I am a working woman, 33 years old, height 5 feet, weight 64 kg. I exercise on and off, reduce some weight and put on again. I feel that lifting dumbbells has caused my shoulders to become broad and my arms bulky. With my 5-foot frame I look like body builder. I want slim shoulders and upper arms. My waist and tummy are also very broad. Could you give me an exercise regimen with instructions for proper use of dumbbells to make me slim? I often read in Health & Nutrition that you should exercise only one body part per day. I can’t understand your technical terms like shoulder press, lunge, bench press, etc. I can only exercise at home.
I jump rope (I can’t jog), work out with light wt. dumbbells (2 pounds each) and the Ab King Pro and do a few leg raises.

First of all, let me clear the misconception that lifting dumbells will make the female species look like body builders. Women do not have the testosterone levels for it, and you most certainly cannot build big muscles by lifting 2-lb dumbbells (You’re probably toting more from the grocery store — consider that 1 kg potatoes + 1 kg onions = 4.4 lb weight). In order to reduce weight, you need to do aerobic activities most days of the week, in addition to resistance training 2-3 times a week. Along with your exercise regimen, your food intake has to be carefully monitored. Also critical to a successful weight loss programme is consistency. So being ‘on’ an exercise programme — and not ‘off — is the key to success.
Since exercising at home is your preference, maybe an exercycle, treadmill or Spinner would be a good investment. Vary your aerobic activity with brisk walks on other days for about 45-60 minutes (break it up into two 30-min slots if you can’t devote a whole hour at one go). Exercise at intensities that make you feel slightly breathless for the entire duration (think hurrying to catch a bus). Refer to previous issues of Health & Nutrition, for pictorial representations of weight training for various body parts. You can use dumbbells or Resistance tubing (elastic bands are available at most sports goods stores). For maximum results, lift weights heavy enough to experience muscle fatigue (muscle failure) by the end of the set (16-20 reps/set).

LESS IS MORE : Just how hard should your exercise intensity be? Good news. A recent study showed that when people on treadmills and stationary bikes were able to chat comfortably, they were working within the recommended intensity range “When you speak, you have to regulate your breathing,” says researcher Carl Foster, PhD, professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Exercise forces you to breathe faster — and if you’re breathing so fast that you can’t speak, it’s a cue that you’re working too hard. Don’t slow down too much, though. “For a good workout, we think most people should be able to speak comfortably, but only just” Foster advises.

My mother reached menopause 3 years back, and experiences hot flashes along with irritation 2-3 times a day. The problem is usually more in the night. Even though the feeling of heat radiating vanishes within a fraction of a minute, her sleep is often disturbed, and then she complains of sleeplessness. Should we consult a gynecologist?
It is heartening to note that you are helping your mother through this difficult period of her life. Most women are confused by their symptoms and suffer silently. What you have described is indeed a hormonal imbalance. When a woman stops menstruating because her hormonal production ceases, there is a disturbance in the other systems of her body as well, and the instability in the vasomotor system causes these hot flushes. This change is transient but one cannot accurately predict how long they will persist. If it is causing disruption in her normal functioning she should go to a gynecologist, have a breast exam, a pelvic Ultrasonography to check for abnormalities, do a PAP smear. The gynaec will decide whether medication in the form of Hormone Replacement Therapy is necessary. Alternately, a good diet rich in soy, exercise like walking for 1 hour, and yoga can help alleviate the symptoms of menopause.