This form will allow you to send a secure email to the owner of this page. Your email address is not logged by this system, but will be attached to the message that is forwarded from this page.
Reader Teresa at our Wo40 Facebook Page asks a really good question. I'm posting it here for everyone's benefit.
"Question for ya Keith. I'm trying to lose weight. I have limited my calories to 1200 a day and doing the elliptical 48 mins 4-5 days a week. Am I eating the right amount of calories?"
Excellent question, Teresa! The answer is actually quite individual, so just a "yes" or "no" won't work. My suggestion is that you go to http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and get 2 numbers. The first is your basal metabolic rate (BMR for short). After you have that number (it will show up in the green bar once you hit the "Calculate BMR" button), scroll down a little and click on the "Harris Benedict Equation" link. Do a little math and get an approximate count of your daily calorie burn.
When you have those numbers, I recommend 2 things: never let your calorie intake go below the first number, and stay about 500 calories below your second number. I'll use myself as an example: My BMR is about 1910 cal/day. My HB number is 2960 calories/day. My daily intake goal should be about 2400 cal/day and should never fall below 1910 cal/day.
For the record, my wife's HB number is 2075 and her BMR is 1339. Assuming you're in the same general ballpark as my wife, 1200 calories is too low for your dietary needs. Cutting calories too drastically will cause your body to retain fat as a source of emergency energy rather than using it now for energy. The eventual results will be slow metabolism, sluggish feelings, and really slow weight loss.
Contrary to what a lot of people believe, you have to EAT to DROP FAT. If that isn't good news, I don't know what is!
According to nutristrategy.com, martial arts style fighting can burn up to 931 calories per hour. It's one of the best forms of cardio training, and it's fun.
Most of the time.
Recently I tested for San-kyu (third brown belt) in Isshinryu Karate. I have to say that it was the longest and most exhausting hour and 45 minutes of my life. Video is below.
The first 80 minutes of the examination were spent demonstrating various kicks, blocks, punches, falls, rolls, and forms (called kata). There are 9 basic kicks, each performed multiple times with each leg, plus 15 upper body basics (punches and block/punch combinations) that are also performed on left and right sides multiple times.
After basics, I was required to perform 6 empty-hand kata and a weapon (bo, or long staff) kata. Each of those forms is a workout in itself. Here is a video of me performing 4 of the 6 empty-hand kata. The first is Kusanku, followed by Naihanchi, Wansu, and Chinto.
Once I was beyond all of the demonstration, I was set up for 4 rounds of sparring. In an ideal world, these were supposed to be 5 minute rounds. Some were a little shorter, but the last one was considerably longer - closer to 10 minutes.
Round 1 against Mr. Allen Taylor, Ik-kyu (First brown, or 2 ranks ahead of me). As you might notice (after the 2-minute delay at the beginning of the video), he sports a considerable size advantage over me. He also hits hard. I asked my instructor before the test if I would need mouth protection. I was assured that there would be no contact to the head. Please observe where Mr. Taylor hits me first. :)
Round 2 - Mr. Nick Baker, Ni-Dan (2nd-degree Black). Mr. Baker is wiry and FAST. Had he wanted to, I'm sure he could have cleaned the dojo floor with me. By this time, I was feeling almost dead. I was physically at my limits with this fight and 2 more rounds to go.
At about 30 seconds into the video, you'll see that I started running around the dojo in pain. Unseen to the casual observer, Mr. Baker had incidentally helped me re-injure a severely damaged left thumb. Every time I've injured this thumb, it's almost a religious experience. I've never had such a reaction to pain, but the experience was so intense that I truly felt other-worldly when it happened. It's been 4 months since the original injury, and it's still painful. I digress, however...
Round 3 - Mr. Christopher Duke, San-Kyu (3rd Black) and MMA fighter. In reality, if Mr. Duke had wanted it, I would have been dead in this fight. He hits hard, as you will see when he puts me on the ground, writhing in agony, about 2/3 of the way through the video. The punch was a perfect shot to the solar plexus. I spent 30 seconds on the floor trying not to puke. I think I tasted my breakfast when I was down there. It sucked. Hard.
Round 4 - Sensei Tim Cunningham, Nana-Dan (7th Black). The best comparison here is a cat playing with a nearly-dead mouse. I could barely see, couldn't breathe, and was soaked from top to bottom in sweat. Just holding my hands up was a monumental effort. He was being nice.... thankfully.
Between loss of water weight and burning who knows how many calories, I lost about 3 pounds during this test, proving that martial arts training, kickboxing, and open sparring do, in fact, burn a BUNCH of calories.
Some might watch those videos and wonder why on earth I would ever willingly subject myself to such treatment. There are several reasons.
First, I've wanted to be a Sho-dan (Black Belt) since I was 14. I never gave up on the goal, and I'm within 18 months of achieving it.
Second, martial arts is a physical challenge. I want to prove to myself and everyone watching that age is NOT a factor. I was 41 years 4 months old when I took that test.
Third, the test is a mental challenge. When my body was screaming for me to stop, I had to dig deep into myself to find the will to push forward. Under different circumstances, quitting means dying, and I'm not willing to accept death as an option. If I won't quit under the exhaustion of the testing environment, I won't quit when it really matters.
Finally, believe it or not, the whole experience is fun. Granted I wasn't really having fun at the time of the test, but getting to that point (and getting to the next level) is enjoyable. The tests are just points of discomfort in the road to Sho-dan.
Keeping fitness fun and engaging is an important part of success. Find something challenging and fun, and you should have no trouble sticking to the it as part of your fitness regimen.
**Thanks to Kaitlyn, my student at the Early College High School, for shooting the video and posting it on her youtube profile.
Back in September, I mentioned that the local paper was doing a story on Wo40.com. Silly me, I never linked the article on my own website. Check it out:
TARBORO — Keith Webb took a look in the mirror on his 39th birthday (“the first day of my last year in my 30s,” he said) and did not like what he saw.
“Oh, man,” he recalled. “I had jowls and a Buddha belly.”
Webb was determined to do something about that. It eventually led to a website (http://weightingon40.com) that includes before and impressive after photos.
“It’s easy to start and then abandon (working out),” he explained. “I wanted to be more accountable. It began as a blog and kind of took off and grew.”
His wife Alice, often his workout partner, jumped in and writes in the 4Women section where she answers questions women might have. A photo of her in a two-piece bathing suit speaks for itself.
What they have created is a website that is informative and inspirational. It includes exercises and recipes with nutritional information. It stresses goal-setting.
“The purpose of this website is to help you live your life in abundant health,” are Webb’s first words on the site.
“Anybody can lose weight. Stop eating,” Webb said. “To be fit, you have to do more.”
Webb spends three nights a week, two hours each at karate practice. He works out 45 minutes to an hour the other nights and walks or runs two to three miles when he can find the time.
He’s a member of the Tarboro Athletic Club.
The couple reports his workouts have made the relationship better with his wife and four children: [Daniel], 14, Hannah, 11, Silas, 9, and Emma, 7.
“When you don’t feel good about yourself, it’s kind of hard to feel good about others,” he said. “I wasn’t happy.”
Webb lifts weights, does cardio work and walks a brisk two to three miles.
Webb’s scales showed he weighted 206 pounds when he began working out. He’s a solid 185-188 pounds today on a muscular 5-foot-10 frame.
“I struggled with extra pounds after each child was born,” Alice said, “but I didn’t use it as an excuse to let myself go.
“I like feeling comfortable in my body.”
She is home-schooling the children.
Each stresses it is important to be supportive and encouraging of the other.
“We want to give a strong example to the children,” she said, “so when they grow up, they won’t have to struggle with their weight.”
Alice said she has received many nice comments from her female friends about her husband’s new look.
Keith and Alice met while attending East Carolina University in 1991. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. They came to Tarboro 15 years ago to teach school. He teaches English at Edgecombe Early College High School.
“This is about losing weight,” he said. “It’s taking total control of yourself and being healthy.”
They reply to “every single” e-mail they receive and have about 700 followers on their Facebook account.
Just found out today that the editor of our local newspaper wants to do a story on Wo40.com. How about that!?
In my brief phone conversation with him, the editor mentioned that the site is well done without being overly self-serving. It's something that I've tried to maintain in my writing here - to inspire and encourage both through words and example without trying to be self-aggrandizing. This site, as I've mentioned before, isn't really about me. It's about every reader out there who has ever looked at him or herself in the mirror and thought, "I need a change for the better."
Thank you Betty, the friend who referred us to the newspaper. Thank you, Terry, for taking up the story and getting the message out there. Hopefully together we can help Tarboro and people everywhere take control of their lives through fitness.
I was recently asked how much cardio is recommended on a daily basis. The first thought that came to me was, "What is your goal?"
You see, your approach to training is determined by the goals you have. Simply put, there are 3 basic goals that people have as far as their physiques are concerned: reduction, maintenance, and gain.
Reduction
About 67% of the US population is overweight or obese, putting the majority of people into the "reduction" category. Their specific goal is to drop unwanted, unhealthy fat. So what must these people do to achieve that goal?
First, their diet has to be consistent with the goal. 5-6 frequent meals (every 2-3 hours) that are balanced in protein, carbohydrate, and fat content are a must. Meals should not exceed 300-350 calories each, providing a daily caloric intake of 1800-2100 cal/day. If hunger is an issue, a healthy intake of vegetables with 2-3 meals will help boost the volume of meals without adding a bunch of calories.
Second, a specific approach to exercise is required to reduce fat. Spending 1 hour plodding along on a treadmill just isn't going to cut it. HIIT training, cross-training, and weight training are all necessary ingredients in an effective training regimen.
Contrary to what popular news stories are saying, you aren't going to burn sufficient calories for reduction purposes by parking further away from the door at the mall and taking the stairs rather than the elevator. Fat reduction is a matter of intentional action - making sure that the caloric burn exceeds the caloric intake. I know from experience that becoming fat requires very little effort. Undoing the fat requires intentional effort - including an amount of discomfort.
Maintenance
There are those who have dropped the fat and just want to maintain their current levels of fitness. These people have it a bit easier as far as diet and exercise are concerned. Diligence, however, is still necessary to avoid allowing fat to creep its way back onto the hips and belly.
The maintenance diet is similar to the reduction diet in that frequent meals are spread throughout the day and are nutrient rich. Because there's no desire to create a caloric deficit (where caloric burn is higher than caloric intake), meals can be somewhat larger - 400 calories or so. 2200-2400 calories per day will likely help the average person maintain their current weight and fitness levels.
Training can be moderate to intense with a balance of weight training and moderate cardio (30 minutes). An active lifestyle is still recommended, as anyone who adopts an inert lifestyle will probably regain fat weight.
Gain
Believe it or not, there are people out there whose goal is to gain weight. I'm reminded of the Charles Atlas ads I used to see at the end of the comics I read as a kid where the muscle-bound bully kicks sand in the face of some scrawny guy on the beach. The skinny kid gets Atlas's program, bulks up and returns the favor to the bully.
Gainers have to take specific approaches to packing on pounds. Their daily caloric intake is about 4000-5000 calories of CLEAN foods. The diet is necessarily clean to avoid excessive fat deposits. Figure that Gainers are eating like Reducers but in larger volumes.
Gym time is reduced to weight training almost exclusively, since the catabolic nature of cardio is counterproductive to the Gainer's goals.
For specific nutritional and exercise regimens related to your individual goals as a Reducer, Maintainer, or Gainer, talk to a fitness professional at your gym.
Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 04:44PM 
Like this article?