By Dave Patania
Personal trainer

Question: I work out five days a week, mix up stair machines, stationary bike and walking on a treadmill for three days and lift weights focusing on arms and shoulders the other two days. Since I get good exercise on my legs, do I need to do any leg weights on my lifting days?

- BB Cincinnati

Answer: Without a doubt, your Cardiovascular activities keep your legs well conditioned. However, it is also very important to get a couple of days of strength training in to maintain and increase the strength of your muscles and connective tissue. Your activities are great for keeping you in great condition up to a certain point, but with repetitive activities, there is also the chance of getting overuse injuries.

Lifting weights will not only reduce the chance of injury, increase the strength of your muscles and connective tissues but also improve performance, blood flow to working muscles, increase recovery ability and increase your lactic acid threshold (this means that you will be better able to push through "the burn" that you get on a tough run or bike ride).

Having a combination of cardiovascular activities with strength training creates a well-rounded machine that is highly conditioned and less prone to injury.

The weights and "cardio" feed off of each other and work together to increase performance and results.

Add consistent stretching and high-quality foods to this machine and you will have all the bases covered. With your weight training, don't just focus on your arms and shoulders, but rather work to create a balanced program that consistently works all major muscle groups (legs, chest, back, shoulders, calves, arms and abdominals). The human body, despite it's its many systems and parts, is an amazing machine that works as a system to perform numerous functions. Therefore, it is important to work as many body parts as possible to have a healthy, long-lasting, well-balanced body.

Keep up the great work.

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Contact personal trainer Dave Patania by e-mail: davpatania@aol.com.