About four times a week, I run on my treadmill, walk half a mile, run one and a half to two miles (10 minute miles), and end by walking half a mile. I'm also doing weights about once a week (total body). My upper legs and stomach aren't as fit as I would like them yet. What else can I do?

--bizzyb

Biz, it sounds like you're getting about half an hour of exercise from your current treadmill workout. The first thing I recommend is to lengthen the middle portion by about ten minutes -- the warm up and cool down are fine. (Note: I hope everyone knows to start gradually, build your pace, and then slow to cool down before you stop). And if you really want to make a difference in your appearance Bizzy, better add another day of weight training and an additional treadmill workout to your current routine.

The treadmill offers a good aerobic workout, but it does less for your leg development than cycling, in-line skating, or stepping. If you're training at a gym, try using the stationary bike or stepper a couple of times a week instead of the treadmill. (I think one of the reasons these two apparatus are less popular is because they recruit a larger portion of your leg muscles than walking does and are, therefore, harder).

Whether you're training at home or in the gym, you can add to your overall strength and work your upper legs harder by adding lunges and squats to your routine. You don't need a lot of weight, you just want your legs to be a little leaner and tighter. Select a resistance that allows you to do a set of 10 lunges on one leg before changing. With squats, 15 repetitions will work your quads, hamstrings and glutes just fine.

All of these modifications will help you burn more calories and lose body fat by increasing the amount of muscle on your frame. Unfortunately, there's no substitute for doing crunches every day to really give yourself killer abs, Bizzy.

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