2) Q&A: "How Can I Get Rid of Love Handles?"
Question:Hi Billy, it's me Angel from All Natural. May all be well with you. Getting to the point…I would like some advice on how to improve my abs and getting rid of " love handles ". I don't expect to be in the gym until the weekend because presently I'm fighting a cold. I hope to hear from you and see you soon. Thank you for your help.
Answer: Hi Angel. Thanks for the question and I hope I can help as my specialty is precisely what you are asking. The answer to improving your abs and getting rid of “love handles” lies in the balance of the thoughts in your head, the way that you eat, performing moderate aerobic training, and incorporating a progressive resistance training program.
Many people overlook the importance of their thoughts when beginning an exercise program or recommitting to one. Having a clear picture of what you would like to achieve along with a positive and unstoppable mindset is a must for you to achieve your desired physique. This is one forgotten area I try to work on with my clients.
The way that you eat is essential in attaining the goals you mentioned. No matter how developed your abdominal area is, you will not be able to improve your abs unless you lose some of the adipose tissue (fat) covering the muscle. One of the best ways to do this is to eat in a manner that will rev up your metabolism and assist in letting go of stored body fat. Ideally you would start with a great foundation. That would include eating some lean protein, some complex carbs, and some fibrous veggies every few hours. That alone can increase thyroid production, increase your thermic (heat producing) effect of eating, and give you the nutrients you need to support your lean tissue (muscle).
Once you do that, there are additional strategies I learned from body builders and competitive martial artists that you can use to help get rid of stubborn body fat.
Moderate aerobic training should also be a piece of the puzzle. As you increase the efficiency of your heart and lungs, you can also burn additional body fat. Just be careful because excessive amounts of aerobic activity can and will lead to muscle loss, especially if its combined with a lack of eating as I recommended above.
The most important piece of the puzzle here may be a progressive resistance training program. This would be a program that challenges all of the muscles in the body, improves balance, and is tweaked frequently to avoid plateaus. I’d recommend working fast twitch (muscle fibers most responsible for strength) and slow-twitch fibers (muscles responsible for endurance) in a cyclic format with varying intensities. The body is very adaptive and it needs a new stimulus to grow every couple of weeks.
I realize you may have been looking for something a little different but this is the “magic” that works. Your abdominals are simply covered by some layers of fat. All that has to be done is some fat burning and since fat is burned evenly throughout the body, you will soon be living in a body with a more toned stomach.
I hope this helps, Angel. I also want to mention that I have a mini-seminar coming up titled “6 Secrets to Getting Lean.” I urge you to sign up while there are still seats available.
All the best,
Billy Hofacker
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3) Interview with Fitness Professional Doug Jackson:
I’m very excited to have conducted an interview with my friend and trainer Doug Jackson.
Doug Jackson, CSCS, ACE, holds a Masters Degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise psychology. He is the owner of Personal Fitness Advantage, LLC. operated in Bowling Green, OH, is co-author to The Power of Champions, and a Fellow of the National Board of Fitness Examiners. He can be reached at doug@personalfitnessadvantage.com. His specialty is exercise adherence. Here are some questions my clients gave me to ask him:
BH: Is there any truth behind what people call a "runner’s elation" or "runner’s high?"
DJ: Researchers are still debating about exactly how a runner’s high occurs. When someone exercises many chemical changes occur in the body and there are competing theories on how this affects us. What we do know is that, in general, peoples’ moods elevate with moderate exercise.
BH: Am I better off doing a 30 minute workout once per day or are two 15 minute workouts better?
DJ: It depends on someone’s goals and their specific situation. I’d certainly encourage people to try to complete thirty minutes in a row, rather than two 15 minute sessions. I’ve found that most people would not likely exercise twice per day. However, I believe either format would elicit improvements in strength, aerobic capacity, and mood.
BH: Do you believe it is important to write goals down, and if so why?
DJ: I am a strong advocate of goal setting. It is one of the first things I complete with my clients. Writing goals down is absolutely necessary to help solidify them into a person’s mind. In addition, goals should be specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-driven. With my clients, the goal setting device doubles as a behavioral contract that both the client and I sign. Lastly, the goals need to be reviewed often…preferably daily. The most common mistake people make is to write goals down and then hide them away in a drawer somewhere. I recommend that people have their goals posted in a common area such as a refrigerator, bathroom mirror, or in their car.
BH: Do you have any tips staying motivated from day one and on with your fitness program?
DJ: First, people need to believe in themselves. If they don’t believe they can be successful in losing the fat or whatever their goal is, they will not stay motivated long enough to achieve it. Second, people need to have clear goals and reassess those goals when necessary. Third, I recommend that most people meet with a qualified fitness professional at least once per month to help them stay on track. Beginning exercisers benefit from meeting with a trainer at least once per week. This is meant to act as coaching rather than just “rep counting”. My clients have found this to be a cost effective way to stay motivated, stay accountable, and continue learning new and more advanced exercises as well as different exercise programs.
BH: What is a typical error in form that people make to injure themselves, and what can be done to correct the problem when exercising on their own?
DJ: There are a lot of variables that could affect my answer to that question. Age, previous exercise background, and previous injuries all affect the way that I develop exercise programs that minimize the risk of injury. Obviously, if someone uses poor form while doing squats, they are setting themselves up for knee or lower back injuries. I’ve found that most injuries are caused not by poor form but by previously undiagnosed joint problems and overuse. The main way to prevent these injuries is to always listen to the body. I’ve found that most people either overtrain or undertrain. Very few people are exercising at an optimal intensity and frequency to elicit fitness progress and minimize risk. As a fitness pro, part of my job is to help gauge that. As a general rule, I believe people need to work hard to overload their muscles during the exercise session, but should not normally leave the session completely exhausted.
Comments from Billy: I want to thank Doug for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions. I also urge any readers to visit Doug’s site at http://personalfitnessadvantage.com and sign up for his free newsletter Fitness Empowerment Monthly.
I hope you enjoyed this issue of Get Lean! This newsletter is for you so if you have any questions or topics you would like me to write about, let me know.
Also, please let me know if you know anyone who would like to receive this newsletter. Either have them sign up or send their name and e-mail to me at billy@howtogetlean.com and I can send them an issue as a gift from you.
Give me a call at (631) 225-7831 about the gift certificates and stay tuned as next week I will be adding two new articles. One is titled “Get Lean While Enjoying Holiday Food” and the other is an interview with Doug but this time he is asking the questions.
Until next time, be a Functional Fitness Freak,
- Billy Hofacker
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Hofe-Man Fitness Systems, LLC
Billy Hofacker, Certified Personal Trainer
Specializing in Mens Fitness Programs
Serving Lindenhurst, Long Island, Suffolk County, and New York
Lindenhurst, NY 11757-1672
Phone: 631-225-7831 • Fax 631-225-0693 • E-mail:
billy@howtogetlean.com
