Exercise Questions and Answers
Updated On Wednesday 10/08/2003

Q. From Craig sent on 9/20/2003: When I run I get a terrible pain in both of my calf muscles. (not sure of the proper term!) I stretch for at least 5 minutes and I bike for about 6 more before I run. I may get a little beyond half a mile into my run and I have to stop due to my legs hurting so badly. What do you suggest I do? Some have suggested Creatine but I am skeptic of taking supplements.  Is this something that I'll get over eventually? Will strength training for my legs help?  I've noticed that when I run on a tred my legs don't hurt nearly as bad. I would like to get away from tred running as it is VERY boring. Thank you for anything you're able to suggest!

No, Do not take creatine, it will not assist in your problem. Have you been to a doctor yet? This should be your first step. Please contact me after you visit with your physician. 

Q.From Dorothy sent on 9/18/2003: HELLO BOB,
WHEN DOING RESISTANCE TRAINING, CAN YOU HAVE A GOOD WORKOUT BY LIFTING ONE SET ON EACH MACHINE,WITH AS MUCH WEIGHT AS YOU CAN HANDLE,WITH CORRECT FORM? I THINK THIS IS CALLED MAXING OUT? IS IT OKAY TO DO YOUR WORKOUT THIS WAY?

My first suggestion is easy on the all CAPS. How many reps are we talking here? Lifting to failure is not a requirement. 

Q. From Amanda sent on 9/18/2003: Hi Bob ,
I gained 80lbs while I was pregnant with my son. I had my son 12/22/2001. After I had my son I weighed in at 219 I am 5'7". I have gotten down to 167lbs now and I have only been working out (running) about 2 days a week for 20 minutes at a time. My body is still very flabby. I would like to get down to 140lbs. I do not want to be full of muscle but I would like to look lean with every thing in it's place again. What type of exercise do you suggest to achieve my goal..... quickly.

You sound like you are on the right track. I highly recommend HIIT training to achieve your goal.

Q. From Jest sent on 9/16/2003: Hi! I'm tryign to find some excercises I can do to reduce my bust size.  I want to be more toned and less busty.  Thanks for the help!

You should be able to reduce your bust size by reducing your body fat. 

Q. From Dennis sent on 9/15/2003:  I have pretty much a sedentary lifestylr for about 8 years. I reached almost 350 lbs. I have decided I have had enough. I started out on my home treadmill for 20 minuts two times a day for a couple weeks. I have reached 305 lbs. I am now going to the park every morning at 7:45AM and walking 3.7 miles in just over 1 hour. My weight is fluctuating between 310 and 305. I am trying to watch my caloric intake. My question is, is 3.7 miles a day enough? I have been doing this for five days in a row, taking one day off and then again I will go another 5 days in a row.

3.7 miles a day may be enough, but your body has obviously accommodated to that intensity and volume. You now have a choice to make, either increase the distance or increase the intensity. You increase the intensity by performing the same distance in less time. 

Q. From Kelly sent on 9/14/2003: If i have field hockey practice everday for 2 horus is it still imporant for me to do other excersing through out the week to loose weight?

Only if you are already eating healthy and not losing the weight you seek.

Q. From Rabia sent on 9/14/2003: HI BOB!i m 23 years old girl i m slim n normal figured girl my breast size is 32inches but i want to increase it atleast upto 2 inches will u plz help me out from this by tell me some home excersices.......waiting for ur reply!

Well rabia, breast size is usually the result of genetics or plastic surgery. You can try increasing the muscle in the area and see if that helps, but don't count on much. 

Q. From Melissa sent on 9/12/2003: Hey Bob, I certainly hope you can help me.  I am a 36 year old woman that began a weight loss and fitness program 16 months ago.  When I began, I weighed 250 pounds and am now at 169.  I have reduced my body fat dramatically and am fairly happy with the way my body is changing.  However, I still have pockets of fat on the fronts of my lower legs - my shins.  I have not seen this on other women, even those that are overweight, and I have no idea how to target that area.  I know exercises for my calves, but what can target and reduce the shin area?  HELP!

Well, it sounds like you believe that it is possible to spot reduce fat, which it isn't. You can perform exercises for those area until you are blue in the face, but your results will be minimal. You need to lose more fat overall if you want lose fat in those areas. I have just finished an article on the myth of spot reducing fat and will should be adding it soon. 

Q. From Tara sent on 9/11/2003: Good morning,
I am 29 and have a slight droop to my breasts. I have lost 40 lbs over the last year and I am wondering if there are any exercises I can do to lift my breasts and try to avoid a breast lift?
Thank You

Hi Tara, What you can do is try and increase the muscle under the breast fat in order to "tighten" the area. Of course there is a limit. I would suggest that you try and perform some exercises specific to your chest muscles and see what happens. 

Q. From Lana sent on 9/10/2003: Hello Mr. Bob,
I am going to gym everyday for about 1.5 hours. I do biking and weight lifting but for some reason I don’t see much results on my abs.
Can you please suggest good exercises for abs?
by the way your website is great11111111

I cannot honestly give you a reliable answer since I do not know what your training consists of. What results are you seeking for your abs? If you are looking for fat loss in the ab region, than overall fat loss is what you seek. This is accomplished by increasing the calories metabolized and decreasing the intake of calories.

Q. From Michele sent on 9/9/2003: I wrote the other day about losing fat and not weight and u said to start some strength training. Is strength training and weight training the same. Will HIIT also be beneficial to me or should i just stick to strength training?

Yes, strength training and weight training are used to mean the same thing, although they do differ. Strength training is anything that is used to improve strength, while weight lifting is more specific. I apologize for the mistake. Weight training is a good method of fat loss. HIIT is very beneficial for fat loss, probably the best method. If you are looking for an actual HIIT program to follow, my book offers a complete HIIT progressive program. 

Q. From Nehal sent on 9/4/2003: Hi Bob. My name us Nehal. I weight 50kg. my height is 5'4. its the 1st time, i came in ur website. it looks very helpful. i need some of ur help? i do regular exercise, like sits-up, skipping and walking. evryday i do around 100 sits up n 100 skipping but still i dont see any difference in my thighs. my thighs r well fatty. all my friends have skinner thighs. is there any other way, that i can loose fat from my thigh with exercise.

Your intensity if far to low. If you really want to burn calories you need to increase the intensity. Since I do not know your fitness level I cannot give you any exercise advice, but you increase the intensity by making the exercise harder. 

also, i have big breast, which makes me so depressed.i cant wear any clothes which i like?i cant wear any tight clothes coz it looks well ugly on me, n also half of the clothes doesnt fit me.pls tell me, any exerice 2 reduce my fat from breast as well. i dont wants 2 do any surgery or take medicines. is there any exerice 2 reduce the breast size? pls tell me asap.

You can reduce your breast size by losing more body fat. This is accomplished the same way as above. I don't know how old you are, but I would suggest being happy with your breast size. It seems everyone is unhappy with their breasts, either too small or too big, how about just being happy with what you were born with?

Q. From Amy sent on 9/2/2003: Hi - I'm a 26yr old female. I'm fairly slim. When I was young I used to swim competitively and had a lot of muscle bulk especially in my legs.  When I stopped that bulk dropped off and I got a great shape.  Now I'm getting fit again - I'm walking and jogging on the treadmill (30 mins 3 time a week) and doing some light weights for my arms.  Sadly my legs have started to bulk again and I don't know what to do. My thighs are getting thicker especially at the front and my calf muscles are massive after only 3 months.  Can you tell me if there is anything I can do to stop this bulking.  I eat very little - few carbs.  I want to be fit and have definition but I don't want to look like an Olympic hurdler. I've tried every toning exercise under the sun (yoga etc). Is there something I can do that will get me defined muscle but no bulk.  I look at actresses like Jennifer Garner and I have no idea how they get their legs so toned without the bulk. Please, is there any advice you can give me?

A. You need to look at your diet. If you are in a negative calorie diet, your body will not put on any bulk. You can also try dropping the cardio and lift weights instead. You will have to experiment with rep ranges and find a rep range that does not cause you to bulk up. Usually reps ranges in the 20 -30 range will not cause you to bulk up. 

Q. From Linda sent on 9/1/2003: I have very bulky and muscular calves.  It stands out from my legs and the rest of my body.  What kind of exercise and is there any type of machine that helps to reduce the size of my calves.

A. This depends on whether the bulk is fat or muscle. If it is fat, more fat loss overall will decrease their size, but if it is muscle, long distance jogging type of activities will reduce the muscle tissue in that area.

Q. From Toney sent on 9/1/2003: I'm 235 pounds and work out daily with light weights 80-100 pounds and do 2-sets of 8-12 reps. I mainly do upper body ersecises with barbells only. my goal is to tone my muscles and lose about five pounds and increase strenght. should I rest a day in between exercises or okay with my daily exercise routine.

A. It would be best to rest a day between sessions. 

Q. From Saber send on 8/31/2003: what u meen by simple carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats. can u please give me a example of a food that has those elements in them. would rice by one of them?

Simple carbohydrates are carbohydrates such as table sugar, white rice, white bread, etc. Hydrogenated fats are fats such as margarine and shortening. You can look at the ingredients to see if it is hydrogenated or not.  

Q. From Linday sent on 8/28/2003: My name is Lindsay and I am a teen. I was wondering if you could help me out with and the questions I have. I am only 16 years old I know I am still in the early puberty stage like I am fully developed and what not but lately I have been very hungry and I have been eating a lot and a lot of people have been starting to notice. It has come to my attention that I would like change my appearance, I am right now 135 pounds with the height of 5'9. I have always had a great body so they guys and model agents have always told me I was wondering if you could help me by sending me a list of a nutritional plan that I could go by day to day along with an exercise routine that is quick and easy with the busy schedules that’s are starting to arise.
Please send the following info to the email address above. Its greatly appreciated.

The book I have just completed and should be available soon addresses this issue. Please look for it in about 3 weeks.

Q. From Heather sent on 8/27/2003: I'm 31, 5'4, 170, 40% body fat.I had been doing step aerob 2x/wk, & pump class 2x/wk for ~1 yr.I lost approx 10 lbs (no body fat), but reached a plateau. At the end of July I started your beginner weight program - lifting 4x/week, lower M,Th Upper Tues, Fri. And, doing HIIT 4x/wk. Two questions. 1)I feel I can now lift more weight on several of the exercises. Should I? 

Yes increase the weight as you are able to.  This is the idea, increase the intensity and you will increase your calorie expenditure. If you hold back the routine will not be as effective.

Or, should I stay the same, and just wait to be more challenged when I increase to 2 sets in 2 weeks? 2)I lost 2 lbs this month, but it was while I was on a week vacation in Mexico, not working out, which seems odd.  Besides, I am really am trying to lose fat.I do feel like the weight/HIIT has done something since I can feel my skin temperature is much hotter at night now (faster metabolism?). Any suggestions to improve my workout?

Your workout looks good, just make sure that you are challenging yourself. If you can lift more weight than lift more weight. You also have to make sure your HIIT training is intense. 

I have also been trying to eat 4 to 5 times a day. When I monitored what I ate for a week, it ended up varying between 1600 and 2200 cal/day, usually around 2000. Is this ok?

Yes, this is ok. Make sure you keep me up to date with your progress or lack of progress. How do you like the routine?

Q. From Frank sent on 8/25/2003: bob
have been running for about 5 months now.....4.5 miles 4/5 times per week....and have lost about a stone
running at 8 min mile pace
however am finding it difficult to lose 'tyre'around the stomach although didnt have this problem 6/7 years ago
is it my age and middle-age spread?
someone suggested situps etc  but surely this will only strengthen stomach muscles and push stomach out
            any advise?

A. I would suggest you increase your intensity. 

Q. From Tanya sent on 8/21/2003: Hello there bob, my name is Tanya and I am twenty five years old. I am in karate and taking a emt class. I do not have a membership to a gym, but I have some free weights at my house. I am a third degree red belt in karate and looking for some exercises that I can do around the house to build my endurance, cardio, strength training and make me perform better in karate generally. I want to be able to preform better in my karate classes and can preform better on my kicks. What kind of exercises do you suggest that I do to get my endurance up and that I can do at my house? (I will be testing for my black belt in karate next year in april or june of next year.)   

A. Do you have a stationary bike or other type of exercise equipment? If not, you can go to your local track. I would suggest a light warm-up followed by 10 yard dashes. Do not perform full out sprints, but rather fast running. Run for 10 yards than walk for 10 yards and repeat until you are too tired to continue. This will increase your strength endurance.

Q. From Wverona sent on 8/16/2003:I know form reading some of your answers for inquiring folks about how to lose weight that a person needs to lower their calorie intake etc.  I'm 5'1 and weigh about 255.  I have lost 10 pounds in the last two months.  My goal is to drop down to 130 because I have a large bone structure.  The problem is by breast.  They are huge and sag with lots of loose skin.  If I cut fat  is calories out of my diet and reduce my breast size, what exercises do you suggest I do to give me firm sking for firm perky breast?  If you could help it would really make me feel better.

A. Yes you can reduce your breast size by losing fat. If you look and people who are anorexic you will see they do not have much in the way of breast size. I am not suggesting you become anorexic, I am only using this as an extreme example. I would suggest any exercises that work the chest muscle in order to build the muscle under the fat. Next, cut your calories in order to lose the fat. 

Q. From Tina sent on 8/14/2003: How do I burn fat without creating more muscle mass?  I have plenty of muscle now, and am trying to lose the last 15 or 20 pounds to reach my goal weight (I have lost about 20 pounds in 3 months) but I just keep adding muscle underneath the fat and extra skin.  This only makes me look fatter.  

I exercise regulary and am on a diet and diet pills prescribed by doctor.  When I exercise I use machines at the YMCA, and always make sure my pulse is in the fat burning range, but it does not seem to be working.

A. Your pulse is in the fat burning range eh, well I guess the fat burning range isn't really a fat burning range. Get off the machines and start some real resistance training. Increase the intensity and you will increase the calories your body burns. You will not gain muscle mass unless you are eating a lot of calories.

Q. From Hope sent on 8/14/2003: Hi Bob I am writing to you all the way from Jamaica. I would like to know what is the best way to get rid of cellulites on my inner thighs. I go to the gym and use the Thread Mill is that good enough.

A. Cellulite is only body fat, so anything that will reduce body fat will also reduce the cellulite. I would suggest you get off the tread mill and start lifting some weights. 

Q. From Phil sent on 8/14/2003: Can you provide a good definition of the term "helping synergist" and give a couple of examples relating to an exercise like a pull-up or hanging leg-raise?

A. Defining muscle actions and synergists and antagonist is really inaccurate in imprecise. In both the hanging leg raise and pull up all muscles work together to produce these movements. In some movements a muscle may act like a stabilizer muscle one instant and a prime mover the next instant. 

Q. From Angela sent on 8/14/2003: Hi Bob, thanks for the great tips and sensible information you provide.
My husband and I lift about 4x a week and until a few weeks ago I was suffering through about 45 minutes of cardio before lifting (i know this is not ideal but the only time schedule allows.) Now that I have been a little more educated (thanks!) however, I have begun a HIIT program and love it.
In the last 4 months I have been able to reduce my body fat by 5% and I'm very excited about it.  
I love the way my muscles respond to weight lifting and am overall very happy with what I am doing and can continue a routine like this for the rest of my days-easily.
My question is this, what is a reasonable goal for body fat percentage??  I am a normal female, and I have a life outside of the gym, I'm not looking to get to the 10% I was as a collegiate athlete.  Just a normal fit woman, not a competitor (yet).
Thank you again for your great information.

A. Hi Angela, I appreciate you taking the time to tell me the results you have had with HIIT training. This alone makes all the work of maintaining this website worth it! I would suggest you find a body fat percentage you are happy with. Let the mirror be your guide. Please keep me up to date with your progress. Make sure you keep variety in your HIIT training also.

Q. From Karen sent on 8/11/2003: Hi, Bob.  I used to be quite overweight and suffered from back spasms, but six months ago I got a treadmill.  I have worked my way up to 45 minutes 6 x a day (3.5% incline, 3.8 mph) and I feel great!  Around six weeks ago I joined a gym and do strength training every other day, targeting my back/abs (one gym day-upper back and the next-lower back).  I feel really wonderful, but I wonder if I will ever get rid of all of the extra tummy and thigh fat and cellulite?  I assume the stretch marks will never go away, but I wonder if my body will ever look "normal" again, even after I reach my goal (~20 more lbs to lose).  Would adding leg and arm strengthening be to any benefit to me?  Thank you.

A. Yes you can get rid of that cellulite and fat. Adding leg and arm strengthening would be of benefit. Increase the intensity and you will increase the calorie expenditure.

Q. From Shannon sent on 8/11/2003: Is it more beneficial to exercise more (i.e. more than once a day) when trying to lose weight, or is there such a thing as exercising too much.

A. Yes, there is a such thing as exercising too much and it is called over-training. You exercise more than once and not over train though. You can exercise 3 times a day 3 times a week. Just make sure you have a couple of days off each week.

Q. From Lydia sent on 8/08/2003: I am a 39 yr old female who recently decided to take control of my health. I walk approx 5-7 miles/wk. Have cut out junkfood, i.e. chips, candy, soda.. I weigh 280lbs and have no problem with losing 1-2 lbs a wk to get to my goal.

A. You seem to be on the right track. I found your other question and to get the J Lo butt you should start with genetics, but if you don't have the genetics what you can do is increase the muscle in the region which will give you a bigger butt.

Q. From Lani sent on 8/07/2003: What is HIIT training??  And if you have belly fat, and someone says the only way it will go away is with surgery, is this true? Is there any way to tone and flatten a droopy belly?

A. HIIT training in High Intensity Interval training. Check the article archives and read the article on HIIT training. You can get rid of belly fat without surgery. You need only lose more fat until you reach your goals. 

Q. From Jerry sent on 8/04/2003: I'm a recreational weight lifter.  Is it true that tendons and ligaments can be strengthened through near-maximal weight training (80% or more of Max weight, with low reps)?  In the past, tendon injuries have slowed me down.  I'm much more careful now about form and control, but would like to strengthen them to avoid future injury.  Any idea where I can find out more about tendo-strengthening training?

A. Ligaments and tendons take longer to strengthen than muscle. Tendons and ligaments are strengthened through weight lifting and other types of resistance training. Dr. Siffs Supertraining book covers this topic. 

Q. From Phil sent on 8/01/2003: A question about exercise routine for a 44 year old male, 6'2'',205 lbs.  Exercise 5-6 days a week at home.  Alternating days, 3-4 sets of: 40 pushups, 75 crunches, 100 abdominal twists, 15 tricep presses with one dumbbell, followed by (12 cable triceps, 20 calf raises, 20 squats, 12 prone shoulder presses on 1000 total gym). Then a set of 25 on a cardio glide machine ( a mix of a rowing machine and bike). On the other days, I do a full bench press workout, plus 4 sets of crunches, 3 sets of 100 abdominal twists, overhead tricep curls with a tricep blaster, Military press, bar curls and wrist curls.  I am maxing out on the bench at about 230 lbs. I feel in shape and don't look so bad, I don’t feel I am gaining a lot of strength or making gains.  When younger, I maxed on the bench at 325.  I have been exercising for about 4 months steady. I seem to be sore in my muscles quite often, and do take more time to recover. Is my age a major factor?  Is there a better program for me? Thanks!

A. Your routine seem to be of low intensity, low weights and high reps. How long have you been training consistently for You should decrease the reps and increase the weight.  As you get older you will take longer to recover. In addition, you need to make sure you have variety in your training routines.

Q. From Laryssa sent on 7/30/2003: I'm 32 and weigh 185 at 5'3".  I've started lifting weight and doing cardio.  I want to know how many exercises per muscle should I do.  For example, should I do two different exercises for my triceps at 3 sets for 15 reps or should I do more. 

A. I would suggest just one exercise per muscle for now. 

Q. From Nikki sent on 7/27/2003: Bob, I have these "bumps" on my outter thighs. It's either muscle (which I dont think) or fat (that I would like to get rid of). These "bumps" as I would call it make my legs look fatter and I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to loss these. If you need a better description let me know, but Thank You.

A. What do you mean by bumps? Are you talking about cellulite? Are they hard like muscle or soft like fat? Would it be possible to send a picture?

Q. From Nicole sent on 7/27/2003: Hi Bob, I want to lose fat/gain muscle into my inner and outter thighs, what are some excerises I can do so I can "tone up" my legs? Thanks for helping!

A. Squats, deadlifts, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, etc.

Q. From Lisa sent on 7/21/2003:Bob, I am a triathlete.  I have noticed that I am starting to plateau in my training.  I don't seem to be getting any faster in my swimming/biking/running.  I think my body has found a "comfort level" so to speak and is happy there.  I find it hard to push myself to swim, bike or run any faster.  In additon to that I do two full body weight lifting sessions a week. I work out 6 days a week and am thinking that possibly my body is just tired. Do I need to cut back the workouts to up the intensity level?  In other words...how do I reach the next level?  Thanks!

A. Hi Lisa, you should decrease volume as you increase the intensity. Another possibility is over-training. Take a week off and when you come back try to train 5 days a week instead of 6. If you are still having problems contact me again and we will work from there.

Q. From Anthony sent on 7/17/2003: Dear Bob,
     I am giving a persuasive speech on why people should join a gym?  Now I figure you could give me some good reasons or anything worth mentioning in my speech on why someone should join a gym?  Thanks so much.  

A. Anthony, I hope this isn't too late but I will give you some reasons. First, are you looking for reasons to join a gym or reasons to exercise? 

Q. From Rachel sent on 7/15/2003: okay Bob I have a few questions to ask. I know everyone has been asking the same thing but my questions are somewhat a little different. My thighs I hate them. They don't look bad at all in fact i get compiments but I want to tone them up what excercises can I do and how long should I do them. Also my stomach their not that big just the sides and a little in the middle , if your answer is going to be crunches how many and how long should I do them. please help me i'm 15 and I need your help , because sometimes this stuff gets me really down. THX

A. Good exercises for the thighs are squats, deadlifts, leg presses, leg extensions, etc. How many and how often depends on your level of fitness. To lose the fat on your stomach and sides, you need to lose more fat overall since it is impossible to spot reduce fat. 

Q. From Nancy sent on 7/13/2003: I'm a mother of a one year old boy. I'm 26 years old. My height is 5 feet 9 inches, and I weight 110 pounds.
the thing is that I breasfeded my baby for 10 months.
And now I see that I have muscle relachment in the breast area, and in the hip area too. I didn't do any exercice after delivery other than light walking.
Please I'm asking for an advice about it. cause many people told me that I have no chance getting back a firm breast.
Thank you

A. There is always a chance, you could easily have a breast lift and prove them all wrong, but I think you would first like to try a more natural approach. What you could do is exercise the chest muscles and increase the muscle mass in this area. This will have a tightening effect, but it takes a little while to build muscle. 

Q. From Rick sent on 7/11/2003: Hey bob. I'm 18 and I weigh 132 lbs. My legs are in amazing shape because I bike about 200 km. a week. I cant afford equipment, so I was wondering if there are any upper body excercises that I can use. I have a goal of hitting 200lbs by christmas. I don't have any fat at all, and whatever muscle mass i do have, it is really dense. I want to improve my pecs, bicepts, and my 6 pack. How do you suggest I go about this?

A. Rick, for your chest you could perform some push-ups and for the biceps you could perform some pull ups. You can add resistance to your pull-ups by strapping some weight to your body. I would also suggest you look into purchasing some jump-stretch bands from jumpstretch.com. They will give you the ability to perform many exercises in your home. 

Q. From Luis sent on 7/9/2003: I'm 15 and wiegh 230pounds, 5'5.Which is the easeist way to get rid of your big stomuch and big man boobs.

A. Through good eating habits and exercise. Resistance training will firm up that chest and reduced calorie intake will take care of the stomach.

Q. From Courtney sent on 7/9/2003: I am a 23 year old girl and I weigh about 125 lbs. I am currently doing a combination of weights, cardio and diet to lose overall body fat. However, my main goal is to achieve a smaller waistline which I am targeting every other day with an intense ab workout. Unfortunately, I have been noticing that my waist seems to be getting wider or thicker. Is this a result of exercises I am doing or is it because I am predisposed to have a square figure. Is there anything that is known for slimming and toning rather than bulking.

A. An intense ab workout will not help you attain your goal of a smaller waistline. This is again using the mythological belief that you can spot reduce fat, which you cannot. As for slimming and toning vs bulking, you get sliming and toning through a decrease consumption of calories while you get bulking from a increase consumption of calories. Your abs may be getting thicker and wider due to the increased muscle mass in the region from your "targeted" ab training. You are building the muscle under the fat. Drop the ab routine and only work the abs as part of your total routine. My book focuses on this very issue and should be available later this month.

More