Questions Asked…Questions Answered!
“Among all the world’s races … Americans are the most prone to misinformation. This is not a consequence of any special preference for mendacity…. It is rather that so much of what they themselves believe is wrong.” — John Kenneth Galbraith
Lies, mistruths, false information…no matter what you call it, it’s all around us. And most of us, (me included) are ready and willing to accept just about anything as fact until we can disprove it. There lies the problem with the health and fitness industry.
As you know by now, every Wednesday I am here to answer your questions you might have about your body. (Problems in the gym, difficulty maintaining your weight, confusion about a particular exercise routine…) People have a million questions that need to be answered. Fortunately for you, I’m here to give my two cents worth.
If you have something that’s on your mind, drop me a note at the bottom of this article and I’ll answer your question in one week’s time.
Q. Can I get flat abs without doing crunches all the time?
A. ABSolutely!!! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Everything you do, with the exception of when you sit down requires your abs to be working extremely hard. (And even when sitting down, these muscles are still working to support the spine in keeping the body erect.) If you live by the premise of stabilizing your abs BEFORE you perform any movement, you will be creating an isometric contraction with the six muscles that make up the “core” musculature. These muscles are responsible for allowing you to stand, sit, walk, jog, bend, twist, flex, push, pull and extend all of the 206 muscles that make up your body. If you don’t believe me, think of it this way; If your abs weren’t being activated, you’d be a bag of bones sitting on the floor. So, by isometrically contracting your abs before every movement, you are basically strengthening the abdominal wall ALL DAY LONG! Once you start losing the body fat, you will begin to see that flat midsection appear.
Q. My life is in constant motion. How can I stay fit and healthy while only working out only three times per week?
A. If you’re tight for time and feel as if you body isn’t getting enough of a workout, trying combining strength and cardio in each session. Just make sure they are both challenging and focused on your ultimate goal. Think about performing exercises that work the entire body, not just individual body parts. Also, it’s important to vary your routines every 
four to six weeks to prevent yourself from reaching a plateau. If the workouts become predictable, your muscles will become adjusted to the resistance and you will stop seeing results. Stop thinking of exercises as: chest, abs, back, legs, arms and shoulders. Instead train your body to move the way it moves outside of the gym. If your occupation requires you to be on your feet all day long pushing and pulling, stopping and starting, rotating, and getting up and sitting down, then that’s how you should train. Include cardio either during the workout itself or immediately after and you will begin seeing the makings of a lean, mean, fat burning machine.
Q. There’s no way around it, I’ve got a big butt and thick thighs. I’ve been doing everything I can think of to make them smaller but they aren’t changing. What am I doing wrong?
A. The first thing I’d have to ask is what are you doing that makes you think you will create these body parts to be smaller? If you are doing what most people seem to do when they don’t like a particular body part; (focusing on those parts alone and neglecting the others); then stop. It is a common mistake that is no fault of your own. You’ve been mislead by all the infomercials, the newsstand tabloids and the faulty information you’ve been given over the years. Let me say this loud and clear; “THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS SPOT ISOLATED TRAINING” to lose body fat. It is very important to focus on strengthening all of your body parts. This will not only give you a more proportional look, but it will also build lean muscle tissue over your entire body. Once you start building new, lean muscle tissue, your metabolism will turn itself back on again and starting burning body fat as a fuel to feed those new muscles. Over time, your “problem areas” will become more proportional to the rest of your body if you follow this practice.
Q. I’m exercising ALL THE TIME. Why isn’t the numbers on the scale moving?
A. We are all creatures of habit. We do similar things on a constant basis to keep our minds at ease, have a feeling of regularity and allow ourselves to have a sense of purpose. Doing the same exercise routine week after week, month after month, year after year can shift your weight loss aspirations into a slow down mode, and eating similar foods every day can stall your chance for any meaningful results. As you lose weight, your metabolic system increases allowing you to burn body fat for a longer period throughout the day. To lose more weight, you have to change your routine. Try increasing the amount of exercises you do, the amount of repetitions, the intensity level, the weight and try to eat a little less than you might have been eating in the past. Making small changes to your diet each time you change your exercise program can help reduce your body fat and increase your lean muscle mass. The scale might read the same…but so what!!! Your focus should always be on increasing the amount of lean muscle tissue your body has, while at the same time decreasing the amount of your body fat. Looking at a scale will never tell you if you have a certain amount of muscle, fat, or water weight. So stop focusing on it and start paying attention to your exercise routine.
© 2009 BCFitness, Inc. All Rights Reserved
***For those of you in the south Florida area who are looking for a fast and efficient way to lose pounds, lose inches and learn how to become fit and healthy for the rest of your life click here:
http://tinyurl.com/bodymakeoverfitcamp
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