ELLEN: Think strength training. Heated gym. Great endorphins. No yukky gel. You're all going to end up there anyway. I'm just jealous that my joints won't let me run long distances any more.

YVONNE: Ellen, I am very glad you are cheering the strength-training - as long as we are also balancing that with cardio. You're right about running, as incredibly beneficial as it is, also being hard on the body. But cardio and strength training should not be mutually exclusive. A person's heart rate should be up during strengh-training. you should be slightly winded, work continuously with only very short breaks in between and you should work each muscle group - from biggest to littlest -- to exhaustion. That builds strength and endurance.

JENICE:Easier said than done sometimes! Geesh. You've got to lift weights at least twice a week and do cardio at least three times. That's a whole lotta working out.

THERESA: I have decided, after years of running, that strength training really is more beneficial in terms of weight control and gaining muscle tone. When I started lifting weights a year ago, the results were dramatic. I lost extra weight, gained muscle definition, and have been able to keep the pounds off. I feel like I have a whole new body. I've never felt stronger. My trainer explained that that's partly because as I build muscle (and also changed the way I eat) my body uses calories more efficiently. And what seemed really cool to me is that the weight work I do doesn't require that much time--- three 30-minute sessions a week with the weights. But I've kept running too, three or four times a week at least. I love it, it's great for reducing stress and I know it's good for my heart over the long haul. AND my running has improved a lot since I started doing the strength training.

ELLEN: I checked in with supertrainers Mike and Linda at Main Line Health and Fitness in Bryn Mawr (Second Floor) and they agree that for people doing circuit strength training, it can be both a strength and cardio workout. The supertrainers were careful to say that your workout plan should be balanced. And I suspect if I were in better shape, they'd send me down to the treadmills. However, I was winded after my weight workout today and these two generous young people were amused by my questions. Or maybe they were still laughing because I got stuck in the ab machine and couldn't remember how to work it because I had so many endorphins floating through my body that I couldn't think straight?