By Vicky Hallett
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Q I have a friend who is overweight and seriously lacking in dedication and confidence. I know I can't force him to work out, but I thought if I made him a gift of a session or two with a trainer, that might be good for him. I know you get this question for women a lot, but are there any gyms or trainer services that are friendly to self-conscious, beginner men? The Curves for men, if you will.

-- Anonymous

A Somewhere out there, someone is reading this and thinking, "Eureka! Curves for dudes! I'll make millions." Forget about it. It's been done, and it hasn't been very popular. Ever heard of Cuts or the Blitz? Exactly. My theory is that guys have a problem admitting they didn't emerge from the womb bench pressing.

But your gift idea isn't a bust: Just direct those funds to a personal training gym. These gyms tend to be much smaller than those huge corporate health clubs, but they can do as much or more for your body as the big boys. Take, for example, Fitness Together, which opened its first District gym this year in Scott Circle. "We have private rooms, so the only person you have to interact with is your trainer," owner Dave Ridings explains. "We try to make it like working out in your living room."

Your friend could even make it exactly like working out in his living room if you spring for the $5 to $50 extra that trainers charge to make a house call, a fairly common service. No matter how lazy you are, it's hard to weasel out of a workout when someone rings your doorbell holding resistance bands.

The benefit of this kind of training extends beyond privacy. With a personal trainer, your friend will get a workout tailored to his specific needs, which is critical for folks new to exercise and testing their limits. "Especially with people who are severely overweight, you can hurt yourself" if you don't know what you're doing, Ridings adds. "You're putting a lot of stress on your body and heart."

As for a polite way to deliver said present, um, good luck.

I recently began taking part in triathlons. For swimming training, I use small swim fins on my feet. These help me swim much faster, and my theory is that they provide more resistance and my leg muscles are working harder because of this. Also, I feel that I can focus more on my breathing and my stroke while training. Is this advisable, or am I just deluding myself? Should I train with the fins if I will not be using them in the races?

-- Anonymous

Let me guess: You also do your practice runs on a treadmill with no incline and walk your bike up daunting hills? While it's a rush to feel speed, forgetting about reality won't do you any favors on race day, advises local swim coach and legend Clay Britt ( http://Claybrittswimming.com).

It's not that he doesn't like fins. He just doesn't like them for swimming. He thinks they're suited for kicking practice, which he separates into its own activity.

Britt understands why people in your position, still working on breathing and stroke technique, might need a boost in the pool. "But they become a crutch, so I discourage people from using them," he says. One of his reasons is that legs really aren't as important to swimming as you might think. Britt says only a tiny percentage of your propulsion comes from down below, while your arms and torso rotation are what really give you motion in the ocean.

Instead of the fins, he recommends you invest in instruction. "Michael Phelps gets coached three to four hours a day. If he still needs a coach, everybody still needs a coach," Britt says. Too pricey? Then join a masters team, a swim team for adults. (Britt happens to coach the Montgomery Ancient Mariners.). Helpful lane buddies can give you pointers, plus you'll get a taste of competition.

Let that perk up your time, not pieces of rubber on your feet.

I'm an active person (running, weight training, martial arts), so I'm not looking for an easy way to get fit. But I am always looking for more efficient or more effective ways to train. Several years ago, I started hearing about using vibration platforms, especially for building core strength. I remember that some of the NFL teams were using them. Nowadays, I don't hear about them anymore. Did they not catch on because they were not effective -- or were they too expensive? Do you have any experience with these, or any info on them?

-- Susie

To find out what's shaking in the world of vibrations, I turned to William Amonette, an exercise physiologist at the University of Houston at Clear Lake who has been studying whole-body vibration since 2002.

Yes, that's right, there's a scientific field dedicated to exploring the potential of what is essentially Magic Fingers. And as you've heard, research indicates that jostling can do a body good: It improves bone density, ups flexibility and boosts one's power. It's that last part that has made it attractive to some football teams (the Ravens use it, and the Redskins have in the past) and, increasingly, to higher-end health clubs. (The platforms aren't cheap.)

But if it's abs strength you're after, I'd stick with sit-ups. "The plate does knock your center of gravity off," Amonette admits. "But how much core activation do you get? I don't know."

Vibration research is still in its infancy. And regardless of what the Beach Boys may have told you, all vibrations aren't good. People who operate jackhammers and drive trucks develop back and joint problems from too much shaking, Amonette says. So although some trainers recommend lengthy workouts on vibrating platforms, he advises exercisers to limit exposure. "It's a tool to incorporate into an overall training program," he says.

Depending on how the next few years of scientific study shake out, there's a chance you'll start to see WBV everywhere, especially as boomers face bone density issues. But to get rid of jiggle, it seems like you'll be better off using solid ground.