Calorie Count

I have heard that walkling a mile burns as many calories as running one, is this true?

First it is important for us to understand what calories are. A calorie is a measurement of heat, but for our purposes it is defined as, "a unit of energy-producing potential supplied by food and released upon oxidation by the body, equal to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C at one atmosphere pressure."

Okay so what does that mean? Taking basic physics into account one could quite easily come to the conclusion that walking a mile burns as many calories as running one. Mile for mile running and walking burn approximately the same number of calories, but minute for minute, the faster your speed, the more calories you burn, giving running the calorie burning edge.

In general running should cause more exertion than walking, that being said it there are many other contributing factors that play a part in calorie consumption. Heart rate is one, and optimal heart rate should be taken into account; another is the speed and incline at which you are walking or running.

There is a reason there is so much money invested in exercise machines that offer a low impact alternative to cardio-pulmonary training. Running can be extremely hard on the joints, and can also cause many injuries when compared to a low impact exercise such as walking. Probably the most popular of these new generation machines are the elliptical orbit machines, where the feet actually move in an ellipse pattern, giving the user some of the same bennifits as running while reducing the stress on their joints and back.

More to come....

BMI or Body Mass Index

Allison writes:
My BMI is 21 right now and I want to get it down to 19.

According to the BMI charts, Allison is within the "normal" Body Mass Index for her height and weight. The problem with BMI is that it is based solely on weight and height. It does not factor in age, muscle mass or body fat, and muscle weighs 4 times as much as fat. Probably the worst element is that it does not even make a differentiation between sexes. For some reason this method (considered a fad by many) has been accepted by healthcare professionals, probably due to the fact that it is easier to read than the more critical height weight charts used in the past.

Using this method, more than 50 percent of the American population is obese and at risk of obesity related illnesses. Using the BMI method most professional basket ball players (who we think of as being tall and lean) are considered unhealthy and at risk.

For example when Charles Barkley was in his prime he was 6'6 and 252lbs which would put him at a BMI of 29.1 putting him in the overweight category and just barely under the obese rating of 30. At 6'2" and 257lbs Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been considered obese, with a BMI of 33, when he was crowned Mr. Olympia and considered in peak condition. George Clooney would be considered borderline obese and Brad Pitt would be considered overweight. The list of professional athletes that could be considered overweight or obese using the BMI standard is staggering.

More on this subject to come…

Stubborn fat deposits

Barbie writes:

I have asked many people what to do about that stubborn fat right by your shoulders and armpits. (Girls I'm sure you know what I mean when you're wearing a tank and you put your arms down and it looks like you have mini boobs in your armpits!) Well, I've heard that you're supposed to do push-ups, but when I do then it just seems to make my shoulders larger and do NOTHING for the stubborn fat. Any suggestions?

A few years ago I read a book called the "Miracle Diet"; the author claims that if you follow his technique you can successfully spot reduce fat. Actually, there is no such thing as spot reduction I have read a great deal on the subject and tried it myself. I too have had some fat deposits in the same place you speak of, but so does my dad, yours is probably also hereditary. Doing pushups or any other exercise for the pectoral muscles will only strengthen (and perhaps increase the size of) the muscle underneath.

You are within your healthy weight range, but to get rid of those spots you will need to decrease your body fat percentage. The best way to lose excess fat is by increasing the amount of aerobic exercise you are doing. Probably the easiest way to do this is to buy a pedometer. Measure the amount of steps you take per day, for a more accurate reading, do this over a week and take an average. Try increasing the amount of steps to take per day by 2 to 3000. Walking a mile burns as many calories as running a mile. You can also do exercises with no weight. Lifting your arms over your head as if you were doing shoulder presses will burn calories and you will feel a burn in your muscles as the glycogen stores get depleted. Just keep doing your exercises until you can't do any more.

It may take some time before you start to see results, but try measuring the area with a measuring tape. Try your workout for a week, and then take another measurement, and so on. Let me know if this works for you, we can always add more exercises or turn the heat up a bit, good luck!