Fitness Facts You Should Know

I have a little bit of time to kill and i thought sharing these few and often misunderstood facts. Being an active person myself and has written many (countless) entries in this blog on nutrition, training, injuries and some peep into my private life, we are only human and often have questions that can't be answered or get mis-informed by other perceived to be more "knowledgeable" friends. We often make mistakes, but we learn from them. Here are some of mine.
I Want A 6-Pack
Every men worth their salt wants a 6-packs. It is a manly thing and no thanks to how the Greek shows how some of the God and how they are portrayed in myth does not help. While the incidences of Men-with-6-packs were more prevalent in the late 60's compared to the late 90's, they can be attributed to one simple reason - Refined food.
Rockstar with 6-packs? Well, back in the 60's Flower Power period, where cracks and heroins were easily available and a "lifestyle", it suppresses the appetite and provide "energy", until the drugs wear off.

Self-Destructive Behaviour. Artise name witheld

With more food sources available and life made more sedentary, obtaining a Greek-God like body requires not only regular exercises, but have compulsory life-long commitment in the form of a sensible low fat diet. No amount of 6-packs will show up unless someone either start burning the fats off their body (typically, a close to 10% body fat or a single digit fat percentile would be ideal) or they can starve themselves out.
There is no exercise that can target the fats around the waist, or what the gym-goer believes as "spot-reduction". There is no slimming centre that can do that too. Your body do not know which part of your body to "take the fat and burn". Muscle grow as they are overloaded and overstressed. Want your 6-pack?
Do it the hard way - Diet and exercise (cardio highly recommended to burn fat).
I Want To Exercise To Burn Calories To Lose Weight
Many of us exercise to burn the calories so that we can eat what we love after that. I have been down that path. Being Malaysian, we all love our food. I used to lift weights. Growing to a massive size (by my standard) and topping at 90kg. I used to walk around with a 17inch biceps and a 46inch chest (but it was actually a manboobs) and i justify myself eating 3000kcal a day because i am at my "bulking" phase.
Weight lifting only burns 20% to 30% of calorie values when compared to a brisk 7km/h walk or a slow jog. That meant, for every hour spent lifting weights in the Gym, you will only burn at most 250kcal as compared to 600kcal! And most "gym-goer" would give all sort of reasons to load up on their protein shakes! No wonder many people think they are a hunk of meat, but they are just a pot or fat walking.
Losing weight is not just about exercising, it is about eating the right food that will stoke your metabolism and provide enough energy and nutritional values to fuel the body. Exercising helps in ensuring that the body stays in tip top condition (optimal health) so we can do more, longer!

Macca. Idol. Image taken from Here

I Want To Eat Less Carb and More Protein
Protein Diet, Low-Carb Diet, Dukan Diet even the Blood Type Diet has been known the world over, tried and tested by celebrities and often copied and made the author rich via selling of books. But how much of them are true? Most of the diet has one thing in common - eating sensibly and knowing your calories intake. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Many medical practitioner consider low carb to be an unhealthy diet. The evil in the carb is not the carb itself but the availability of good carbs. Most of our carbs are highly processed food such as white flour, white rice, over-refined carbs, soda water, processed fruit juices. So if your idea of a low carb diet is to cut away all these highly refined carbs, then it is alright and you will see results. However, if your idea of low carb meant cutting away items that has carbs in them, don't. Take more GOOD carbs (yes, there are such things!) such as whole grains, whole seeds, legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables. Not only they are mostly low in Glycemic Index (GI) value, but they are rich in fiber and contains essential oil that the body could not produce.
As for high protein to build muscle? Well, that is also not entirely true. A budding sport person would require up to 1.5g protein per kg of body (lean) weight (on a very high side). So, assuming i am 69kg at 10% fat, that would meant my lean body mass requires maximum of 95grams of protein to build muscle per day. How to get 95grams of protein? This knowledge below might be useful

• EGG 6 grams per EACH
• LEAN MEAT, FISH, POULTRY 25-30 grams per 3 1/2 OZ.
• TOFU 20 grams per CUP- 8OZ.
• MILK 8-9 grams per CUP-8OZ.
• YOGURT 8-10 grams per CUP-8OZ.
• CHEDDAR/JACK 7 grams per OZ.
• COTTAGE CHEESE 28 grams per CUP
• NUTS AND SEEDS 2-3 grams per TABLESPOON
• RICE, COOKED 5 grams per CUP
• OATMEAL, COOKED 5 grams per CUP
• WHEAT GERM, TOASTED 8 grams per 1/4 CUP
• BREAD 2-11 grams per SLICE CHECK THE LABEL
• POTATO, BAKED WITH SKIN, MEDIUM 5 grams
• MOST FRUITS 1 gram per FRUIT
• VEGETABLES 1-3 grams per 1/2 CUP

My advice would be to stop and skip any diet you are doing, just revamp the food that you eat. I did and it is rewarding me big time. Not only i am more conscious of the food i take, more natural and whole food provides me adequate energy with spares.

Whole Carbs - Winner. Image taken from Here

Running Wears Out My Knee
Studies has shown that there is no correlation between running and knee wear between runners and non-runners. In fact, runners could possibly have higher bone density reading (and can survive a fall better) apart from more cartilage mobility compared to non-runners. Case in point., my mum has regenerative knees and has went for a knee surgery. She is a non-runner.
I some times was asked about these as well and i am often lost for words simply because i do not know how to answer them. Knee damage is not via running, but more of resulting from bad posture and bad positioning when mobile. Many knee injuries are caused by ligament injuries and also damage to soft tissues. You will be more likely get knee injury from playing sports such as football, basketball, volleyball, martial art and other contact sports due to the sudden and abrupt changes in speed, position and landing while in motion. You can get knee injury too if you are not careful when starting a new fitness regime as your body would not be fully conditioned before you attempt something more significant.

More on Knee Injuries Here

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