2. Do free weights make you big?
This question must be asked as often as any other. I have a question for you: "Does your muscle mass KNOW that you are using a free weight when you are lifting one, as opposed to a NAUTILUS machine? NO, NO, NO, NO it doesn't. It only knows the range of motion you use throughout your repetitions, the level of exhaustion you take your muscle to and the speed with which you perform your repetitions. IT DOES NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE OR ARE NOT USING A FREE WEIGHT. So, to answer your question: NO, the free weight, IN AND OF ITSELF, does NOT make you big. Most of those muscles you see "BIG" from free weight usage is the person not admitting to "ARTIFICIAL" means to get their "MUSCULAR SIZE" ends.

 3. If I want to lose fat, should I eat before I work out?
This is a tricky one. FAT is stored energy, so to lose excess fat, you need to use up the extra energy it represents. But just because you have excess body fat does not mean you have a high enough level of blood sugar to perform your fitness routine. You have to sort of "play it by ear" as to how much FOOD (blood sugar) you need "in" you when you work out. IDEALLY, you would have as little as possible, so your body would have to use up its excess fat stores instead of the food that you put in. JUST BE CAREFUL..... it is your consistent LIFESTYLE that will, in the long run, rid your body of excess fat....... NOT ANY ONE WORKOUT OR GROUP OF WORKOUTS.

 4. Which is better for losing body fat--aerobic exercise or weight training?
I recommend that you do both. Aerobic exercise will use up more energy per hour of performance, but weight training will "fire up" your muscle tissue (and possibly give you MORE and/or denser tissue) which, in turn, speeds up your metabolism. So they both play a role in bettering your health, but if you HAVE to choose between one or the other because of time constraints, DO AEROBIC EXERCISE. If possible, CIRCUIT TRAIN by "being aerobic" while you do your weight training. This accomplishes both and saves you time. JUST BE CAREFUL, when you first try circuit training your "head" is not used to it and you might get light-headed.

 5. Is 20 to 30 minutes long enough to do aerobic exercise?
To get your "heart" benefits it supposedly is. But for body fat burning, it barely accomplishes anything to only go for 20 or 30 minutes. Think about it, fat is stored energy, to use it up you must use up energy. If 20 or 30 minutes is all you have energy for, I would check your nutrition practices. If you supply enough nutrients, you can "go" much longer than a half hour.

 6. How much rest do I need between weight training sessions?
You need enough to fully recover from your last one. If you did not fully exhaust a muscle, you do not need a full two days rest. If you use your muscles in your aerobic exercises, you might need longer than two days. Just do this test: When you do your first few repetitions, do you feel fully recovered, or does your muscle feel "tired"? If you don't feel strong, than you probably need more rest for that particular muscle. If you feel strong and not tired from your last workout, than go for it.

 7. Should I use FREE WEIGHTS to build and NAUTILUS to lengthen?
Weight resistance is weight resistance, plain and simple. Your muscle doesn't "look out" and see what kind of weights you use and get different results accordingly. Use resistance to tire out your muscles and they will get results. Use a variety of weight machines and "free weights" for full adaptation by your muscles. The more varied the environments you expose your body to, the more health you will receive. 

 8. Is water important to my health pursuits?
YES. YES. YES. Can I make it any more clear than that? You are mostly made up of water (67%) and your muscles are even a higher percentage of water than your whole body (72%). Water and air are the two most important nutrients. You cannot live without either one.

 9. What do they mean when they say "body composition"?
Body composition is "what your body is composed of". Most experts are talking about your body fat and muscle levels when they say this term. Most of us do not have an optimal body composition level and claim to want to improve our level. Knowledge of how to improve this constituent of health will lead you to the healthiest and longest lasting results.

10. Is it true that it is harder to lose body fat the older you get?
NO. In fact, most aging is done "environmentally" as opposed to "chronologically". What I mean by this is that most of the aging I have seen by people has happened because of the environments (attitudes, beliefs, stress, lack of nutrients, lack of exercise, etc.) they have exposed themselves to rather than the years they have accumulated.

11. Should I use light weights with a lot of repetitions if I want to firm up and not build?
Muscle exhaustion is what makes a muscle build, not repetitions. Be aware of the level of exhaustion you supply to your muscles in order to gauge the "chance" you have of building. If an area gets too large, go to less exhaustion when working that area and it will shrink back to the size the new level of exhaustion dictates. This "building" rarely happens though, but seems to be feared by most women. Lose the fat in the area and you won't mind any muscle density that comes from weight training. Building muscle rarely happens to any large degree in women.

12. My trainer says the best exercises for my butt are lunges. What do you think?
For the fat or the muscle in your butt?---would be my first question. This is a body composition question. For the muscle, exhaust it with various exercises, using weight resistance when needed. For the fat, involve yourself in aerobic exercises, and keep track of your heart rate so you know, for sure, that you are aerobic. As far as any one exercise being better than any other? I doubt it. If so, wouldn't all those people you see doing lunges have the best butts in town?

13. Does going into the sauna, steam room or jacuzzi help you lose weight?
Weight, yes. Fat, NO. You lose body water. Your body is 67% water and your fat is 13% water. When you lose body water it will come mostly from your body (67% water) and/or your muscles (72% water), NOT your fat (13% water). If you lose body water you will lose some energy, which, in turn, results in less energy for your workouts where you really do have a chance to lower your body fat levels. So don't try to lose water, just try to lose excess fat.

14. What's the best aerobic exercise to do to lose fat?
The one that gets you to your pulse rate range, does not tire your muscles out and enables you to go as long as is possible. Other than those considerations, running/jogging is generally rated the best, although the most dangerous. The "best" because your body has to lose fat to help get rid of the heat it builds up while working out and has to get rid of fat to rid itself of mass in its attempt to get from point A to point B. The "most dangerous" because most people lose site of absorbing shock when they run/jog and tend to get injuries when participating in a running/jogging program for any length of time.

15. I've had a baby, is it harder to lose fat because I have had a child?
ABSOLUTELY NOT. You still have all the muscle tissue capacities you had before the birth. You still have the aerobic capacities you had before the birth. You just might not have the time you had before the birth. Hopefully your husband will help with the time factor. Being in shape is a great way to influence your child about the importance of health. No better way to teach than to be a living example.

16. What about these high protein diets? Are carbohydrates really that bad for me?
Food is good for you. Proteins have a role to play, so do carbohydrates, so do fats. The more natural the food, the better. Your brain runs on GLUCOSE, the simplest form of sugar. Carbohydrates can supply your brain with glucose and your muscles with the sugars they need to replace the glycogen you use up. NO, carbohydrates are NOT bad for you. These high protein diets are "hot" now, as they have been at times in the past. 
Here is why:
Your body is mostly made of WATER. If you lose body water, you lose weight. Guess what you lose on these high protein diets? WATER. Most of the high protein diets are "medically supervised", but most people think that means they are good for you. The reason they are "medically supervised" is because they NEED TO BE. The doctors monitor you to tell when to GET OFF the diet. Think about it, if the diet is HEALTHY, why would you need to get off of it? They can take you to KETOSIS, which is NOT a healthy thing to get "into". Use your search engines to look up KETOSIS and you can see what I mean. The theory is if "we" take the sugar out of your diet you will use your fat stores up. If only the body operated that simply. It doesn't.

Perhaps spending a little time on a diet that is fairly high in protein can pump a little water out of your system and get you "fired up" about losing weight, but don't make it a long term practice. Your workouts take the fat off ......don't be lazy.

17. So what kind of diet should I follow to lose weight?
After years of counseling people and hearing this question over and over, I've come to this conclusion: You go on a diet to supply nutrients, you exercise to lose excess fat. First add exercise. Try to eat natural food and eat when you need nutrients. Take a vitamin/mineral supplement if you choose, but try to use food to supply your body with needed nutrients. That is, after all, one of the major roles for food, whether we like it or not. The exercise alone might give you all the results you ever want. We have to get away from this "fighting against food" mentality we have in this country. FOOD IS NOT AN ENEMY. If you have excess body fat, it is stored energy that you need to use up with exercise. If you do not like exercise......TOO BAD! You will inevitably end up a victim of some dietary scam if you do not want to grow up and realize that exercise is needed to use up stored energy. 

18. Do diet sodas help you to lose weight?
The whole premise of diet drinks is to avoid calories. Whether you drink diet drinks or juice or whatever, you will be drinking mostly water. Calorie free water at that. Why not just drink water? If you want to drink something other than water, try to make sure it has nutrients in it of some sort. Diet drinks help you avoid calories, calories you probably take in in other forms of foodstuffs. Exercise helps you lose weight.

19. Do those pre-packaged diet plans work?
Here is what works: 1. Eat healthy food. 2. Exercise. If those plans, or any other plan, are built with this premise as the main ingredient, than YES they will work. If not, they won't.

20. Do you think stretching is important?
Only if you want to recover quicker from your workouts, get more flexible and release any self- supplied stress. I would say these are THREE MAJOR REASONS why stretching is important.