Healthy Eating: Atkins Diet and more

[Bobtheduck]

4.Exercise-This is good for so many different reasons. Even as little as thirty minutes of semi-vigorous exercise each day can be enough. What this does not mean is that you do only cardio, or only weight training, although if you have to choose, definitely do weight training. Cardio exercise will decrease muscle mass if not coupled with weight training, making it even harder for you to lose weight. You might need to do less than you think. ]

[size=84]If you do decide to take up weight training, the best way to do it is to use progressive (yet with incrementally increasing) poundages, perfect form, and dedication. Also keep in mind that although the tougher exercises (i.e. squats, deadlifts, leg presses, etc.) are draining, they are also great full-body motions that will burn a lot of calories.

I hope that helps.

About the weight training... What do you do if you don't have weight machines available? Will I decrease my muscle mass by doing dance dance revolution since that is just aerobic exercise? I have no way to weight train for my legs.

I have small weights for my arms, but will using them in CONJUNCTION with my aerobic exercise have an adverse effect? Also, If I don't increase the weights over time, will that have the same effect as the pure aerobic exercise? How do I build the muscles in my legs without having any machines at my disposal? It's not as if I could strap the hand weights to my legs...

Would joggine with weighted clothes count as weight training? Could I have weights in my arms, legs, chest, and back while I jogged to build my arms and legs? Would it be possible to get an entire weighted suit, with gloves, lower arms, upper arms, chest, back, helmet (?? don't know if that would be good), upper legs both front and back, same for lower, and weighted shoes? Maybe I've just been watching DB too much (or, I watched it too much when I wactually watched it... hehe)

[mechana2015]

Woah! Lots of questions!
Umm Answered in Order

What do you do if you don't have weight machines available? Will I decrease my muscle mass by doing dance dance revolution since that is just aerobic exercise?

Use your body weight as a weight, doing calf raises and lunges in quantity. This will, like pushups, build up muscle mass. Aerobic exercise can help too, but combine it with a plyometric program that uses gravity and body weight to build you up.

I have small weights for my arms, but will using them in CONJUNCTION with my aerobic exercise have an adverse effect? Also, If I don't increase the weights over time, will that have the same effect as the pure aerobic exercise? How do I build the muscles in my legs without having any machines at my disposal?

Hmm... if you build up muscle mass your body should be required to lift more weight over time. On the second one... see first answer....plyometrics and other exercises that work you against your own body weight.

Would joggine with weighted clothes count as weight training? Could I have weights in my arms, legs, chest, and back while I jogged to build my arms and legs? Would it be possible to get an entire weighted suit, with gloves, lower arms, upper arms, chest, back, helmet (?? don't know if that would be good), upper legs both front and back, same for lower, and weighted shoes?

Jogging with weights can be benificial, in the short run. A small amount of weight could make you stronger, but I do not suggest this for a very important reason. I saw many runners running under their own weight have repetitive stress or concussive injuries to their joints, so extra weight can be very damaging to the body. No helmets...that would be bad for the neck, unless you can run without bouncing, the compression would result in a very sore and possibly compressed neck.

[Bobtheduck]

Repetitive stress syndrome... how do people like famous martial artists avoid this one?

[madphilb]

Repetitive stress syndrome... how do people like famous martial artists avoid this one?

RSIs are generally caused by incorrect movements or short repetitive straining movements. By nature I don't believe that the martial arts generally fall into that category.

[cbwing0]

Repetitive stress syndrome... how do people like famous martial artists avoid this one?

If you are weight training, it can also mean using mostly free weights rather than machines, which force you into the same narrow range of movement with each rep.

For martial arts, the only thing that I can think of is that if you are practicing kicks, don't just kick into the air: make sure you are hitting a target to avoid this sort of injury.

[Bobtheduck]

Ok... So what about Dance Dance Revolution? I'm doing pretty good on it. I can feel a lot of tension in my legs when I do the song "Afronova" could vigorous, fast leg moves like that be the same as weight training in my legs? Also, would I get repetitive stress syndrome from DDR?

DDR has a calorie burned counter. How accurate would you think this could be?

[cbwing0]

I can feel a lot of tension in my legs when I do the song "Afronova" could vigorous, fast leg moves like that be the same as weight training in my legs?

That depends, although I will say that it is unlikely. What kind of movements are you doing? Dancing is cardiovascular exercise, so unless you are wearing a weighted vest or something DDR wouldn't be the same as weight training.

At any rate, I doubt that you have repetitive stress syndrome, but if you are really worried about it, you might want to ask a doctor (and if I am not mistaken we have at least one doctor on the CAA ).

[Bobtheduck]

That depends, although I will say that it is unlikely. What kind of movements are you doing?

I could shoot video of it, and upload it to a website and link you... I could probably upload a short loq quality divx clip in under 200k in a zip file. It's just not normal aerobic exercise... Afronova is 200 BPM with long chains of consecutive steps and a lot of jumps.

It's probably not weight training though... I'm starting to do squats in addition to the handweights and DDR and crunches. The squats are really hard on my knees, though... I have a hard time squats because my knees hurt whenever I do...


I still can't do pushups... I can't hold my arms that close to me to go down all the way... It's not the coming back up part that's hard, but the going down...

[cbwing0]

I could probably upload a short loq quality divx clip in under 200k in a zip file. It's just not normal aerobic exercise... Afronova is 200 BPM with long chains of consecutive steps and a lot of jumps.

That sounds more like extended calisthenics, which would not be weight training. That doesn't mean it isn't excellent exercise; it just won't build muscle.

It's good that you are doing squats. That is a great full-body exercise. As for hurting knees, I would suggest the following:
-If you are squatting with a board under you heels, don't. That is improper form and hard on your knees.
-Put your legs a little more than shoulder-width apart, with feet flared out to the sides. Don't squat with your legs really close together, or with your feet pointing inward/straight forward.

Also, if you are on the tall side, you might find deadlifts to be a more productive exercise. Short people have an easier time with squats, while tall people are more suited to deadlifts. Of course the ideal situation would be doing both, but if you are just starting out then focus on one.