A friend of mine and I were disagreeing about this point and I thought maybe you could help. I have heard that it is not possible to both lose fat and build muscle mass simultaneously: ideally, a person should do cardiovascular exercise with dieting to lose extra body fat, and then start to focus on building up muscle mass. He says it's possible to both burn fat and build up muscle over the same period of time. Which is the case?

I have a question about walking for weight loss. My walking buddy believes the theory of walking distance is what helps you lose weight best versus my theory that it is the speed at which you walk that matters. So, could you help me figure this one out? Which matters most in ultimate weight loss: speed or distance?

When working out in the gym, machines, such as treadmills and stationary bikes, show how many calories you are burning. Are these calculations correct, or is it just something to keep the participants happy?

After practicing yoga in normal temperatures for years, I recently attended a heated yoga class (heated quite hot: 95 to 100 degrees!). The experience left me dizzy, nauseous, and completely enervated. Afterwards, I expressed my concern to the teacher, asking why the studio needed to be so hot. She "explained" that by sweating, supposedly the body releases "toxins" and that my nausea and dizziness must indicate that I need to "detox." Personally, I think I was suffering from heat exhaustion. I've heard this silly explanation more than once, as many people seem to believe toxins are released through sweat. But is that true??? And — next question — doesn't exerting oneself in extremely hot temperatures seem like a recipe for dehydration? Are their any benefits that make it worthwhile, or is all this heated yoga just nonsense?

Does altitude affect calorie-burning? That is, if I do the exact same workout twice — once in New York City and once in Colorado — will I burn more calories at the high altitude? What things DO affect how many calories you burn in a workout?

I'm a college student and also a bodybuilder. I've become aware of very high protein intake amongst bodybuilders at my gym. I'm skeptical as to consuming as much protein (around 225 grams) a day like the bodybuilders at my gym do. Do bodybuilders need more protein? And if so, how much more?

I have recently learned that in order to burn fat as a fuel, your body requires carbohydrate. Up until this point I had been doing cardio training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, as I had read that this is optimum for fat burning. However, now I have a small carbohydrate snack before I train in order to prevent my body using lean muscle tissue as a fuel. Today I have again read in another book that training on an empty stomach first thing in the morning burns the most fat. I am a little confused over the best thing to do! I train with weights twice a week and do cardio three times per week. I do want to maintain my lean muscle, but am looking to reduce my body fat.

Is it bad to exercise while slightly drunk? Some friends like to hike and drink beer. I find that I get flushed easily, and tire more quickly. What's going on?

I am a wrestler and have very great ambitions within the sport. I lift weights for five to six hours a day, making sure I perform every set to failure often including negatives as well. In addition to working each muscle group two times a week, I make sure to give each muscle group 48 to 72 hours of rest. Recently though, I have learned that training longer than an hour a day can have a catabolic (muscle breakdown) effect on your body. This was very concerning to me because muscle-wasting during my training seems truly counter-productive, but I am also aware that a decrease in training may lead to muscle atrophy and that also poses a deep concern. I have also learned that cardio and even sleep can have a catabolic effect. I will have to cut my training time eventually due to time restrictions during the season because of school day and team practices, including traveling time and homework. I am posing a couple of questions within this letter: 1) Can I reduce the volume of my routine to about an hour and still make gains that are comparable or better to those I experience with my five to six hour workouts and if so, how? 2) Is catabolism truly a legitimate matter to be concerned with?

I've been told that every two to three weeks, I need to change my weight training routine or else my body will become too accustomed to it and I will stop seeing results. Is it really necessary for me to change my entire routine, or do I only need to increase weight and/or repetitions?

Hot yoga is becoming more popular every day but there is a lot of conflicting information regarding benefits versus injuries. Most of the information does not quote sources and is therefore is difficult to follow up on. It has unquestionably helped me become a more flexible person but there is a lot of information on the net regarding horrific injuries including slipped discs, muscle tears, neck injuries, emotional problems, and even strokes. Is there a research-based, or at least a factual breakdown on the health benefits of stretching at temperatures above body temperature versus the injury risk of exercising at temperatures above body temperature?

I'm an athlete, and about a year ago, I purchased one of those ab rollers. One time, I was going through the motions and I experienced an orgasm. Now, it happens about every time I use it. I thought it was extremely weird, but then read where women experience orgasms through lots of things. I was just wondering how it is possible for those feelings to happen just by working out my abs. Also, what are some other weird ways that women have had orgasms? Thanks so much.

I wanted to know how many days of rest is recommended between workouts. I heard it was three days on to one day off...is this enough? I workout on a treadmill for 50 minutes every day and have for the last 14 months. I was not aware of how rest played a very important role until I recently read a brief article on it. I guess my question is, do I need to take that day of rest and how important is it?

I am writing in hopes that your answer to this question will help other readers. A few years ago, when I was in college, I discovered that my college roommate was bulimic. My boyfriend and I found evidence in the mornings that she had been vomiting on a daily basis; she also developed weird eating habits (at 6 A.M., she would wake up and buy two pints of ice cream and eat it all, and then not eat for the rest of the day). We didn't know how to address the problem, and were afraid of hurting her. When we called the Health Service, they took the "my best friend is bulimic" line to suggest that I was bulimic instead! I didn't want to become the food "hall monitor" — are you eating? What did you eat today? etc. — but we tried to include her in healthy meals.

Eventually, some other stress factors in her life calmed down and her binge/purge behavior seemed to subside. However, I've always regretted that I couldn't attack this situation head-on. Do you have any advice for people that might be in a similar situation?