Expert: Harry Hayfield - 5/31/2009

Question
I spent 5yrs in the Marine Corps and was very fit with about 10% body fat. That was 5yrs ago. I am an electrician and spend 8+ months overseas working in 3rd world countries. I now weigh 210 and im only 5'9". I have saggy tits and a nice spare tire. Im on a job now (been here three weeks) I started running the stairs in our building (7floors) I do two sets of those and allot of pushups (4 30 rep sets). I have noticed a little weight loss but the more your body gets used to exercise the less effective it is.

Any thing you can suggest to help me lose more weight and increase muscle mass?

Answer
That's because when you exercise fat is only started to be burnt off after the first twenty minutes (and I suspect that as a former Marine running up and down stairs and pullups does not take 20 minutes). What I would advise is that you do something along these lines

1) Warm up
2) Do an exercise that is low impact for a minimum of 20 minutes minus however long it took you to warm up
3) Tackle stairs and pushups until your pulse is (220 - your age) * 0.65 - 0.80 (dependent on what your training zone is)
4) Cool down

As always with these things consult a physican before starting or modifying an exercise routine