Richard asks…
Best method for building ab muscles (not losing fat)?
I know that abs show when you lose fat and that the main reason we can’t see them is because of fat covering them, but I was wondering what the best method is for building muscle in the abdominal region. Weighted crunches? Bicycle crunches? Regular crunches?
I can do about 200 regular crunches in a row, 50 bicycle crunches in a row, or various weighted crunches. I’m not sure what to do or how often to do it. Am I wasting time doing regular crunches on a daily basis or is it effectively helping me gain muscle? I can easily do about 600 crunches every day but is this enough rest time?
weight loss cardiff answers:
When you want to build a muscle, which includes the abdominals, you need to train the muscles exactly how you would any other muscle of the body, which is where most people go wrong.
If you can do 200 regular crunches in a row, and 50 bicycle crunches in a row, thats great. However would you do 200 bicep curls? Or would you do 200 barbell chest press’s? The chances are you wouldnt.
What you need to do is find a resistance where you can perform no more than around 8-10 repetitions. In other words the last few are extremly hard to complete. You need to overload the muscle. Performing 200 or more is far too many. This is more endurance training and will not build your abdominal muscles. It becomes more an aerobic exercise, rather than the anaerobic style you should be training.
Try and buy an exercise/stability ball if you can. They are very cheap these days. Perform crunches on the ball, however aim for your upper body to be suspended in the air quite far back on the ball. To the point where you feel like you are about to fall backwards. This puts alot of resistance on the abdominals. Only come up about half way as well. If you feel your body shaking, you know you are in the correct position. This is a very effective exercise.
For other exercises you can add weights to make them harder. Another key point is to perform the exercises much slower than you currently are doing. Make each part of the movement last around 2 seconds. The release phase of the movement make it last 4 seconds.
For example, a crunch, come up for the count of 2 seconds, hold half way up (not all the way up) for 2 seconds, then lower for 4 seconds. This will make a big difference to your training, and also a big difference to what results you get.
Hope this helps.
Ben 🙂
Ruth asks…
Would you be squeamish about making biological improvements to yourself?
I was recently talking with a friend about public resistance to new ideas, who suggested that technophobia intensifies when the thing being engineered is actually one’s physical body or even mind. So I’ve come up with a little list of hypothetical future options (on what I imagine to be a sliding scale, with more people agreeing with the upper options than the lower).
Assuming that you’re in a time where these procedures are well-tested and where there aren’t any serious side effects to them other than the stated purpose (and the obvious consequences of that), which would you be open to, and which would you be squeamish about?
•You’ve gotten a map of your genes, and genetic diseases ranging from the severe to the trivial are well-understood and several of them pop up in your genetic code (perhaps a tendency toward young Alzheimer’s, a genetic difficulty with obesity, a genetic iron deficiency, and other such undesirables). A cheap, easy and effective blanket treatment is available, which will cure all of these things, but which does so by irrevocably changing your DNA from what it is naturally.
•You’ve gotten a map of your genes, and genes coding for certain desirable traits are well-understood and can be effectively and safely inserted into your own DNA (perhaps a better metabolism for a naturally fitter figure, an ideal complexion, a knack for math and logic, and other such desirables). Of course, inserting any of these codes into your genes fundamentally changes your DNA, replacing the old, less-desirable codes you had naturally.
•You’ve lost a limb, perhaps in an industrial accident or perhaps in combat. A procedure for taking your genes and growing a replacement limb is available, and this procedure always leaves patients back fully intact with a completely reintegrated limb in a few months.
•You’ve lost a limb, perhaps in an industrial accident or perhaps in combat. A robotic prosthetic that can be directly interfaced with your brain is available, which after physical therapy interfaces with your body as fluidly and naturally as your old limb did, and is actually more powerful, more precise and less fragile than biological limbs.
•You haven’t lost any limbs, but the above procedure is easily within your budget and could be used to give you additional limbs (four arms, anyone – maybe a prehensile tail?).
•A cheap, abundant, side-effect-free and non-addictive drug is developed that allows you to exert a strong level of control over your metabolism, greatly accelerating the effects of common exercise as well as expanding its potential limits (think steroids or a weight-loss supplement, but without the negative side-effects).
•A cheap, abundant, side-effect-free and non-addictive drug is developed that dramatically increases your mental speed, memory, and intelligence (think ginkgo, methamphetamines, and a few other things with high effectiveness and none of the negative side-effects).
•A cheap, abundant, side-effect-free and non-addictive drug is developed that effectively removes all the traumatic effects of negative neurological and psychological responses to things (e.g. pain, hunger, cold, fear, disgust, grief, etc.) – while your body maintains the ability to detect all of these things, the sensations associated with them are no longer independently traumatic (e.g. you are still just as instantly aware that you just got a papercut – it’s just that it no longer ‘stings’).
Which of these would you be open to? Which would you avoid?
weight loss cardiff answers:
I don’t like the first 2, they have the potential to affect the future development of humanity. After all, who are we to make such irrevocable decisions for future generations?
The next 2 wouldn’t bother me, in fact, I’m sure, if the technology were available now, many amputees would be lining up for it.
The additional limbs one creeps me out. Too sci-fi for me.
Side effect free metabolism control? Bring it on! You’d be an instant millionaire if you could develop this one!
The next one, I’m not sure about. Maybe for occasional use.
I wouldn’t take the last one as these responses happen for a reason.
For example pain response is to alert us that we are being hurt or injured. If you jab yourself with something, you reflexively pull away to avoid doing more damage. Or if you step onto something hot, you will reflexively jump back, rather than walk right onto the hot surface and burning your feet badly. Responses to cold are to protect us from hypothermia, so unless you have a drug which negates the effect of hypothermia, I won’t be taking that one.
Joseph asks…
Communicating with a taurus man?
Your Open Question: How Do I communicate effectively with a Taurus man, who is insecure, aggressive and jealous?
Im a female Lion and have been doing my part of sacrificing what it takes to maintain a relationship with my taurus. and although we are not on cloud nine and the relationship is phasing out to its end we are still having explosive arguments. Im still as passionate for this man as day one. But I understand the headaches and weight loss are a direct reflection of the stress that comes from dealing with and insecure mate. and although we agreed to just be Friends, I am still getting controlled as if Im in a relationship with him, but he not , with me. He continues to threaten me with losing his respect and trust simply because of a conversation with a man.Now I know better than to go head to head wit this dude. So im vague advising him that losing his respect and trust is no longer a fear of mine. Im sticking to the facts and wish we could have a conversation like mature adults without his grizzly attitude.
He has praised me in the past for being patient and mature and calm in heated situations, but he really about to bring the beast outta me . Im tired of being called a liar and having accusations thrown at me like daggers. But at the end of the day weather I let him win and don’t fight back… weather I yell back and take a stand… I always end up in tears… I wanna be able to communicate effectively with this man so issues and arguments can be resolved and a friendship can be maintained… but everything that come out my mouth gets attacked. I can’t answer one question before he over talking me with the next one. when I hesitate to change my thought process for the next question im a liar ( cause I paused to switch my thought process to answer the new question)
I know communication is possible. It used to come so easily for us. but no matter how soft spoken,, calm, peaceful I am . he attacks, he is very very good at making things seem like I am at f
weight loss cardiff answers:
I commend you for being the bigger person:) and im sorry for your situation.
Truth is idk what you can do with him. He’s not listening to a word you say and its really tiresome. Its hard to never be able to get a word in edge wise and to always be accused of something you didn’t do. It may be to late for you two to remain civil- it may be too soon. He’s to close to the situation to be able to see it clearly with out all that pride, ego and self riotousness’s gettin in the way. I think he just needs time and space from you guys’s situation to be able to see things clearly. Just continue to do what your doing but let him know that his constant attitude towards you is unacceptable. Its okay for him to talk to you in a calm manner about whats bothering him but the moment he starts getting out of control he’s no longer being constructive. There’s no point in communicating if no ones taking into account your pov also.
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