Expert: Kim Farmer - 3/16/2009

Question
Respected Sir,
         It is a very well known fact that the best time to do your aerobic exercises for maximum output is either at morning or after your strength training because the glycogen stores in the body is very low. Furthermore it is also known that we must feed out muscles with protein shakes which contain carbohydrates(glucose) + proteins right after the workout for maximum results which increases the glycogen stores. If, someone wants to build muscles and reduce weight at the very same time what is the most effective method. Kindly give this answer keeping my body in mind. My height = 5' 11", weight = 73 kg, chest = 39", waist = 32". I just want to loose some extra pounds from my waist section without reducing muscle mass at any cost to make my abs more visible. So, just tell me an effective way by which I can have maximum muscle gain + weight loss.

Answer
Hi Ali-
I apologize for the time delay, I have been extremely busy.  Nevertheless, thank you for sending me this information, however, I'm not sure that I have an answer that you will necessarily like or agree with.  Regardless of the timing for which you exercise or what type of exercise you choose to do, there is no way to 'spot train' your body.  I do get many requests from people that want to make their waists smaller but don't want to affect any other areas of their body, but the truth is, when you lose weight, you cannot control which part of your body the weight or excess fat will come from.  You will naturally gain some weight when you gain muscle because as I'm sure you know muscle weighs more than fat.  

It sounds like you are on the right track with combining cardio and strength training activities, I would suggest that you continue to do exercises specifically targeted toward your abdominal area to tone the muscle and consider adding weight when you do crunches to try to increase the size of the muscle.  Your cardiovascular activity will asisst with chiseling down your waist and ultimately helping with the visual appearance that you are looking for.  It is a delicate balance when a person would like to gain muscle AND lose weight simultaneously.

I hope this helps, thanks for the question.

Kim Farmer
ACE-Certified Personal Trainer
ACE-Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist
www.MileHighFitness.com