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Q: If I have been working out regularly and am gaining strength and flexibility but am not losing or gaining weight; am I healthier overall? A: The first thing I want to say is that you must define what aspect of “healthy” you are after. Are you trying to decrease your cholesterol level to reduce your risk of heart disease? Are you trying to strengthen your core and lower back so that you can play with your children without “throwing out your back”? Are you trying to lose weight so that your blood pressure is within a normal range? Are you trying to get your resting heart rate between 60-80 beats per minute? What is the end result you are seeking? What is your definition of healthy? So many people get hung up on the scale. A person’s body weight is not the only indicator of health. It can be an extremely important indicator when it comes to blood pressure, adult onset diabetes, and the pressure placed on your knees and back but is by no means the only indicator. I see way too many clients each day who are defeated because they can’t lose “five more pounds” but their blood pressure is excellent, their cholesterol is good, they are stronger than they have ever been, they just spent all weekend skiing, they sleep better than before, and have more energy throughout the day. Now, I would say that person has a lot going for them but the only thing they see is the numbers on the scale. There are so many benefits of working out such as increased strength, increased flexibility, stress management, reduced risk of injury in daily and outdoor activities, osteoporosis prevention, better self-esteem, blood pressure maintenance… Now, back to the original question. Are you healthier overall? Again, there are so many ways to define health but I would say, “probably.” If you are working out regularly and have gained strength and flexibility your muscles, heart, bones, mind, and metabolism have all benefited. Another thing I see often is people worrying too much about their body weight but not about their body fat percentage. Obesity is actually defined by a person’s body fat percentage and not their body weight. A person’s body weight is actually determined by two things: fat weight and lean weight (muscle, bones, organs). A person’s body fat percentage can actually be a better indicator of health than body weight. A person can gain or lose 5-10 pounds of “water” weight but their body fat has not changed. If your body fat percentage is in the healthy range for your age and gender then I would be less concerned about your body weight. Consult a health professional to get your healthy ranges or your personal trainer if you are a Fitness Together client. Now for those who really need to lose some weight and/or body fat let me say a word or two. I tell all of my clients that losing weight can be accomplished through three things done consistently. Those are strength training, cardiovascular exercise, and proper nutrition. You can’t have one without the other. Some of my clients work very hard with their personal trainer 2-3 times a week but don’t see the results they think they deserve. And if I probe a little bit deeper it is usually because they fail to watch their nutritional intake or do not do cardiovascular exercise outside of their weekly strength training appointments. Yes, they are working very hard 3 times a week with their trainer but they are eating way too many calories the other 4 days of the week. And when I talk about proper nutrition at Fitness Together it is not complicated. It usually boils down to eating 5-6 smaller meals per day, using portion control, and limiting excessive fatty and sugary foods. I hope this has answered your question or at least you can now ask yourself what does “healthy” mean for me. Q: I heard that lifting weights can cause women to “bulk up” and gain weight. Is this true? A: I probably hear this fear expressed by women more than any other when it comes to lifting weights. I am not sure where this myth crept in but it just is NOT true. Without going into too much detail it comes down to basic physiology and what happened during puberty. Testosterone is the primary hormone that interacts with skeletal muscle tissue. For women, estrogen becomes the dominant sex hormone during puberty and for men testosterone becomes the dominant sex hormone. Women, aside from supplemental doses and illegal performance enhancing drugs, do not have enough testosterone to develop “bulky” muscles. In fact, women have 15-20 times lower concentrations of testosterone than men do. Can women become stronger? Yes. Can they “tone up”? Yes. Can lifting weights help prevent osteoporosis? Yes. Can weight training help manage stress and promote a positive self-esteem? Yes. Will lifting weights cause women to bulk up? NO! So, feel free to lift weights and enjoy the many benefits and put this myth to rest! Source: Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 2nd Ed, 2000, Baechle and Earle Q: My question is: how do you determine the amount of calories you should consume per day? And then, how much activity? I’m sure it’s dependent on age, weight, height but I don’t know how to figure out what would be a good target. A: This is a very, very important question for those desiring to lose weight or even gain weight as is the case with some athletes. You are correct in saying it is dependent on age, weight, height, and might I add gender, activity level, occupation, and total muscle mass. Ten or twenty years ago we just assigned a generic number of calories to all women and a generic number to all men We have since come to find out that this is not accurate at all! This topic may seem intimidating and overwhelming but what you are really asking is, “What is my total metabolic rate? How can I assign a number of calories to my metabolism?” Total metabolic rate is the number of calories needed to maintain body functions and all the activities of your day. There are two cost effective methods healthcare and fitness professionals use to provide their clients with estimates of their daily caloric needs based on their resting metabolic rate. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) represents the calories the body burns to maintain vital body functions (heart rate, brain function, breathing). In simple terms, it is the number of calories a person would burn if they were awake, but at rest all day. RMR can represent up to 75% of a person’s total metabolism if they are inactive or lead a sedentary lifestyle. One method uses a formula that is based on your height, weight, and age. The other method measures your oxygen consumption and determines your individual metabolism through indirect calorimeter testing. The second method proves to be the most accurate because it is able to account for your total muscle mass and level of fitness by measuring your oxygen consumption. I have personally seen the “formula method” be off by 1000 calories in highly conditioned people. That is a huge problem. No pun intended. Just because two people are 5’6”, 150 pounds, and 45 years old does not mean they have the same caloric needs. Your RMR is like your fingerprint. It is unique to you. No two are alike. So, there are your options. Fitness Together can provide the indirect calorimeter testing through a device called the BodyGem. It is a very easy and painless test. You can find out more information about the BodyGem at www.microlifeusa.com under the Weight Management link. Or you can call me at 719-598-5777 and schedule a testing. The cost per test is $50. Q: Can you tell me the difference between the fat burning zone vs. the cardio zone I see posted on the treadmill that I workout on? A: First of all, I have to give my trainer Josh credit for helping me answer this question. He too gets this question a lot and took it upon himself to provide an answer for his clients. To me, the question behind the question is, “How do I burn as much fat as possible during my workouts?” Many gyms have charts listing a “fat burning zone” and a “cardio zone” on their cardiovascular machines. These ranges are confusing because they lead you to believe that you are burning only fat when exercising at certain intensities. Usually these intensities are at about 55-70% of your maximum heart rate for the “fat burning zone” and 70-90% for the “cardio zone”. The most important thing to remember is that exercising at a higher intensity is better than exercising at a lower intensity when it comes to burning calories. There is a lower-intensity “fat burning zone” in which you utilize a greater percentage of calories from fat than at higher intensities. However, the total number of calories burned at that rate is less. For example, let’s say you bike at a low intensity and burn 100 calories. Seventy-five of those calories burned might come from fat. At first glance, that looks good. But if you bike at a higher intensity for the same period of time, you might burn 200 total calories, with 125 of those coming from fat. Your percentage of fat calories burned drops, but you burn more total calories and more total fat calories at the higher intensity. The bottom line: for sustained weight loss, you have to burn more calories than you take in. Trying to focus on burning fat calories won’t help. Calories are calories –the goal is to burn as many as possible. A word of caution: Please do not attempt to attain the “cardio zone” (70-90% of your maximum heart rate) until after at least ten minutes warming up in the “fat burning zone”. You need to gradually increase your heart rate or you may get dizzy, feel nauseous, or hyperventilate. Have fun and go burn some calories! Q: I really enjoy cardio (running, biking, swimming) and yoga. I believe there is a benefit to strength training but I am not personally very into it so I end up neglecting it the most. How do I know the balance of how much strength training to do if my goals really aren’t centered on gaining muscle mass? A: Great question and I hear this a lot. First of all, cardiovascular exercise involves less equipment and knowledge than does strength training, therefore, is performed by more people. Anyone can put on a pair of shoes and go for a jog but fewer people have access to strength training equipment. People will come in for a consultation and say they are “in shape” because they do some type of cardio 5-6x/wk but can not do five push-ups because they have neglected any type of strength training. Cardio is a very important piece of overall fitness. Strength training is another piece that should not be neglected and affects your overall fitness profile. And not all weight training results in gaining excessive muscle mass. Some of the other benefits of weight training include osteoporosis prevention, injury prevention by strengthening your ligaments, increased flexibility, improving balance and reduction of falls for the elderly, improved glucose control, increased mental health, and sleep improvement. So to answer your question, I would balance your cardio and yoga with at least 2-3 strength training sessions per week lasting 20-30 minutes. These can easily be tagged onto the beginning or end of any cardio session. And during these strength training sessions you can maximize your time by doing multi-joint, full body, functional exercises rather than single joint exercises. You can do this by combining a lower body exercise with an upper body exercise. So, forget the 3 sets of 10 single joint bicep curls with 1 minute rest in between and add a multi-joint dumbbell squat to curl to overhead press. Ask a trainer for the proper form and technique. They will also be able to give you additional multi-joint, full body exercises. Many people stay away from strength training because of fear or intimidation that they will hurt themselves or do not know what to do. The additional health benefits that strength training provides are too important to miss out on. This is where investing in your health and self by hiring a personal trainer for 2-3 months to build your confidence and knowledge is invaluable and the education you receive will last a lifetime. I hope this helps and that you decide to balance your overall fitness profile with some strength training. Q: Went to the doctor's the other day - shortness of breath. We are not sure what the cause is but weight is certainly a factor. I am 272 lb. BP 175/105. So the alarm is ringing…This past week we did go out to eat and I had pasta but only ate until I felt filled - not stuffed…But I will tell you, when I get depressed or stressed, I tend to grab something to eat… I bought a stationary bike and was riding it regularly but then my boss got sick and I have been on the go almost 15 hours a day at times. I hope this helps you get a picture of what I have been battling. A: First of all, I need to explain that these questions came to me via email from a personal acquaintance in another state so I know a little more of his background and I can offer more specifically. But, as I was emailing him back I thought to myself, “Wow, these are common struggles for a lot of people.” That is why I am including it here. Ok. Let me make a few suggestions on what you just told me. You should never eat until you feel full. This is always too much. Your body does not register the feeling of "being full" until 15-20 minutes after you actually being full. Therefore, if you ate until you felt full you still ate 15-20 minutes too long. You should decide what an appropriate portion is before you even sit down to eat. So, that way you do not eat until you feel full you eat what you have decided is an appropriate portion. If you are eating out, as soon as the food gets there you should ask for a to-go box and split it in half to take the other half home. You should NEVER eat a full portion when you are out to eat. Our country serves portions that are way too big! These are rough estimates but in an average meal, you should have one portion of meat that is the size of a deck of cards, one cup of vegetables, and one "bread" which is rice, potatoes, or a piece of bread. Decide how much your body actually needs and eat only that. If you are still hungry in an hour you can grab a piece of fruit. And we have to get you exercising ASAP. Not only for your weight and blood pressure but also your mental health. A lot of what you told me sounded like “emotional eating.” And when you are exercising regularly your body will actually want to eat better. You also talked about 15 hour work days. I think you need to get some balance back in your life which will probably mean saying NO to some things and some people. You need to set a time for exercise that does not get interrupted unless it is the most extreme situation. This is time to recharge your “batteries” and it will help prevent burn out. My suggestion is that you start exercising for 20-30 minutes per day. This will eventually work its way up to 45 minutes to a 1 hour. I know you have a stationary bike at home and that is fine if you close the door to ALL distractions and leave your cell phone off. I own my own gym but I seldom workout there. Why? Because I need to get away. So, here are my suggestions for the week. 1- Start watching your portions. Eat only half of what you "think" you need. 2- Find a time to exercise that is consistent and free of distractions. Some people find success in the morning because they have more control over that time. Others find success right after work on their way home. You have to choose what works for you. Q: Soreness after a workout is natural—but at what point is it abnormal? (For example, what amount of pain and length of time in pain is a sign you are hurt?) A: There are a lot of factors that go into this answer. For example, how long have you been exercising? Have you recently changed the way you exercise? For example, you may have run five miles every day for the last ten years but if you start lifting weights you will be utilizing new muscles and therefore experience a new soreness. Have you recently added to the number of days per week that you exercise? Maybe the reason you are sore is that the past six months you only exercised three days per week and now you are adding a fourth day. Muscle soreness after a workout is natural and is actually termed Delayed Onset Muscle Syndrome or DOMS and usually occurs 24-72 hours after exercise and can last up to seven days. To reduce DOMS make sure your workout includes a gradual and complete warm-up of at least ten minutes and that you end your workout with a thorough cool down lasting between five to ten minutes. The cool down is probably the most neglected part of most workouts but is very important in reducing soreness and increasing flexibility. Your muscles stretch best when they are warm at the end of a workout. To answer your question, I believe muscle soreness after a workout will always be normal. This means that you are pushing yourself to an appropriate training level so that you continue to make gradual improvements as your ability increases. I have been exercising for 20+ years and I am still slightly sore after most workouts because I keep pushing myself to healthy limits. What amount of pain is normal? Not much. It is kind of like stretching. I tell my clients that when stretching they want a mild discomfort but not pain. Remember the saying, “no pain, no gain?” That’s old school thinking and will lead to injury. Most people attempting to start an exercise program on their own go too hard too soon and hurt themselves. It may mean you need to work smarter, not harder. How do you know you are hurt? Without knowing the specifics I would say that if the soreness persists 10-14 days then it would be worth consulting a physician or sports medicine specialist. Also, if it alters your daily living it may be more than just soreness. It’s possible you may be experiencing pain because of incorrect form and technique. Tell your personal trainer what you are experiencing and see if they can offer any feedback on your form or make any modifications to your exercise program. Exercise is a habit that I hope you maintain for a lifetime so a little soreness rather than true, lasting pain is a gentle reminder that you are doing something right.
If you have questions you would like PJ to answer please email pjmusilli@fitnesstogether.com PJ is unable to answer every question he receives but he does answer many of them in his bi-monthly email.
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