Tip of the Week: Undoubtedly you appreciate a sense of order in your daily life, whether it's the order in which you go about tasks (the supermarket first, then the cleaners) or the order of your meals (dinner after lunch). Likewise, order in your workouts is essential for maximizing your productivity and minimizing your workload.

By organizing your workouts correctly, you can train more efficiently, thereby cutting down on time while increasing effectiveness. For example, when exercising your back, the biceps muscles come heavily into play. This means that you don't want to train your biceps before training your back since they, as a smaller muscle group, will fatigue first, preventing you from fully taxing your back muscles.

Alternately, by training the larger muscle group, such as the chest, in a complimentary pair before the smaller one, triceps, you reduce the need for triceps training. Because it was heavily worked while you trained your chest, your triceps need only a few sets of stimulation rather than a full workout of their own.

Remember, a sense of order, be it in training or the other parts of your life, can bring you the kind of results you deserve.

Q: My girlfriend Jane and I joined the gym together as part of our new year's resolution. It's now more than three months later, and we've been equally diligent about getting to the gym, yet she's lost nearly 20 pounds while I've only lost six. We follow the same diet plan and started out close to the same weight, but her progress has trumped mine. I'm so frustrated! What gives, Joe?

A: Let me ask you something. When you watch the Olympics do you despair that you can't run as fast as the sprinters or that you aren't as agile as the gymnasts? Why not? Isn't it because you understand that athletes are blessed with their own unique set of abilities that allows them to excel at their sport? I would bet that when Florence Griffith Joyner ran the 100-meter dash in under 11 seconds, you didn't beat yourself up over not being able to match her pace.

Why is it, then, that you would compare yourself to your friend? After all, each of you has your own specific genetic makeup, with your own set of physical abilities.

It's entirely conceivable that you and she could engage in the same exercise routine, follow the same diet and yet end up with different results for your efforts.

It would seem like your friend has a faster metabolism than you do, and that's OK. The fact that you've lost six pounds is a sign that you are progressing. If you didn't have your friend for comparison, I have a feeling you'd be far more satisfied with your loss.

We, as a nation, tend to get distracted by our desire to keep up with the Joneses — or, in your case, the Janes. Instead of taking a glass-is-half-empty look at things, I encourage you to consider the positives: You've managed to stick with a program for over three months (a feat in itself) and have lost six pounds for your efforts. One year of such progress will equal more than 20 pounds, which will be your weight loss, not Jane's.

Q: I absolutely hate doing cardio. It bores me to tears. Is there any way I can work my heart and lose weight without ever stepping onto a treadmill?

A: In fact, there is. You can effectively increase your heart rate while training your muscles by upping the pace of your workouts. It may not quite equal the cardiovascular benefits of running or cycling, but it can prove quite effective in strengthening your heart and burning off excess pounds.

Typically, we rest anywhere from 60 seconds to two minutes between sets in a weight workout. By cutting that time down to 30 seconds, we can keep our heart rate accelerated throughout our workout, thus creating a hybrid strength-cardio routine.

You will need to adjust the weights you use when training this way. Because the muscles won't have the same amount of recovery time between sets, you should drop your poundage by at least 10 percent. I also recommend upping your rep range from a typical 8-12 to 12-20. The higher reps also ensure that your heart is pumping at a steady, high rate to facilitate the specific workload at hand.

Whereas weight training is normally an almost exclusively anaerobic endeavor, a higher rep scheme coupled with shorter rest periods between sets will help add an aerobic element to your workouts, strengthening your heart and increasing calorie consumption.

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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