Ask Fitz! Your Fitness Questions Answered -- Butts & Guts Edition

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz. I'm trying so hard to shrink my tummy and I do tons of crunches. My friend says I'm doing no good. What's the truth? Katie

A. Very good questions Katie. It reminds me of a funny story my husband, who's in law enforcement just told me. The Chief of his department is a cool guy who also has been a certified fitness trainer. Very knowledgeable on two cool topics I think. My hubby's' Captain is also a really neat guy who I consider to be in pretty good shape. Looks good to me, you know? So anyway, one day in the department gym the Captain is on the floor doing crunches and the Chief comes along and tells him to stop wasting his time, because he's just "pushing the fat out". Makes me laugh every time I think about it. Poor Captain.

Here's the truth. If you're trying to shrink your tummy, crunches aren't the way to go. Crunches will absolutely strengthen and harden your abdominal muscles, but they will not shrink your tummy the way you'd like. Strong abs are great, but if you have a layer of fat over them.....you'll still look like a girl with a big belly.

What to do? Lose weight. Burn more calories than you consume. Eat foods that are low in calories and high in nutrition. Burn many extra calories with great workouts. When the fat disappears, we'll all be able to "Ooh and Ahh" over the sturdy abs you've been earning. Fitz.

Q. Hey Fitz. My butt is super saggy and it drives me nuts. My profile from the waste-down is flat wihich is not hot. Can you guide me on what to do? Erika.

A. Hiiiiii Erika! Isn't it amazing how some girls complain about having beautiful round booties, when some of us wish we were blessed with half as much? The grass is always greener, I guess.

There are tons of great exercises to enhance your glutes and lift them up. Understanding how the glutes work is job number one, and from there on...you'll be able to create your own butt-blasting workout with no problems. The glutes are responsible from bringing your legs backwards. For example, if you were lying face down and you brought one leg up to the ceiling, you'd be working your glutes. If you are standing up and brought a straight leg back......you're working the glutes. If you sit down, the muscle that stands you back up into a straight leg position is your glutes. Anything you do to bring your legs backward at the hip joint will work your glutes. Got it?

Here is a short list of some exercise ideas which will challenge your glutes.

• Squats
• Lunges
• Stair Climbing
• Mountain Climbers
• Step Aerobics
• Donkey Kicks
• Prone Leg Lifts
• Side Kicks

Choose a variety of gluteal exercises and do them every other day. The more challenging the level of your training, the quicker you will see results. Be diligent and you'll see the change begin within two weeks. Let me know how it goes!

Punches & Kicks,