Everyday Systems: nosdiet: message 733 of 3212

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Gwen, Tom and Reinhard,

>it might just be a problem of 'sucking 
>it in,' although that is a bad description of what
>takes place.

Strengthing the transverse abdominus--the
"sucker-inner" muscle. That any better? No? Darn. 

I think you hit the nail on the head, Tom, as usual.
At a "normal" bodyweight, you shouldn't have flab
hanging around, which leaves two distinct possibilites
in my mind. (Note that this is a long eMail which
basically says that you should try Shovelglove. So if
you don't feel like reading it... just go take a look
at Shovelglove.)

1. You have weak abdominal muscles (despite "toning"
exercises). As Tom said, and I'll reiterate, I
reccomend Pavel Tsatsouline's Bulletproof Abs book.
It's expensive, but good. (Actually, if I could only
have one of Pavel's books, I'd get Power to the
People! as I reccomend below). In short summation of
that book's principles, do harder exercises for fewer
(5 or less) reps, 1-5 sets. Learning "Vaccums" would
be good, and power breathing also might work. You
might be able to find links to these on the internet.

2. You have a bad (very bad) ratio of muscle to fat.
This is what's called "skinny-fat"... undermuscled and
overfat. If you've been a chronic dieter, this is a
distinct possibility. In the case of extreme calorie
deprivation, your body wants to rid itself of the most
metabolically active (read: hungry) tissues while
preserving fat tissue. This happens a lot with
experienced dieters. Lumberjacks and Couch Potatoes,
anyone?

There's two ways out of this particular hell. The
first one is to cut calories even lower (as you're
doing) and increase exercise more (as you're doing).
What's going to happen is that your metabolism is
going to shut down even more... but yes, you'll lose
the last few pounds. Then if you ever slip... bang,
the fat starts piling back on. Obviously, I don't
reccomend this solution.

The second solution, especially since you're already
at a healthy bodyweight, would be to start trying to
build muscle more seriously--something more strenuous
than "toning" exercises. 

I know this initially sounds like a bad idea, but
here's the thing. Being "bulky" is mostly accounted
for by the number of calories that you consume. I've
worked with a few women on diet and exercise, and a
big fear is that they're going to bulk-up like
bodybuilders. None of them ever have, and all of them
have commented on how much "tighter" they look and
feel. Truth be told, few women have the genetics to
bulk up too much, and further, they don't consume the
requisite number of calories to do so. (Not to mention
the requisite amount of Anabolic Steroids that all pro
bodybuilders, male and female, take.) 

So here's another option. Continue your diet at a
point where you are maintaining your weight. Maybe
ramp up your protein a little bit (don't have to go
overboard... maybe switch to some beef jerky instead
of the granola bars) and start doing more serious
strength-building. Here's what will happen. Slowly,
over time, though your body weight will remain stable,
you'll add muscle and lose fat. This will not happen
in a month, it probably won't happen in three, but if
you stick to it for 6 months to a year, you will see
results without having to go through bizzare
gyrations, exercise and dietary manipulations, or any
other stuff. Maintain your level of cardiovascular
exercise, and you're home-free. 

Yes, there are faster ways, but they get both weird
and complicated. Fast. 

Best book on this topic would be Power to the People!
also by Pavel Tsatsouline. He outlines a 20 minute
program that will cost about $150-200 worth of
equipment (olympic set of weights... and maybe a mat
to protect your floor). You perform the program five
days a week, twenty minutes per day. 

If you want to go even lower tech, I highly reccomend
Reinhard's own exercise program. Start with a light
sledge and work up. Reinhard wins the contest on both
equipment cost ($50 or so for each sledge) and time
(14 minutes, five days a week). As for the results,
you'll have to judge for yourself, but I'm pretty
certain that Shovelglove will attack the problem from
all sides: you will add muscle (resistance training),
lose fat (diet), and tighten your abdominals (again,
resistance training), all in one go. Plus, the program
itself is completely free. Can't get a better deal
than that. 

I guess this is a long winded way of saying: give
Shovelglove a try, because no matter what the problem
is, Shovelglove will help it. 

Anyway, that's my semi-professional opinon.

Dan 



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