by dailymuscle on July 27, 2005
Repeat after me “You cannot spot-reduce!“.
Sorry to burst your bubble. Men generally store fat around their waist, while women generally keep it around their hips. There is no exercise, magical cream (well, at least not yet), plastic wrap procedure, or anything else other than liposuction that can remove fat from a certain area on your body. These places are usually the first place fat builds up and it’s the last place it will leave.
The best way to get and to maintain a washboard stomach, or shapely hips, is by following a low fat diet and doing plenty of cardio. All the crunches in the world (while strengthening and building the muscles), will not make them appear through the layer of fat which hides them. Get rid of the fat and the abs will show up.
Your friend and coach,
DM
by dailymuscle on July 27, 2005
Generally if the sickness is above your neck, it’s still pretty alright to go ahead and exercise (sinus, headache, sore throat, etc).
Just take it easy and respect the others at the gym who aren’t sick by wiping off the bar or handlebars when finished and by washing your hands frequently if your sickness is contagious. It may help to also carry your own water with you and refrain from using the public water cooler to avoid spreading your sickness.
Have you been training too hard? Not getting enough of rest? It might also be a good time to take a few days off to let your body recuperate, as getting sick is sometimes a sign of overtraining.
by dailymuscle on July 21, 2005
Cardiovascular exercise (or commonly referred to as just ‘cardio’) simply means any activity/exercise that raises your heart rate to a level where you’re working, but can still talk. Doing something that leaves you GASPING for breath still burns calories and helps lose weight, but doesnt really fall into the cardio category.
Why is it important?
* It burns calories and helps you lose weight (Yeay!!)
* It makes your heart strong so that it doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood
* It increases your lung capacity
* It helps reduce risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes
* It makes you feel good
* It helps you sleep better
* It helps reduce stress
I could go on all day, but I think you get the point!
Bottom line: You need cardio if you want to get your weight under control and get your stress to a tolerable level.
by dailymuscle on July 13, 2005
I know I should be more patient at people asking me for advice but I sometimes just lose it when I get women telling me they dont like working with weights at the gym as theyre afraid they would get ‘BIG’.
Oh come on la.. look at all those skinny rat-lookalike guys who have been at the gym for years huffing and puffing and grunting with those weights.. do they even look like they gained ANY muscle at all? So what would make you think that its easy in the first place?
It just won’t happen!
*a poll conducted on www.bodybuilding.com
Many women believe lifting weights will make them explode with bulging muscles and believe they cannot lift anything heavier than their makeup case.
The professional female bodybuilders that, until recently graced the pages of muscle magazines gained their extreme muscle mass with the aid of supplemental anabolic/androgenic steroids which are ILLEGAL. Women do not have the genetic capability to develop large, bulky muscles!
In fact, lifting heavy weights is the best way for a woman to reshape her body and look trim and fit!
Women who lift weights WILL gain some extra muscle, but its muscle that will only accentuate their feminine looks.
Think of it as a great way to look more toned and trim without losing an ounce. In fact, once you start, you may even notice that you’ve put on a few pounds, but don’t panic: You’re gaining muscle, which weighs more than the fat you’re losing. But since muscle is more dense than fat, it takes up less space, helping you fit into your clothes better. And if you lift regularly, you’ll eventually start dropping pounds.
You don’t have to spend a lot of time pumping iron to get the benefits. Two or three times a week on nonconsecutive days for about 30 minutes per session should do the trick.
Happy pumping ladies! Pumping iron, that is… ;)
by dailymuscle on July 13, 2005
This one’s pretty easy:
1. Your weight in KG. This is more of an estimate but should be as close as possible to your LEAN weight (meaning how much you will weigh without all that fat and are perfectly lean)
2. Your basal metabolic rate is approximately 1 calorie per kg per hour. Multiply your weight by the 24 hours in a day and this is the number of calories you burn just being alive each day.
3. Now factor in activity: Multiply your calories needed per day (from No.2 above) by the following percentages, depending on your activity level:
* Light activity: 50% to 70%
If you have a desk job and workout 30 mins a day
* Moderate: 65% to 80%
All the above + you walk to work, lots of housework, etc
* Heavy: 90% to 120%
Construction workers, athletes, etc.
4. Multiply the percentages in No.3 and you’ll get a general range of calories needed for your daily activity. Add this to the number of calories needed to be alive each day (No.2)
Example:
I estimate my lean weight to be 75 kilograms.
75 times 24 hours = 1800 calories needed a day for basic function.
Lets say my activity level is light:
1800 times 50% = 900
1800 times 70% = 1260
I add this to basic calories a day to get a range of 2700 to 3060 calories needed a day.
Now compare this to what you are really eating. To lose those extra pounds, you’ll need to create a deficit in your intake and burn more calories than you are eating, either by exercising more, or eating less.
What works best, of course, is a combination of the two.
