Strengthen your bottom half

American Fitness, March-April, 2003

In Stronger Legs and Lower Body (Human Kinetics; $17.95), Keli Roberts and Linda Shelton show men and women how to sculpt their bodies, from the waist down, with resistance training. "We've approached resistance training systematically, based on certain physiological principles that influence the body's response, state Roberts and Shelton. "The first principle is this: As your body acclimates to exercise and is no longer challenged, you will need to shake things up by increasing intensity [in order] to see progress." In other words, if you do the same workouts at the same intensity day in and day out, your body will eventually stop responding.

To keep the body guessing, Roberts and Shelton have customized eight-week programs. "We chose eight weeks because it usually takes your body at least two to three weeks to begin to respond to whatever program you choose, then another four or five weeks before you really see changes," they explain. The programs combine functional exercises that utilize body weight, machines, free weights, bands, tubing and cardio cross-training.

"If you're highly active and belong to a club, take advantage of all the opportunities," state the authors. For example, a weekly cardio schedule at the gym might look like this--Monday: stationary bike; Tuesday: elliptical trainer; Wednesday: step class; Thursday: Spinning[R] class; Friday: long run (track or treadmill); Saturday: rest; Sunday: kickboxing. Cross-training is recommended not only to beat boredom, but also for the automatic cycling that works muscles differently as activities change.

"This adds the element of surprise necessary for continual muscle response," they explain.

The authors also include the "meat and potatoes" in their book--designing your own program. "This is where you can be creative, resourceful and intuitive about your body as well as exercise selection.