For all of our fans who send us questions on our Twitter and Facebook page, this one is for you. Each week we draw on our pool of editors and experts to help you with any questions or challenges you have with your fitness regimen.
This week we asked the five fitness experts and workout correspondents from HUMANFITPROJECT, who will be occupying the Men's Fitness magazine booth at the 2013 Dirty Dutch Model Beach Volleyball Tournament in South Beach Miami, for their tips, tricks and strategies for staying lean all year round.
Q1: How should I structure my workouts and programs to stay lean all year round without doing circuit and interval training all the time?
EXPERT 1: Adam Von Rothfelder, CSCS Owner/Head Trainer of Drench Fitness
“Sticking to the basics is always a great way to stay safe and consistent in the gym. As a former pro fighter and model, I've always been drawn to deadlifts, flat/incline, bent-over rows, squats, pull-ups/push-ups. I would train every other day with mobility and light cardio on the days in between.
Incline walking or slow rowing is a great cardio option that is low impact and allows for maximum recovery while still breaking a sweat. Remember, you don't develop in the gym, you break down in the gym and develop with rest. So it's important to get proper sleep and eat clean, whole foods. At the end of the day, you have to learn to listen to your body and not just follow a piece of paper."
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Q2: What foods should I always stock my fridge with? Which foods should I avoid completely?
EXPERT 2: Tim McComsey, NASM-CPT, RD Owner/Head Trainer of TRyM Fitness
“Organic whole eggs/protein, green veggies, coconut milk, almond milk, Greek yogurt, organic fresh berries, organic chicken, and cottage cheese are your absolute must-haves when you want to eat less.
Foods like butter, whole milk, and sugar-filled condiments should definitely be eliminated. These items are fattening and loaded with useless calories. Fruit juices are another killer because they're loaded with sugar, which skyrockets your calorie intake. Whole fruit is great, but it needs to be watched closely, especially when reducing body fat is the goal."
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Q3: What are the top exercises I should do to build muscle? Any exercises I should avoid?
EXPERT 3: Justin Klein, CSCS and head trainer at Orange Theory Fitness
“Compound or compound compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, bent-over rows, and overhead presses. The reason for this is that they draw in the whole body to stimulate growth and allow you to really toss around a lot of weight.
Exercises to avoid: anything that is hyper isolated, such as E.g. concentration curls, tricep kickbacks, etc. t that these aren't great moves, but they won't help you stay lean. Stick to big movements and target the big muscle groups."
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Q4: What is an intelligent cardio:weightlifting ratio for my programs to get lean? does it matter?
EXPERT 4: Christopher Power, ACE-CPT and owner of C-Power Fitness
“Strength training builds lean muscle mass and lean muscle mass burns more calories. Cardio, especially interval training, is a great way to burn calories and lower body fat, but it won't do much more for building muscle mass. d say that a 75/25 split between strength training and cardio is an effective ratio for building muscle and burning extra calories during exercise. Far too many people still believe that cardio is for fat loss and that strength training is supposed to be big.”
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Q5: What are the best exercises for training your abs and how much/often should you train them?
EXPERT 5: Jay Zuccato, CanFitPro - CPT and Men's Physique competitor
“The best way to keep your abs in shape all year round is to eat a healthy diet with a close eye on slightly limiting your intake of starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, etc. It's also a good idea to incorporate some form of cardio into your daily routine. This cardio can consist of short intervals or longer duration runs.
As for physically "training" your abs; Go with hanging knee or leg raises because the movement engages many more muscle fibers throughout the core than most other abdominal exercises. Other exercises such as cable crunches with weights can also be easily integrated into your routine due to the resistance element. Muscles grow with resistance and your abs are no different. Personally, I do varying amounts of ab work 3-5 days per week. "
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