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Fitness FAQs
1. I'm just starting out. How much exercise do I need to do? 2. How do I log/track my cardio activity? 3. How to I log/track my strength training? 4. How do I track my fitness progress? 5. What is the best time of day to exercise? 6. How do I know how hard to exercise when I do my cardio? 7. I exercise in the morning. Is it better to eat before I exercise or after? 8. Will I burn more fat if I exercise first thing in the morning before eating? 9. How do I know if I'm in my fat burning zone? 11. How do I know if I'm drinking enough water? 12. Is it OK to break up my cardio or do I have to do it all at once? 13. Is it possible to over-exercise? 14. How do I get rid of my stomach, thighs, flabby arms, etc? 15. Is it OK to train the abdominals every day? 16. I gained several pounds overnight! What am I doing wrong? 17. What entries are available in the calorie calculator? 18. How do I estimate the calorie burn for the Biggest Loser DVDs? 20. I am going over my goal for how many calories I need to burn each day from exercise. Is that OK? 21. How do I get back on track after I've been ill or injured?
1. I'm just starting out. How much exercise do I need to do? Cardio If you start with or build up to 10 - 15 minutes: If you start with or build up to 30 minutes: It is recommended that your final goal be between 30 and 60 minutes. Keep in mind that workouts over 60 minutes are correlated with higher dropout rates. And don't forget as your workout duration increases that you are not committed to doing the maximum every time. In other words, if you've worked your way up to the point where you are capable of doing 60 minutes, you don't have to do that amount every time. If time or motivation dictates that you do less, listen! A good long-term goal is 200 - 300 minutes of cardio each week. Other goal is aiming for approximately 300 - 500 calories per day burned through exercise. Do at least 4 weeks of steady cardio at an RPE of 11- 12 (see below) before upping the pace with any type of intervals or tempo training. Strength To follow the BLC program: Start with the Phase 1, Level 1 workout and progress through Phase 3, Level 1. Then you can go back to Phase 1, Level 2 and so on. And at any point along the way you can swap exercises to help individualize your workout. To use your home program:
The amount of weight that is right for someone will vary from individual to individual and from one exercise to another. A common mistake is using one weight for every exercise. But, once you try an overhead press and then a bicep curl with the same weight you'll instantly see that overhead press is far more difficult. This is just one example, but the point is that each exercise should be evaluated separately. Let your repetitions tell you if the weight is right for an exercise. For example, say your goal is 15 - 20 reps. Select a weight that is light enough for you to control but heavy enough for you to feel your muscles working right from the start. Try to complete the 15 - 20 reps. Is it challenging to complete the set with the weight you chose? If not, increase the weight. If you can't finish the repetitions, or even if your form deteriorates before you finish the set, decrease the weight. Keeping in mind that this estimate could be off depending upon your current fitness level, my recommendation for the range of weights to begin with is 3, 5, 8, and 10 lbs. If you want, you can try them out in the store to get an idea whether you need the lightest and the heaviest in this range. That way you can avoid buying something you might not use. View strength/resistance tutorial.
2. How do I log/track my cardio activity?
Note that if you can't find the cardio exercise you did in the search, then click the "Can't find your cardio exercise?" text link next to the search results box and enter your exercise info manually.
3. How to I log/track my strength training?
Please note that calories burned is not calculated for strength training, since it's nearly impossible to calculate this value efficiently—calories burned is, however, tracked for cardio exercises. If you do the same strength routine each day, on the My Workout Plan page, you can click the "Save This Workout for Future Days" text link at the top or bottom of the workout plan, and the exercise will appear on your plans for all future strength days until you decide to change it.
4. How do I track my fitness progress?
If you want to track specific workouts from past days, just click the "My Fitness" tab on the site's main top navigation bar—on the "My Workout Plan" page that's displayed, you use the day navigation at the top of the plan to click to past days to see your workouts.
5. What is the best time of day to exercise? Metabolically, there is no difference. It doesn't matter as far as burning calories whether you exercise in the morning, noon, or night. Physiologically it is better to work out later in the day. Your joints are lubricated and muscles are warmer and contract more efficiently. Don't wait too late though. If you exercise at night, sleep could be interrupted if your session is too hard or too close to bedtime. People differ on this, so you'll have figure out what works for you. However, morning exercisers have been shown to stick to their programs better than those who put it off. The later in the day you wait, the more time you leave for life to "get in the way." The easy answer is that the best time of day to workout is the one that you will do!
6. How do I know how hard to exercise when I do my cardio? Combine these two methods for calculating the best cardio intensity for you: I. Max Heart Rate Method
Keep in mind that 220 minus age is an ESTIMATE, and you may find that the calculation leaves you working too hard or not hard enough. How do you know? Your RPE tells you! II. Rating of Perceived Exertion Method (RPE) Using the chart* below, your target range will fall between 12 and 16. 10 or less very light (*Borg rating of perceived exertion, 6-20 scale from the American College of Sports Medicine Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription.) 11 is "light" like an easy stroll. You can hold a conversation without difficulty. 13 is moderate or "somewhat hard." You can talk in complete sentences, but your breathing is labored. Note that you CAN talk, but you don't necessarily WANT to talk. If you're exercising in a group, this is the pace where things start to get quiet! 15 is "hard" and takes focus to maintain. Your breathing rate is elevated enough that talking is restricted to shorter phrases. But, you can talk AND you can maintain this pace for at least a few minutes so this is not an effort that immediately makes you think of quitting. 17 is "very hard" and you will not be talking here. This is reserved for interval training, competition, etc. You will likely be focused on how much longer you have until you get to stop the effort, like the end of the interval or workout. How long you can maintain this depends on your fitness level, but even the very fit can only maintain it for a matter of minutes. III. Bringing it all together If THR and RPE don't match up, depend on RPE. As a general rule, if it feels too hard, it is. If you are trying to train at a "moderate" level for example (Remember, this is appropriate for all cardio except for harder, advanced workouts like intervals and tempo training), check your heart rate when you have been at an RPE of 12 - 13. Whatever your heart rate is, THAT is your THR! Keep mind that manually taking HR is notoriously inaccurate. Take it often, compare workouts, and get good at it (or buy a monitor as mentioned above). And, finally, you CAN use RPE alone. Simply use 12 - 13 for moderate workouts and 14 - 16 for hard workouts. Trust what you feel, and don't sweat trying to find your heart rate. It's not "cutting edge" but it works great!
7. I exercise in the morning. Is it better to eat before I exercise or after? The decision about what to eat, before exercise depends on several variables. As far as eating at breakfast, the overnight fast makes you particularly vulnerable to being low on fuel. If you feel like you are hungry before a workout or don't have the energy to complete the workout as you would like, try eating a light breakfast beforehand. A good guideline is to aim to eat 300 - 400 calories 1 - 2 hours before exercise. If this is to be your breakfast, be sure to get adequate calories and get a mix of carbs and protein. If your timing is tighter, but you still need something to eat, try cutting back on the portion size and don't worry if the meal is mostly carbs. In fact, an easily digestible snack of about 15 g of carbs is great. And this can be part of your breakfast that you eat before exercise, saving the rest for afterward. This also applies to workouts at other times of day. For example, if you are low on energy in the afternoon prior to an after work exercise class, you will need to eat a snack to fuel the workout. Again, a good mix of protein and carbs is the best choice, but eating just carbohydrates is fine. Light workouts and light meals cause fewer gastrointestinal problems while harder workouts and heavier meals are likely to cause more problems. Therefore, you may need 1-2 hours between your larger meals and harder workouts to allow more time to digest the meal. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some foods that are consumed by endurance athletes WHILE exercising. This shows that if the meal is light enough and/or the intensity is light enough, no downtime is required between eating and exercising. For the best recovery, eat a snack of 30 - 60g of carbohydrates or the equivalent number of calories (120 - 240) from a combination of carbs and protein within 30 - 60 minutes after completing a challenging workout and then a full meal within 2 - 4 hours.
8. Will I burn more fat if I exercise first thing in the morning before eating? There are a couple of ways to insure that your body chooses more fat than carbohydrate as fuel. One is exercising at a lower intensity. The other is exercising when the availability of blood glucose and stored carbohydrate, or glycogen, is very low like first thing in the morning before breakfast. The first method, slowing down to burn more fat, just doesn't work. The primary problem is that by lowering your intensity you also lower your overall calorie burning. Therefore, even though you burn a higher percentage of fat, you burn fewer fat calories AND total calories overall. For further explanation check out the question about the Fat Burning Zone below. The second method is a better option because it does allow you to work at higher intensities. Therefore, your total calorie burn can be quite high and you still selectively burn fat. Proponents of the theory attribute the extra fat burning to less available glycogen, lowered glucose in the blood, and lowered insulin levels (insulin reduces the mobilization of fat). Research does support this theory at least so far as acknowledging that your body will choose more fat as fuel during the exercise session. This is the method suggested by The Biggest Loser book. Still, let's not forget that weight loss is caused by an overall calorie deficit rather than by how much of any given fuel we use. In other words, what matters for weight loss is how many TOTAL calories you eat vs. how many TOTAL calories you burn. And that means exercise, exercise, exercise and challenging yourself during that exercise! And you can't challenge yourself if you're low on fuel. Therefore, if you feel low in energy in the morning, it's better to go ahead and fuel up so you get the most out of your workout rather than struggle through it in a depleted state.
9. How do I know if I'm in my fat burning zone? As mentioned above, exercising at a slower pace has long been thought to lead to more fat burning. But slowing down doesn't burn more of anything. When you slow down you might burn 50% of your calories from fat vs. perhaps 30% if you exercise at a higher rate. However, you also burn fewer TOTAL calories; therefore you burn 50% of a LOWER number! For a side by side comparison, look at the below estimates for 30 min of exercise for a 200 lb person: Low intensity exercise High intensity exercise You expend more calories by exercising longer or harder, not by simply slowing down. The key is exercising at a pace that is comfortably challenging and, over time, having that pace increase as your fitness increases. As this happens you will burn more and more calories per minute.
10. Is it OK to do both cardio and strength training in the same day, and if so, which should I do first? It's fine to do both in the same day. But, be aware that some studies have shown that doing both in one day decreases the gains in muscle size. It's only my opinion, but it seems doubtful that the average fitness minded, non-body builder is going to see much difference is either size or strength gains. As for which to do first if you do choose to do both in the same day? Most indications are that it's best to do strength training first. One argument in support of this order is that by strength training first you deplete your glycogen stores before you start your cardio workout and you end up burning more fat during the cardio. In fact, the Biggest Loser book favors strength training first for this reason. Another popular argument is that you should do strength training first because your energy and focus are higher. This is because resistance training typically takes a lot of both to complete effectively, whereas many cardio sessions are done at a comfortable workload. Still, let's not forget that weight loss is caused by an overall calorie deficit rather than by how much of any given fuel we use. In other words, what matters for weight loss is how many TOTAL calories you eat vs. how many TOTAL calories you burn. And that means exercise, exercise, exercise; whatever order you choose. And you need to challenge yourself during that exercise! And you can't challenge yourself if you're not your at your best for a strength training session. You'll miss out on a good workout and risk injuring yourself. That means that, ideally, you do strength training first or on a day off from cardio.
11. How do I know if I'm drinking enough water? Here are a few guidelines for proper hydration: Drink 4 - 8 cups of water (32 - 64 oz) per day. Drink 8 - 16 oz prior to exercise and 4 - 8 oz per 15 minutes of exercise, either during or immediately afterwards. The actual amount depends on the temperature of the exercise environment and the intensity of the exercise. The hotter the temps and the harder the effort, the more fluids you'll need. Another good way to monitor your hydration level is urine color. Clear equals hydrated. Bright yellow or brownish and you need more fluid. If you drink less than recommended, but you're hydrated, then you're fine. You get lots of fluid through your food, especially when you eat whole foods like fruits and vegetables. Also, plain water will do unless your session is over 60 minutes. Over 60 minutes and you should aim for 30 - 60 g of carbohydrates each hour consumed in (or along with) your fluids. For a reference, 8 oz of Gatorade has 14 g of carbs. And keep in mind that if you exercise a lot, especially in the heat, drink large amounts of plain water and don't have much sodium in your diet, you risk developing a condition called hyponatremia or water toxicity. Hyponatremia can cause very similar symptoms to dehydration (when dehydration leads to symptoms of heat exhaustion) including nausea, vomiting, and weakness. You should seek medical attention if you experience these symptoms.
12. Is it OK to break up my cardio or do I have to do it all at once? For burning calories, there is no difference between 1 x 30 minutes, 2 x 15 minutes, or 3 x 10 minutes. And, at least in beginning exercisers, fitness level improves by similar amounts with any of these routines. Of course, this is all assuming that your pace is the same in all of the sessions. To achieve higher levels of fitness it becomes necessary to link several minutes of exercise together for a couple of reasons. First, with only 10 minutes to workout you have no time for a proper warm-up and cool-down, both of which are necessary if you are pushing your intensity to high levels. A good warm-up and cool-down will take 5 - 10 minutes each. Secondly, endurance for longer tasks like hiking, running a 5K, or completing an entire aerobics class will be enhanced by doing more time in one workout.
13. Is it possible to over-exercise? Yes, you can definitely over-exercise! But, it varies as to how much is considered overdoing it. All of the following factor into the equation: Signs of overtraining are:
14. How do I get rid of my stomach, thighs, flabby arms, etc? You can't do much to spot reduce in any one area. It's a myth that exercising a body part will shrink or tighten it, and there is no way to "zone in" on one particular area. It IS true that the muscles underneath the body fat become more toned, but overall weight loss by following the eating plan and exercise is the way to get there. If it is your skin you are concerned about, how much change you see will have to do with variables like how overweight you are, how long you've been overweight, and your age. You will see some "shrinking" of the skin thanks to elasticity, but it is dependent on the above variables.
15. Is it OK to train the abdominals every day? The abs can be trained everyday because the muscles are stabilizing muscles and are usually trained with relatively light resistance and high reps. They need endurance, or the ability to maintain tone throughout a whole days work. In fact, one of the best core workouts is practicing good posture! This kind of resistance doesn't damage the muscles as much as heavier lifting. Plus, even if you do hit them really hard, there are no moving parts like knees or shoulders to suffer the consequences. Also, keep in mind that exercising your abs does not reduce the body fat in just that spot!
16. I gained several pounds overnight! What am I doing wrong? Don't panic! Our bodies can fluctuate by several pounds over the course of a single day simply by eating, drinking, elimination of waste, sweating, fluid retention, etc. You'll see some ups and downs if you weigh often, but the overall trend will be downward as long as you control your calories and exercise consistently. If your weight continues to go up, or simply plateaus, our experts can help you take a look at specific parts of your program where you could make adjustments. Contact them in the Ask the Experts forum.
17. What entries are available in the calorie calculator? Keep in mind that this list includes some activities that aren't typically considered aerobic exercise. They're included simply because the average energy output for them has been measured. Activities Available in the Calorie Calculator Cycling > 20 mph (bicycling, biking, bike riding)
18. How do I estimate the calorie burn for the Biggest Loser DVDs? How many calories you burn in a workout depends on how much you weigh, how fit you are (how much work you can do), and how hard you push (how much you actually do). Estimating how many calories you burn while walking 2 mph on a treadmill, where the precise workload is known, is much easier than estimating for something as variable as an aerobics class, strength training class, or combination of the two. To estimate the number of calories burned in the Biggest Loser workout DVDs, go to a day on which you have cardio exercise scheduled and click on "Choose a Cardio Exercise." - For time spent doing cardio exercise enter "aerobics" in the search box, choose the most appropriate entry in the results box, enter total minutes spent exercising, and click on calculate. - For time spent doing strength type exercises enter "calisthenics" for exercises done with body weight or "circuit training" for exercises done with dumbbells, choose the most appropriate entry in the results box, enter total minutes spent exercising, and click on calculate. This allows you to estimate calories burned for an aerobic workout, a strength workout, or a combination of the two. For mixed workouts you simply add up the combined total of calories burned from your cardio minutes and your strength training minutes. And the above method applies to any aerobic, strength or combination DVD. Keep in mind that this is a rough estimate of calories burned. Without measuring a sampling of participants' energy expenditure in a specific class it is impossible to increase the accuracy of calorie estimation.
19. Do I log the strength exercises in my exercise DVD or exercise class under "Today's Strength Exercises" or by using the calorie calculator under "Today's Cardio Exercises?" Technically, strength exercise should be included under the strength section. See question #3 for more information. But it is possible to enter strength exercises in the calorie calculator section of the site either in addition to or instead of entering them under the strength training section. Entering your strength training under the strength section allows you to detail the actual exercises performed, while entering your strength training under the calorie calculator is simply to estimate calories burned. To enter strength exercises under the calorie calculator use the following instructions: Note that, although you are entering strength training, you have to be scheduled for cardio on the day you enter this information. To change your Fitness Preferences on the My Workout Plan page, click on the Fitness Preferences tab at the top or the Change My Fitness Preferences link on the left-hand side. - Click on Choose a Cardio Exercise.
20. I am going over my goal for how many calories I need to burn each day from exercise. Is that OK? The calorie goal is designed to be a guideline rather than a number that can be individually entered by members. The program assigns it based on your body weight and it provides a reasonable goal for a typical person starting out exercise. Beginners will find the goal to be challenging, but eventually achievable; while more experienced exercisers might easily exceed it. Therefore, feel free to aim for a higher weekly total for your calorie burning (within reason). For instance, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends 150 - 400 with the 400 end of the range being for weight loss. I usually point people toward a long term goal of 300 - 500 per day. And many folks who move on to more advanced exercise routines will be in the 500 - 1000 range.
21. How do I get back on track after I've been ill or injured? Anyone who has exercised more than a couple of months can take off for a week or less and barely notice. In fact, it may feel more like a good rest than a setback! But, if you're new to exercise and/or have an extended recovery of a week or more expect to cut back the amount of your exercise by as much as 50%. And decreasing your intensity is even more important than doing shorter workouts. If you've been injured, lighter intensity reduces the stress on your body. Hard exercise increases the force of your muscular contractions and the external forces on your joints, both of which can lead to re-injury. If you've been ill, light exercise helps you burn calories without overly fatiguing your body. Hard exercise can negatively affect your immune system. For your aerobic exercise start at a pace that allows easy conversation and very little shortness of breath and spend at least 2 - 3 days at this level before trying to go harder. For strength training cut back by 10 - 20 percent on weight and/or do fewer repetitions. Think of your return to exercise as the final step in your therapy. Your body is on the mend. Experience exercise as nurturing and healing movement and it will give you peace of mind that you cannot find by trying to make up for lost time. Just stretch your legs and clear your mind. |
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