First of all, your site rocks my socks ; )

Second of all, I was hoping you might be able to give me some advice. My goal is to become leaner but to retain my curves. Basically, smaller but still curvy. I'm not a fan of the super skinny look. Lately I have been focusing more on a mixture of weight/resistance training – low weight/high rep – rather than cardio but my body just does not seem to be changing at all. My diet is pretty healthy, consisting mainly of vegetables, fish and poultry. I am 19 years old, 5"6 and 145 lbs. My goal weight is 134. What should I be doing to acheive these goals?

Much appreciated,

Holly
Dublin, Ireland

PS. I am also a huge fan of intermittent fasting and aim for 1-2 24 hour fasts weekly. I love how much lighter/energetic they make me feel!

I just discovered your site. And I think it is amazing. I've been reading your archive articles since 5 AM this morning.

Anyway, I am a little confused on your suggestion that if your goal is a hot body, avoid squats, lunges, and deadlifts, especially heavy ones. Are you recommending that I don't do any of these exercises at all? If so, what would a typical routine look like? Appreciate your response. Thanks!

you have an amazing site here. Your advice helped me to lose 20 lbs so far, but I have a couple of more to go. I'm 5'4" and my legs are kind of bulky, so I'm going to lay off the pumping, but can I still lift weights with my arms without putting on bulk there? Will lifting heavy weights cause my arms to bulk up? I lift about 15 lbs, 25 reps, 4-5 sets. My arms at the moment are kind of flabby, but the actual muscle isn't that bulky. But I'm worried if I keep going, I'll end up with very muscled arms. Should I change any part of my routine?

What a great site first off, but also I hope you can help me(like all the others!)

Im 23 and I put on two stone at University(through fast food and alcohol!) but I managed to lose it when I graduated and came down to 9stone 3ish, through nothing but lots of walking and eating less rubbish.

But now (maybe through lifestyle change and moving in with my partner) I am creeping back up to 10stone and my"love handles" are starting to become apparant again!.

I have always had a problem with my "love handles/hips" and they were never toned enough(or what I wanted) but I know I was not dedicated enough to make this so.

I do not have a gym membership, but I do have a indoor bike which is also a cross trainer(an elyptical trainer), I also have weights 2lbs I think they are each, and a safe local neighbourhood to walk/jog around.

I have recently gone through redundancy(both me and my partner) and among other things I have lost my drive But all I need is someone to give me a clear course of instructions to plonk me back on the path to victory, I hope this can be you(no pressure!).

So, Ideally a couple of inches off the thighs and as much off the hips as possible, leaner arms but I dont want to lose my breast size! (34D) I know that cardio and suchlike means you lose fat throughout the body, and the breasts have a tendency to diminish..but I will do anything to keep them, so any exersises to keep these upright are moRE than welcome! .

I love all foods, and although am on a budget I eat alot of fruit- bananas, apples, nectarines, peaches, plums and also try and eat chicken once a week and tuna once a week,but I just need something to keep my energy during the day as I suffer with headaches, and eating tends to keep me upright at work!.

Rant over

I hope you can save me just before I become a total lazy peach.

Thanks alot Rusty.

H

My real question is, I have really nicely shaped legs (nice big calves but still ladylike with slim ankles) I have been told that my lower body looks a bit to big in comparison to my upper body, so Im trying to gain some nice muscles in my arms, I am lifting heavier than what im used to for 8-10 reps for 3 sets but im not really seeing a big difference ( … any advice?

Ps. I wouldn't want to change my legs because they aren't that big and looks really nice and I get lots of compliments from guys.

Here is what I would recommend.

Monday: 20 minutes shoulders and arms, followed by 10 minutes HIIT, followed by 30 minutes steady state cardio.

Wednesday: 30 minutes back and chest, followed by 30 minutes steady state cardio.

Friday: Same as Monday

The following Monday you would start with the back and chest workout and steady state cardio. So you are basically just alternating 2 different workouts.

Do planks 3-4 times a week at home before bed for your abs.

Believe it or not this will work very well!

Rusty

All of us are somewhat crooked. There isn't that much to worry about and to be honest you probably can't do too much to combat this. You could try to do side planks…and even amount of both sides to even out the obliques.

You can use weights in a circuit training type fashion and burn fat. Circuit training is basically a way to do HIIT cardio, but with weights. Here is a post I did on that.

A Circuit Training Routine That Actually Makes Sense!

Have a great one!

Rusty

I was wondering what you think of workout videos that employ the use of small weights throughout the workout? For example, in the gym, I'd do only 10 lunges, 3 sets, some resting between, and use about 20 lb dumbbells. With a video, I use 3 lb dumbbells, but do about 70 lunges, with no resting. It's kind of like cardio with use of light dumbbells at the same time. I find doing this is a good time saver, as I get my cardio in at the same time as strength training, but the emphasis is much more on cardio rather than the weight training aspect of it.

To give you a feel for my build, I am thin and show muscle definition easily, but do not develop muscle as easily as most people.

Oh, and one more question~ my obliques!!! They are not even! It's driving me bonkers! My left obliques are quite a bit more defined than my right. I have been doing the ab portion of my videos on opposite sides than usual hoping it fixes this. Will this be fixable?

Your crooked oblique friend, Rachel

I like the treadmill or exercise bike the best for the HIIT portion of my workout and the elliptical for the longer "steady state cardio" I do for 30 minutes after the HIIT. You will get results doing it the other way around, but I recommend doing the tough treadmill stuff for effective HIIT.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

Thank you!

Brandon Boyd is a stylin' guy for sure. If I wasn't bald (thanks to my family genes)…I would grow my hair just like that. He also wears hip clothes without looking like he is trying to hard and stays lean.

Good call!

Here is Incubus at "Red Rocks" singing a super cool version of "Drive".

This version gives me chills. It is very well done!

Rusty

Thanks for the compliment. I am like the rest of you…just trying to stay in great shape while having a balanced life. Keep reading!

Rusty

You're inspiring. Your body looks great too.