You just started your workout program and you're determined to get results. You're probably wondering about one of the following dilemas or maybe you're so overinformed you can't figure out what to do. Here's answeres to the top 5 exercise questions.
How Much Cardio Should I Do?
That depends on your goal. If you have more than 20lb to lose and you haven't been active in a while, doing as much cardio as possible will get you the quickest results. Although 30 minutes 3 time may seem like a lot this is maintenance level cardio so aim for 45 minutes 5 times a week. If you've been losing weight at a steady pace doing a lot of cardio and all of a sudden hit a plateau, your best bet is to focus on 1 long session of cardio 45-50 minutes and 3 shorter bouts of high intensity interval cardio per week. If you're in great shape and your main concern is losing a few pounds of bodyfat your best option is to focus on 3 shorter bouts of high intensity interval cardio per week plus three or four quick bursts of active recovery cardio intervals lasting 1-2 minutes. If you're very skinny and your trying to put on weight, limit your cardio to 10-20 minute warmup sessions before weight training.
Can I Train Abs Every Day?
Yes but it's pointless to do so unless you are also cutting back calories and doing enough cardio to burn off those fat layers covering your abs. The best way to train abs is to do a giant set or ab circuit consisting of 1 set of 10-20 of 3-5 different exercises back to back every time you take a break from training another body part. This is another from of active recovery that keeps you moving and burning extra calories while strength training. It also allows you to do a lot more ab work without getting so tired. Try 10 leg raises with hip thrust followed by 10 double crunches followed by 20 bicycles after a set of bicep curls then go back to training biceps and repeat. Try as many as 3 active recovery sets of abs throughout your workout.
Do I Have To Workout Every Day?
No, as long as you're training each body part hard three times a week and getting at least 4 cardio sessions in per week you will be able see gradual results. If you want to see changes quickly try 6 cardio sessions a weeek and strength training 4 times a week. Just be careful not to get carried away and start overtraining. This can be counterproductive to your weightloss/fatloss goals.
Should I Cut Carbs?
If you're asking this question you're most likely trying to burn fat and lose weight and the answer is not so clear cut. It's not necessary to completely eliminate carbs from your diet in order to drop weight or lose fat but you do have to cut back to a level that allows your body to tap into your fat stores for energy. Part of the problem with cutting carbs all together is that your body does not burn fat as efficiently without carbs and your body always turns to your muscle mass first for energy. Remember that losing muscle mass means you'll be burning less calories, so be careful how much you cut back. Most people eat well over 200g of carbs a day so try cutting down to about 150g a day and make sure well over half of that is coming from high fiber cereal (13g of more per serving), fruit, and green vegetables. If within two weeks you don't experience some loss of fat or drop in weight aim for 100g of carbs a day and see if that helps. If absolutely necessary cut down to 75g a day but only for 3 weeks then go back to 100-150g a day.
Should I Take Supplements?
No & Yes in that order. It's always a good idea to try losing weight or droping fat without the aid of supplements. If you start by taking supplements first you teach your body to rely on these for fat burning and that's not what you want. Try to stay on track with your diet and exercise program for about a month before you start supplementing. Once you've primed your body you can try a multi-vitamin & efa's. . The combination of new muscle mass and these two supplements will really kick your metabolism into high gear. If you feel you need extra help check out the supplement guide for more ideas on what to take.
Get answer to all your important fitness questions in The Portable Personal Trainer: 100 Ways to Energize Your Workouts and Bring Out the Athlete in You
