating. Then come back and ask me any questions that you're not sure of.

85. Q: would replacing juice that has sucrose and fructose with pure juice that only has naturally occuring sugars help me lose weight?

A: It's a good step to make in general, but it will make only a very small difference in weight loss. If you're looking to lose weight (or fat, more specifically) you will want to avoid fruit juices altogether, whether 100% natural or processed. Instead you should drink lots of plain water and eat the actual fruits and even those in moderation when trying to lose fat (no more than 2-3 pieces of fruit a day, preferably in the morning and early afternoon).

A good weight loss diet will emphasize vegetables as the primary source of carbs along with legumes (beans and lentils), a few pieces of fruit and/or berries, and some whole grains (like old-fashioned oatmeal for breakfast). And the vegetables here should NOT include corn or potatoes, but instead be less starchy ones like broccoli, spinach, lettuce, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, etc. For proteins you'd eat the usual fish, meats, poultry, eggs, cottage cheese (but limit other dairy). And you'd get fats from some of the same protein sources plus nuts and olive oil.

Things like pasta, white bread and white rice (and bread/rice in general -- eat whole grains and legumes instead), pizza, commercial salad dressings, heavily processed foods, sweets, sodas, juices, fast/junk food, and alcohol should all be kept to an absolute minimum for optimal fat loss.

86. Q: You mention that by focusing on building muscle now, it will be easier to lose weight later by cutting fat. I am just confused a bit, because I thought that in cutting fat, the body goes in 'starvation' mode and uses up our muscle as oppose to body fat. Why won't that be the case when we have gained more muscle? Thank you in advance for answering my question. I love your site.

A: First off, thank you for the compliment! It's great to hear that my site is helping you!

Now on to your question... I usually use the word 'starvation' to emphasize severe caloric deficit (undereating by more than 1000 calories per day). I wouldn't call a well-designed fat-burning diet aimed at losing one pound per week 'starvation' (to lose one pound per week, you need to undereat by about 500 calories per day). So I apologize if I misused that word in the heat of the moment :) A good fat-burning diet will put your body in caloric deficit, but not starvation. So how does having more muscle mass help you lose fat faster? One: more muscle means higher metabolism means more fat burned around the clock (whether at rest or active) and two: more muscle means more muscle left over even after your body burns some muscle along with fat (which is common under caloric deficit). So it's not so much that having more muscle upfront will somehow prevent the muscle loss that often happens during weight loss, but that it will allow the fat loss to proceed for longer and allow you to end up with less fat and more muscle at the end of the weight loss phase. Check out Q&A #58 for a related discussion of the benefits of muscle mass in fat loss.

One thing to note is that if you choose to focus on building muscle first and cutting fat later, you need to be careful to not put on too much fat in the muscle-building phase. While beginners, especially if they are overweight, can build muscle and lose fat simultaneously, for most other people building muscle will usually require overeating to gain weight and will usually result in some additional fat buildup. So the key is to minimize the fat gain during the muscle-building phase because obviously, if you gain 5 pounds of muscle, but along with it 10 pounds of fat, then you're probably worse off than before you started. So how do you go about minimizing fat gain while overeating to build muscle? The two most important things is to have a good clean diet and to gain weight VERY SLOWLY -- as slow as 1-2 pounds per month if you really want to minimize fat gain. This is not easy to do because few people can control their diet with such precision. But you can help it by eating only good foods, eating small to medium sized balanced meals with a good amount of protein in each, and eating often. Then keep careful track of your weight (weigh yourself in the morning on an empty stomach) and adjust your diet to keep that weight gain on track for those 1-2 pounds per month (or whatever pace you choose -- it's realistic to gain one pound of muscle per week, for beginners). Add calories if you're not gaining fast enough and reduce calories if you're gaining weight too fast. Paying a little attention to your diet, your training, and your progress will pay off in a big way over months and years!

87. Q: how do u lose man boobs

A: Please read this!

88. Q: Im somewhat active,24 f i weigh 162lbs. I go to the gym 5 days a week for 45 min a day. i usually speed walk at 4.0 at a 10 inc, and then jog a mile at 4.2 at 0 inc. I dont eat that much, two meals a day and a healthy snack like a rice cake or fruit after the gym. Ive lost 5 lbs in two weeks but you would never know the difference. Can you reccomend a workout plan for me that will show results. My goal is to lose 25 lbs before the new year. I dont have access to much equipment at my local gym, treadmill, eliptical, weights, bike, and a few leg machines.

A: Your goal is doable. You have half a year to lose 25 pounds, which is right at one pound per week weight loss pace that I usually recommend. However you need a lot of changes to your training and your diet. If I understand correctly you are a woman and some of the things I suggest may strike you as not suitable for a woman looking to lose weight, but please just trust me on this -- as you've noticed yourself your current approach isn't working...

The biggest change you'll need to make is to start weight training, primarily using freeweights (dumbbells and barbell) and sometimes using machines. If you haven't already, read my weight training article and try to understand it the best you can. Weight training (combined with the right diet) is the best way BY FAR to raise metabolism and burn fat effectively.

You will need to weighttrain your whole body and use fairly heavy (for you) weights while doing so. By using heavy weights I mean that for every exercise you will need to pick such a weight that you can only lift it 12 or fewer times before exhaustion. The actual weights will be different for all the different exercise, but they all will have in common that you can only do them around 12 times max before needing a rest. This is a very important point: do not pick a weight that you can lift 20 times and barely break a sweat. Do pick a weight trat truly exhausts you after 10-12 reps and lift it right up to the point of exhaustion (called 'muscular failure' or 'failure'.

The second point about weight training is to train your entire body using big compound exercises. These includes squats, deadlifts, lunges, pullups and/or pulldowns, rows, bench press and they should be the core of your training program. They work nearly all your muscle groups getting the most fat burning out of them. Work as many of your muscles as possible with heavy weights and YOU WILL BURN FAT.

I recommend this weight training program as a good one for you to use. For the first 2-3 weeks use light weights until you get used to all the exercises. It's important that you perform them all properly or you risk both injury and subpar results. If you are not sure how to perform an exercise, come back here and ask me or search on the web for a picture/video. (I'm working on adding pictures of different exercises to my site, but it's going slowly right now :). After those first 2-3 weeks start increasing the weights until you get to that 12-rep to failure limit that I described above. Then remember to increase weights slowly month-to-month because you will keep getting stronger and stronger.

Just a couple more notes about that sample workout program -- you can replace pullups with the pulldown machine or, if your gym doesn't have one, with dumbbell or barbell rows. You can also replace incline bench press with a plain flat bench press. Also remember to take a week's break from the gym after 2-3 months of following this program and then come back and use some other program (check the weight training article for a number of them).

Now... your diet also needs a lot of changes. If you haven't already, read my nutrition article and try to understand it the best you can. Rice cakes are a very very poor snack when trying to lose weight and you should eliminate them immediately. In the nutrition article you will find a sample fat loss diet at 1900 calories. That diet plan is actually very appropriate for you, except you do not want to jump directly to 1900 calories now because right now you're probably eating around 1000-1200 calories a day so you need to ramp up gradually. First switch to the 4-5 meals per day similar to the sample diet, but make the meals very small, about 2/3 of the size in the sample diet. Portion control is very important here. Stick with that for a few weeks, then increase meal sizes again very slightly, to may be 3/4 of the sample ones. Again stick with that for a month and increase again. Do that till you come close to the sample diet or at least to 1500-1700 calories per day split over 5 meals or so.

This diet plan is meant to include ALL that you eat during the day. That means no snacking and no ice cream cheats :) Obviously you won't be able to avoid them altogether, but keep these extra meals/snacks/cheats to a minimum.

Again, don't be alarmed by the seemingly large amount of food that I'm asking you to eat. You'll ramp up to eat gradually and if you perform proper weight training, your body will take all this food and still be a fat burning machine!

Finally, you will need to cut down your cardio quite a bit. Perform it 2-3 times per week, on non-weight training days, for 20-30 minutes max. You can actually decrease it even further if you wish. Remember that your primary allies in burning fat and losing weight are your good diet and your weight training!

That's about it. Again it probably seems like the exact opposite of correct advice, but please trust me on this :) Do your best to learn all the weight training exercises, perform them safely using good form, but perform them at high intensity (i.e. with heavy weights) coming close to the point of muscular failure on each set. Yes, it will not necessarily always be pleasant, but no pain no gain. Same thing for the diet -- try to eat often but in small portions with lots of veggies and fish or meat or other protein source in each meal. Come back here and ask me any questions as needed. Good luck!

89. Q: You mentioned that the treadmill may result in large caves. What other exercises can affect the size of body parts? I heard that the steps can induce large thighs. Is this true?

A: Calves are really the only muscles that can increase in size significantly from cardio exercise. Your hips and butt can become somewhat more muscular from the step machine if you use higher resistance levels and also from exercises like squats and lunges, but that muscle build-up will usually be combined with fat loss from those same areas, so the end result will be smaller, but more toned hips and butt. As usual, I recommend that you do not do too much cardio (such as the step machine) but instead focus on weight training and a fat-burning diet as I describe on this site to ensure effective fat loss. If you are not gaining weight, then you have nothing to worry about as far as excessive muscle build up in areas other than calves.

90. Q: I have been working out for many years. I have a lot of muscle on me, but as a woman I am very self-cautious about wearing sleveless shirts and skirts. Is there a way I can safely lose some muscle without gaining flab?

A: Are you sure that it's muscle and not fat that's causing your upper arms to appear big? Women typically store a lot of fat in the back of upper arms (tricep area) which leads to the 'big arms' appearence. It is rare that a woman actually has a lot of muscle built up there, even after years of working out. If you can flex your triceps and if it feels hard, then it really is muscle. If it's soft and does not take shape when you flex the tricep, then it's probably fat.

Legs are somewhat similar, though women are usually able to gain muscle in the lower body somewhat easier than in the upper body. But again they also store a lot of fat there, which may lead to the appearence of 'big legs'.

I am usually very reluctant to recommend losing muscle because muscle is so valuable as a fat burner (not to mention a host of other physiological and health reasons) and because people so often mistake fat for muscle. Trying to lose muscle may also result in additional fat, which rarely looks good, even on a woman. But if you are absolutely sure that it is really muscle that's causing the appearence you don't like and you really want to lose some muscle, then you should basically stop all weight training (cardio is still OK unless you have a problem with large calves) and go on weight-loss diet, such as the ones I describe on this site but with fewer calories. Lose weight slowly, about one pound per week and your skin should shrink to adjust. Again, just make absolutely certaing that it's really muscle and not fat that's causing those appearences. Good luck!