Too much exercise? Is three kickboxinq classes a week overdoing it? … and more of your questions answered here - Fitness Q+A

Shape, May, 2002

Q: I've been taking a kickboxing class three times a week for a month, and the class makes me more tired now than it did the first week. I'm starting to dread going. Could I be overdoing it, even though I'm only exercising three days a week?

A: "Absolutely," says Los Angeles trainer and kickboxing instructor Keli Roberts. "Kickboxing is very high-intensity and high-impact, so you can end up overtrained quite easily." Roberts suggests you take three or four days off from physical exercise. (You may need as much as a week to recover mentally.) Then, when you've regained your energy, cut back to one kickboxing class a week and replace the other two classes with a comfortable workout on any of the cardio machines or a moderate step-aerobics class.

You'll still burn plenty of calories, but you won't feel the fatigue, soreness and dread of exercise that are typically associated with overtraining. A sound workout program is one that leaves you feeling refreshed, energized and eager to come back for more. "Listen to what your body is telling you," Roberts says, "rather than what you think you should be doing."

Q: take a 90-minute Bikram yoga class where the temperature in the studio is over 100 degrees. The heat does increase my flexibility, but is this high-temperature exercise safe?

A: The answer depends on your health, your age, your fitness level and how well you tolerate heat, says Kathy Lee Kappmeier-Foust, a senior yoga instructor at Frogs health clubs in San Diego. "Older people, people who are out of shape, and those with high blood pressure should start with another type of yoga. And even some people who are healthy and fit don't do well in the heat. Everyone's constitution is different."

Some fitness experts contend that even if you can tolerate that much heat, there's no benefit to choosing a Bikram class over other styles of yoga taught in less extreme heat. "We can't point to a great reason why it has to be 100 degrees in the room," says Christine Ekeroth, a spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. "That kind of heat poses unnecessary risks to people who aren't acclimated."

Bikram yoga, named after yoga master Bikram Choudhury, involves breathing exercises and some two dozen vigorous yoga postures that require a significant amount of stamina and balance. The heat does help with flexibility, Kappmeier-Foust says, because warm muscles are more supple than cold ones. However, muscles can be sufficiently warmed up with much less heat. Furthermore, exercising in the heat without taking proper precautions can cause heat-related illnesses; symptoms include severe muscle cramping, confusion, fatigue, headache, dizziness, nausea and, in extreme cases, an inability to sweat, which can prove fatal.

Even mild cases of dehydration can lead to discomfort or even injury in a Bikram yoga class, especially for beginners. "It's hard enough to follow a rigorous class if you don't know what posture is coming next," Kappmeier-Foust says. "Being dehydrated makes it even harder to concentrate. And if you're feeling dizzy while doing a balancing posture on one foot, you could fall."

If you're set on trying Bikram, acclimate to the heat by staying just 15-30 minutes the first few times. "It's unrealistic to expect someone new to last 90 minutes," Ekeroth says. Wear clothing that breathes and drink plenty of water before class -- at least 16 ounces about an hour or two before and another 8 ounces five to 10 minutes before. Be sure to drink from your water bottle during class -- even if you have to miss a pose -- cool yourself with a spray bottle and cool down after class with a shower.

Finally, leave your competitive mindset at the door; if you feel any symptoms of overheating (such as muscle cramps, fatigue or weakness), allow yourself to leave in the middle of class.

Q I just quit smoking after six years. I'm now starting to exercise and I find myself very out of breath. I'm not sure if this is from smoking or being inactive. Has smoking hindered my ability to jog?

A Your breathlessness is more likely due to your lack of fitness than your smoking, says family physician Donald Brideau, M.D., a clinical professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a spokesman for the American Heart Association. "Within three to five days, if you haven't had a single cigarette, your blood cells' ability to carry oxygen to your heart and muscles will be back to normal."

Smoking does cause lung damage that can reduce a smoker's cardiovascular exercise capacity; however, Brideau says, "the lung damage after six years of smoking would probably be minimal." (But it takes 10 years or more after you quit before your lung-cancer risk is the same as if you had never smoked.)

The carbon monoxide in cigarettes displaces oxygen from red blood cells, Brideau explains. So, a smoker has less oxygen going to her heart and muscles, providing her with less energy to exercise. The more you smoke, the less oxygen you have available. Even as little as one cigarette a day reduces your blood's ability to carry oxygen.