Ask Joe Weider

Tip of the Week: Don't always believe the "experts." Every day, I'm more and more convinced that many of the so-called experts on the human body — aka scientists — don't know half as much about diet and exercise as you do.

A half-century ago, I began compiling a group of principles for exercising based on things I witnessed bodybuilders doing. I dubbed these "The Weider Principles," and as it turned out, they work. They go by names like forced reps, continuous tension and even cheating. Basically, they're things bodybuilders instinctively know to do to elicit more benefit from their workouts. By the way, The Weider Instinctive Principle is yet another.

All this discovery and practice was going on during the 1950s, at a time when medical doctors were telling us that lifting weights would make a person "musclebound" — stiff and unable to move with ease. They would actually discourage people from vigorous exercise.

Well, here in the 21st century, I am constantly being presented papers across my desk that show scientific studies that support what I've known all along. The scientists and doctors are finally catching up.

So I say to you: Listen to your body. It knows what it needs with far greater accuracy than a stranger with a higher degree ever could.

Q: How many times a week should a person train? I get so many conflicting views on this matter. I think I can get to the gym four times a week, but would I be better off only going three times?

A: This question is kind of like asking how far one should drive to a restaurant or how high they should climb up that mountain. It's a very personal thing. Of course, like with anything, there are some general parameters you'd do well to follow.

First, erring on the side of overtraining can be detrimental to your health. A muscle group commonly requires 48 to 72 hours to recuperate enough to where you can train it again. This means avoiding training any one muscle group on consecutive days, generally speaking (there are times when hard-training bodybuilders may want to shock their muscles with consecutive workouts, but this is advanced stuff).

To avoid overtraining, we should not train the entire body at once, but break it down into body parts that we train on alternate days.

Unless you're an advanced bodybuilder, I would suggest you limit exercise to five days a week, at most.

As for undertraining, if you exercise less than twice a week you probably won't be making enough of an impact to retain any level of fitness.

I think four days a week is ideal for anyone whose goal it is to get firmer muscles, lose a little fat and improve their overall health. You can break the body in half and do chest, shoulders and arms one day and back, legs and abs the next, twice per week, possibly on a Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday split. This means you'll work the entire body twice per week. You can add some light cardio on your days off if you'd like, making this a very effective routine.

Q: How do you feel about eating fruit, Joe? It's gotten a bad rap in some circles because of its high sugar content. Should I just avoid it and stick to veggies, instead?

A: I think it's a tragedy when anyone with the power to influence the dietary decisions of others says that a food that is natural and unprocessed is bad for you. Fruit is a delicious health food that should be a part of your diet. Some fruit has vital nutrients, both macro and micro, and fiber. Blueberries are high in antioxidants. Oranges have lots of vitamin C. Bananas are stocked with potassium. Apples are a great source of fiber.

Now don't get me wrong, fruit is almost purely carbs — and fructose, a sugar, at that. So I wouldn't recommend sitting down to a fruit bowl before going to bed, as it can raise your insulin level and thus cause you to retain fat more easily.

However, eating a couple of pieces of fruit throughout the day is a terrific, healthy way to satisfy your hunger and provide yourself with a host of nutrients.

Joe Weider is the co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilders, creator of the Mr. Olympia and Ms. Olympia bodybuilding contests, and publisher of numerous fitness magazines. 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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