Expert: Kim Farmer - 2/2/2009

Question
Hi Kim. I am a 15 year old Chinese girl. My height is 5'3" and I weigh 149 pounds. I have really muscular legs and arms, but I want to lose the stomach I have and tone down my legs and arms so it does not look so big. I was wondering if exercising by doing jump ropes, at least 300, and doing suicides at least twice or three times a week will help. What routine will be the best to tone my body down and help me grow taller? How long will the routine be and how many times a week? Thank you so much.

Answer
Hello-
The exercises that you are doing are ok, but how much time are you exercising for?  When you say you want your arms and legs to not look so big, I'm wondering if your body is composed of a lot of muscle tissue?  You might have a situation where genetics are playing a part in your body composition.  There are two types of muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch.  Slow twitch fibers are smaller in size than fast twitch, and it sounds like you need to train your slow twitch fibers and detrain your fast twitch fibers.  So you should do strength training that incorporates lighter weights and higher reps for your arms and legs.  

As for toning your body down, continue doing your cardiovascular exercises for about 30 minutes 4-5 days a week to help you lose body fat.  Sorry, exercise will not help you grow taller : (  

Thanks for the question!

Kim Farmer
ACE-Certified Personal Trainer
www.MileHighFitness.com