Ask Joe Weider

Tip of the Week: Hold the dressing!

For as popular as salads are with dieters, it never ceases to amaze me how many drench their greens in heavy dressings. I've have seen otherwise healthy salads have their calorie count multiplied tenfold, thanks to a couple of dollops of creamy ranch or bleu cheese.

For example, a serving size (2 tablespoons) of a popular brand of ranch dressing contains more than 15 grams of fat and nearly 150 calories. In contrast, a 3-ounce serving of a baby mixed greens salad contains just 15 calories. Using this example, it's easy to see how something meant to serve a dieter's needs can easily become his or her foil.

Obviously one solution is to use a "lite" or fat-free dressing rather than a regular version. My problem with these, however, is that they often contain more artificial ingredients and sweeteners to make up for the fat that's been removed.

To me, a more elegant solution is to get a spray bottle for your dressing. By spraying a vinaigrette onto your salad rather than pouring a heavier dressing, you can get more covering with fewer calories and all the taste you should need.

Q: Is there a rule of thumb for the number of sets you should do for each body part? In other words, do I do the same number of sets for my legs and arms, or because my legs develop more easily than my arms should I lay off them a bit?

Joe: While there isn't a "rule of thumb" per se, you would do well to apply different volumes of training to different body parts. While there is certainly an individual component to this, as in your legs growing more easily than your arms, there's also the simple matter of different body parts being able to handle differing amounts of stress.

The back happens to be a large muscle group, consisting of the latissimus, the spinal erectors, the trapezius and the rhomboids, as well as other smaller underlying muscles. This group as a whole can handle a lot of work. In contrast, the biceps of the arms are quite small and therefore only needs about half the workload of the back.

Similarly, the shoulders require more sets than the triceps, but not so many as the chest.

The thighs can handle more work than any of the other muscle groups, but if yours grow as easily as you say, then you probably don't need to do more sets for them than you would, say, your chest.

Of course, I'm only giving you relatives here. For absolutes, I would need to know your specific goals. If you're interested in building lots of muscle, I might have you do 16-20 sets for thighs, 14-16 for chest and back, 12-14 for shoulders and 8-10 for biceps and triceps each. If fitness is your aim, then I might halve those numbers. So, it's more about the ratio of sets per each bodypart rather than absolute numbers.

Q: I'm wondering if it's OK drinking a glass or two of red wine a day for the health benefits, or if the extra calories aren't worth it. I do enjoy the occasional glass, but am trying to lose 20 pounds and enjoy my wine, and I also know that it contains antioxidants. What do you think, Joe?

Joe: Drinking a glass or two of wine a day is not only not dangerous for the typically healthy person, it can be beneficial. Red wine has been shown to thin the blood much in the same way that aspirin does, and as you pointed out, it does contain the antioxidant resveratrol, although in small amounts. If it's the antioxidant effect you're looking for solely, you'd be better off simply taking concentrated resveratrol in pill form. There just isn't enough in wine to make that much of a difference.

If you enjoy a glass of wine every now and then, however, I wouldn't worry about cutting it from your diet. Typically a glass of red wine contains fewer than 100 calories — not enough to make a noticeable impact on your diet. Plus, if that glass helps you to relax, you won't be as susceptible to any hunger pangs you might have from dieting. So go ahead and enjoy your wine, and pour me a glass while you're at it ...

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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