He's a veteran reporter, digging up the latest fitness news. She's an irreverent columnist with a knack for getting people off the couch and into the gym. Together, they're here to handle your worst work-out dilemmas and exercise questions.

Vicky Hallett and Howard Schneider are the MisFits, The Post's fitness writers. They were online Tuesday, June 24 to take your fitness questions and discuss their recent columns.

The transcript follows

Discussion Archive

MisFits Archive

____________________

Vicky Hallett: Warmed up and ready to kick off an hour of MisFits fun? We're feeling eco-friendly because in today's column, I told a reader about a couple of green ways to ditch old running shoes. Anyone have any other ideas beyond Nike and Perpetual Prosperity Pumps?

Howard Schneider: I say save them in case you fall down a mountain like that hiker and need a way to signal help. What presence of mind -- to string her sports bra up as a signal.

_______________________

Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.: MisFits: I am submitting early because somehow I always miss it live! I recently started training for a mini-mini triathlon (my first ever!) and it's been going smoothly so far. I'm not a very active person but one thing that has been consistent when I do workout is that I tend to get very red cheeks. It can be very embarrassing and unsightly. I'm sure it is partially heat-induced. Any way I can eliminate this or at least reduce it? Thanks!

Vicky Hallett: I'm no doctor (as I like to point out), but do you know if you have rosacea? It can be triggered by exercise, so that may be what's going on here. And there may be a doctor who can help you out.

Otherwise, um, concealer? But honestly, no one looks particularly sightly during exercise. At least, not if they're doing it right...

_______________________

Kensington, Md.: Is there an online resource that can calculate calories if you know your true BMI and max heart-rate? I am a 39 year old male, 5-5 and 175 lbs with a 12.5% BMI. This was measured with a Bod Pod, one of the most accurate ways around. Of course, given those stupid charts, 5-5 and 175 is considered obese. My 90% max HR is about 195. Thanks.

Howard Schneider: Morning Kensington...Need a little more information because I think you are confusing a couple of things. BMI is body mass index and it is not expressed as a percent, rather it is a number derived from charts that compare your height against your weight. A "12.5" BMI would be grossly underweight, but at 5-5 and 175 your BMI is more like 29, which is high. The Bod Pod you mention measures body composition -- i.e., body fat, which would be expressed as a percent. A 12.5 percent body fat reading is really fit -- approaching the athletic range. My guess is you are pretty muscle-y -- BMI readings are notoriously inaccurate for people with lots of muscle...As to the calorie counting, there are plenty of online calculators to estimate your resting metabolism. If that is what you are after try this link. But these will also be built around averages (BTW this figure has nothing to do with your maximum heart rate)...If you are, on the other hand, trying to measure calories used during exercise, you're best bet would be to invest in a heart rate monitor...

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: Hey Vicky and Howard, I'm basically a fitness newbie. I started walking about 5 months ago, and about a month ago I started training for my first 5K. This is my only fitness activity, though, and I think I need a better diversification. Maybe strength training, or yoga, or both? But where do I start? I have a set of 5 lb weights (I'm a chick) and have access to lifting machines. I'd like to try yoga, but cash is a little bit of an issue, so videos may be better? Any advice on where to start?

Vicky Hallett: Walking is totally the gateway drug of exercise, huh? Anyway, strength training and yoga are both great ideas (and if you're in the right yoga class, you can get a combo of the two). Those dumbbells will come in handy if you check out the exercise demos on our site: washingtonpost.com/fitness.

And as for yoga on a budget, you're in luck. Lululemon's Arlington branch (in Clarendon) hosts free classes on Sunday nights at 7. And they're hosting a free class this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mint Fitness in Adams Morgan, too (along with a trunk show). And if you're willing to spring for the Metro fare, Willow Street Yoga in Silver Spring and Takoma Park is just about to host a week of free classes (June 30-July 5). See Willowstreetyoga.com for details.

Vicky Hallett: This just in -- Mint is also opening up six slots (for free) for two other yoga classes on Saturday: the 10:30 a.m. and the noon.

_______________________

Heat-induced redness and old shoes: A comment on each -- for old shoes, would donating them to Goodwill be an option? Hopefully someone else would then be able to use them.

The redness could in fact be rosacea. I was diagnosed a few years ago and have had excellent results with a prescription skin cream. However, the one time I do see a lot of redness is when I exercise. Definitely use sunscreen if you're outside, but otherwise, there's not much you can do about it! The skin cream definitely helps with regular use -- the redness isn't as bad as it used to be and my face doesn't feel as hot.

Vicky Hallett: If your shoes are still in good condition, Good Will is certainly another worthy (and green) cause!

And thanks for the advice on rosacea -- and sunscreen, too...

_______________________

Old running shoes: Before they go out the door, I save my latest pair as gardening/renovating sneakers.

Vicky Hallett: I've also said goodbye to a few pairs by wearing them on tubing trips.

_______________________

Glover Park, Md.: Hi Misfits, I was watching a piece of American Gladiators last night (I'm not really that into the show) and was impressed by the couple who won. I was wondering what kinds of training one would have to go through to be able to run a course like that. I assume strength, flexibility and balance would be key? I'm not really wanting to be a gladiator but maybe train a bit like one? Also where could I find a not overly expensive place or person to train with?

Vicky Hallett: Having not watched the show since its previous incarnation...I don't entirely know what to tell you. (My new TV pick is "Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for the next Elle Woods." On the last episode, they needed to belt out a tune while on a Spinning bike.)

My guess is parkour training would fit the bill though. Are you familiar with Primal Fitness (Primal-Fitness.com)? Let us know if you go on the show. I'd even watch it...

Howard Schneider: Also might check out the Crossfit gyms -- in Rockville and Alexandria. They get a lot of military and first responder types who are interested in fitness across multiple dimensions -- speed, power, agility, i.e. applied strength, as opposed to just body weight or appearance.

_______________________

I've also said goodbye to a few pairs by wearing them on tubing trips: Yeah but, don't they get awfully heavy in the water? We went whitewater rafting a few years ago and I wore leather sneakers -- never again. Our raft flipped in the rapids and my shoes were so heavy I could barely swim. The next time I'm going, I'll buy water shoes.

Vicky Hallett: In fact, I just bought water shoes. From now on, my old running shoes are totally getting donated...

_______________________

Old shoes: Or caving trips. I didn't believe my experienced friends when they told me cave mud would absolutely ruin shoes, but it does!

Howard Schneider: Caves and crabbing and a bunch of stuff...My question to Vicky's letter write this morning was: who throws away old tennis shoes? Too many good things to do in them...

Vicky Hallett: Just a friendly reminder that this is coming from a man with 20-year-old sweat pants. Sometimes, you just need to let things go. And they can be recycled into playgrounds!

_______________________

Annandale, Va.: How can I calculate the amount of calories I burn on my bike to and from work? I bike from Annandale to Courthouse, 35 min in 40 out. It's mostly hills and a few straight sections. Thanks.

Howard Schneider: Morning. The best way to do that is to invest in a heart rate monitor. The calories used during that bike trip will depend on how much you weigh, how old you are, your gender and how hard you pedal. You can play around with caloriesperhour.com, which indicates that an hour of moderate riding for a 160 pound person would use about 580 calories. But to account for more variables -- like your heart rate -- you'll want to monitor.

_______________________

Foot surgery: I'm training for the Nation's Tri but have had a major setback. I will probably be needing foot surgery to remove a swollen nerve. I'll be off track from the training (at least the running) for 10-14 days, and then need to get back slowly. I'm definitely considering not participating in the tri, but my question is more about recovery workouts. Are there good web sites that can help me get back into training after foot surgery? A google search just found a lot of things that could go wrong... Thanks

Vicky Hallett: I don't know of any sites geared to post-foot surgery training, but if you're concerned about things -- a lot of things -- going wrong, I'd take it up with your doctor. She/he didn't give you any guidelines?

You may also want to look for a coach who's worked with injured athletes. I bet if you ask at an area running store, someone will have some suggestions.

Or maybe another chatter can help you out?

_______________________

Mint?: How do I find out about the free yoga stuff on Saturday there?

Vicky Hallett: Didn't I just tell you about it? It's not on their site, but I swear, I talked to them this morning.

If you don't believe me, call 'em yourself!

_______________________

Feeling Guilty: I ride my bike to work, go to gym after work, ride home. I try to burn more calories than I consume. I eat healthy food that I cook at home. Yet I feel guilty when I have a few pints when the weekend comes around. I worked hard to cut and burn calories all week then I indulge in a few high calorie beverages. Should I see the pints as a reward for my hard work and not a speed bump?

Vicky Hallett: Obsessing about every calorie in and out is no way to live. And one of the best things about exercise is it means you get to eat (and drink)! If it's really just a few pints on the weekends and you're a saint the rest of time, you have nothing to worry about.

Just drink a couple of beers, and then I'm sure you'll agree with me.

Howard Schneider: Set aside the guilt. What's your favorite beer?

_______________________

Donating sneakers: Another group that takes gently worn sneakers is Soles 4 Souls.

Vicky Hallett: Another good tip! And that reminds me, I forgot to mention recycledrunners.com! It has a tons of other suggestions.

_______________________

Chantilly, Va.: Hi MisFits! I am 27, female and in bad shape. I'm about 50 pounds overweight, have bad knees, and know full well that I'm on my way to lots of serious health problems if I don't start taking better care of myself. I'm working on eating healthier, and I think I'm ready to tackle getting into exercise. I haven't been in good shape since I was a kid (my weight problems started in adolescence), so I don't have a good model of myself to look to. Any advice on starting my fitness routine? I'm not looking to to lose the 50 pounds in a month, nor do I want to be in marathon-fitness shape by next week -- I just want to gradually & effectively get healthy. Thanks!

Vicky Hallett: Wanting to make a change and being realistic about it are steps one and two, so you're already off to a great start! I usually advocate walking for someone who's literally just starting up with exercise -- you already know how to do it, and have the necessary equipment. Once you feel comfortable with that, think about joining a gym or taking some sort of class. That way, you'll have access to trainers who can give you advice on what you should be doing based on your fitness level.

_______________________

Exercising on Metro!: How about this - if you lean against the back door of a bumpy Metro car, it's good practice for ski season! It's a great way to commute and exercise at the same time. Your thoughts?

Vicky Hallett: Until the doors accidentally open, sure!

I've definitely done my fair share of balance exercises on the Metro, so I'm with you. But it works much better on a mostly empty car because at some point, you're bound to topple over. And better not to end up in someone's lap on top of their Sudoku puzzle.

I'm also a big fan of pacing up and down the platform during a long wait. And the very ends of the platforms are usually empty, so you can get away with doing more embarrassing stuff, like lunges and squats. It's a good way to kill 15 minutes.

Howard Schneider: The bars are good for pullups too. And I am with you Vicky on pacing the platform: you can audit Metro's time clock, too, by counting off the seconds to see if the train comes when they say it is going to.

Anybody else have public transportation exercises to share? Got a feeling more people than ever would be interested.

_______________________

Oxon Hill, Md.: What is a normal resting pulse rate versus a resting pulse rate for someone who is an athlete?

Howard Schneider: My understanding is that a reasonable resting heart rate for an adult is the 70 to 90 range, but with athletic training can dip into the 50s....

_______________________

Tubing shoes can ruin streams: Just be sure you don't bring them from stream to stream; you can cross contaminate with invasive pests like didymo. Didymo has now been found in the Gunpowder, a frequent tubing stream

Howard Schneider: Interesting and not obvious perspective...So what is the recommendation -- wash the shoes after any expedition? I assume the same would go for any boots or other gear that people take fishing? What about water skis or boats themselves?

_______________________

Bethesda, Md.: The shoe recycling recommendations you had are good, but I doubt they're greener than just shipping to Nike yourself. I mean, it must take a ton of fuel to ship shoes to Africa, and if you take your shoes to the Rehobeth Nike outlet, it'll just be them doing the shipping for you. People have already written in with the truly green option: reuse or resell your shoes close to home. Life is full of trade-offs: the programs through running stores probably do more social good, but reusing your shoes will do more environmental good.

Vicky Hallett: But won't the Rehobeth store be sending a bunch at the same time, so it's like mass transit for shoes? And they ship 10,000 pairs of shoes to Africa at one time.

Okay, fine, you're obviously right. You have to choose what seems more important to you.

But all of these options are better than just trashing them.

Howard Schneider: What about Planet Aid, the clothing charity? Or Salvation Army?

_______________________

Fallen off workout wagon: I've fallen off the workout wagon yet again but this time I'm really struggling to get back on. I bought a gym membership 6 months ago and used it religiously. My husband said it was my new addiction but about a month ago I started not wanting to go. I went before work (about 5:30 AM) and it worked perfect but lately my sleep was more important. Suggestions on how to get back on? I know I fell off because I got bored. I did the same 3 machines (elliptical, bike, treadmill). Help!!

Howard Schneider: Sounds like you have answered your own question...Human nature is what it is: we won't do things that aren't enjoyable or ingrained in some way. I'd have three suggestions:

1)Set a goal -- running in a short race, completing a biking event, training for an extended hike -- and then build your workouts around that. If you can drag your husband into it, all the better. Getting involved in a charity race -- and there are tons of them for Aids, cancer, Leukemia, etc. -- gives you a way to do some good for the community and motivate you to train.

2)Pick something completely different beyond the gym and give it a go -- martial arts, a boot camp, whatever, someting that will push your body and mind in different directions.

3)Don't drop the gym. If you can do something totally different a couple of days a week, and get to the gym a couple of days a week (not so much you get bored) you'll be back in business...

_______________________

Busted shoes: My biking/gym shoes have a sole that has come loose. No need to recycle them yet. Any glue suggestions?

Howard Schneider: No glue suggestions, but I would recommend a solvent -- to loosen the money in your wallet so you can buy some new shoes....

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: re: Metro exercise. You skipped the most obvious - walk up the escalators! I do it every time.

Howard Schneider: Another good idea...

_______________________

Too bad: It's too bad we can't change old running shoes into gasoline!

Howard Schneider: If only...Lets see, arent some of the synthetics petroleum products. Any reverse engineering possible or are we going to run into a second law problem?

_______________________

Annapolis, Md.: It's the old story -- it's very hard for me to make time to exercise because of work and family needs. Would it be a bad thing if I worked out for 3 hours on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday, rather than 1 hour each weekday?

Howard Schneider: A bad thing? Depends on what you do and how hard. Longer duration workouts, for example, are central to marathon or really any endurance training, so going out for two or three hours on a weekend bike or run is fine. But generally you dont want to follow that with another long session -- it is done, certainly, but it is not really the norm for general fitness purposes. In addition, the basic recommendations from the government, etc., emphasis consistency day to day. I dont think a five hour fiesta on the weekend is going to accumulate in the same way as a more consistent effort. For one thing, it is hard (if not impossible) to work at a high intensity level for that long. So by doing only long workouts you miss the chance to do shorter, more intense ones. One thing to keep in mind: If you can just carve out a half hour or so a couple of days a week, and make those workouts really intense, you'll be getting the best of both worlds without (hopefully) ruining the weekday shedule.

_______________________

NoVa: I just found your chats and love them! I recently started jogging. I jog 3x per week and have been doing push-ups at home on one day. I occasionally swap out a jog for stroller strides. I've been reading the information you provide on the importance of cross-training but I don't know what I can do. I don't have a gym membership or a bike or any videos. I do have a two year old and a one year old, though, so I'm both short on time and money. Any advice on what I could substitute in?

Howard Schneider: Life sounds busy. Dont stress about cross training -- this is not the proverbial rocket science. Here is the idea: if you are doing one thing consistently, and only one thing, you'll almost inevitably develop some imbalances between the parts of the body that get attention and those that don't. It is great that you are doing pushups once a week. One suggestion would be to add a second "pushup day" and expand what you do to include more general calisthenics -- jumping jacks, jump rope, squats, lunges, some abdominal and back exercises (one good cheap investment is a swiss ball...). You could also invest in a couple of yoga or pilates DVDs and use those. Vicky and I interviewed a local Olympic hopeful last week and I was struck by how simple his general fitness workout is: 20 pushups, 20 back exercises, 20 ab exercises, repeated five times...Maybe we dont do it five times (and believe me there is much else to his training). But that basic rotation -- pushup, back, abs -- is a pretty simple way to add some crosstraining to your life. Good luck with the kids!

Vicky Hallett: Another easy suggestion for mixing it up if you're interested in videos is to Netflix them. New workouts all the time, coming directly to your house, without you really needing to think about it.

_______________________

Desk exercises: Anything I can do at my desk to burn a few calories? I do leg lifts and tighten my abs.

Howard Schneider: Get a resistance band and keep it handy for shoulder and arm stretches. You can also step on it and do arm curls and shoulder presses. You can do any number of isometrics -- hold your hands together in front of your chest and tighten the chest muscles. And dont forget to stand up every few minutes -- and take a stroll around the office whenever possible.

_______________________

Favorite beer: Of course i like a pint of Guinness. Mostly a lager fan - European, Canadien, Caribbean style. Anything from Moosehead to Carlsberg to Carib. Blue Moon is on tap at home-kegerater not as detrimental to healthy lifestyle as one would think. Maybe because I don't like the Blue Moon. Carrying it up 2 flights of stairs is a workout though.

Howard Schneider: Hmmm....Home keg? Sure it is only a few pints on the weekend? (I like your taste however. But why buy Blue Moon by the keg if you dont like it?)

_______________________

Moving house: Hi MisFits, I am moving house (or rather, from a flat to a house) and whilst I have an elliptical machine, in the new place, would like to vary my routine. Currently, my flat-building has a great gym that I've been using. Would you recommend buying some inexpensive supplemental equipment like a resistance band or Swiss medicine ball? Cheers, thanks!

Howard Schneider: Sure. Swiss balls are really versatile (the big bouncy ones you use for abdominal and back routines). Medicine balls are different -- they are small and heavy and used more for resistance type workouts. They are more expensive -- but great to own, particularly if you have partner to play catch with. Stretchy bands are also good. To your list I'd add a jump rope -- good warmups and good intensity, particularly since you'll own your place and won't bother the neighborhors down below.

_______________________

Eating right in Alexandria: My dilemma is that I do well for one week (go grocery shopping and cook), but I can't seem to be consistent because it just seems to hard to maintain. Is there a book out there with healthy meals that are also quick?

Vicky Hallett: This is more of a Sally question, but I have to tell you about my obsession with "The Mom's Guide to Meal Makeovers." I'm not a mom, but it's fantastic. I also rely quite a bit on Eating Well's "Healthy in a Hurry."

_______________________

McLean, Va.: Does anyone have experience with the Nike plus wristband? It is supposed to track distance, time, calories and then upload them straight to their website for logging. I know most people like the version that connects to the iPod but this is just a wrist strap version. Thanks - you guys do a great job.

Howard Schneider: Question for the crowd...this is a gadget I have not played with.

_______________________

Shoe Recycling: Often (larger) road races collect shoes for recycling too, but if Pacers does it, and I wish I'd known that a few months ago, that sounds like a great place to do it. Now they should offer a discount to you if you recycle your shoes there and buy something new...

Howard Schneider: Kind of like a loyalty program....

_______________________

Germantown, Md.: In your recent article you mentioned the benefits of off-days for older people. At 28, should I use them more? I prefer to go to the gym daily M-F as a habit rather than to try to skip days and trust that I have the discipline to go every other day.

Howard Schneider: The general recommendation is to get exercise five or six days a week...At 28, an M-F schedule sounds great, but my question is: why not use some of that weekend time too? Surely there is something fun to do...

_______________________

Howard Schneider: That is a wrap for this week. I'll be writing about quick and easy ways to boost your metabolism for next week's column. Think there are any? We'll see....Join us next week....