April 2012

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR – April 2012

The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Weight Management

Dear Editor,

I highly recommend this book — ‘The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Weight Management’ — as a valuable lifestyle assessment and guide for all of us who live in a society that is obsessed with food and exercise.  It is written by three highly skilled professionals who have based their program on firm scientific findings and transformed a very complicated topic into a program we can all understand and follow.

John-eloi Bertholet

Running and Weight Loss

Dear Editor,

This is my proven running weight loss formula. You run for 40 minutes. The first 20 minutes you burn your carbohydrates and, then, after the 20 minutes, your body begins to burn body fat. Rest is also very important for your body. So try to run 3 or 4 times a week. But you also have to have a good healthy diet. A good diet is more important than running. Don’t eat everything that you want, otherwise you will grow. haha. Eat lots of protein, especially after training and get the daily carbohydrate from fruit, potatoes or rice. Then you will lose weight.

Yuanti

The Best Health Resources on the Internet

Dear Editor,

The best, most trustworthy sites for health are as follows:

1.The Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic websites, these are always well written and credible.

2.The National Institute of Health, CDC, American Heart Association, WebMd, and American Dietetic Association.

Jean

Workout for You

Dear Editor,

This is the workout plan I plan to do. What is your opinion? Is this plan good enough or should I add or remove something?

Monday: Chest and Triceps/Abdominals – Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 4 sets x 6-8 reps (2 minutes rest). Flat Barbell Bench Press with feet on bench: 4 sets x 6-8 reps (2 minutes rest). Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 4 x 10-12 reps (1 minute rest). Skull Crushers: 4 x 6-8 (2 minutes rest). Rope Extensions: 3 x 10-12 reps (1 minute rest).

Tuesday: Back and Biceps – Weighted Pull ups: 4 x 6-8 reps (2 minutes rest). Cable Rows: 4 x 6-8 reps ( 2 minutes rest). Bent Over Flyes: 4 x 10-12 reps (1 minute rest). Incline Dumbbell Curls: 4 x 6-8 reps (2 minutes rest). Rope Curls: 4 x 10-12 reps ( 1 minute rest).

Wednesday: Shoulders and Legs – Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 x 6-8 reps (2 minutes rest). Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 4 x 10-12 reps (1 minute rest). Dumbbell Front Raises: 4 x 10-12 reps (1 minute rest). Romanian Dead Lifts: 3 x 6-8 (2 minutes rest). Reverse Lunges: 2 x 6-8 per leg (2 minutes rest). Calf Raises: 2 x 15-20 reps (1 minute rest).

Thursday: Rest/Run

Friday: Chest, Back and Arms Workout – Incline Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps (2 minutes rest). Weighted Pull ups: 3 x 5 (2 minutes rest). Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 x 10 reps (1 minute rest). Cable Rows: 3 x 10 reps (1 minute rest). Standing Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 10 reps (1 minute rest). Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions: 3 x 10 (1 minute rest).

Saturday: Shoulders and Legs – Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 x 5 reps (2 minutes rest). Machine Shoulder Press: 3 x 12-15 reps (1 minute rest). Machine Lateral Raises: 3 x 12-15 reps (1 minute rest). Squats: 3 x 6-8 reps (2 minutes rest). Lying Hamstring Curls: 2 x 8-10 (1 minute rest). Calf Raises: 2 x 15-20 (1 minute rest).

Sunday: Rest.

Jack

Dear Jack,

It is hard to comment on your workout without knowing what you are hoping to achieve. However, I will say that your workout appears balanced and varied in its exercise selection, which will allow for greater muscle development and the reduction of fat. Plus, it will work on all of your body. What a lot of men tend to do is work just on their upper body, partially the biceps and forget about their back and lower body. This leads to a disproportioned body and an imbalance that can cause serious physical problems later in life. The other good point with this workout is that it includes rest days. These are vital so that the body can rebuild itself. They also allow the body to relax so that your workouts become more beneficial in the future.

The only issue I have with this program is the number of sets and reps you have elected to go for, though it is difficult to comment accurately on these without knowing the weight you are lifting. Let me explain. If you are lifting very heavy weights 80-95% of your repetition maximum (1RM) then  you should be doing 3-7 reps,  heavy weights 70-80% of your 1RM 8-12 reps, and moderate less than 70% of your 1RM under 12 reps.  If you are not sure how to calculate your 1RM please visit the RM Calculator. Your rep range will also depend on whether or not you have been working out for some time. I recommend 10-15 reps if the program and exercise is new to you and you are lifting lighter weights, 8-15 reps if you have been working out for a while and lifting heavier weights, and 3-15 reps if you have been working out for a long time and lifting very heavy weights. If you are looking to increase your strength and muscle size then use the 10-20 rep philosophy this allows you to use the phosphate energy system and activate fast twitch muscle fibres.

Happy training.

My Exercise and Nutrition Intake

Dear Editor,

This is my training routine.

Workout:

Day # 1 Strength Training for Chest, Shoulders and Triceps (4 sets of 12 and pyramid the weight on key areas), Ab Workout and 15 minutes of low intensity cardio.

Day # 2 Strength Training for Legs and Calves (4 sets of 12 and pyramid the weight on key areas), Ab Workout and 15 minutes of low intensity cardio.

Day # 3 20 minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).

Day # 4 Strength Training for Back, Biceps and Forearms (4 sets of 12 and pyramid the weight on key areas), Ab Workout and 15 minutes of low intensity cardio.

Day # 5 Strength Training for Chest, Shoulders and Triceps (4 sets of 12 and pyramid the weight on key areas), Ab Workout and 15 minutes of low intensity cardio.

Day # 6 20 Minutes of HIIT.

Day # 7 Strength Training for Legs and Calves (4 sets of 12 and pyramid the weight on some), Ab Workout and 15 minutes of low intensity cardio.

Nutrition:Breakfast (7:00 AM) 2 eggs, a cup of strawberries, blueberries or raspberries, 1 Cup of Coffee with Skim Milk + 1 Splenda, Omega 3 supplement, Multivitamin supplement, and 1 slice of whole grain bread with low-fat butter.

Snack # 1 (10:00 AM) 1 Weider 32% Protein Bar or 1 Scoop of Whey Protein with Skim Milk.

Lunch (1:00 PM) Mixed Salad with lean turkey breast slices and yogurt dressing.

Snack # 2 (4:00 PM) 1 Cup of Low Fat Yogurt, 1 Medium Banana, Half Wheat Bagel with Peanut Butter or 10 Walnuts.

Dinner (7:00 PM) Grilled Chicken Breast or Fish, steamed veggies, 1 boiled medium potato with low-fat butter and mixed salad with vinaigrette dressing.

Water Intake = 1 Gallon per Day (approx. 4-5 liters).

Once a Week = I eat a steak or a cheeseburger with no fries and drink a beer as a reward for my hard work!

Any comments are highly appreciated!

Tuncay

Dear Tuncay,

Here are my suggestions for your workout:

Please refer to the comments I made on Jack’s workout above. You also need to include rest days in your workout. Exercising every day does not allow the body time to rebuild and strengthen itself. This will lead to fatigue and possible injury. If you have a rest day on say Day 3 and Day 6 you will find that your body develops faster as exercising becomes more beneficial.

You also have 2 days of training for your chest, shoulders and triceps, but only 1 day for your back, biceps and forearms. Remember balance is the key. I would suggest removing 1 day of the chest, shoulder and triceps workout and making this a day of rest. Also with your leg and calf training make sure you are exercising  the quads (front) and hamstrings (back) leg muscles so that your workout is proportional. Otherwise you will end up with over developed muscles in one area and underdeveloped in the other.

I suggest doing the cardio workout as a warm-up, then your weights and ab workout. The golden rule is to always work your abs at the end of any workout. This is because the core is continually being used during any workout, so to work your abs first may compromise the intensity of your entire exercise session especially if your abs are fatigued.

In relation to nutrition, if you workout in the morning, have a light breakfast before you workout. A cup of oats etc., then workout. This kick starts your metabolism and makes your workout more productive in terms of fat burn. Finish your workout and 10-20 minutes later eat your high protein breakfast.

Forget the low-fat products. Anything low-fat has a high degree of additives and fillers because if they take the fat out they need to replace it with something and this is usually artificial flavouring etc., that have no nutritional value whatsoever. Instead of low-fat use good quality milk and butter that contain healthy bodybuilding fats – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.

If you are going to have coffee have a small amount as it is a diuretic and robs your body of calcium and other nutrients. Try not to add any sweetener. It will take time to get used to, but the flavour of the coffee is so much better.

Lastly, go the steak over the cheeseburger or if you have the cheeseburger make sure you prepare it yourself. The ones from fast food outlets contain far too many calories and nasty ingredients that have little nutritional value. Also, low carb beers are brilliant to keep your calorie intake down. But, in saying this a little reward once a week is definitely okay. The 90/10 or 80/20 rule applies for most athletes. This is where they eat good foods and exercise 90 to 80 percent of the time and 10 to 20 percent of the time they are a little naughty.

Happy bodybuilding.

Protein Products

Dear Editor,

Some protein products are not all they are cut out to be. A few things you need to be aware of when buying protein products are that some brands are packed with fillers. So, you do not even get the full amount of protein that is stated on the label. Therefore, if you take more of the product it is highly doubtful that you will overdose because of the low absorption rate. Also if you are looking for quality protein, looking for the biggest bucket for the cheapest price is the worst idea. You get what you pay for when it comes to protein. They are all high in saturated fat and calories. The best products I have found are Max Muscle’s Max Pro and Triple Whey proteins, these are low-calorie, fat and carb products.

Javier

Dieting

Dear Editor,

When you restrict your diet, the first week or two aren’t too bad. But then your full favored meals start haunting you. You start to develop funny habits, sleeping at strange times and looking for snacks or as most people call them treats to fill in the voids. Once you lose your direction you typically fall back again into old habits. You know those old routines that got you to where you are and needed to lose pounds in the first place. The only way dieting works is to develop new habits that are good for you. This takes time and patience and a lot of perseverance.

Six Pack Abs