There is no evidence that the particular time of day you exercise affects the benefits of your workout. Just find time that you can set aside each day. Whether this is in the morning, on your lunch break or later in the day is irrelevant.

It is best to make time for the three main components of exercise:

At a minimum, you should incorporate resistance (strength) training twice a week. This need not be very time consuming; you can work all of the major muscle groups in 20 to 40 minutes. As for aerobic activity, aim for 30 minutes seven days a week at a moderate pace. Finally, when cooling down after aerobic activity, set aside a few minutes for gentle stretching to improve your flexibility and decrease your chance of injury.

No. You lose weight by burning more calories than you consume. Resistance training (strength training) can firm up the muscles in a specific body part, but you will not lose weight in that area. There are significant benefits to firming up, though. In addition to increasing your strength, the added muscle mass will help you burn calories, even at rest. So you'll lose weight, and you'll be left with muscles that are toned and strong.

Yes. Think of your muscles as a series of engines that burn fuel efficiently. If you're trying to lose weight, added muscle will help burn calories more rapidly than fat does, even when you're not exercising. Resistance training also improves strength, which can help you perform daily activities, such as lifting grocery bags or shoveling snow. In addition, studies show that resistance training has a greater effect on self-image than does aerobic exercise.

Most women do not have the hormonal makeup necessary to develop bulky muscles through resistance training (strength training). You may notice some increase in size as the number and diameter of your muscle fibers increase. But muscle is leaner than fat, so you should appear leaner overall.

It's safe to lose about one-half to two pounds per week. When beginning an exercise program, you may see an initial loss of more than this, but it will quickly level out. More rapid weight loss may indicate a loss of lean body mass (muscle), which should not be the goal of any exercise program; lean body mass is "good" weight — it burns calories. Also, drastic, rapid weight loss is difficult to sustain long term.

"No pain, no gain" is a motto of the past. Exercise should not be painful, and pain is not a sign of a good workout. You may experience some soreness for a day or two after beginning a new activity, but this should not be a regular occurrence. Persistent discomfort may be an indication that you're increasing your activity levels or weight resistance too rapidly. Aim for no more than a 10 percent increase each week.

There are several signs and symptoms that accompany overtraining. These include:

You can take several steps to decrease your chance of getting injured during exercise:

As more children participate in sports and, frequently, play only one sport year-round (in indoor leagues, summer leagues, etc.), the risk of injury increases. Here are some steps you can take to prevent injuries in your child:

No. Pain is the body's way of communicating that something is wrong. When you ignore pain, your injury won't improve, and it may become more severe. The injury may begin to affect your performance not only in sports and exercise, but in your daily life as well.

There may be activities that won't aggravate your injury, depending on what your injury is, and will allow the recovery process to continue. Swimming is often a good alternative to other aerobic activities because it involves no impact. You can even try resistance (strength) training; just work out the parts of the body unaffected by the injury. For example, if you have a shoulder injury, you can still do many lower-body exercises to maintain strength.