I am a 43-year-old woman, 5'5", 115 pounds, small frame. I work out 4-5 times per week with 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and an equal amount of resistance work. I am satisfied with the results, EXCEPT for a persistent lower abdominal storage of fat. I perform many abdominal exercises and eat a low-fat diet. I am perplexed by what I now call "my pouch." Could this be a middle age phenomenon that is out of my control? Thanks!

--karnak

Well, Karnak, it sounds like you're doing all the right things. Without knowing your body fat percentage, if you're doing weight training two-three times per week, it's probably within the range for your age group (19-24%). If you have your body fat calculated, and you're not yet in the range or at the high end of it, maybe you can make some slight changes in your routine.

I see a lot of people doing their cardio and following it with weights. If you've done 45 minutes of aerobic exercise, how much energy do you really have left for weight training? Plus, your system is used to 45 minutes of cardio. I'm trying to get in a couple of sessions of aerobic work each week where I spend an hour or longer exercising. Of course the intensity has to be reduced, but your body responds differently when you push it beyond one hour, even at a lower intensity level. You also burn more total calories and your metabolism stays elevated for a longer period of time.

The other side of the coin is that on the days I do resistance training, I have time for warm up (for me that's 20 minutes), and then a complete circuit of lower and upper body resistance exercises. Since I'm not fatigued from an aerobic session, I can work each muscle group more intensely. I use the time left over for stretching.

Five days of 45 minute cardio sessions totals 225 minutes. That's almost four hours. See what happens if you make a couple of sessions longer than an hour and alternate these with shorter, more intense sessions.

Finally, your abdominal muscles are the only group I tell people they can train every day. It just seems so hard to get rid of that last little bit we all have. Mine flops over the sides of the waistband of my swim trunks. But who's got time to be perfect? Sometimes we have to know when to appreciate our imperfections!

I can also recommend a new book: Stronger Abs and Back, by Greg Brittenham; available from Human Kinetics, 1-800-747-4457, or check out www.humankinetics.com.

Good luck, Karnak!

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