Tip of the Week: Don't be afraid to incorporate free-weight lifting into your training routine, as opposed to using machines only.

I see many novice fitness enthusiasts relying almost solely on exercise machines, never venturing into the barbell and dumbbell area of the gym. While machines can be very effective in strengthening one's body, they have built-in limitations that free weights do not.

To me, the best workout incorporates both machines and free weights in a way that makes best use of each. This way, you can build strength in a variety of movements and tolerances and ultimately build your best physique.

Q: I'm trying to lose weight and recently started skipping breakfast, except for a morning cup of coffee. My reasoning is that I'm coming off at least eight hours of not eating, so if I add another couple and multiply that by caffeine, I can really kick-start my metabolism. A friend who is pretty knowledgeable about such things tells me this isn't a good idea. What do you think, Joe?

Joe: I agree with your friend on this one. While in theory your idea makes sense, when you have an understanding of the processes that make your body work you'll see that it can actually have the opposite effect of the one you intended.

The fact is that in the morning your body is literally starved for nutrients. It is seeking nourishment to refill the depleted energy stores from what amounts to eight hours of fasting (hence the term breakfast — you're breaking a fast). Your body is working on a natural cycle where it begins ramping up your metabolism to face the challenges, both physical and digestive, of the day. So, it's ready to start using and burning the calories you put into it.

If, however, you continue denying your body its nutritional needs, it will take this as a sign that you can't find food, and so it slows down your metabolism once again and begins storing fat, in case the dry period is to last. This is an ancient innate behavioral response all our bodies possess — a mechanism that saved our lives back when we were hunter-gatherers. The result of depriving your body nourishment for extended periods is that you will actually retain fat.

So, my advice to you is to have a breakfast rich in protein and slow-burning carbs like oatmeal and whole-wheat bread, and continue to consume small, healthy meals every three hours throughout the day. This is the most productive way to eat if your goal is fat loss.

Q: I see high-end personal trainers at the gym I belong to putting their clients through exotic looking exercises using bands and balls and kettlebells and all sorts of fancy devices. Do these things give you a better workout really, or is some of it for show?

Joe: While I wouldn't necessarily say all that stuff is for show, it may be unnecessarily complicated. I mean, millions of men and women have built strong, attractive, healthy bodies using just barbells, dumbbells and a few machines over the past century, so why the need to change the equation?

Of course, I do understand that diversity isn't a bad thing and do feel that bands and balls and the like can have their place in a comprehensive training routine. However, some trainers do seem to relish putting their clients through extreme balancing acts, as if training them for the circus.

To me, this is unnecessary and more a selling point than anything else. Look, it makes perfect sense that these trainers should constantly be changing up their programs frequently, making them ever more exotic and confusing. If the trainer shows the client something she's never seen before, and then keeps her guessing as to what's coming up next, he does two things. For, one he stays one step ahead of her so that she can't go off and figure it out on her own. For another, he keeps the workout mentally stimulating, knowing that boredom is a main reason why people stop training.

I don't blame these trainers for trying to stay in business, but I also don't believe that half the stuff they have clients doing is particularly necessary and certainly no more effective than a more traditional training routine.

Joe Weider is acclaimed as "the father of modern bodybuilding" and the founder of the world's leading fitness magazines, including Shape, Muscle and Fitness, Men's Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Hers, Golf for Seniors and others published worldwide in over 20 languages.To find out more about Joe Weider, write to him and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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