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HEALTHY NOW
Work out less, early in the day for best results By Greg Rothman, M.S. P.T. In my first columns this year, I’ve introduced strategies I’ve used to help hundreds of people reach their goals and attain their optimal fitness levels. I’ve received a lot of e-mails from people putting what they’ve learned to work. They tell me they are already experiencing greater energy throughout the day and fitting into “skinny” clothes that long ago were relegated to the backs of their closets. But because of the density of the information I’ve given, I’ve also received a great many questions seeking answers to the often puzzling quest to be fit. Here, I’m going to answer a couple of those questions. I read in your column that a great way to burn fat is to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. But the nutrition advice on your Website says to eat within 30 minutes of waking up. That seems contradictory. Can you clarify please? In general, we want to be feeding our metabolic “furnace” early and often. Eating a good breakfast, which combines a lean protein and starchy and fibrous carbohydrates, gives your metabolism a jump-start at the beginning of the day. Continuing to feed the “furnace” every three hours keeps the fire burning. This is the best way to stimulate metabolism. However, every rule has exceptions. A tip I give clients so they can get a bit of an edge and create optimal fat-burning is to have them do a 30-minute interval training workout first thing in the morning. When doing cardio, your body has two options for “fuel”—it can burn sugar or fat. Because blood sugar is lowest when you wake up in the morning, this is an optimal time to burn fat to fuel your workout. But there are a couple caveats you should know about this metabolic trick. First, make sure to drink 12 to 16 ounces of water prior to your workout so your body will be hydrated and not break down muscle to get the water it needs. Second, this rule applies only to cardio workouts and not strength training. If you’re going to do the latter, make sure you do so only after having a supportive meal, the optimal timing of which is 45 minutes to an hour prior to your workout. I’ve been lifting weights and doing cardio six days a week for a little over a year, but I don’t seem to be getting the results I want. I have a hard time adding muscle to my body, and lately I’ve added a lot of fat around my midsection. I just don’t know what else I can do. It sounds like you are really dedicated to your workout program six days a week, and I applaud you for that. As I’ve frequently said in my column, only three things are needed to get optimum fitness results: The belief that you can do it, a program that works and the will to follow through. It sounds as though your follow-through is excellent, but that you may be using a program that cannot give you the results you are seeking. Even if you are using a good split routine (where different muscle groups are trained on different days), you are overtaxing your body. Muscle growth happens outside the gym—not in it. In the gym, muscle tissue is broken down; it is when we rest (especially when we get enough sleep) that the body responds to that stress and adds muscle. And because your body is in a catabolic (muscle wasting) state, you are slowing your metabolism, which would explain why, despite all your effort, you are adding fat to your midsection. The good news is you can save yourself a lot of time and get much better results by backing off a little bit. My recommendation would be to cut down to three days per week of strength training, following each workout with only 20 minutes of cardio (interval training is best). Make sure you are eating supportive meals (see my advice on this at www.emPowerFitnessNYC.com/diet_nutrition) every three hours, with particular focus on the meals before and after your workouts. Make sure you get enough sleep, take a multivitamin/multi-mineral supplement made from whole foods and drink at least a half an ounce of water for every pound of body weight daily. If you follow these recommendations, I can assure you will get better results. While most people have the opposite problem and have a hard time exercising enough, I do meet many people who are over-exercising and not getting results by not allowing their bodies to recover from the exceptional stresses they are placing upon them. I hope these answers are helpful. If you have other pressing questions, please send them in and I’ll answer them in my next Q&A or privately via email. The advice I provide on exercise and nutrition will give you 95 percent of the results you are looking for in your quest for optimal fitness. Next week I’ll talk about what can give you that extra 5 percent edge when I talk about the place that supplements have in an overall fitness program. Greg Rothman, M.S. P.T., is the owner of emPower Fitness Studios (emPowerFitnessNYC.com). He received his masters degree in physical therapy from Columbia University and has 15 years’ experience in the rehabilitation and fitness fields, most recently as the personal training manager and top-level trainer for Equinox Fitness Clubs in New York City. SEND YOUR QUESTIONS about nutrition, fitness and sports injuries/rehabilitation to Greg at emPowerFitness@aol.com.
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