[thedoc (OP)]

dharma prasad  asked the Naked Scientists:
   I am Dharma Prasad from Mysore, India. I started listening to your podcast while I was in San Francisco more than 2 years ago and I continue to do it till date and it has almost become an obsession.

1. Is there a difference if the exercise is done, before food, after food, morning, evening etc.
2. Can excessive sweating be used as a measure of excersion/exercising better? Does this vary if the day is hot or cold?
3. How does muscle utilize energy for doing its function?
4. How does the muscle grow when you exercise regularly?
5. Why do marathon runners don't have visible muscle mass, whereas sprinters do?
6. Is it true that, one should not eat for an hour after finishing exercises? (I understand, body assumes that its going to need more energy again and stores all the nutrients as fat)
7. Can jogging/running reduce abdomen fat, or do I need to do ab exercises?
8. Which meal should be lighter if I want to reduce the fat arround my tummy, breakfast, lunch or dinner?
9. How can you increase body mass (I am under the lower side) without accumulating fat around my tummy?
10. Beer belly, why does it happen? Does beer contain more fat/energy than other food/alcohol?
11. Is 30 min. walking equal to 20 min. jogging equal to 10 min. running? which is more effective?
12. I started a new regime of one hour exercises in the weekends and 3/4th my eating every meal. By doing this, I reduced my waistline by 3 inches (time for shopping!!!) but reducing further is getting difficult, what is going on?
13. People say, not to take cold shower or drink cold water after exercise, why is it?  I saw marathon runners and cyclists sipping water when running, what is the difference?
14. I  heard about good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, is there a difference?
15. Is there a way to tell which oil is good for us, peanut, corn, vegetable, sun flower, mustard and/or canola?
16. How does the steroids taken by some athletes work in enhancing muscle mass? what are these steroids and how are they metabolized in the body?
17. Does male body builders develop droopy breasts when they get old? why doesn't muscle shrink at old age?
18. Can you exercise only one side of the body and incrase strength on that side alone?

Thanks for the great show
Dharma
What do you think?

[Janus]

dharma prasad  asked the Naked Scientists:
   I am Dharma Prasad from Mysore, India. I started listening to your podcast while I was in San Francisco more than 2 years ago and I continue to do it till date and it has almost become an obsession.

1. Is there a difference if the exercise is done, before food, after food, morning, evening etc.

Exercise in the morning can be more effective if the goal is fat/weight loss.  Early exercise will get your metabolism rate up slightly for the whole day.  Exercise in the late evening is not good for the same reason as it can interfere with your sleep.

2. Can excessive sweating be used as a measure of excersion/exercising better? Does this vary if the day is hot or cold?

Sweat is yor bodies attempt to maintain body temp.   When yo exercise, the muscles generate more heat that your body tries to shed. You will sweat more more in warm weather than in cold for the same level of exertion. Humidity can also effect how much you sweat. Since evaporation of the sweat that provide the mechanism for cooling, And the sweat doesn't evaporate as well when its humid, the body tries to compensate by producing more sweat. Also, in really dry conditions, the sweat evaporates very quickly and you might not even notice how much you are sweating as it doesn't stick around long enough to bead up on you.

3. How does muscle utilize energy for doing its function?
4. How does the muscle grow when you exercise regularly?

When you exercise beyond your normal exertion level, you are breaking down muscle tissue. During the periods of rest between exercising, this tissue is rebuilt, but thicker than it was.

5. Why do marathon runners don't have visible muscle mass, whereas sprinters do?

There are two types of muscle fibers: Quick response and slow response.  A sprinter need to build up quick response fibers and build up muscle mass to generate the force needed to accelerate quickly. Marathon runners need slow response fibers which are more efficient at using oxygen and have better endurance. Also since marathon runners don't have to generate the type of acceleration forces a printer does, they don't require the extra muscle mass.

6. Is it true that, one should not eat for an hour after finishing exercises? (I understand, body assumes that its going to need more energy again and stores all the nutrients as fat)

It is actually a good idea to have a snack right after heavy exercise, otherwise the drop in sugar levels in your blood can trigger a response that causes you to eat more later than you normally would.

8. Which meal should be lighter if I want to reduce the fat arround my tummy, breakfast, lunch or dinner?

heavy meals late in the evening are not good as the body has no way to burn off the excess calories as you sleep and tend to store them as fat

9. How can you increase body mass (I am under the lower side) without accumulating fat around my tummy?

The right exercise and proper diet.  You want to do muscle-building types of exercises while eating the types of food that your body can use to build muscle

11. Is 30 min. walking equal to 20 min. jogging equal to 10 min. running? which is more effective?

The distance traveled, is the better indicator, if you walk, jog or run the same distance, you are burning just about the same number of calories.  Jogging or running will get your heart rate up more, so can be better for your cardio-vascular health.  It all depends on what you are more comfortable with and are able to maintain. I can easily fast walk (at about 4.6 mph) for 12+ miles but can only maintain a jog for ~30 mins and cover a bit over three miles.  Thus I can burn more calories fast walking than I can jogging, because I can keep it up longer.

18. Can you exercise only one side of the body and incrase strength on that side alone?

If you were to exclusively lift weights with your right arm only, it would gain muscle mass/strength while you left arm didn't

Thanks for the great show
Dharma
What do you think?