Questions and Answers

Please feel free to send your questions to my email listed below:
Jim kipp

Mimi Ask:
Hey Jim, I was wondering if I should be taking any supplements? I'm just beginning to work out again and on phase 2 of Atkins.

Hello Mimi,

While on Atkins you still need to watch your carbohydrate intake, with that said you can increase your complex carbs a little and still lose weight. As a matter of fact it will actually help sometimes. I am a big fan of the SSP nutrition system. It is a complete system for all athletes from the beginner to the advanced elite athlete. Seeing as you are n phase 2 I would suggest a pre workout supplement and the post workout supplement. If you get the SSP complete system in the canisters it is very affordable when you compare to other supplements. I would suggest though since the SSP protein is a little higher in carbs that you take it an hour before your workout and not after like the canister states. You will easily burn  off the few carbs in it. Honestly though Mimi I do not want to see you spending a lot of money on supplements until you have made working out a habit. Nothing worse than spending money to see the product sit on your shelf. I would prefer to get more information from you to help you with this decision. Feel free to email me.

Jim

Ali ask:
Hi Jim, as a 60 year old female health enthusiast I want to know how to get rid of under arm flab that appeared over the past few years. I appreciate yourt suggestions.

Hello Ali, If it is the muscle that is loose tricep exercises will tighten it up. Try Kickbacks, Skull Crushers, Close grip Bench press, and Overhead Tricep press exercises. They can all be found on my exercise video page. It is is just loose skin that is harder to fix if at all. You can try vitamin E oil after you workout and this may help with tightening up the skin. First let's attack the tricep muscles with the exercises described above.


Mimi ask:

Hey Jim, I was wondering if I could do just the arms for right now, I keep hurting my right leg my stronger one and it is having a hard time healing. I do home re-model and paint lots of manual labor is this enough for cardio? I am ok with walking though if that's what it takes for my cardio.

Hello Mimi
Of course you can start with just arms right now as long as your are moving that is a good start. However unless you are out of breath to the point that it makes talking difficult then you will need to up your cardio workout. You can do this one of two ways. You can increase the speed at which you are already working to get to the labored breath point or you can try to add some cardio in the morning befor breakfast. Have a great day and thanks for the question!


Bob is 6'1" and 227 lbs and ask: 

I am getting close to my weight where i think most of the body fat will be gone. 7 pounds I think may do it although i set my goal weight at 27 pounds lighter. I was wanting to know when and how much protein drinks to add to start building muscle? I'm on the atkins diet and dont need to over do the protein on it. I have been working out on and off since december of last year. I have a lot of defenition now that didnt have before, but I need to gain my strength back. I went over ten years of laying on my laurels save walking for cardio.

thanks

Bob, 
Wow Bob that is a loaded question. You really do not need to have protein shakes to build muscle. They are a supplement. You can supplement your protein needs at any point in your diet. Since you are following and Atkins way of eating for maintaining you muscle and putting some back on you can actually get away with 1 gram per lean body weight. If you are working out to the level that I am then you can increas to 1.5 grams of protien up to 2 grams. Now there is a lot of research out there that states different things on this. One is that your body cannot digest any more than 30 grams per meal. That means a lot of meat through out the day. First thing I suggest it find out what your lean muscle mass is via a caliper test. This will give you a starting point for how many grams you need. On Atkins I would suggest you try Isopure the vanilla is just one carb but it does contain sucralose so count a serving as 2 carbs. Make sure you track your current protein levels and supplement where you need. You can always snack on tuna salad at night or even egg salad. Lastly you can also start taking a Casein Protein. This is a slow digestable protein and ideal at bedtime. I mix mine like a pudding and it is delicious. Also I recall you said you are not working out right now. Start with my beginnes program and work up from there. 1 gram per lean body mass is enough for you right now.

Jim


Sheila ask:

Supplements for women when and how?

Sheila the supplements are basically the same for women will depend on your goals, just like men. If you want to tone up you will not need as much protein or Branch Chain Amino Acids as when you are trying to build muscles. As far as when, a fuel source of fat or carbs depending on you current diet needs,  protein, BCAA and a pre-workout mix 30 before your workout are ideal and then have some BCAA and protein with some carbs after your workout.  The BCAA if you decide to take them can be taken with each meal. Another supplement I suggest for Men and woman is an Amino Acid called L-Arginine. It is a vacillater and it helps blood flow to the muscle. It is also very good for elevated blood pressure. I hope this helped.

Jim



Karen writes:

I have one bad knee and can't do lunges (doc said).  Is there an alternative exercise that I can do instead? 

Hello Karen, Knees are tricky and we really need to be careful with them. Ask your doctor about doing body weight squats with an exercise ball or skate board behind your back. This will give you a little support and it will make sure you knee does not go out past your toes and your back is straight. Please check with your doctor first though.

Thank you,
Jim

Sheila ask:

I am a woman who works out everyday and I am wondering how much protein should I get a day?

Sheila this really depends on your goals but as a rule of thumb it you are working out hard and want to maintain or put on a little muscle you can go with .60 grams of protein per pound of lean muscle mass. It really is not necessary to have any more than that for a woman. You do not have the testosterone levels to put on a lot of muscle mass and why have more than your body needs.

Thank you for the question.
Jim


Priyank writes:
I understand that breathing technique plays an important role in overall effectiveness of the routines. Could you tell me how to breathe during crunches or other routines that focus on the abs? It seems every movement (up or down) is causing my muscles to contract.
Thanks,

Priyank.

Priyank,
You are correct proper breathing is imortant. When you contract a muscle you should breath out. The abs are the same way so during your crunches on the upward movement breath out. You state that the muscles contract on the way up and down and that is because on the way down you are hitting them with a negative. This is a good thing. Still breath out on the way up. On the way down you are still contracting the muscle but it is elongating at this point. Have a great workout.
 Jim




Cyndi ask:
Hi, Jim....I began a weight routine prior to finding your blog, and want to see this program through (2 months) before changing it up and working with your routines. : ) My current routine has bicep curls, so single joint; what is your favorite multi-joint move for biceps.
Have to say, as a begginer, I am seeing results with the bicep curl...and definately feeling the exertion when in the gym. Thanks~
 
Cyndi,
One multijoint movement is the chin up. This is with the palms facing you. Also single arm bentover rows hit the bicep when you pull the weight up. I do still work the biceps by themselves as well. Funny though some powerlifters look at biceps like ornaments on a Christmas tree. They are great to look at but don't help in the lifts. Well I happen to like having the ornaments as well as the strength. LOL
 
 Jim