What it all boils down to is this…
Regardless of the accuracy of the test, it's fast, it's simple and it's cheap. And the only reason you measure your body fat is to determine progress. A simple set of calipers will get the job done. And you can do it over and over for no cost. You can't say that about the other options some of which are not very accurate at all.
QUESTION #3:
W h a t ' s B e t t e r ? F r e e W e i g h t s O r M a c h i n e s ?
Most everybody asks this question. Either the first time they walk into a gym and see the selections or at some point they wonder if the bench press machine is better than the regular flat bench press with free weights. I was a machine person for quite some time…then it hit me!
Why not incorporate a little bit of both! That's right… there's not some rule that says if you use a machine you will never get the results you want. And there's no rule that says you must only use free weights.
Fact is…. By doing a little bit of both for certain exercises, you will target various areas. Let's take the bicep curl as an example.
There you are with the straight bar. Working your biceps. But really, you are working a lot more. Your forearms are being stimulated. Your shoulders are taking some weight, and you'll notice your abs are tight as they stabilize your body. So doing a bicep free weight curl entails a little more than just a bicep workout.
Compare that to the preacher curl machines. You are sitting down. There are no legs involved. Your abs really aren't that tense. And there's much more direct focus on the muscle.
Truthfully, you are not alone in asking this question. By incorporating machines and free weights you can target a muscle group and isolate it while doing some compound movements to hit the entire body.
Bottom line is, there is no better than. If you only do free weights, you are missing out on a vital component of variety. If you only do machines, you are forgetting about the all important but hidden stabilizer muscles that help balance you. By combining both, you can get the best of both worlds and a super varied workout.
QUESTION #4:
H o w C a n I G e t 6 P a c k A b s ?
What forum, what article, what supplement and what eBook doesn't talk about this? We all want to know how to get a 6 pack of abs for the summer. Am I right? Is it that hard? Honestly it is. It's not just as simple as taking a pill. But it's also not as grueling as doing 1000 crunches a day.
What I'm talking about is… the less body fat you have, the more visible a muscle becomes. This means, if you incorporate some abs work to build the muscles up a bit and then have a low enough percentage of body fat, you now have a 6 pack or 8 pack of abdominal muscles showing!
Getting a six pack is only as simple as working your abs in a normal fashion (maybe 2x a week) and having a diet that boost your metabolism to help you burn fat.
You start by losing body fat. The less fat you have, the less there is between the muscle layer and the skin. Things start to show up when the middle layer (fat) starts to disappear.
This is not just my opinion. Getting a six pack of abs is more about nutrition and cardio then it is about ab exercises.
QUESTION #5:
H o w M u c h P r o t e i n D o I N e e d E v e r y D a y ?
The secret to figuring out how much protein you need is not by just taking some number you found like 30g and apply it to yourself. If everybody had the same needs we would all be the same. And we both know that just isn't true. Each person is slightly different.
Let me explain. We've all heard that a person can only digest 25-30g of protein in one sitting. B.S.!
Just think about it. Does an IFBB professional bodybuilder intake the same amount of protein as the guy who's 135 lbs just starting out? Even if there is a 200 lb weight difference? The answer might shock you. NO
Needless to say, so many people just take some number, multiply that by their body weight and that's what they think they need a day. Tell me, if a person is 35% body fat, should they use their weight or their lean weight to figure out how much protein they need?
Simple. Lean weight. Your daily protein requirements are based on your lean body weight. And how do you figure out your lean body weight?
Use the skin fold caliper home test. Go back to Question #2.
Step 1:
Take your body weight in pounds
Example: 194 lbs
Step 2:
Find your body fat % using one of the methods in Question #2
Example: 15.7% (which is .157 for the step below)
Step 3:
Take your body weight in pounds and subtract the % body fat
Example: 194 lbs - (194 x .157 = 30.45 lbs of fat) = 163.54 lbs of lean body weight
Step 4:
Take your lean body weight and multiply by 1.14
Example: 163.54 lbs x 1.14 = 186.4g of protein a day
Step 5:
Divide your daily protein requirements by 5-6 meals and that is what your protein target is for each meal. Example: 186.4/6 meals = 31.07g of protein per meal
As you will see, a person who is 286 lbs of lean body weight will require a lot more protein. And a person who is 286 lbs should not be consuming the same amount of protein if their percentage of body fat is 35%. But why use 1.14 for protein requirements?
The Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) is 0.8g of protein. But that's been shown to be too low for active athletes.
Some sites will recommend 2.0g of protein. But that seems a bit high and your body will have trouble absorbing that not to mention you will probably have a lot of excess calories which can lead to fat gains.
1.14-1.5 is the most efficient range for most active, healthy adults. This range will help build muscle but not lead you into a high protein diet. Feel free to adjust within that range if you feel you need more protein.
QUESTION #6:
W h a t I s A G o o d B a s i c W o r k o u t ?
Here's a clue… it involves every major muscle group. A good basic workout should include:
• Legs (squats, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, leg press)
• Shoulders (military press, dumbbell raises, side laterals)
• Chest (bench press, flyes, dips)
• Back (pull-ups, rows, deadlifts, lat pull-downs)
• Arms (ez-bar curls, barbell curls, dumbbell curls)
• Abs (hanging leg raises, incline crunches)
• Cardio (for the heart)
I could go on and on with this question and post 500 routines and reps and sets and you'd still be confused. So let me ease the confusion by saying this.
I've tried several routines. Max-OT, Tom Venuto's supersetting, Optimum Anabolics and I'll tell you something.
I've gotten gains out of all of them and they all have various philosophies. For less than $100, I have enough programs to try for a year.
Here's proof. Do you see the same people in your gym, doing the same things, and a year later they look the same?
It's really quite simple. If you keep doing what you've always done, you will keep getting what you've always gotten.
There are many variations on exercises and routines you can do. And you'll find out a ton of them while browsing around on forums and reading fitness sites. And while you might be tempted to stick with just one. Don't. Try it, evaluate it, and try another one. After about 6 months, you'll know your body very well and what it responds to.
You will have tried many exercises and you'll know if you like something and if something else just doesn't work out.
Not sure how to do an exercise that's listed in the programs below? No problem. Here are 2 independent sites with descriptions and videos that will help you get started. Never attempt an exercise if you don't know how to do it thru professional instruction or a basic understanding.
Sites that show you how to do a particular exercise:
Bodybuilding.com' s Extensive List
B e g i n n e r ' s R o u t i n e :
