The real issue here is how hard are you working? The method of cardiovascular exercise is not nearly as important as the intensity and duration of the exercise. Sure, the elliptical machine may feel more strenuous then the treadmill. But this is because you have not done the elliptical trainer often enough for your body to adapt to it. Once your body adapts to the motion and intensity of the elliptical trainer, it will feel no more strenuous the treadmill. … Read More
How many days a week should I be weight training?
This depends on your goal. If your goal is to decrease body fat, you should do resistance training as often as possible, with a caveat: do not train the same muscle groups on consecutive days. The muscles need at least 48 hours to recover and rebuild between workouts. However, you can work one or more groups of muscles one day and different groups of muscles on the following day. For example, one could work the muscles of the upper body … Read More
Should I be taking nutritional supplements? I hear so much mixed information about them.
Everyone should be taking a basic multi-vitamin, daily antioxidants, and extra vitamin C. Yes, there is plenty of information out there about why supplements are good for you and why they are bad for you. The most recent wave of media is definitely anti-supplement. The argument here is that you can get all the nutrients you need from whole, natural foods. Ideally, yes, it would be easier and more economical if we could get all we needed by eating the … Read More
What is a good/healthy sugar substitute?
Protein. But seriously . . . While eating more protein can curb your cravings for sugar, you would be kidding yourself to say it is a good substitute for the sweet taste of sugar. The truth is that most of us need to minimize our desire for that sweet taste altogether. For many people who have been addicted to sugar for years, simply eating something sweet — sugar substitutes included “â can cause the same harmful metabolic response as sugar … Read More
Which exercise is best for getting rid of the flab around the midsection?
All of them. What I mean is performing any exercise that requires your body to use energy and burn calories will help you in your effort to trim that midsection. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot spot reduce. In other words, you cannot burn fat from a specific area of your body by performing exercises that target that area of your body (i.e., ab crunches for a flabby midsection). Ab crunches will make your abs stronger and more muscular, but … Read More
