Questions and Answers
As an exercise
physiologist, I am asked a lot of health and fitness related questions every
day, questions which you may also be wondering about. Hopefully the questions
and answers I have listed below will be of assistance as you pursue your own
fitness goals.
Dear Joe: Is
bottled water better than tap water?
No. water is water. Research has shown that bottled water is not always of higher
quality than what you get out of the tap. Usually people choose bottled water
because it tastes better than the tap water of their area. Taste can be a factor
to consider because people drink more of better tasting liquids. Since low fluid
intake during exercise can hinder exercise ability, drinking better tasting
liquids -like bottled water- may help. If you don't mind the taste of your tap
water, the choice is yours what to drink.
Dear Joe: How does weight lifting strengthen my bones?
Since the muscles are attached to the bones, they pull on the bones when they
are worked. Lifting weights strengthens the bones at their attachment points.
Therefore the more muscle you use during an exercise the greater potential you
have to strengthen the most bone! the biggest muscles of your body include those
that of your chest, back and legs. So, it's a pretty good idea to incorporate
exercises that use these muscle groups if your goal is to strengthen a lot of
bone.
Dear Joe: If
I work out, can I eat as much as I want and still lose weight?
While I' am sure there are people in the world who can probably do this, I would
not recommend this approach to losing weight. One of the reasons for this is
that the calories you expend while working out may be outweighed by the calories
you consume. If, for example, you exercise for an hour and expend 500 calories,
but then later eat a big 1500 calorie dinner, this combined with whatever you
have eaten during the day will have voided the calorie loss created by exercise.
Also, blanket statements like "you can eat what you want if you work out"
does not take into consideration that different people tend to work out at not
only different intensities but also at a different number of times a week. For
example, maybe a person who reduces weight by working out while still eating
what they normally did, is working out 7 days a week for 3 hours a day at a
high intensity! The same result would most likely not be seen by somebody working
out only 3 days a week for 45 min a day. While it is possible for some to have
their cake and eat it too, so to speak, I would personally stick to the traditional
"watch what you eat and exercise" method to weight loss just to be
on the safe side.
Dear Joe: Do
vitamins give you energy?
This is a common misconception. Vitamins can't directly give you energy because
they have no calories (calories are energy). Many vitamins however do help out
with energy-creating metabolic pathways in the body so this is probably where
the misconception came from.
Dear Joe: Is
it true that working out in the morning will burn more body fat than exercise
later in the day?
I can find no hard facts substantiating the notion that working out during the
morning is better for fat burning than working out in the evening -or any other
time of the day for that matter. If mornings work for you, great, go right ahead
and do it. If you have to do it during your lunch hour, terrific. Heck, I even
see people jogging along the streets at midnight! The Bottom line here is to
just do it when you can and don't worry about when others say you should do
it.
Dear Joe: I was on a treadmill at the gym the other day, when I noticed the
word "METS" on the control panel. What does METS mean and should I
be worrying about it?
You are not the only person to ask me this question. MET's can be a confusing
term but I think I can explain it pretty easily. The term MET's stands for "Metabolic
Equivalents". Basically it's nothing more than just a fancy way of expressing
how intensely you are working out. Right now as you are reading these words,
you are basically "working out" at an intensity of about 1 MET. Anytime
you increase your activity level, your MET level goes up. So if you are on a
treadmill and it says you are working at 5 METs, that means that you are burning
calories five times faster than when you are just resting quietly. Another interesting
and useful thing about METs is that if you are on a treadmill and working out
at 5 METs and then jump on another piece of equipment and increase the intensity
to 5 METs, then you will be working at the exact same intensity as when you
were on the treadmill! So, keeping an eye on your MET level will also let you
gauge how hard you are working out on different pieces of equipment. So, should
you be worrying about METs? That's up to you. If you are happy with what you
are doing, great. If you want to give yourself a little challenge or compare
how well you perform on one piece of equipment verses another, then maybe you
want to consider taking a peek at METs once in a while. Bottom line though,
no matter what you do, remember to have fun because that's the most important
thing!
Dear Joe: I
have high blood pressure. Can exercise help me lower it?
Possibly As with most disorders, there are correct and incorrect ways to exercise.
Studies show that low to moderate level aerobic exercise (example, walking)
may help lower blood pressure in persons with hypertension. Some types of strength
training may also help. If you have high blood pressure and wish to start an
exercise program, I suggest getting your doctors approval fist and then seeking
out an exercise professional who has experience with those who have high blood
pressure.
Dear Joe: What
is a good general strength training routine?
The benefits of strength training include stronger muscles and bones as well
as enhanced ability to get through your daily activities. When strength training,
people should exercise the largest muscles of the body first, followed the smaller
muscles of the body toward the end of the workout. The largest muscles of the
body include those of the chest, back and legs. Using machines, the workout
may look something like this: chest press, lat pull down, leg press, triceps
push down and biceps curls. You can strengthen your abdominals and back at the
end of the workout.
Dear Joe: What
is aerobic exercise?
Aerobic exercise is any activity that you can do for longer than a few minutes
without stopping. Examples include walking, biking, swimming and hiking. People
should strive for 20-60 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise at least 4 times
per day to keep their hearts strong.
Dear Joe: Can
eating help burn calories?
The fact that it does require calories to digest food has lead some to believe
that eating can help one lose weight. Unfortunately the calories used up during
digestion do not amount to very much. Some have estimated that only about 250
calories would be consumed during digestion by people eating a 2500 calorie
per day diet. Over the course of a year, this would amount to less than a 2
pound loss in weight. Adding in regular exercise will result in greater weight
loss.
Dear Joe: Can
wearing a plastic sweat suits help me lose weight?
Plastic sweat suits have been around since before I was a kid and are amazingly
still sold in stores today. Plastic sweat suits cause you to sweat off large
amounts of water which can lead to dehydration and limit exercise ability. Also,
as soon as you drink liquids, the weight that was lost reappears. Real weight
loss only occurs though regular exercise, watching what you eat and being patient.
Dear Joe; I remember hearing that in order get the most nutrients out of
food, that that you have to eat different foods at different times and in special
combinations because our bodies can't digest certain foods together. Is this
true?
In a word, no. This
myth pops up every decade or so and it’s no more true now than when it
was first uttered. Some have argued that people are unable to absorb nutrients
in food when food is consumed in certain combinations, such as eating meat and
potatoes at the same meal for example. There seems to be no sound scientific
evidence that this is true. Your digestive tract is perfectly capable of digesting
and processing all the different nutrients in food. Therefore, there is no need
to consume fancy or complex combinations of food to get the most out of what
you eat. Feel free to eat any combination of food that you want!