Does regular morning jogging build muscle and strength? If not, what are some calisthenics I can do for my legs? Also, can calisthenics be done every day?

-- Jamie

Regular jogging won't build muscular strength Jamie, but it will improve cardiovascular fitness. Also, because of its high impact, running strengthens bones. This helps maintain bone density, which becomes more important as we age.

Calisthenics won't necessarily build muscle or, I should say, can only build strength to a certain point. To build muscle you have to perform exercises that overload the muscle fibers of the body part you wish to strengthen.

Let's say you do squats or lunges at home, without weights. Your own body weight is the resistance. We'll call that (x). After a while, 3 or 4 sets of squats with your own body weight (x) won't overload the muscle fibers in your legs because they've adapted to that workload by becoming stronger.

If you hold a ten pound dumbbell in each hand while squatting you'll be working out with (x + 20 lbs.), which is more resistance than your legs are accustomed to. To adequately deal with the new workload your legs will have to become stronger. When squatting with two 10-pounders becomes easy, use two 15-pounders.

If you want to build muscle and strength without going to a gym, your best bet is working out with dumbbells. And don't neglect your upper body, Jamie. A lot of runners don't do any upper body work, which becomes pretty obvious in the warm months when you see them in their racing singlets. Start by doing push-ups.