[Editor's note: The advice and information
given in the Shape Up column comes directly
from Darrell Butler, who is a certified
personal trainer and strength coach. Feel
free to send him questions for future Q&A!]
Hey,
what’s good everybody? Thanks for all of
the positive feedback on the “Three Keys to
Success:
Nutrition,
Cardio and
Strength Training” series. Your
comments and emails are always much
appreciated. In this edition of Shape Up,
I’m going to address a few of the questions
that I have received in regards to issues
discussed in the series.
Ma$h da great asks:
Informing article [Part
3, Strength Training]. In your
professional opinion, is the ab lounge more
stimulating to your stomach muscles than say
regular crunches you do on the floor?
AllHipHop.com:
The Ab Lounge is designed to mimic basic
movements that you can do on the floor so if
you don’t already own one, you can save the
money. The same can be said for most of the
popular pieces of abdominal equipment that
are sold on television. For example, the Ab
Glide that was once advertised on TV for
“three easy installments of $39.99” was just
a glorified version of the Ab Wheel that can
be found in most sports stores for only
$5.00!
If
you already own an Ab Lounge, don’t feel
bad, since it can still provide a quality
workout for your midsection. The hand
positions also encourage proper form that
will help you to not strain your neck as
many beginners do when performing basic
sit-ups. I’ll also concede that the Ab
Lounge does look kind of cool. At the end of
the day, that’s really what you’re paying
for when purchasing one of these: the unique
look and brand name. Beyond that, you’re
better off just sticking to floor
movements.
As
noted in the tips that concluded
Part 3, you’ll need to constantly mix up
your routine and perform movements that work
your upper, lower and side (oblique)
abdominals. Also make sure to perform
exercises for your lower back to help you
maintain good posture and balance. Crunching
forward repeatedly and never stretching your
body in the opposite direction will cause
you to slouch as you, grow older.
Unless you have really nice tiles on your
floor or some hot shoes, odds are that you
won’t want to spend the rest of your days
staring down like that, so be sure to work
your entire core.
Crooked Wild asks:
Man I agree with everything else [in
Part 3], but I wanna [add] something to
[tip] #1. Couldn’t you just like work on
your upper body first for like one hour and
work your lower body for the next hour?
AllHipHop.com:
Yes, you can train your upper body for one
hour and your lower body for the next, but
for maximum growth and recovery; you’ll
still need to allow for two days rest before
working those muscle groups again. The true
answer to your question however, really
depends on what kind of shape you’re in, how
many days you’d like to commit to going to
the gym and what your specific goals are.
If
you were only able to hit the weights one
time per week, then yes, you would need to
work your entire body in one day. If you’re
only able to make it to the gym twice per
week and you’re looking to maintain but not
necessarily ad size to your muscles than
working your whole body in the span of two
hours can work for you as well. If you are
looking to increase the size of your muscles
however, I’d suggest at least making time
for a long break between your upper and
lower body workouts if you plan to do them
on the same day.
For
example, you can do your upper body in the
morning and your lower body at night. The
reason for this break is that you should be
spent after each of these workouts if you’re
actually pushing yourself. If you’re dead
tired after performing an intense upper body
workout, it’s going to be extremely
difficult to motivate yourself to give your
all to an immediate chaser of lower body
exercises.
Most
of your energy will go into the first
exercise that you perform each routine, and
will decrease as you continue through the
rest of your workout. This means that by the
time you get to that last lower body
exercise, you’ll probably not train at a
beneficial intensity level or you’ll just
skip the exercise completely.
As
you work each muscle group, blood also flows
to that area of your body, so you may end up
feeling lightheaded as you shift from your
lower body to your upper body as well. Of
course there are always exceptions to every
rule, so a few advanced workout programs
actually share a similar approach to what
you suggested. For the average gym attendee
however, this would not be recommended. If
you are planning to attempt this approach
though, I’d suggest performing exercises
that target more than one muscle group at
the same time.
You
can also create a mini-circuit of exercises
that will target every desired muscle group
so that at least you won’t be stuck in the
gym for the entire day and may be able to
evenly distribute your energy to allow for a
high intensity level throughout the duration
of your routine.
Deena asks:
Hi! I love your site and articles. I’m a
female who used to be 125-130lbs for most of
my life. Over the past year I have gained a
lot of weight and gone up to 170lbs. I’ve
changed my eating habits and I’m now working
out at the gym with
cardio three to four times a week. but I
am skeptical about the amount of strength
training to do if any at this point.
Should I just do cardio until I get close to
my goal weight of 130lbs, [or] should I
still incorporate weights and if so how
much? I need to lose inches mostly on my
thighs and stomach. Please help. Thanks!
AllHipHop.com:
Carrying extra muscle will help you shed fat
faster than cardio alone so I would
definitely suggest continuing to do all
three of the Keys To Success laid out in the
series. If you’re hitting the gym at least
three or four days per week, I’d suggest
strength training on one or two of those
days.
By
strength training, I’m not saying that you
need to grab the heaviest weights on the
rack and hoist them over your head. In
general, you can stick to lighter weights
but utilize perfect form and pacing to fully
engage the muscle into developing but not to
the extent that you’ll end up bulky.
It’s
more about performing the exercises
correctly that will truly help you achieve
your goal not the amounts of weight that you
use. As mentioned in
Part 3, you won’t want to slim down and
still be flabby would you? Strength training
will keep you tight as you drop sizes. Aside
from basic free weight movements and
machines, see if your gym also has
functional training equipment. For those who
are unfamiliar, these are pieces of
equipment designed to strengthen and enhance
muscles that are already utilized in every
day movements.
For
example, most current gyms have resistance
bands (which are actually the only pieces of
equipment that NFL star Terrell Owens uses
during the season. Love him or hate him, you
have to admit that he’s in great shape!),
medicine balls, gates, steps and other
fitness tools. Ask a trainer how to utilize
these to perform various movements that will
make you stronger and help you lose weight
but not end up looking like a female
bodybuilder.
Natural movements such as push-ups, sprints,
lunges and squats will also help you tighten
up. Just be careful not to overdue the
amount of weight that you use for your lower
body since your goal is to reduce the size
of your thighs.
In
actuality, you may not even need weights for
many of the exercises that you’ll be
performing, because the movement itself will
provide enough of a challenge already. If
you’re short on time and can’t perform both
cardio and strength training on the same
day, I’d suggest warming up on a piece of
cardio equipment to get your heart
beating faster and your metabolism
kick-started. Then go immediately into a
circuit of strength training exercises.
Choose an exercise for each muscle group and
perform them in succession.
You
can also “cheat cardio into your routine” by
either jumping rope or hopping onto a step
or bench for 30-60 seconds in between sets.
Speaking of steps, most gyms offer aerobics
classes including some that incorporate
weights and strength training. I’d suggest
enrolling into one to not only provide a
great cardio and strength training workout,
but also to learn many exercises that you
can perform on your own.
This
will also be a chance for you to observe
other women in the class or possibly a
female instructor who can hopefully prove
that you can use weights, but not end up
looking like Mike Tyson in a dress.
Hopefully you’re all putting the numerous
articles in the AllHipHop.com Health section
to good use. As your AHH Fitness Specialist,
it’s my goal to help each and every one of
you achieve your health related goals, so
please continue to reach out with any
questions or comments that you might have.
I’d
also like to take the opportunity to wish
you all a very safe and happy holiday
season. And if you’re going to that office
Christmas party this year, please try not to
throw up or hit on anyone important…
Until next time be good…or be good at it.
-Darrell
Here
is the MP3 soundtrack to go along with this
edition’s topic:
“20
Questions” – 50 Cent
“Why” - Jadakiss
“I
Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson” – DJ Jazzy Jeff
and The Fresh Prince
