Can I spot reduce?
Yes. That is what strength training is. Now I can not crunch 30 pounds off of your stomach so yes nutrition is the most important part of losing weight. But strengthening your muscles does in fact turn fat into muscle which is the best part of exercise. One of the most fun parts of my job is looking at someone and knowing what areas I need to strengthen and stretch just by looking at you. If you carry a lot of cellulite on the back of your legs, then yes building up your hamstrings will spot reduce. If you carry a lot of weight in your stomach but have skinny legs, then I know I’ll have to build up your legs to shrink your stomach. E-mail me skinnywithoutstruggle@gmail.com if you have specific questions about your body type.
How do I lose belly fat?
Unfortunately, eat better. A lean diet always proves the best for losing belly fat. I would recommend a diet high in fruits, vegetables, lean protein and good fat. Eating a small meal frequently is the best for raising your metabolism and making sure you don’t over-eat. It’s not that simple though. As you get older your liver gets more clogged up from all of our delicious, processed and fatty food. That’s where a naturopath and the Medical Medium books come in.
If I have health problems, how hard should I workout?
This is a question I’ve changed my mind about. I used to be a huge fan of high intensity exercise. But once I started having my autoimmune issues, I’ve realized that high intensity can hurt you as much as help you. No matter what health issues you have, some good solid full body strength training will help. Once again I recommend consulting with a naturopath to decide how high you should be getting your heart rate up during exercise though. Sometimes less is more.
Should I be lifting weights if I want to lose weight?
In my opinion, you should always lift weights 3-4x/week. Breaking your workouts up into muscle group days will make you bigger, that’s what it was designed for. But if you want to lose weight then full body strength training where you work multiple muscle groups at the same time is the best. For example, a walking lunge/curl or walking lunge/press can be a great combo of cardio and strength training to lean you up while building lean looking muscle at the same time.
How Long Should my Workouts Be?
Going 45 minutes non-stop is perfect. That’s full body strength training with no rest so you should be getting through about 3 sets of 15 exercises in that time. That sounds like a lot, and that is. That’s the point. Shoot for getting an hour of exercise in 45 minutes for the best results. Get in, Get out and on with the rest of your life!
Should I do Cardio?
That depends. If you are pretty sedentary then the more activity you can do the better. I
would recommend a fitbit and shooting for 8-10,000 steps a day. If you are a runner (I can say this because I used to be) then I would recommend only running twice/week and adding in more strength training. Too much cardio can definitely overstress your adrenals and break down muscle mass. But it is also a great way to clear your head and get happy so just like everything else, moderation. Taking your dog on a walk for an hour every other day is always a good idea. And if you don’t have a dog think about getting one. They will force you to stay active even on your laziest of days!