About EricStarr
Hi! My name is Rick (Eric is my middle name) Im an average guy who has been lucky enough to raise 5 wonderful children. 4 girls and a boy, and Im proud how they all turned out. I don't know what, but I must have done something right LOL.
My Hobbies are fitness, sailing, Scuba diving, golf and computers. I'm currently a corporate trainer, training managers in motivational skills and love what I do. I feel Advicenators is and excellent place to share experiences and ideas with others. Im looking forward to sharing with you!
Ask Me For Advice
View Feedback
Make Favorite Columnist
Website: MySpace website
E-mail: Ericstarr4u@aol.com
Gender: Male
Location: Chicago
Age: 41
Member Since: January 23, 2005
Answers: 78
Last Update: June 27, 2006
Visitors: 10898
Main Categories:
Love Life
Fitness
Nutrition
View All
Favorite Columnists
karenR
Alin75
kristen22
DangerWench
Vanity
Advicenators.com
|
|
| >
|
So, I've been working on my stomich, i want a 6 pac bad.. my problem is doing 150-250 crunches with 30 pouds a day isnt doin it fast enough, does anyone know anyway to get abes faster? and if so.. how long!???? (link)
|
Congratulations! Guess what? You already have 6pak abs. Truth is everyone does. They are just Hiddin behind a layer of body fat.
Now. Im not saying your fat, I have no idea what your Body fat percent is, however in a female abs don't become outwardly visable unless body fat percent is below approx 12 percent.
If you want your abs to show you need to reduce your Body fat percent
Start eating small meals every 3 to 4 hours. The trick is to eat a little bit often to keep your metabolism going. Another idea is to throw in some muscle toning days with light weights or perhaps sit ups, squats, lunges and push ups. This will keep your muscles burring fat even at rest.
Also, don't expect to see results the first few days. It could take 3 to 4 weeks befor you start to see results as your body adapts to the new healthy lifestyls and starts showing you its appreciation!
Good luck,
~Rick
|
okay i know this question has been asked a million times and i get the same answer: crunches, but it doesnt work so here:
i want to lose my lower stomach fat and i have tried exercises like crunches, situps and walking. what are some really good exercises or something i could do to get that lower stomach to be flat? it gets annoying because i cant wear shirts that show a little belly and such, so does anyone know anything/exercises i could do that you know will DEFINETLY work? please help because i have been trying to get my stomach to be flat but it never happens and i have waited for like months. and please dont say crunches or running, ive tried those and dont work well.. thanks ill rate high (link)
|
You are correct, Crunches alone will not get rid of that little pocket of fat below your belly button I think your talking about. Crunches will tighten the muscle but do nothing for the fat covering them since you cannot "spot remove" body fat. The only thing that will "Defiantly work" as you ask is a complete program of cardio exercise, weight training, and proper diet. Think of it as a 3 legged table. Take away any one of the legs and the table won't stand.
Proper nutrition- eat small healthy meals every 3 or 4 hours to keep your body from storing fat.
Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day and take a multi vitamin every day.
Cardio- Run, walk, dance.. anything to get your heart rate above 135 beats/ minuet for about 30 minuets 3 days a week Like Mon, wed, Fri.
Weight training- some form of resistance training. It doesn't have to be heavy weights, just enough to tone your muscles to burn fat.
perhaps Tues, Thurs, Sat
Sunday Rest. Yes you need a day of rest to let your body recover.
I know it may not be the magic formula you want to hear, but you asked for something that will definitely work.
Good Luck!
~Rick
|
|
Hi, I am the maid of honor for my best friends wedding on May 13th. I got a dress that was too small, but I've been woorking out and I've changed my eating habits. I can now fit the dress, but I am a little uncomfortable with the top. The dress is a halter and the area around my chest, breast, and upper back are kind of squished in. Are there any particular exercises I can do to make it fit better up there? I have less than 3 weeks to go. I've upped my cardio to about 1.25-1.5 hours a day plus weight training. I just want to slim down up there. Please Help!!!!! (link)
|
I wish I could give you an answer or way to just slim the upper body, but our bodies just don't work that way. Our Bodies burn fat evenly throughout our whole body.
However, Since you have 3 weeks you can still fit into that dress. You can safely loose 2 to 3 lbs/week so go for 3 which would be a whole dress size after 3 weeks. To do this, keep up with your exercise program. However, rotate your cardio and Weight training every other day and take a rest day. You need a rest day for your body to recover.
Make sure you are drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water every day. Eat Small meals every 4 hours to keep your metabolism going so you don't go into starvation mode. These meals should be "clean" meals. each meal should include a serving of good protein like Broiled chicken breast, fish, tuna, or lean beef. Avoid processed lunch meats fast food burgers and the like. Also have a serving of complex carbohydrates such as fresh veggies.
Here is an example of my diet for a day when loosing fat, after a cycle of gaining mass.
Breakfast
1/2 cup oatmeal, Or 1 cup allbran cerial 1/2 cup skim milk
and 2 hard boiled eggs with only one yolk
Mid morning snack.
small cup of lowfat yogurt
Lunch
Tuna, turkey or chicken breast on whole wheat bread and an apple or Banana
Afternoon snack
Apple, orange or slices of melon
Dinner
6oz lean beef or Chicken breast or broiled fish
a small baked potato, sweet potato, or brown rice
and a fresh salad with a lowcal low fat dressing.
If you eat a similar diet and follow your exercise program. You will not only loose some body fat but you will also tone the muscles giving you the shape you desire to fit properly in that dress for the wedding and you'll look great!
Feel free to email me if you need anything clarified or have any other questions.
Good Luck!
|
|
im planning on buying 6 second ab.. anyone who has/had experience, could you tell me if it acutally works like it says so on tv? (link)
|
My Wife bought one. It worked ok for her or the first couple weeks because prior to that she had no real previous ab training. But after that it was not good. Its not worth the money in my opinion. What works best for ab training is much cheaper. Here is part of an answer that I posted to a similar question
What has worked for me is doing crunches with weights on my ankles and a weight plate on my chest. For starters you can use a heavy book and hold it on your chest with your arms crossed over it. Use a weight heavy enough so you can only do 8 to 10 reps. do this for 3 sets twice one day ( morning and evening ) then rest them the next day. The rest day is necessary because Exercising doesn't build the muscle, it tears them down. What builds the muscle is the repairs that the body makes while resting.
This will build your outer abs. Another exercise you will want to do is called vacuums. You get on your hands and knees push all the air out of your lungs and suck your stomach in like your trying to touch your belly button to your spine. What this does is build the muscles on then Inside and creates great definition. Arnold Schwartzenegger used this religiously to create amazing definition in his abs.
Good Luck!
|
|
Ever since I could remember I've been doing hundreds of repititions on my stomach every night. Recently, I tried adding a little bit of thigh work, and got results in just a few days, but I also lost some of my butt. I've always been happy with that, and I don't want to lose it but I'd also like to keep my thighs in better shape. Does anyone have any workouts that wouldn't make my butt shrink down, but could help my thighs be more muscular, or do the two kind of go hand in hand? (link)
|
This often happens when trying to build a specific muscle. Every muscle in your body has a counter muscle. For example, Your Biceps and Triceps. Your body will develop out of proportion if you try to over develop a muscle without working its counter muscle as well. Ever notice how guys that are obsessed with nothing but increasing their chest size and Bench press develop almost a hunch back appearance?
In your case, while trying to develop your thies, work the counter muscles the same work out. You want to do Squats and lunges. A great exercise for the glutes is alternating one legged chair squats.
You will need a solid chair or bench for this exercise. This is to increase the useful range of motion of the exercise, which is important for maximizing it's effects. You will also need to have something solid that you can grab onto. This can be a railing or a door frame or a pole, etc. Place the chair immediately in front of this solid object.
Stand on the chair on one leg facing the solid object and hold onto it at about waist level directly in front of you. Your heel should be close to the back edge of the chair.
Lower your body as far down as you can go into a one-legged squat. Your other leg will drop down below the level of the chair seat behind you. You should feel a great stretch in your glute. Make sure you continue to keep a firm grip on whatever you are holding on to.
Push yourself back up using your glute as much as possible. This is most easily accomplished by focusing on pushing with your heel. Also, you can stick your butt out while pushing back up to really maximize the effect.
(p.s. Only do a few of these at first or you wont be sitting down for a while!)
Good luck!
|
|
If you work out your Abs / Arms / Thighs how long does it take the flab to go away and the muscle to form...also, what are good workouts for those 3 body parts? (link)
|
That depends on how much "flab" you need to loose. One thing to remember is that you can not spot loose body fat. Your body burns body fat evenly from your whole body. If its not fat stores you have a problem with and its loose muscle, Then you should be able to tone those areas and see a noticeable difference in 3 to 4 weeks. For toning the abs, I recommend sit ups and crunches. For the arms, try curls for the biceps and Tricep Dips for the tri's. For the Thighs, try lunges and squats.
For starters only do one body part a day for three days. Rest a day then do the cycle again.
After a couple weeks. Go to 2 body parts a day. always rest the body part you work for 2 days before working it again.
Good luck!
|
|
I'm about 5'4" and I weigh 180. Now every night my weight flunctuates and goes anywhere from 174-181. I plan to go gym...which I will start monday but I really need advice on how much weight I need to lose...n how much lbs is healthy to loose in 1 month. I checkd my BMi n it's like I'm obese...n bout 135-140 is the highest normal weight I can have. That's like 40- 50 lbs I want to loose. Now I don't plan on jus losin it in one month cause I'll get bulemic//eatin disorder. I'm planning to stay in the gym for at least 1 years and stuff but I really want to lose the weight in like 3-4 months. How can I achieve this? How much lbs is healthy to lose in 1 month? And is 135-140 my perfect score? (link)
|
First of all, You can't always go by Body Mass index. For example it tells me I'm obese, but I have a 29" waist and only 11% body fat. The best way to determine your ideal weight is to monitor your Body fat% A healthy body fat % for a teen female is 18 to 24% To get an Idea of where you stand, here is a simple Body fat calculator. http://www.eskimo.com/~cdickens/FatCalculatorF2.html For more accurate measurements you can get an inexpensive fat measuring caliper.
As others have stated here, Don't try to loose more that 2 to 4 lbs/week. When I'm cutting fat, I try not to loose more that 2 1/2 per week.
If you would like more details or have any specific questions on a nutrition/exercise plan specifically for you, feel free to ask me on my column or email me!
|
|
Hey I was wondering, do you guys know any good workout machines? One time i saw this exercize thing on T.V. being advertised and it made you do crunches and it works really good. And i want to know if anyone knows any good machines that help you work out your abs at a reasonable price. Thanks! (link)
|
First of all, don't waste your money on all the stuff you see on TV.
There is NO magic diet, NO amazing gismo, or NO miracle pill that will give you the body you seek.
What has worked for me for abs is doing crunches with weights on my ankles and a weight plate on my chest. For starters you can use a heavy book and hold it on your chest with your arms crossed over it. Use a weight heavy enough so you can only do 8 to 10 reps. do this for 3 sets twice one day (morning and evening) then rest them the next day. The rest day is necessary because exercising doesn't build the muscle, it tears them down. What builds the muscle is the repairs that the body makes while resting.
This will build your outer abs. Another exercise you will want to do is called Vacuums. You get on your hands and knees push all the air out of your lungs and suck your stomach in like your trying to touch your belly button to your spine. What this does is build the muscles on then Inside and creates great definition. Arnold Schwartzenegger used this religiously to create amazing definition in his abs.
|
|
I am 14 years old and female. Recently, I have been so stressed out, depressed, unhappy, eating way more than I used to (it is overeating), and gaining massive amounts of weight (my clothes barely fit any more and that makes me so upset). Plus I am always tiered and sulky. What do you think is wrong with me? What should I do? (link)
|
Many people get that way this time of year. Kinda like cabin fever. I don't know how active you are over the winter months, but most people slow down, and the reduced about of sunlight lowers our metabolism causing is to feel more tired, eat more out of boredom, and store weight. One sure fire cure for this is to get more exercise. Exercise raises endorphins, burns fat, and controls appetite. Try just walking, jogging or even some aerobic dancing or anything to get your heart rate up for about 20 min a day. I'm sure you'll have more energy, reduce you appetite (or desire to eat out of boredom) and your clothes will start fitting better within a couple weeks,
Good Luck!
|
I have bought a treadmill, healthy food, and I plan to do exercises. But I still can't get rid of the feeling that no matter what I do, I won't be able to lose weight. I've been fat for so long I just don't feel like this will do anything to help me. I guess what I'm asking is, will it?
Will a half an hour-an hour of going on the treadmill as well as healthier eating help me lose weight? I know that a pound is 3000 calories, and I guess it just seems impossible to me. I'm only 15... please help. (link)
|
Yes it will help you loose weight. Plan on loosing only 2 to 3 lbs per week. Any more will cause muscle loss and the yo-yo diet effect.
Exercise every other day,and run the tread mill on the days in between. Eat 5 to six small meals a day of healthy food. about 250 calories each meal. Don't expect results over night, its usually about 3 to 4 weeks till you start to see real results if you stick with it. Your body has to adapt to the fact that you are exercising and have a constant supply of food before it starts to let go of the fat its "saving" for a rainy day so to speak.
|
I am a 5'4'' female that weighs 137 punds. I am turing 14 next month. If you thhink im fat, your wrong. I have a tiny tummy but no one would ever guess because i am skinny. My question is.. I want a 6 pac and what is the best way to get one quick? Please give me some things to do and how long itiwll take befor emy stomcih will be firm
I started doiong 100 sets up cruches.
50-reglalr
25-to thhe right
25-to the left
twice a day..
please help me!
!thanks in advance! (link)
|
Believe it or not, you already have 6 pack abs. Everyone does, its the basic muscle structure of the human body. You just want to see them better.
While your not fat, many thin peoples abs are covered with inter muscular fat that keeps them from appearing defined.
That being said, if you want the abs to show through that thin NORMAL layer of fat, you want to build them up a little.
While the exercises you are doing are great for toning, they do not build the size of your abs. What has worked for me is doing crunches with weights on my ankles and a weight plate on my chest. For starters you can use a heavy book and hold it on your chest with your arms crossed over it. Use a weight heavy enough so you can only do 8 to 10 reps. do this for 3 sets twice one day ( morning and evening ) then rest them the next day. The rest day is necessary because Exercising doesn't build the muscle, it tears them down. What builds the muscle is the repairs that the body makes while resting.
This will build your outer abs. Another exercise you will want to do is called Vacuums. You get on your hands and knees push all the air out of your lungs and suck your stomach in like your trying to touch your belly button to your spine. What this does is build the muscles on then Inside and creates great definition. Arnold Schwartzenegger used this religiously to create amazing definition in his abs.
Good Luck!
|
|
What are some good over the counter diet pills? (link)
|
Over the last 30 years I've studied fitness & nutrition and checked out all the programs, fad diets and gimmicks. The one thing I've learned, is that there is NO miracle pill, no magic diet, or NO amazing gismo, that will give you the body you seek. The only pills I ever recommend to those trying to just loose weight is good Multi vitamin combined with proper diet and exercise.
|
My plan is to work, verry hard.
Im going to workout Before school with a toning video. (5:30am-6:00am)
Then right after school on the tredmil (3:00pm-3:30pm)
Then after my homework,and stuff..(around 6:00pm-7:00pm)
Im going to take all junk away from myself, and my eating. I will drink water, Im going to eat no snacks, and all healthy foods (But i will eat every meal)
Im deterimed, very.. But how much do you think i could loose, within maybe 2 weeks?
(link)
|
That sounds like a pretty aggressive plan. Just be careful not to over do it. If you try to loose weight too fast your body will actually slow down its metabolism to conserve energy. You don't really want to loose more than 3 lbs/week.
Doing the morning work out is a good Idea, but it's best to do the tread mill in the morning on an empty stomach for best fat burning results. As far as the toning video, I would do that only every other day. Muscles don't become toned during the exercise. The exercise breaks down muscle. Its the muscles repairing themselves AFTER the exercise that builds and tones them, so you need to give them a chance to rest and repair between work outs.
Also, don't give up snacks, just eat healthy ones. It's best to eat small meals every 3 or 4 hours to keep your body in fat burning mode.
Good luck!
~E
|
14 year old female, big boned. height=5'9 weight=180
i've recently changed my eating. here are two days worth of eating examples;;
1. no breakfast( i woke up too late)
lunch-2 peices of wheat bread, 1tbsp of mayo & 2 tbsp of honey. and lettuce. ( no lunch meat )( total=345 calories)
yogurt, light n fit. (35)
2 nature valley bars (190)
dinner-banana
nature valley bars
chives & sour cream baked potato frm wendys
snacks-apples
about 900 caloires
2.
breakfast-apples
lunch-apples
diet cherry vanilla dr. pepper
nature valley bars
yogurt
dinner-bagel with cream cheese
baked poatoe with chip dip
snacks;a bite of chocolate
about 800 calories
am i eating too less? its hard to eat heatly & eat alot. $ is a huge issue
i exercise so thats not a problem
i'm trying to lose weight, but ami eating to little? and what is cheap and easy to eat that i could add bc i don't think thats enough food
any help/tips greatly appreciated (link)
|
First of all you should know what weight you should strive to maintain. Your current Body mass index is approx 26.6% The average for a 14 yr old female is 19.5% But between 18.5 and 24.5 is considered normal. Since you say you are "big boned" you should probably strive for a weight of 155 to 160 which would put you in the 23% range.
To maintain this weight you should be eating about 1500 calories/day, Since you want to loose weight, reduce this but not below 1200 calories/day. When you drop below this, your body will go into starvation mode. Since muscle burns fat, your body will react by dropping muscle to save fat stores. The trick is to eat 5 to six small meals a day of about 200 calories. Your body will then feel comfortable that it is getting adequate food and begin to burn the fat stores.
Your meals should include more protien than you are currently eating. Strive for about 40% protien, 40% complex carbs, and 20% fat. With this and a moderate exercise plan you should loose a healthy 2-3 Lbs/week .
Good luck and if I can help you know where to find me!
|
|
how often a week should you do toning (by this i mean situps, crunches, lunges, and squats)? is everyday okay? and if you're doing these things, do you really need to do weights in the gym? (link)
|
To stay in top physical shape, its best to let your muscles rebuild before tearing them down again. Its not the exercise that tones or builds muscle its the repair they do after words. Once you exercise you stress a muscle. The muscle repairs itself by growing harder or bigger depending on whether you are exercising the fast twitch cells (for size) or slow twitch cells (tone and endurance) I recommend never working a body part till it has had time to heal or you will just be wasting your time.
|
| |
