Ask the Trainer Q & A

Aug 2 / 8:49pm

Bowflex Revolution Home Gym

Posted by email

QUESTION:

Hello, I'm a 5'4" 125 pound woman. I have a Bowflex revolution, home gym. I am trying to find work outs that concentrate on my abs using this machine. Is it possible to achieve my goal with this machine? Must I use floor exercises or a fitness ball in conjunction with this?

ANSWER:

By looking at your body dimensions (5'4" 125 pounds) it would seem you do not have too much body fat to lose but keep in mind that the #1 way to get visible results with your mid-section is to control diet, reducing your body fat levels thus lowering your body fat percentage. Get your body fat % measured for peace of mind and take away the guessing game.

As far as exercises go, the Boxflex Revolution is a good home gym designed for a full body exercise program. This whole body exercise program along with cardio and a low calorie, balanced diet is what is going to reduce your body fat and tone your abdominal area most efficiently. The best ab exercises have always been using just body weight for resistance. Using exercise balls can help this because they increase range of motion as well as muscle recruitment.

Floor core stabilization exercises are optimal for tightening the deep core muscles and reducing the circumference the mid-section. Keep in mind they do not "spot-reduce" the fat surrounding the abdominal muscles which is an impossible fitness myth.

You can find ab exercises using multiple pieces of equipment and targeting multiple abdominal and deep core muscles here:

100 Abdominal Exercises

Jul 4 / 10:04pm

How to Thin out Calves

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

Hello, I'm a 5'5.5" 143 pound woman with around 24% body fat. Can you please tell me how to thin out my calves, yet toned? My calves are thick in appearance. Thank you Kindly.

ANSWER:

Calf size is largely genetically determined. If you have always had calves which you consider too thick, it may be hereditary. Your body dimensions and composition don't suggest large scale weight loss so it's unlikely that losing weight alone will thin out your calves. You say you want to "tone" which means lowering your body fat percentage so a little weight loss is likely what you will have to do.

The most likely scenario for you to slim your calves is to begin a balanced exercise program focusing on stretching and cardio with proper form. If your primary goal is to slim your calves, you have to avoid any exercises, (weight training and cardio) in which your calves contract with high resistance. In addition to refraining from performing any resistance training calf exercises you need to perform cardio exercises consistent with your goals.

Any type of cardio with a vertical component is out. Refrain from using the stairmaster, incline treadmill, jump rope, hiking, etc. If you decide to use the cardio bicycles, make sure you consciously perform most of the work with your quadriceps and keep your calves from contracting (i.e. do not push with your toes). The same goes for elliptical machines. If you use the ellipticals, DO NOT RAISE YOUR HEELS, keep your feet flat on the foot platforms at all times.

Daily habits also can play a part in bigger calves. If you wear high heels often, your calves are constantly contracted, ditch them if you want to thin out your calves. Also pay attention to how you are sitting. If you are constantly on your toes when you are sitting, your calves are contracted.

Lastly and likely most importantly, make sure you perform calf stretching exercises often. Doing various calves stretches such as the curb stretch will help you lengthen your muscles. Make sure to hold each stretch on each foot for at least 30-45 seconds. It would be a good idea to perform calf stretches up to 3-4 times per day for the aforementioned time frame.

Exercises to Avoid in order to Thin out Calves

Best Calf Exercises

Filed under // muscle tone spot reduction tone muscles weight loss

May 12 / 2:00pm

Weak Underdeveloped Left Side

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

I have a weak underdeveloped left side. The side area under my ribs is concave, the right side is normal. In order to try and correct this I did hanging leg lifts with ankle weights. I would gradually increase the weight on the left ankle but not the right. It targeted the correct muscle but the wrong side. I got no results on the left side but my right side blew up. Now I have the complex problem of still needing to build up my left side muscles and getting rid of the mass created on my right side muscle. What would you recommend?

ANSWER:

This same issue comes up time and time again and most people try to "fix" it the same way you did but the majority of the time it just doesn't work like that. Think of a house. If your house was sinking and the left side dropped 2 feet lower than the right would you build 2 feet more on the right side? Even if you even out the house it doesn't take away the fact that the house is still sinking.

There is something wrong with your foundation and you need to look at the cause for your weak underdeveloped left side before you look for a solution. The best recommendation is to find a specialist who deals with musculoskeletal issues such as a Licensed Physical Therapist, chiropractor or a personal trainer. If anything do it for piece of mind.

Once you are diagnosed properly then you can develop an exercise program to help develop your left side although the specialist you see will likely prescribe a program for you. You could have previously unknown structural issues that may be difficult or impossible to fix. Hopefully you simply have a muscle imbalance somewhere which an agonist muscle is tight and shortened while the antagonist is weak and lengthened or vice versa which can be remedied with simple stretching and resistance training program which you can learn more about on the following link, please take your time to read:

Posture Problems & Muscle Imbalances

May 12 / 11:50am

Firefighter Strength Building Plan

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

I am 5'8" tall, weigh 203 pounds do not know my body fat but am a type 2 diabetic for the last 8 years. I am a volunteer firefighter and I am 47 years old. A bunch of us at the station have decided to enter the Firefighter Combat Challenge scheduled for September 2010. I am active but not exercise orientated. I still go into working fires but feel in oreder to compete I need a good strength building workout plan. What do you suggest?

ANSWER:

According to the information on the official website for the firefighter Combat Challenge the events are as follows:

Wearing "full bunker gear" and the SCOTT Air-Pak breathing apparatus, pairs of competitors race head-to-head as they simulate the physical demands of real-life firefighting by performing a linked series of five tasks including climbing the 5-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175 lb. "victim" as they race against themselves, their opponent and the clock.

While strength is important for fighter fighting what you're looking at is more anaerobic endurance. You can look at Anaerobic endurance as bridging the gap between strength and aerobic endurance. The events for the Firefighter Combat Challenge are going to last longer than pure strength activities such as powerlifting but shorter than pure aerobic activities such as 10k running.

Since the event is about 6 months away you have time to properly train yourself to do well in the event as well as better your fitness which will help you turn 50 in the best shape of your life and no longer be a diabetic.

Your training should begin with general cardio such as a stationary bike or stair stepper until you are comfortable with completing 30 minutes. After you establish a base level of fitness then you can become more aggressive in your cardio training adding higher intensity, activity specific exercises such as the Versa Climber to your program along with high intensity interval cardio as well as weight training.

Since your events will likely last from 60 seconds to no longer than 5 minutes, you should try to get your training program to mimic the activities as much as possible, but establishing your baseline fitness level should be your #1 priority at this time.

High Intensity Interval Cardio Workout Examples

Filed under // diabetes fire fighter workout firefighter strength building

May 6 / 10:07am

Dance Team Tryout

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

Hi I just want my stomach to be toned by the end of june for a dance team tryout. Should I take classes or just go to the gym? And which kind of classes or types of equipment do I use? I do not want to lose weight though because I am already small just need to tighten up my stomach. Thank you for your time!

ANSWER:

It really depends on your current body fat percentage. Regardless of what you think, you should get your body fat percentage measured (estimated) by a professional using skinfold analysis or even use BIA to eliminate guesswork associated with your exercise program. Once you have a good idea of your body fat percentage you can check a chart of Body Fat Percentage in Women and see if you could lose body fat.

If your body fat percentage is not in the ideal category for your age group, extra cardiovascular exercise as well as resistance training would be the best solution to lose the extra body fat. In this case, going to aerobics classes at your gym as well as classes such as 'Body Pump' which involves weight training would help to increase your caloric expenditure to burn the excess fat around your midsection.

If your body fat is in the ideal or lean categories you may simply need to begin performing abs/core exercises to help tone the muscles of your abdomen. It is best to perform a variety of exercises for all the muscle groups in your core which you can find here.

100 Abdominal Exercises

Filed under // abdominals fat loss muscle toning toning abs weight loss

Mar 16 / 9:13pm

Shoulder Workout Post Rotator Cuff Injury

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

Hello, I'm a 5'7" 162 pound guy who wants to build muscle and strength. I'm recently comming off a rotator cuff injury and started seriously training again.
I noticed dramatic strength loss in my shoulders and want to be very careful not to re-injure it. Every now and then I feel a little "tweak" pain but nothing major. I found your website and it's very knowledgeable.
I would like to try a shoulder workout. My question is would I try the "best shoulder workout" or the " most effective shoulder workout" I would imagine it would be the "best shoulder workout" but I just want to make sure?

ANSWER:

Shoulders are one of the most debilitating types of injuries for all forms of human movement especially building muscle with resistance training. The chances for recurrence are high as well so you should be very careful.

The Best Shoulder Workout or Effective Shoulder Exercises pages as you mentioned are really there for general ideas. By no means is there one shoulder workout which is the absolute best. I know I mention somewhere that unless you have 100% healthy shoulders, you should not perform intensive shoulder workouts and may even want to avoid shoulder exercises altogether. At the very least make sure you do not perform any shoulder workout earlier than 48 hours, preferably more following a chest workout as the muscle groups overlap.

Since all upper body exercises and even most lower body exercises require shoulder stabilization or movement it is essential you work to bringing your shoulders to 100% You can accomplish this by a variety of means. Most importantly, make sure your exercise form is biomechanically correct for each exercise you do. Even your static posture has a lot to do with whether your rotator cuff will heal properly or cause problems in the future.

If you haven't please read about the anatomy of the rotator cuff and the exercises you can do to strengthen the small muscles which it's composed of. Make sure to check out "The Rotator" which is a product which is used extensively by the pros to maintain rotator cuff health and flexibility.

Rotator Cuff Exercises

Mar 13 / 11:37pm

Drop 2 Jeans SIzes

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

Hello, I'm a 5'6" 167 pound female who would like to go down 2 pants sizes. My pre baby weight 12 years ago was 132lbs while in shape. I now have 2 kids and 35 extra lbs lingering... I gained 73lbs with my first pregnancy and lost about 40 before I got pregnant again with my 2nd child.

It has now been 9 years and I am desperate. I've tried everything in the book, you name it. I am 31 years old 5'6" and 167 lbs.looking to losing about 20lbs in my midsection and buttocks.

I am very frustrated that I have been working out and dieting for 8 years and I can't drop below a 9 in jeans. I exercise twice a day everyday but Tuesdays, I work cardio during the day for an hour and I just recently started the p90x lean In the evening.
I understand everyone says throw the scale out, numbers mean nothing. Its about how you feel and how your clothes fit. Well I am one of those people that just have strong legs and the first place I gain.. I eat a healthy 950 calorie low fat, no sugar, healthy carb, diet...
For some reason can't figure out the reason I can't get down in my pant size. Can you help?

ANSWER:

I would first like to say that a 950 calorie diet is far too low for you, especially while working out twice a day almost every day. Your body is in a starvation mode right now causing it to hold onto the fat you have left, because you are literally starving your body even thought it may not feel like it. If you are performing two workouts a day, then you are burning almost as many calories as you consume in a day!

I would recommend that you increase your calories, possibly to around 1,200 divided into 5-6 evenly spaced meals. I think it would also be best to limit your workouts to one time per day for a while. You have to try to reset your body so to speak.

Your thyroid hormones which control your metabolism are probably not functioning so well right now. If you find that you still cannot lose weight after following this advice, I suggest that you visit an endocrinologist to determine whether or not your hormones are off balance. I wish you the best. Feel free to ask any more questions any time!

David Frankovic, CSCS

DavidFrankovic.AskTheTrainer.com

Filed under // diet nutrition weight loss

Mar 13 / 11:08pm

Exhausted 13 Year Old Son

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

My son is 13 years old and is currently doing winter training for paddling, specifically kayaking. He is working out 4 times a week. We are wondering what he should be eating to maintain this level of exercise? We have been finding that by midweek that he is feeling really exhausted and run down - so much so that the cannot attend school. Please Advise.

ANSWER:

Your son is feeling run down towards the middle of the week, because he is simple not eating enough calories to recover from the strenuous kayak sessions. I would start by suggesting that you make sure he is getting plenty of protein sources in his diet such as chicken, lean beef and fish. Protein is very important because it will help your son's muscles recover from those hard workouts, so he can continue to train hard.

Since his kayak sessions are probably long and hard, his calorie needs are probably much higher than a normal sedentary child at his age. Simply eating more good wholesome foods that are protein rich might solve the problem here, but I have a feeling he might not be a big eater. If he isn't then it might not be a bad idea to look for ways to add calories to his meals. Some easy ways of going about this are adding cheese to a dish or adding a glass of milk juice, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to let him have some pizza and cheeseburgers every now and then.

If he needs more calories, but isn't willing to eat much more, then tasty calorie dense foods would work. Just be sure not to go overboard. It might be best to allow him to have those foods after his kayak sessions. Thank you for your question, and please feel free to ask any more that you may have!

David Frankovic, CSCS

DavidFrankovic.AskTheTrainer.com

Mar 6 / 5:35pm

Total Gym vs. Ironmaster Super Bench

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

I'm 5'5" tall, weigh 190 pounds and am about 30% body fat. My goal is to tone. I am thinking about buying a total gym or a weight bench, specifically the superbench by ironmaster. Which one is better?

ANSWER:

Both are great pieces of equipment and viable options for a home workout. The Ironmaster Super Bench is a multi-purpose weight bench which requires dumbbells and other equipment to get a full body workout. The Total Gym can give you a full body workout with no added equipment with few necessary upgrades.

You can find the Ironmaster Super Bench Combo on Amazon along with a set of adjustable dumbbells for $699 USD or the bench alone for $289 but keep in mind you will be paying for all the attachments which make the Ironmaster Super Bench a versatile piece of equipment. The Total Gym models vary in price.

Since both pieces of equipment are good, consider price first. Do you already have a full set of dumbells and/or barbells to use with the bench? If not, that is going to cost more than the cost of the bench itself. Dumbbell free weight exercises tend to have a tougher learning curve than Total Gym cable exercises if you're a beginner. Also keep in mind that the Total Gym can be used as a standard weight bench for dumbbell exercises as well.

Most importantly consider which machine will help you achieve your goals most efficiently. At your current physical dimensions, the Total Gym is going to allow you to start off with a small percentage of your body weight. As you make progress you can simply move the platform up a notch to use more of your body weight. Your goal is not to build maximal strength which is the only real weakness of the Total Gym as it's better for muscular endurance.

Personally I would get the Total Gym if price is not an issue and you do not already have dumbbells. If you already have dumbbells I would probably get the Ironmaster Super Bench I would probably not get the because dumbbells are available at every gym in existence which is often the natural progression for people who get in shape at home with their own equipment and you can't find the Total Gym or machines like it at most gyms.

These 2 Links May Help you Decide:

Total Gym Exercise Videos

Total Gym Review

Filed under // exercise equipment fitness equipment gym equipment total gym

Feb 25 / 11:58am

Concerned about Heart Rate During Exercise

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

Hello, I'm a 5'6" woman who weighs 154 pounds with 26% body fat. I would like to lose 20 pounds. I have been working out for the past 6 months. I focus on running (currently up to 3 miles a day) and light weights.
I am concerned about my heart rate. When I began working out my average heart rate was about 165. My recent average heart rate is 180. It sometimes gets as high as 180 even by just doing simple sit ups and does not begin to decrease until about an hour after my work out. Do you have any suggestions?

ANSWER:

First of all, you should have consulted with your physician before you started exercising. If not, do so before you continue to exercise.

Your heart rate during exercise will depend primarily on your resting heart rate. Resting heart rate increases with age which was not mentioned in your question. First thing you should do is take your resting heart rate. This is best done first thing in the morning after you wake up.

Take your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply it by 6 or take it for 30 seconds and multiply by 2, etc. to determine your resting heart rate. Then use this formula to determine an estimate of your max heart rate:

HR_max = 206.3 − (0.711 × age) Once you have your resting heart rate you can use the Karvonen formula to determine your target heart rate.

Karvonen method

The Karvonen method factors in Resting Heart Rate (HR_rest) to calculate Target Heart Rate (THR), using a range of 50%–85%:

THR = ((HR_max − HR_rest) × %Intensity) + HR_rest

Example for someone with a HR_max of 180 and a HR_rest of 70:
50% intensity: ((180 − 70) × 0.50) + 70 = 125 bpm
85% intensity: ((180 − 70) × 0.85) + 70 = 163 bpm

If the average heart rate of 180 is way out of the 85% intensity zone then you may have an issue of some kind which a doctor will be able to answer. You also mention your heart rate is elevated for doing resistance training exercises. This may be due to poor breathing during your exercises.

Do not hold your breath during muscular contractions. If you are doing light weights and high reps, you should keep your breathing rate normal at around 12-20 breaths per minute, rather than hyperventilating. On a side note you are likely wasting your time with weight training exercises performed in sets over 20 is a waste of time but that is off subject...

If you have no physical problems, your elevated heart rate is likely a result of simply low fitness levels in which a consistent progressive routine will help.

Read More about Cardio Exercise

Filed under // cardio cardio exercise cardiopulmonary exercise cardiovascular exercise

Bowflex Revolution Home Gym

How to Thin out Calves

Weak Underdeveloped Left Side

Firefighter Strength Building Plan

Dance Team Tryout

Shoulder Workout Post Rotator Cuff Injury

Drop 2 Jeans SIzes

Exhausted 13 Year Old Son

Total Gym vs. Ironmaster Super Bench

Concerned about Heart Rate During Exercise

Karvonen method

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