ProTrainerOnline.com

This is a new section consisting of some very good questions and their answers as fielded by the ISSA technical support team over the past two weeks. ENJOY!

What would happen if we would consumed more than 60g of fiber a day? Example: 100-150g /day

The 60 grams a day is an average set by health care practitioners. Some cultures actually do eat as much as 150 grams a day on average. There is some speculation that a diet high in fiber may interfere with mineral absorption. However, this interference can easily be offset by a daily mineral supplement or even by the high mineral content in some high fiber foods.

What about Hydroxycut? Is it good for the human body as supplement or it's just a nice name? And what about Chitosan? Thank you!!!

Neither of these products is "good" for the human body. Hydroxycut, which I believe contains ephedrine, is far from good for the body, or good for effective weight loss. It may speed up the metabolism, but does not help one burn only fat. In addition, there are numerous side effects. Please see the Pro Trainer back issues at www.protraineronline.com for an article called "The Quick Fix"..... Chitosan is a little less cut and dried. It is supposed to work by preventing the absorption of fats from the intestines. I looked for some research on the supplement and could not find much. I saw that is supposedly worked, but the study was done on rats. (I hate it when they use rats, because you never know if the results apply to humans). Then I read a bunch of testimonial on the supplement, some saying it worked for them, some saying it did not. Some said they had strange side effects. The conclusion?: I have no idea. I personally recommend simply eating less fat in the diet, and not messing with such a supplement because you never know what it may do to you.

Is there any known supplements that are proven to push back the lactic acid threshold? Let me know thanks!! Brian.

Brian.....When I read this question, the one "supplement" that popped into my mind was sodium bicarbonate. I am a little rusty on that subject, so I looked it up in the most current book on that subject we have. Bicarbonate loading is the oral ingestion of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to increase the lactic acid buffering capacity of the blood. The results of the research are a little conflicting, but there is some solid evidence that oral ingestion of 300mg per kg of body weight before an event lasting between 1 and 7 minutes, has a blood and muscle buffering effect. That is basically the most current conclusion on bicarbonate loading. I don't know much about what sport you do, so I will leave it up to you to decide if it may be of personal benefit. The only side effect is possible abdominal cramping and diarrhea. To minimize these side effects, drink lots of water and take the baking soda dosage over a 1 to 2 hour period. This is the only way I know of to suppress the lactic acid threshold with a nutritional aid.

Ok I need something cleared up here. Everyone says to work every major muscle group once to twice a week depending on the circumstances. I am working chest on Monday and Friday, arms on Wednesday, and back on Saturday, and legs on Sunday. Now, where do abs come in? Everyone says to train them with every workout, but that doesn't follow any of the rules. When should I train them, and how often?

David, as you have undoubtedly already experienced for yourself, there are those who advocate multiple days of training and those who advocate few training days. The training variables as far as frequency, intensity, and volume are the same for the abdominals as they are for all other muscle groups. The frequency should be 2 -3 times a week with three to five sets and 8-12 repetitions per muscle group. Training abdominals should be done intensely enough to stimulate change and be progressive in nature. No matter how much you train your abdominals, if your bodyfat is too high, you will not see your abdominal development, so train hard and eat a healthy nutritious diet.