Expert: Kim Farmer - 1/9/2008

Question
I excercise a lot, and would love to be super slim, but I feel big and bulky. I Work out a lot, and I feel I am doing too many weights, and too much resistance. I do not want to gain any more muscle, but I feel I am not working out hard enough if I am on a low resistance. What aerobic machine is best at the gym for losing weight, and how can I tell if I am on too high of a level?

Answer
Hi Tracy-
Well, there are two different topics to discuss.  The first is cardiovascular exercise which is what will help you lose body fat by burning calories and help you ultimately lose weight.  You should do this very often. You can use the elliptical machine, the bike, treadmill or any other cardio machine to help you lose weight, it is just a matter of preference.   I have no idea how old you are or if you have any health risks, so its hard for me to recommend a certain level, but on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being extremely high intensity, you should probably try to stay around a 6 or 7.

You should still do resistance training with weights, but use a lower resistance to make sure that you don't get any bulkier.

I hope this helps, if you are interested in online personal training and want to have a customized program designed for you, visit my website at www.milehighfitness.com and click on "Online Training".  It is extremely affordable and very effective for getting results.

Thanks for the question.

Kim