Expert: Kim Farmer - 7/6/2008

Question
Kim,
My name is Tyler and I am 17. I am pretty skinny with not much muscle. I am interested in building muscle, as well as maintaining a healthy heart rate. I want to keep my heart rate healthy but running or jogging, but at the same time I don't want to lose body fat. What kind of routine do you suggest to help my heart rate but to minimize the amount of fat I would burn? Also, I find it hard to build muscle. I have strong abs, they just don't show too much. It seems every little bit of fat I have (even though its not much) is in my stomach area. Any way to get those abs to show through? Thanks so much for your help!

Tyler

Answer
Hi Tyler-
Running or jogging is great for maintaining a healthy heart, I commend you for working toward that.  You will burn fat however, but you can counterbalance that with the foods that you eat and strength training.  Unfortunately you cannot 'spot train' and so if you end up losing body fat in your stomach area, you will likely lose body fat in other areas too.

As for your abs, be sure that you are doing situps and keep doing cardio.  You will need to do strength training if you want more muscle, and cardio if you want to keep your heart healthy but you need to balance all that with the right eating plan. You might want to consult with a nutritionist for that part as I am not a dietician.

I hope this helps some, thanks for the question.

Kim