Ask Joe Weider

Tip of the Week: How much food you eat is important, but not more than the quality of the food you eat.

It seems that a lot of dieters fastidiously track the number of calories they'll consume in a day as well as the amount of macronutrients — protein, fat and carbohydrates. Unfortunately, not as many concern themselves with the types of foods they eat, preferring to focus on quantity rather than quality. This is a mistake.

Here's a good example of what I mean. Say you wanted to have a light snack between lunch and dinner — around 60 calories' worth. Two options include a large apple and a lollipop with a chewy center. Although their macronutrient breakdowns are almost identical in that they're both made almost entirely of carbs with little or no fat or protein content, the nutritional content disparity is dramatically different between the two. Whereas the pop is little more than processed sugar, the apple will provide you with around 2.5 grams of fiber and 110 milligrams of potassium.

So, never fall into the "counting calories" trap if you want to count on maintaining good health

Q: I'm a 33-year-old woman who is dedicated to getting into the shape of my life. The thing is, gyms bore me. You may not like hearing that, but it's true. So, I'm looking for something I can do at home that's fun and fast-paced. I've seen several kinds of bar and cable systems, various total body machines and even poles to dance on. My question is, are any of these at-home systems worth the money?

Joe: So you don't like gyms? I can't say I understand your thinking, but I respect it — and I will say that you're by no means the first person whose told me that gyms aren't for them. If not gyms then, what to do ... ?

As you mentioned, there is a seemingly endless array of home gym devices on the market. I know of several, but the pole is a new one to me. Regardless, the type of equipment you decide upon isn't nearly as important as your using it regularly.

I know I'm not telling you anything new, but the simple fact is that the vast majority of people who purchase these devices relegate them to a closet within a month.

Whether it's useful or useless, that ab machine or wonder band will probably end up collecting dust.

Now what I would suggest first, before you spend a single penny, is that you commit yourself to an equipment-less routine for 30 days. This could include pushups, crunches, deep knee bends and running three times a week. If you can stick with this, then you'll probably make good use of your purchase.

Q: Can you define what "training to failure" means? I read it all the time in bodybuilding magazines, and while it seems pretty obvious on the surface, I can't imagine it actually means training until your muscles fail, because then there is "going beyond failure," which makes no sense at all to me.

Joe: You bring up an interesting point, one which gives me the opportunity to clarify just what these terms mean.

"Training to failure" is when you train to a point where you can no longer perform the positive portion of a repetition without assistance. Keep in mind that it's always easier to lower a weight (the negative portion of a rep) than raise it (the positive portion), so when the muscles can no longer raise that weight, they've reached momentary failure.

This explains how one can train beyond failure. By employing the use of a spotter, one can raise the weight and then lower it on his own. These spotted repetitions are also called forced reps, and they can be the most beneficial of an entire set. Yet while you can train beyond failure, once you can no longer lower the weight without the use of a spotter you need to stop. This is the point at which you can hurt yourself.

I recommend going to failure only on one exercise per body part and going beyond failure just every other week. Such advanced training principles are very taxing on the body and therefore need to be used sparingly.

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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