I'm holding steady at 190. I'd like to be 182 but in the mean time untill I figure out how to drop the weight, can I lift to strengthen my knees? After an evening of racquetball, my knees ache, sometimes through the following day. If so, what excersice and heavy weight or low weight? - Chris

Having a complete leg routine that includes the quadriceps, hamstrings, adductor and abductors at a moderate weight and reps of 12-15 is what I would reccomend. Start out with this workout once per week for now and make sure you are fully recovered and not sore before training again.
(Moderate Weight) - The last five reps ought to be challenging
Lying Leg Press - 3 Sets of 15
Leg Extension - 3 Sets of 20
Seated or Lying Hamstring Curl - 3 Sets of 15
Wall Squats with body weight to 90 degrees - 3 Sets of 15 Back is supported by wall, knees and toes face forward feet shoulder width apart begin sliding your back down the wall until your knees are at 90 come back up and repeat - can also be done with a theraband ball in between your back and the wall.
Adductor and Abductor squeezes and presses 3 Sets of 25
Keep in touch and let me know how that works - Happy Training!

Posted by Melissa at 12:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My friend Tracy who is also a writer for Family Time, emailed me this week with questions about simple ways to increase the activity level of people who aren't quite ready for the gym. She came up with the basics like these below which are great starting points to slowly increase your daily amount of movement and calories burned.

1. Take the stairs, not the elevator
2. Walk to the bus stop to pick up your kids instead of driving
3. Park in the back of a parking lot instead of the front

Question : My goal for the article is to give sedentary people really easy, almost without thinking ways, to increase their activity level. I'll end the article with a prod toward increasing it even more once they become adjusted. Do you have any ideas?

Answer:
Awesome I would love to help; Here is my spring theme:
1. Get your garden ready for spring – raking leaves and cleaning out planter beds believe it or not burns some calories and uses your arms and legs – Natural Cardio!

4. Just drink water – quit drinking everything else – your energy will go up - you will drop at least a few pounds.

5. If you have animals – walk them they need the exercise too.

Posted by Melissa at 04:48 AM | Permalink

I can't tell you how many times a day I am approached in the gym by someone looking for an answer on working out or nutrition and often times a lot of you ask the same questions, so I decided to open up a forum that will allow me to share the information with all of you here on the web. There is a lot of information out there and for someone new to fitness figuring out whats fact or fiction can sometimes be difficult. Each week on Friday I will do a post on the stuff you want to know about! If you have a fitness or nutrtion question I would love to hear from you! Send your inquiries to me at melissa@cosmopinkstyle.com.