Your Fitness Questions Answered

Does muscle really weigh more than fat?

Question:The scale isn’t budging and I’ve worked out now for over a month. I hear muscle weighs more than fat. Could I be adding muscle and that’s why I’m not losing weight?

Answer: Fat weighs the same as muscle -10 lbs is 10 lbs. What does happen when you are working out doing both cardio and strength training, is you should be getting smaller because 10 lbs of muscle is smaller than 10 lbs of fat. The volume or mass size is very different. 10 lbs of fat takes up more space than 10 lbs of muscle making you look heavier. Therefore it is possible to appear smaller, but not lose any weight if you are doing cardio and strength work. It’s a volume issue, not a weight issue. The goal is to decrease body fat and strengthen the muscles…a lean, hard body will occur when you focus on how your clothes fit rather than the numbers on the scale.

Why am I not losing around my mid-section? What can I do?

Question: It doesn’t seem to matter how hard or long I work out, I’m still fat around the middle. Will spot exercises help?

Answer: Both men and women tend to hold added body fat in the mid sections – men around the core (think apple shape) and women in the abs and hips. However, if you are over 60, you are probably adding fat above the waist, as well. It is not possible to reduce body fat or weight in any one specific area but increasing your cardio / aerobic workouts will ensure you continue to burn calories and decrease fat all over the body. During your fitness workout, focus on strengthen the core – abs, obliques and lower back – to keep the muscles toned and sculpted as well as the other body parts.

Do I have to do my aerobics all at once? Should I use different machines or does it matter?

Question: Does it matter if I do 30 min of cardio all at once/all on one machine or can I split up the times and machines?

Answer: The wonderful thing about cardio is that as long as your heart rate is up, it doesn’t matter how or what you do. If weight loss is your goal, make sure you’re working out hard enough to break a sweat, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Splitting up the time is great for those who don’t have a long time-frame in their day to fit in an entire workout.  Splitting up the time between different machines is not only great for keeping you from getting bored but, even more importantly, you’ll work different muscle groups.