I have been training for months now and have trouble with my "lower" anatomy (i.e., butt, hips and thighs). I always have trouble with these areas. Do you have any suggestions for my training or diet that might help?

I have good news and I have some bad news. Since I am the type of person who likes to get the bad news out of the way first, here you go.

Bad News: The cards are stacked against you. According to the research and anecdotal evidence from thousands of women, it's a proven fact that women do have trouble losing body fat from the "lower" body.

In a 24 week study on women[1], they lost a higher percentage of fat from their arms and trunk, with very little being lost from the lower body. Also, during the first 14 weeks of the study, they actually gained some lean mass in the lower body, which made things appear worse than they really were. There are numerous theories as to why things are this way. Most of them refer back to pre-historic living conditions in one way or another. Because there is no set-in-stone explanation as to why this problem exists, it is very difficult to give the "perfect" answer; however, I will be glad to share with you some solutions that have helped some of my clients with this same problem.

[1] *Nindl, B. C., Harman, E. A., Marx, J. O., Gotshalk, L. A., Frykman, P. N., Lammi, E., Palmer, C., & Kraemer, W. J. (2000). Regional body composition changes in women after 6 months of periodized physical training. Journal of Applied Physiology 88(6), 2251-2259.

Good News: There is hope. After reading the bad news, I am sure that you just about shut off your computer, but hear me out on this one. No matter what you may have been told in the past, aerobics and pastel colored dumbbells are not going to get you where you want to go. What you need to be performing are large multi-joint exercises just like the ones I have previously detailed in my Super Six (The Evolutionary, March 2004).

Along with performing those exercises, you will want to use a weight that is 80-95% of your 1 RM (the maximum amount of weight with which you can perform a technically sound repetition on any given exercise). You also will want to work in a fairly low repetition range. I would recommend performing 2-6 repetitions per set and 5-10 sets of each exercise. Remember, these recommendations are only for the Super Six types of movement.

For all other exercises, choose a weight that is challenging. A good rule of thumb: If you can perform 15 or more "good" repetitions with a weight, you need to increase your resistance (amount of weight).

Nutrition: There are three simple rules for nutrition that will get you on the absolute right track.

1. Drink a minimum of 1 gallon of water per day

2. Consume 30 grams of fiber per day

3. Consume a minimum of 1 gram protien per pound body weight

I know this is not specific meals and menu plans but it will get you on the right track for you!

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