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Q & A
American women develop excessively large muscles.
Progressive resistance exercise such as Bowflex® will
make your muscles larger – but not excessively large
– and larger muscles will make your body firmer and
more shapely.
Q. Why is it so important I perform the
Bowflex® exercises with a 4-second count on
the lifting and lowering?
A. Because a slow, smooth 4-second lifting followed by a
4-second lowering involves more muscle fibers more
thoroughly than faster speeds of movement. The more
completely each involved muscle fiber works simply
means you’ll get better muscle-building results.
Q. I’m confused about how to breathe during
each Bowflex® exercise?
A. Let’s say your goal is to do 10 repetitions on a
specific Bowflex® exercise that is performed in the
recommended 4-second lifting and 4-second lowering
style. Here are the proper breathing guidelines to
follow:
One suggestion is to team up with a partner. Most
people are more motivated and make better progress if
they go through the program with a friend. In selecting
a training partner, here are several things to keep in
mind:
• Your partner should be similar to you in age and condition.
• Your partner should be serious about getting into shape
and making a commitment. That commitment means
you’ll be exercising together one hour, three times per
week. Each of your joint training sessions should take
approximately 50 minutes: 25 minutes for your workout
and 25 minutes supervising your partner’s workout.
• Your partner should be someone with whom you’ll share a
spirit of cooperation, not competition.
• Your partner should not be your spouse, brother,
sister, or other family member. You do not want normal
interpersonal problems to interfere with the training.
Q. Why won’t you allow me to do aerobic
dancing on my off-days to speed up the loss
of body fat?
A. Because doing so doesn’t speed up fat loss. Aerobic
dancing – and other activities such as running,
swimming, cycling, stair-stepping, and racquetball – do
not contribute significantly to the fat-loss process. In
fact, when added to proper strength training they can
actually retard the reduction of fat.
Fat loss is retarded in two ways. Too much repetitive
activity prevents maximum muscle building by
using up your recover ability. A well-rested recover
ability is necessary for muscle growth. Too much
activity — especially if you are on a reduced-calorie
diet — causes you to get the blahs and quickly lose
your enthusiasm. If this happens, you’re sure to break
your diet.
The primary purpose of this program is to lose fat in
the most effective and most efficient manner. Fat loss
is prioritized and maximized by building muscle at the
same time. The muscle-building process is optimized
by a well-rested recovery ability, which necessitates
keeping your strenuous and moderately strenuous
activities to a bare minimum.
Once you get your body fat to a low level, you can add
other activities — and I encourage you to do
so — to your weekly fitness schedule. For now, follow
the plan exactly as directed.
Q. What happens after six weeks? How do I
continue the program if I need to lose more
weight?
A. You should repeat the program for as long as it takes
you to reach your goal. For example, it took Barry Ozer
three six-week sessions – 18 weeks – to lose all of his
excessive fat, which amounted to 75 pounds (34 kg).
There are, however, a few guidelines and modifications
to apply.
Repeat the eating plan exactly as before: Men, go back
to 1500 calories a day for two weeks. Women, go back
to 1200 calories a day for two weeks. Then, descend
your calories in the same manner.
Keep your superhydration schedule at the highest level.
In other words, sip 1 5/8 gallons (6.2 l) of ice-cold water
each day.
Continue your Bowflex® exercise routine at the highest
level. Perform the same 10 exercises three times per
week. Try to get as strong as you can in each exercise,
while always focusing on the 4-second count in both
lifting and lowering.