BASIC TRAINING.

How to lose weight in one area and gain weight in another

Q: I need some help on how to achieve my fitness goals. I have been weight training three times a week since January. I have gained a lot of strength and endurance, however I have not quite developed the physique that I'm looking for. I would like to have a bigger butt and bigger thighs, along with a flat stomach. However, when I eat healthy to lose weight in my stomach area, I lose weight in my butt and thigh area also, which I definitely don't want to do. I do squats at 140 pounds, though my butt just doesn't seem to get any bigger. Do you have any suggestions on how I can eat healthy to receive great abs and build a bigger butt and thighs at the same time?

A: It's time that you start accepting the body that you have and focus on the positive attributes. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to lose body fat in one area and then gain muscle in another area. The way your body burns fat relies heavily on genetics.

The best glut/butt exercises are reverse lunges, squats and step-ups. The prescription for gaining muscle size is to lift as much weight as you can for six to 10 reps and three to five sets. However, to complete the weight-gain equation you also have to eat more calories than you burn to gain muscle. I suggest you get a metabolic test to find out exactly how many calories a day you need to eat in order to gain more muscle.

As you can see, it is a little more detailed than just giving you a few new exercises. To gain lean muscle without gaining excess body fat is possible, but you have to be very disciplined - and you have to make sure that you eat the correct portions of protein and carbohydrates for your specific metabolic rate so that you will be successful.

I recommend a book called ``The Right Protein'' by Dr. Michael Colgan. He clearly outlines how to figure out how much protein you need to eat for your body weight in order to gain muscle. He also outlines the biological value of different protein sources so that you can choose the right protein.

But most importantly, you must realize that gaining muscle is also dependent on your genetics. Some body types (mesomorphs and endomorphs) gain muscle very easily, and others (ectomorphs) do not.

It is important that you accept the body type that you have and accentuate your individual assets, because genetics plays a very large role in changing very specific aspects of our body - especially gaining muscle size. You are born with a certain number of muscle fibers, and that is all that you get. You can increase the size of your individual muscle fibers, which is called muscle hypertrophy, by lifting heavy weights and eating the correct proportions of protein, carbohydrates and fat for your individual body weight and metabolic rate.

ABOUT THE TRAINER

Jeanette Jenkins, founder and president of the Hollywood Trainer fitness company, has a bachelor of science degree in human kinetics from the University of Ottawa. A 14-year industry veteran, she has worked with actors and professional athletes, including Queen Latifah, Taryn Manning and Terrell Owens. A resident expert on the Food Network's weight-loss show, ``Weighing In,'' she is also the official spokeswoman for the BET Foundation's Healthy BET Campaign and is one of 17 experts chosen for Nike's Elite Athletes program.

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