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Questions and Answers from Shawn!
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Q: I'm trying to burn the fat off my belly, so I can see my abs. How many sit-ups do I need to do?
A: You can't spot reduce fat off your belly or anywhere else for that matter. It's a myth that doing a lot of sit-ups will burn belly fat. It just doesn't work like that.
However, for a moment, let's pretend that spot reduction were possible; that training your abs did help you burn off the belly fat. Now, consider this: scientific research has shown that ten repetitions of sit-ups burns only nine calories. Let me help you put this in perspective. Each McDonald's Big Mac with fries and a soft drink contains over 1,300 calories. Again, pretending sit-ups and other abdominal exercises are effective at burning fat, you would have to perform 1,442 sit-ups to burn off the amount of fat and other nutrient-void calories ingested from a single Big Mac lunch. And to burn off just a half pound of stored bodyfat, you'd have to do over 2,000 sit-ups!
Clearly, that is not an efficient solution. The real solution is to follow a complete, integrated program, like the one I've shared with you in this book.
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Q: I have trouble staying motivated. I'll stick with an exercise routine and eat right for a few weeks and then just lose focus and quit. Is there something you could say to keep me motivated to work out and stay with it?
A: Actually, what I have to say about this topic may or may not "motivate" you. The way I see it, motivation is overrated. By that I mean, the ability to get "fired up" or excited about working out and eating foods that support your health isn't the key to sticking with an exercise and nutrition program.
I'm very often not motivated to work out, but I do it anyway. I do it for several reasons. First of all, it's part of who I am—it's part of my authentic character. Also, sticking with an exercise and nutrition program helps me achieve goals I have set for myself, and in that way, each workout and each healthy meal has purpose—it's a step in the direction I've decided to go. Another reason I don't need to rely on motivation to keep me focused on my exercise and nutrition program is that, for me, they're well-ingrained habits. And, for most people I know who are in great shape, working out and eating right are habits, not activities they have to get fired up to do.
So, my advice is don't rely on motivation to keep you going strong. Set a goal and focus on it every day and visualize yourself achieving that goal. That can help create the inspiration and energy you will need to stay on course during the first month of the ABSolution Program. I've discovered that if people can make it through the first month, they are on their way to developing extremely good fitness habits.
I've got to warn you, though, during that first month, you're going to have to work out when you don't feel like it. And you're going to need to sit down and plan and prepare each and every day of your ABSolution Program, even though you may not feel like doing it.
When it is all said and done, my "motivation" is the result of the effort, not the effort itself. That's how it is for me; I suspect it will be that way for you, too.
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Q: What's the difference between your program and Body-for-LIFE?
A:The ABSolution Program and Body-for-LIFE are more alike than they are different. There's absolutely no disputing the fact that the Body-for-LIFE Program works. Literally hundreds of thousands of people have applied it successfully and have turned in their before and after photos as proof of the transformations they've made.
Both my Program and Bill's incorporate a lot of the things we've learned about exercise, nutrition, and supplementation over the past 20 years. In fact, if you look at the principles that support each program, you'll find these aspects in common: both incorporate intense weight training; both involve performing relatively short but highly intense cardiovascular exercise; both include a balanced approach to nutrition and call for you to feed your body frequently throughout the day, and both require a lot of hard work and a positive mindset.
The ABSolution Program incorporates a number of my personal preferences which makes it unique. For example, I don't eat carbohydrates in my last meal each day. That helps me to keep my bodyfat below 7%. Also, I do more ab training than the Body-for-LIFE Program recommends. One of the reasons for this is that I've been working out for many years, and my muscles are to the point where they respond better to three ab training sessions per week. I also use more supplements, but once again, this is a personal preference, not something that's absolutely essential to get results.
The bottom line is both Programs are based on tried-and-true fundamentals. Both Programs work!
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Q: How do you measure bodyfat?
A: In all honesty, I don't measure my bodyfat - at least not very often. It's simply not all that important. I think too many people get all worked up about it when what really matters is how you look, can you see your abs? And of course, how you feel; strong and vibrantly alive, I hope. If not than you know what to do. Yes, that's right, start ABSolution today.
That said, there are times when it's helpful to know your bodyfat. Perhaps you're tracking progress for a "challenge" or just using the measure for motivation. When I need to track my progress for periods of time I use a simple, inexpensive skin-fold caliper called the Accu-Measure.
This simple to use tool pinches the skin and the subcutaneous fat right beneath it. In seconds you can determine your approximate bodyfat percentage. I say "approximate" because, while it is accurate it's not as accurate as hydrostatic weighing or a full body scan, of course. But it's more than accurate enough for me - for what I am really interested in is a "relative measure" not an absolute. I want to know how it compares to the last time I checked, be that two days or a week ago.
Skin-fold calipers are not expensive and are very useful tools to keep track of your results.
I've also tried hydrostatic weighing, which is the old-fashioned dunk tank "gold standard" of body-composition analysis. It's accurate but highly impractical.
You can't go wrong with a quality set of skin-fold calipers. They can help track your bodyfat and allow you to see how much fat you're losing every month and how much muscle you're gaining.
If you'd like to have some of these handy Accumeasure calipers, you will find them in my top picks for best fitness products by clicking here.
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Q: What are your favorite foods? Which foods do you never eat?
A: My favorite foods and the ones I stock my kitchen with include lean sources of protein, such as chicken breasts, salmon, halibut, sea bass, tuna, nonfat cottage cheese, eggs, eggs, and more eggs. My favorite sources of complex carbohydrates include brown rice, potatoes, yams, whole-wheat pasta (which I eat only once a week because I have a tendency to get carried away and eat too much of it), and whole-wheat bread (which I also eat sparingly). I also stock my kitchen with vegetables, such as broccoli, squash, red and green peppers, carrots, peas, green beans, and tomatoes. I keep a lot of steamed vegetables in Tupperware containers in my refrigerator, so when I feel like snacking, I reach for those instead of the traditional snack foods like crackers, cookies, and other carbohydrate crap. For fruit, I like apples, bananas (which I often add to my nutrition shakes), grapefruit, and oranges. Usually, I have one piece of fruit a day.
Foods I rarely, if ever, bring into my house include donuts, pastries, cookies, ice cream, chips, crackers, high-sugar cereals, white bread, bagels, meat from a deli (which is usually higher in fat than the label says and loaded with sodium), and peanut butter.
What I've learned is that if I don't want to wear it on my belly, I don't buy it at the grocery store! For example, donuts don't look good on me. Fresh vegetables, healthy carbohydrates, lean sources of quality protein... those foods, I wear well.
For me, kitchen management is a big part of succeeding over the long term. Having unhealthy foods in your kitchen, waiting there for even a brief moment of "weakness" is a formula for failure. I suggest that the next time you're in your kitchen, open your cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer, and step back and take a look at what you've got there. Think about which foods are going to help you succeed and which ones are going to get in your way. Then get rid of foods that are working against you. And stock your kitchen with healthy foods that nourish your success. This is a very important exercise. Remember, building your best abs involves as much training in the kitchen as it does in the gym! |
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