How
do I get washboard abs? Should I do any specific abdominal exercises?
In order to
see your abs, your body fat percentage must be low. Lowering one’s
bodyfat percentage comes from proper diet and exercise. You can
do all the crunches you want. If your body fat isn’t low enough,
you will never see your abs.
I want to tone up my
thighs. If I do hip and leg exercises, will my legs get thinner
and more toned?
You cannot
just lose weight or get toned in a specific area of your body. There
is no such thing as spot-reduction. The whole body is affected.
For example, if someone loses weight or size in their thighs, they
will also lose weight or size in the upper portion of their body.
What type of exercise
is best for getting in shape? Should I run, take aerobics classes
or workout with weights?
Getting in
shape involves many types of exercises. In order for one to achieve
total fitness, he or she must address various areas of fitness:
cardiovascular (running, walking, stepping, etc.); muscular strength
and endurance (training with weights to maintain and increase lean
body mass and reduce fat mass); body composition (having body fat
percentage measured and monitored), and flexibility (stretching
and staying flexible).
What
type of foods should I eat to get in the shape that I want to be
in?
You should seek a nutritionist, dietitian or a person experienced
in the field of nutrition, to determine your needs in calorie and
portion control in achieving a specific nutritional and fitness
status. Guessing, trying fad diets or starving oneself is a quick
way to disaster and abondonment of one's original fitness goal.
Expert nutrition information is available by clicking the customized
programs button or 
Why
can’t I look like that person. Why can’t I have the muscles
or tone that person has?
Every person is genetically different. For example, an exercise,
nutritional regimen and calorie level that works for one person,
may not be suitable for another. An exercise routine that may create
impressive results in one person may not achieve the same results
the another person. So every person has to be assessed individually.
How many sets and reps
should I do?
How much weight should I use?
The type of
fitness goal you are trying to achieve will determine how many sets
and reps and how much weight you should use. For example, If you
are trying to achieve a large musculature (body-builder look), you
would keep the weight moderate and do more repetitions and sets.
If you were looking win a powerlifting contest, you would use heavy
weight and lower the repetitions and sets. If you were looking to
win a contest of ultimate endurance, you would use very light weights
and do a lot of repetitions and sets. Programs should be specific
to the type of fitness goal one is trying to achieve. Specific programs
can be created by Custom Training in clicking the customized programs
button or just
How
many days a week should I work out?
Many factors determine the frequency of one’s workouts: physical
status, time availability, proximity to a gym, etc. You should not
be so concerned with the number of days you work out but more concerned
about the effectiveness of each workout.
What
is better free weights or machines?
Each one has its pros and cons. The pros for free weights are that
they provide greater range of motion, more closely imitate daily
life activities and are less expensive. The cons for free weights
are that they require a more advanced type of person, involve spotters
and the risk of injury is greater. The pros in machines are that
machines can be used more effectively by beginners, are safer to
use, and can focus on one specific range of motion. The cons are
that they focus on the specific range of motion that they are designed
for and cannot be used for anything else and are generally more
expensive. Free weights and machines should be both used and the
exercises should be changed occasionally to promote growth, stimulate
greater gains and minimize staleness.
If
I eat fat free foods, will I lose weight and get in the shape that
I want to be in?
Fat-free foods are exactly what they state to be, “fat free”,
not calorie-free nor are they sugar-free. Just because a food is
fat-free, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is OK to eat as
much of it as you want. The amount of weight a person loses is dependent
on their caloric balance. If you consume more calories than you
expend, you will gain weight. Conversely, if one expends more calories
than one consumes, he or she will lose weight. Some people get caught
up on how many fat grams are in a serving and don’t worry about
total calories.
I
saw one of those machines on an infomercial. If I buy one of them
will I be able to achieve the look that those models have?
The person with the great physique who is advertising the machine,
most likely didn’t get his physique by using the machine. Companies
which design and sell these machines pay models to advertise the
machine. These companies spend a lot of time trying to appeal to
your emotions, by using these very fit models. Most of these models
have trained and dieted extensively to achieve that eye-catching
look.
|
