Tip of the Week: The wiser among us will encourage you to "make every day count." I couldn't agree more, and by way of paraphrase, I also encourage you to make every rep count. It may sound like a platitude, but trust me, in the realm of fitness it's one of the most valuable truisms you'll ever hear come from my mouth.

No matter what gym you go to, you're sure to find scores of people who are exercising with little, if any, enthusiasm. They'll be talking to a friend during the middle of a set or maybe looking off distractedly throughout, until they arbitrarily decide to end it, regardless of whether anything had been accomplished. Then, month after month, they wonder aloud why they're not meeting their fitness goals.

If you focus on the small — each rep — and make sure it's the best rep it can be, you'll find it's actually difficult not to achieve your fitness goals. Reps lead to sets, which lead to workouts, which after weeks and months, lead to progress.

Here's another phrase: Think globally, act locally. It's good practice for the environment; it's good practice for your training.

Q: I'm a 63-year-old woman who's coming off recent back surgery. I had spinal fusion in my lumbar region three months ago and then went through a course of physical therapy. I'm pain free, but a little stiff and feeling weaker than I was before I went in for surgery. Do you have any recommendations for types of exercises I can start performing?

A: I actually have empathy for you, as I underwent major back surgery myself three years ago and know what that stiffness you write about feels like. Obviously, before you undertake any kind of physical activity, especially after a procedure like yours, you'll want to consult with your physician. Once you've consulted with him (as I imagine you already have), there are a few different activities you might want to try as you work to regain your strength.

I happen to be an old gym rat and personally would rather do nothing more than train in a gym. That being said, however, I think that when it comes to building overall strength after a long period of inactivity or an injury, nothing beats swimming.

Swimming is the lowest impact activity you can possibly perform, works every muscle in your body and is a great way to do cardio. Now you can even increase resistance as you do in the gym, by employing the use of foam "dumbbells" specially made for pool use.

After a few weeks of pool training, you should be ready to get into a gym, if that interests you, keeping careful to not put undue pressure on your lower back. Best of luck as you continue your road back!

Q: I've been working out for six months and want to add 30 pounds of muscle. I want to take several supplements, including whey protein, creatine and arginine, but my mom says I'm too young and that these supplements are dangerous. I'm 16 and have always been pretty responsible. How can I convince her that these supplements are safe for me to take?

A: As you already know, the supplements you mention, if taken in moderation, are not only safe but highly effective in helping with recuperation and growth following a workout. To my knowledge, there has never been a report of a major adverse effect in anyone who took any of these supplements according to their directions.

Convincing your mom of this might be difficult, however. The problem has nothing to do with your mom and everything to do with the media, not to mention certain members of the U.S. Congress. You see, supplements have been increasingly demonized over the past few years. They've been wrongly implicated with steroids in the controversy surrounding alleged steroid use in professional sports. So, your mom is reacting with understandable concern to the bombardment of negative press surrounding supplements she's faced with every day.

The best thing you can do is to help educate her as to what the supplements are and what they aren't. Do some online research together, and discuss the reasons you feel they're right for you. Education is always the best way to allay a person's fear of the unknown. I'm confident that once your mom fully understands what whey, creatine and arginine are and what they do she'll be much more apt to allow you to make them a part of your bodybuilding program.

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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