Ask Joe Weider

Tip of the Week: Be a mentor, and help get a young person set on the path to fitness.

When I was a young man, I immersed myself in Montreal's weightlifting community, most of whose members were older than I. As a matter of course, a few of them took me under their wings, showing me proper lifting form and encouraging me through sticking points.

Shortly thereafter, I was fortunate enough to come in contact with my fitness hero, George Jowett. An icon in the strength and fitness field, George would soon help guide me, both in fitness and in business.

For the past seven decades, I've been able to serve as a guiding force for millions around the world — through my magazines, and of course, I have this column, through which I can reach a whole new audience.

I encourage you to make yourself available to those who could benefit from your expertise, be it in fitness or anything else, especially if you were once such a beneficiary yourself. Some call it "paying it forward." I call it the right thing to do.

Q: How often can I have a "cheat" meal? I've seen diets where they allow you one once a week, as a reward for dieting the rest of the week. Do you think this is a good idea? If so, can I do more than one a week if I spend extra time doing cardio?

Joe: The "cheat" meal is a popular concept in the diet world. The idea is to provide a mental break from constant dieting by allowing yourself to indulge in decadent foods one day a week.

There is some validity to the concept of cheat meals. Yes, they do provide that mental break that dieters often need, cutting down on the temptation to go entirely off the rails. But while the psychological benefit of taking one cheat day each week is obvious, more recent studies indicate that increasing your caloric intake one day a week might actually have a physical benefit, too.

When we dramatically increase our calories, our bodies produce more of a hormone called leptin, which in turn signals the body to increase metabolism to handle the extra food. The effects of the leptin increase last beyond your last cheat meal of the day, thereby causing the body to continue burning at a faster rate.

I recommend making your cheat day the one in which you train hardest, as the body will do a better job of using calories when it's depleted by hard exercise.

In fact, I even recommend a post-workout meal (liquid or otherwise) that includes up to 30 grams of simple carbohydrates to stimulate growth hormone production.

Q: Is there a way to tone the muscle of my arms without increasing their size? I like the look of Michelle Obama's arms, but I wouldn't want them bigger than that. Is this possible?

Joe: Of course it is possible to create sleeker, more defined arms through regular resistance training, but I wouldn't get too hung up on the specific measurement of your arms. Just by virtue of the fact that you are a woman, the odds are great against your arms blowing up to ungainly proportions. I don't mean this in a disparaging or sexist way at all.

As a woman, you have much less testosterone, the hormone most directly responsible for muscle growth, than a man does. For this reason, it's unlikely your arms could ever get bigger than a size you would appreciate.

To ensure you achieve the look you're seeking, I recommend concentrating on high reps with medium-light weight. When I say high reps, I'm talking up to 30, which is higher than a person looking to gain muscular size would generally perform. Below, I've outlined a simple arm routine that should give you the results you want in as little as eight weeks. Good luck in reaching your goal!

Joe Weider's Arm-Toning Routine

Exercise —— Sets —— Reps

Dumbbell curls —— 3* —— 30-20-10

supersetted with triceps pushdowns —— 10-20-30

Preacher bench curls —— 3* —— 20-15-10

supersetted with overhead dumbbell —— 10-15-20 extensions

* As you decrease the number of reps for curls, increase the number for pushdowns so that each of the three supersets equals 40 total reps.

Joe Weider is acclaimed as "the father of modern bodybuilding" and the founder of the world's leading fitness magazines, including Shape, Muscle and Fitness, Men's Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Hers, Golf for Seniors and others published worldwide in over 20 languages.To find out more about Joe Weider, write to him and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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