General: You need your ten-pound dumbbells for all these exercises. Start with one set of five reps, then increase to ten reps. Later, go in for three sets of eight reps each.

Upper back, chest, shoulder: alternate-shapers Starting position: Stand with feet slightly apart, back straight. Grasp your dumbbells in an overhand grip. Bend your elbows inwards so that your dumbbells are in line with your shoulders, your palms facing one another.

Weight- training is equally useful for both men and women. You can begin at the age of sixteen or even when you are middle-aged or older. After the age of thirty, however, you should give yourself a complete medical check­up and consult your doctor about the test- results, and then with his consent, go in for it. Again, if you are highly myopic, check with a vitreo­retinal surgeon before training with weights.

We've already spoken about how you can prevent back problems by improving your posture and doing abdominals. The exercises given below will strengthen your back muscles and also give your back that nice, smooth, streamlined look sans bulges. If you have a back injury, don't even try these workouts. And even after it heals, check with your doctor before starting on them. Again, no ankle-weights, only dumbbells are required.

Legging it up

General: Strap the 5-pound ankle-weights around your ankles. Start with one set to set of five reps, work up to 10, and finally to three sets of eight reps each.

Shoulder, pectoral: alternate-shapers Starting position: Stand with feet slightly apart, Grasp your dumbbells in an overhand grip. Let your arms hang down, palms facing your thighs, dumbbells making a straight line, lengthwise.

Aerobics are the only exercise that can burn fat, while sensible eating prevents fat from accumulating on your muscles. However some people have specific problem spots-arms, thighs, love-handles at the waist, etc. ­which stubbornly droop even after having lost fat. This is where weight ­training - let's call it spot-shaping - comes in.

These are to firm up your pectoral muscles - those muscles under your breasts. Here again, you don't need ankle weights. Only your dumbbells.

General: Start with one set of five reps, then ten reps. Later, three sets of eight reps each.

Give yourself a fair chance:

No, don't switch off and skip this article because you have as much interest in weight-training as a bird-watcher has in cricket. If you have stayed with us so far, you would have realised that we have always seen fitness as a vital instrument that helps you discover yourself. And discovering oneself is an exciting life-long voyage. In this eternal adventure, you never know what little nugget of information or capsule of experience may come in handy in focusing more sharply into yourself.