Ask James Fitness Questions!

[CarolinaCutie]

Originally posted by astroAPhi
Although I don't get what the whole grains are. I tried talking to someone about it today and it sounded like I needed to go pluck wheat in Nebraska and eat it like that.

Well... it's the difference between Fritos corn chips and a serving of brown rice
There are a lot of processed carbohydrates that should really fall under the fats and sweets category, but not everyone thinks of them in that way. One example would be a bowl of Cocoa Puffs compared to a bowl of Bran Flakes (although I sure know which one I'D choose). Even like.. the difference between a biscuit and a piece of whole wheat bread. Yeah... they are both bread, right? But a biscuit is basically carbs, fat, and maybe a few nutrients, while a piece of whole wheat bread typically offers more B vitamins, dietary fiber, etc. with less calories and saturated fat.

It's like a "more BANG for your caloric buck" theory... we call it nutrient density.

I think the new food pyramid is a good thing. It leaves less open for interpretation and gives more instruction on what exactly is good for you! I do hope that the USDA picks up the changes.

OK, OK, sorry... back to James and fitness questions

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by CarolinaCutie
Well... it's the difference between Fritos corn chips and a serving of brown rice
There are a lot of processed carbohydrates that should really fall under the fats and sweets category, but not everyone thinks of them in that way. One example would be a bowl of Cocoa Puffs compared to a bowl of Bran Flakes (although I sure know which one I'D choose). Even like.. the difference between a biscuit and a piece of whole wheat bread. Yeah... they are both bread, right? But a biscuit is basically carbs, fat, and maybe a few nutrients, while a piece of whole wheat bread typically offers more B vitamins, dietary fiber, etc. with less calories and saturated fat.

It's like a "more BANG for your caloric buck" theory... we call it nutrient density.

I think the new food pyramid is a good thing. It leaves less open for interpretation and gives more instruction on what exactly is good for you! I do hope that the USDA picks up the changes.

OK, OK, sorry... back to James and fitness questions

I think it's a great thing - I'm not a huge fan of white bread, chips and all that stuff anyways, and eat more wheat bread than any other kinds. The old food pyramid was so outdated, it had become a bit of a joke with the servings it suggested.

[decadence]

I haven't been to the gym in ages (despite having membership). Tch, tch. So James, since I'd effectively be starting from step one again could any real benefit be gained appearance wise by going for two weeks (the remaining time I'm in my uni town) only? Hopefully I'll join a gym when I go back home after two weeks too without too long a gap.

[JohnsDGsweethrt]

Yall can ask me too I have a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Exercise Science and I enjoy helping people

[Sverige]

Originally posted by JohnsDGsweethrt
Yall can ask me too I have a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Exercise Science and I enjoy helping people

If thats the case, how many sets and what types of crunches would you reccomend to someone who wants the dream abs (Male)? What are the positive and negative effects of taking Winstrol?

[Sverige]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
James, what do you think of Yoga. Is it effective for weightloss. I hate going to the gym, and I mean HATE!!! I do love Yoga though. I know after I complete a class it makes me feel rejuvenated, but can it help me lose weight?

I think all yoga is good for is helping you not be depressed. I feel like Yoga is more of a mental exercise. I know it makes you flexible, but when I do it I actually feel like my mind and body are rejuevenated rather than weight loss or gain has been achieved.

[JohnsDGsweethrt]

Ok first things first. It is impossible to "spot reduce fat" What that means is that you can't have awesome looking abs and be overweight on your arms, legs, etc. When reducing body fat (which is what people generally what people want when they say they want to "lose weight") you reduce your body fat from all over the entire body not just in one area. This said if you have a lot of fat over your tummy you can do crunches until you pass out everyday but you won't be able to see your tight abs b/c they are under the layer of fat on your tummy. However your abs would be kickin' underneath

Now I have no idea what your body composition is but I thought I should mention the above first. When I have my clients/patients ask about abs I always tell them that first b/c if they are trying to reduce their body fat on their tummies that happens as a result of nutritional change and exercise assuming other variables aren't effecting their weight to begin with.

If you want to work on your abs you have several options. These maybe hard to explain seeing as how I can't really show you.

The first type of crunch is the regular crunch
Sit on the floor with your knees bent at an angle and back straight
Cross your arms over your chest or place your hands on the front of your thighs
While continuing to keep your knees bent, lower your back to the ground but stop before your back is completely on the ground
The entire time make sure your feet stay on the floor
Then raise back up to your starting position.

The Second type of crunch is called the reverse crunch
Lay down on your back with your knees bent over your chest so your legs are up in the air. Your knees are at a 45 degree angle.
You may want to place your hands under the small of your back for back stability.
Then straighten your legs and bring them down close to the floor but don't touch the floor
Then bring them back to the starting position.

These are really hard to describe in words so I hope you're not too confused and I'm sorry I don't have any pics.

As far as sets if you are starting at 0 (say you've never done a crunch in your life) I would say (for a guy) try and start around 10-15 repetitions and add on 2 every week. I don't know how old you are or how physically fit you are so this all varies according to those types of things.

I don't know anything about Winstrol. Supplementation is not really my area of interest although many Exercise Physiologist do research in that area. I do know a good bit of nutrition as it pertains to cardiac patients and healthy eating. My area is more in Cardiac/Pulmonary rehab, working with over weight kids and diabetics. I did do my graduate thesis for Gatorade so I can tell you anything you want to know about how carbohydrate, caffeine, or tyrosine supplementation affects performance.

[cuaphi]

Originally posted by Sverige
I think all yoga is good for is helping you not be depressed. I feel like Yoga is more of a mental exercise. I know it makes you flexible, but when I do it I actually feel like my mind and body are rejuevenated rather than weight loss or gain has been achieved.

I lost a little weight when I took up yoga but it was basically just enough to make my jeans fit better... Yoga is supposed to help "normalize" your weight, whatever that means. My interpretation is that you leave class feeling so calm, centered and revitalized due to your breathing opening up that it tends to inspire an overall desire to take better care of yourself. Therefore, you'll reach a more optimized version of yourself but it won't make drastic changes in your appearance.

[Sverige]

Originally posted by JohnsDGsweethrt

Now I have no idea what your body composition is but I thought I should mention the above first. When I have my clients/patients ask about abs I always tell them that first b/c if they are trying to reduce their body fat on their tummies that happens as a result of nutritional change and exercise assuming other variables aren't effecting their weight to begin with.

I'm not in bad shape at all, nor am I over weight. I think I fall into that class of people who's body looks great, but it can also be a tad bit better. In that I mean, I don't have the WWF looking abs.

The way I kept mine up in the past was by eating a bunch of veggies and running, cardio. I first got them in shape by doing a lot of clam crunches. I was just curious as to what your input was on how one would go about fixing them. Drinking vodka and eating late doesn't help out at all.

Thanks

[James]

Johnsdgsweetheart pretty much covered the body fat question.

The analogy I usually use is: starving people (Famine victims, anorexics) usally have well defined abs without working out.

Because they have very little body fat.

Winstrol is a drug that is traditionally considered a hardener. Which just means you tend to gain less water weight on it. The major disadvantages of winstrol is frequent inejections as well as the possibility if shutting your HPTA (Hypothalmus pituitary axis) in which case your natural testosterone levels may drop to very low levels.

Originally posted by Sverige
I'm not in bad shape at all, nor am I over weight. I think I fall into that class of people who's body looks great, but it can also be a tad bit better. In that I mean, I don't have the WWF looking abs.

The way I kept mine up in the past was by eating a bunch of veggies and running, cardio. I first got them in shape by doing a lot of clam crunches. I was just curious as to what your input was on how one would go about fixing them. Drinking vodka and eating late doesn't help out at all.

Thanks

[James]

Two weeks? Its definitely worth it. Thats two weeks you will be feeling better about yourself. Thats two weeks that you will be closer to your ideal ideas of fitness.

Thats like asking, should I bother to eat and sleep well for the next two weeks?

Originally posted by decadence
I haven't been to the gym in ages (despite having membership). Tch, tch. So James, since I'd effectively be starting from step one again could any real benefit be gained appearance wise by going for two weeks (the remaining time I'm in my uni town) only? Hopefully I'll join a gym when I go back home after two weeks too without too long a gap.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by James
Johnsdgsweetheart pretty much covered the body fat question.

The analogy I usually use is: starving people (Famine victims, anorexics) usally have well defined abs without working out.

Because they have very little body fat.

Winstrol is a drug that is traditionally considered a hardener. Which just means you tend to gain less water weight on it. The major disadvantages of winstrol is frequent inejections as well as the possibility if shutting your HPTA (Hypothalmus pituitary axis) in which case your natural testosterone levels may drop to very low levels.

There's research that shows you can target fat in certain parts of your body.

Every guy I know isn't as concerned with how to simply lose fat but how to lose it while maintaining lean mass. And one of the ways to tell which guys juice is to look at their ab formation.

-Rudey

[CC1GC]

Originally posted by Sverige
In that I mean, I don't have the WWF looking abs.

Those guys are all on roids. In which case, you should contact UF Pike about the etiquette of juicing. LOL

[Sverige]

Originally posted by James


Winstrol is a drug that is traditionally considered a hardener. Which just means you tend to gain less water weight on it. The major disadvantages of winstrol is frequent inejections as well as the possibility if shutting your HPTA (Hypothalmus pituitary axis) in which case your natural testosterone levels may drop to very low levels.

The frequent injections aren't really a problem for me.


I've done something of the like before. The only time I did something like that was awhile ago, I had 20 cc's of Sustanon and 100 cc's of liquid d-ball. I had to take an injection every 3 days for the d-ball and an injection twice a week for the sustanon. The only thing I didn't like about shooting myself with the d-ball was the fact that I ended up having one of my butt cheeks bruised yellow and purple from stabbing myself constantly. My girlfriend freaked out when she saw it one night. After that I stopped and just started drinking the d-ball with grape juice. I gained about 30 pounds on that. I also had 1/2 a gallon of GBL to go along with it, which really helped out.

I was curious about the winstrol since I know it's mainly used to define your body and change your frame. The worst side effect I heard was that it really makes you lose your hair. Based on your input, you're saying that I also might start acting and thinking like a girl since it makes your test levels drop? or is it just a possibility?

[Sverige]

Originally posted by CC1GC
Those guys are all on roids. In which case, you should contact UF Pike about the etiquette of juicing. LOL

I've tried sending pike an email or two, he doesn't respond. Do you know anything about it?