Posted by admin at 10:48 pm
Here are some questions and answers that were sent time via twitter/email. Hope that this helps everyone out!
#1
a. What exercises do you need to do to tighten and lose belly fat? Especially after having kids. Thanks
b. I had a baby 9 months ago and lost all of my baby weight. Now I just need to tone up. What type if fitness program would you recommend for someone who doesn’t want to lose anymore weight, but wants to build muscle.
Answer:
Great Question! If you want to tone and not lose weight it is best to make sure that you are eating a proper balanced diet, at least 3 meals a day plus healthy snacks!
Remember weight loss and weight gain are determined by calorie intake vs calorie output.
Some exercise that you can do to tone up your tummy after having the little one are below. Make sure you don’t rush into doing too much exercise. Too much too fast after being inactive can do more harm than good. Here are a few tips for starting out.
- Classic crunches. Lying flat on your back with your hands clasped behind your head, reach forward toward your knees and hold. (Don’t try to sit up the whole way). Make sure to focus on your abdominal and not using your arms and neck to sit up. I usually pick a spot on the ceiling and try to raise to that spot. Do this exercise for 3 sets of at least 15. (reasoning is that we want to get you toned not bulked up).
- Lie on your back, again with hands behind your head. This time, reach with your left elbow forward toward your right knee and hold for a moment. Release, then repeat the exercise with your right elbow to your left knee. 3 sets of at least 15.
- Walking is always a good thing if you arent into running or endlessly being on a machine at the gym. Walking is a great way to improve your overall fitness and to boost your metabolism while toning up.
- Swimming is one of the best exercises for the entire body since it requires the use of nearly every muscle group, including those bands across your stomach and abdomen.
- If you are super busy, a great little exercise that you can do anywhere as long as you are sitting down, is to tighten your stomach and pull in your lower abdominal muscles as much as you can. This helps to work those muscles. When you are doing it just keep your mind focused on putting pressure on the abdominal muscles. Hold in your stomach for about 20 seconds and then release. You can breathe normal and do not hold your breath in. Sometimes you will do this unconsciously so be aware of your breathing. The amount of reps you do is up to you. Start out slow if you are just getting into it
#2 For weight loss & toning… Do you recommend higher reps and lighter weight? How about rest between reps?
Answer:
For weight loss and toning i recomend high reps with ligher weights for your weight training. Rest in between reps should be short. Im a firm believer in when you feel recovered to start your next rep. 30s- 2 mins max. I also recommend doing intervals instead of slow steady cardio. This way your body is burning more calories to the change in pace. So you can achieve more results in a shorter period of time.
#3
question….i really dont have a big stomach but i want to get at least a 4 pack goin on…besides sit ups n crunches what else can i do?
Answer:
Great question!
The key to looking lean and showing stomach muscles is cardio, cardio cardio! I suggest rdoing intervals instead of slow steady cardio. This way your body is burning more calories to the change in pace. So you can achieve more results in a shorter period of time. (LESS BORING TOO). So that means whatever type of cardio you choose pick time intervals to go hard then ease off, then hard again for at least 20mins-60minutes. You will see a leaner stomach faster this way. Also when you are sitting around at work, or school, driving etc practice tightening your stomach muscles on and off so youre constantly working those abdominal muscles.
#4
If I’m completely out of shape and want to tone up and have nicer abs, will just doing sit-ups do anything for me or do I need to do cardio?
Answer:
Cardio.The key to looking lean and showing stomach muscles is cardio, cardio cardio! I suggest doing intervals instead of slow steady cardio. This way your body is burning more calories to the change in pace. So you can achieve more results in a shorter period of time. (LESS BORING TOO). So that means whatever type of cardio you choose pick time intervals to go hard then ease off, then hard again for at least 20mins-60minutes. You will see a leaner stomach faster this way. Also when you are sitting around at work, or school, driving etc practice tightening your stomach muscles on and off so youre constantly working those abdominal muscles.
#5
Well I am a slim guy and trying to get toned up for Spring Break. Every night I do 100 pull ups, 100 sit ups, and 100 push ups. I was wondering am I wasting my time or results will start to show soon?
Answer:
Definitely not wasting your time. As any exercise is better than nothing! Good work on the pullups, sit ups and pushups. Try and vary them those….ex…hands closer together, further apart and diff types of sit ups. This way your body is constantly having to adapt and use a little bit different muscles. You will see better results that way!
Also a very important part in toning, looking lean and showing stomach muscles is cardio, cardio cardio! I suggest doing intervals instead of slow steady cardio. This way your body is burning more calories to the change in pace. So you can achieve more results in a shorter period of time. (LESS BORING TOO). So that means whatever type of cardio you choose pick time intervals to go hard then ease off, then hard again for at least 20mins-60minutes. You will see a leaner stomach faster this way. Also when you are sitting around at work, or school, driving etc practice tightening your stomach muscles on and off so youre constantly working those abdominal muscles.
#6
Idk if u cud answer this or not but will thin crust bbq chicken pizza make u gain weight?
and which kind of household exercises will tone arms?
Answer:
I sure can. Well remember that carbohydrates esp white ones are pretty empty in calories. Whole wheat is better. It also depends on how much pizza youre eating as well as if you are exercising or not. Remember that weight gain is equal to putting in more calories than you are burning. Usually you can find online the pizza youre eating and see how many calories it is per slice. Then you can do some cardio and burn that slice or slices right off based on the calories.
The key to looking lean and showing stomach muscles is cardio, cardio cardio! I suggest doing intervals instead of slow steady cardio. This way your body is burning more calories to the change in pace. So you can achieve more results in a shorter period of time. (LESS BORING TOO). So that means whatever type of cardio you choose pick time intervals to go hard then ease off, then hard again for at least 20mins-60minutes. You will see a leaner stomach faster this way. Also when you are sitting around at work, or school, driving etc practice tightening your stomach muscles on and off so youre constantly working those abdominal muscles and preventing weight gain.
Exercises that will tone arms in household would be pushups, pullups, using soup cans as weights and doing biceps curls or over head tricep pushup, wall pushups. You can also do front and side arm raises for your shoulders!
Alicia Bell seen here running in Ottawa, Canada.
