Take Massive Action

If you want to get in better shape the quickest road to better fitness is take massive action. Exercise vigorously and often! Work your muscles and eat healthy foods. You'll start seeing results in a matter of weeks!

If you consume 100 calories a day more than your body needs, you will gain approximately 10 pounds in a year. You could take that weight off, or keep it off, by doing 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. The experts concur - the combination of exercise and healthy eating is the surest way to start getting in shape fast.


The choice is yours. Choose to adopt healthier habits. Choose to have more fun playing sports you enjoy! Choose to schedule and your daily exercise. Then make your plans a reality! Choose to look better and feel more energized. To enjoy much better health eating healthy foods!

Your exercise program might ideally work your upper body and lower. Build muscles and get some solid cardio every day. Do some weight or resistance workouts every other day! Each workout should begin with a warm-up and end with a cool down. As a general rule, space your workouts throughout the week and avoid consecutive days of hard exercise. Give your body some time to recover - and rejuvenate!

Some simple suggestions to help you get started:

WARMUP - 5-10 minutes of exercise such as walking, slow jogging, knee lifts, arm circles or trunk rotations. Low intensity movements that simulate movements to be used in the activity can also be included in the warmup.


MUSCULAR STRENGTH - a minimum of two 20-minute sessions per week that include exercises for all the major muscle groups. Lifting weights is the most effective way to increase strength.


MUSCULAR ENDURANCE - at least three 30-minute sessions each week that include exercises such as calisthenics, pushups, situps, pullups, and weight training for all the major muscle groups.


CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE - at least three 20-minute bouts of continuous aerobic (activity requiring oxygen) rhythmic exercise each week. Popular aerobic conditioning activities include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, rope-jumping, rowing, cross-country skiing, and some continuous action games like racquetball and handball.


FLEXIBILITY - 10-12 minutes of daily stretching exercises performed slowly, without a bouncing motion. This can be included after a warmup or during a cooldown.


COOL DOWN - a minimum of 5-10 minutes of slow walking, low-level exercise, combined with stretching.


Tips to Keep You Going

* Adopt a specific plan and write it down.

* Keep setting realistic goals as you go along, and remind yourself of them often.

* Keep a log to record your progress and make sure to keep it up-to-date.

* Include weight and/or percent body fat measures in your log. Extra pounds can easily creep back.

* Upgrade your fitness program as you progress.

* Enlist the support and company of your family and friends. Invite them along!

* Update others on your successes.

* Avoid injuries by pacing yourself and including a warm-up and cool down period as part of every workout.

* Reward yourself every so often for a job well done!

The desire to be successful is less important than planning and then implementing the repetitive plan. Take massive action and reach your goal(s) sooner! If losing weight is one of your goals - you can exercise and lose weight fast!

Plan Your Healthy Lifestyle

The road to better health and fitness involves active living and smart eating. Being active is fun and has many health benefits. Most adults will benefit from just 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (above their usual activity) most days of the week, preferably daily.

Whatever activities you choose - you can do it all at once or spread them out during the day. Add activities to your daily routine, like gardening, walking to and from your bus or train, using stairs instead of the elevator, cleaning house, or playing with your little ones! (You all win when you play with the children.) Fit in a regular exercise program, such as swimming, bicycling, power walking, or playing a team sport. Or - have even more fun and add a variety of sports and workouts to your fitness efforts!

Getting fit is much easier if make a plan and then Take Massive Action towards fulfilling your plan.

Set up a few simple short-term goals, like walking 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Once you are comfortable, try to do more. Try 15 minutes instead of 10 minutes. Then walk on more days a week while adding more minutes to your walk. You can try different activities too. To add variety, you can do low-impact aerobics or water aerobics for 30 minutes, 2 days a week. Then walk on a treadmill or outdoors for 30 minutes, 1 day a week. Then do yoga or lift weights every other day.

Eating a well balanced variety of healthy foods will give you the fuel your body needs to get more exercise and enjoy better health! Try to enjoy more fruits and vegetables every day. Get at least half your grains from whole-grain foods - like whole wheat bread or pasta. Mix in some low-fat or fat-free milk or foods made from lowfat or fat-free milk. Choose lean meats and get more of your protein from fish and beans. Eat less often foods high in saturated fat or trans fat, or with added sugars.

Track your progress by writing down your goals and what you have done each day, including the type of activity and how long you spent doing it. Seeing your progress on paper - in black and white can really help keep you motivated. Celebrate your success. Don't worry if you miss a target or slip and fall. Just adjust you plan - and your actions - and keep your eyes on the big goal. Enjoy your journey. Don't let little setbacks get in your way! They happen to us all!

Look and Feel Years Younger

"What we think or what we know or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do" John Ruskin

If you already have a lean figure and want to keep it that way regular exercise and a balanced diet should keep you looking fit and trim!

If you are like the millions of Americans who would like to lose a few pounds - the best way to lose your belly fat or drop a few pounds is with regular vigorous exercise. Eating healthy foods is vital to losing your belly and keeping the weight off. You'll feel years younger and look it too!

Remarkable - even miraculous - claims have been made for a variety of "crash" diets and diet pills. And some of these very restricted diets do result in noticeable weight loss in a short time. Much of this loss is water and such a loss is quickly regained when normal food and liquid intake is resumed. These diet plans are often expensive and may be dangerous.

Most of these Miracle Weight Loss remedies do not emphasize lifestyle changes that will help you maintain your desired weight. Dieting alone will result in a loss of valuable body tissue such as muscle mass in addition to a loss in fat.

In addition to a regular exercise routine, many healthy fitness buffs enjoy sneaking in extra physical activity each day. Simple changes in your habits can yield awesome results! How can you increase the amount of physical activity in your daily routine to supplement your exercise program?

Recreational and social activities like gardening on weekends, bowling in the office league, family outings, an evening of social dancing, and many other activities provide added exercise. They are fun and can be considered an extra bonus in your weight control campaign.

Add more "action" to your day. Walk to the neighborhood grocery store instead of using the car. Park several blocks from the office and walk the rest of the way. Walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator; start with one flight of steps and gradually increase.

Change your attitude toward movement. Instead of considering an extra little walk or trip to the files an annoyance, look upon it as an added fitness boost. Look for opportunities to use your body. Bend, stretch, reach, move, lift and carry. Time-saving devices and gadgets eliminate drudgery and are a bonus to mankind, but when they substitute too often for physical activity they can demand a high cost in health, vigor and fitness.

These little bits of action are cumulative in their effects. Alone, each does not burn a huge amount of calories. But when added together they can result in a sizable amount of energy used over the course of the day. And they will help improve your muscle tone and flexibility at the same time.

The benefits of exercise are numerous - from producing physically fit bodies to providing an outlet for fun! Life is short - why not enjoy it more in a healthy and trim body? You can look and feel years younger when you exercise regularly and keep eating healthy foods!

If you're a little over-weight ( or a lot ) start today! Join the millions healthy folks who've found you can exercise and lose weight fast!

Low Impact Exercise

Low impact exercise options offer plenty of ways to get in shape and lose weight – all without placing too much stress on your knees and ankles. Save your knees – take advantage of a low impact exercise program!

Here are a few easy ideas:

Go for a walk. A long, fast paced walk. It’s that easy to reap the benefits of moderate endurance exercise. Each time you exercise, simply walk a little farther. As the weeks pass, gradually increase the pace, or speed, of your walks. Try to walk on grass or dirt if you can for even less stress on your joints. And, of course, get a comfortable pair of shoes!

Join in a water aerobics class at your local YMCA. Water is great for reducing the pressure on your key joints. And you can get a terrific workout in the water! Aerobic workouts in the pool are really great if you need to save your knees! And the resistance in the water helps work your muscles harder. You'll really feel a difference!

Strength training is a great way to sculpt a slimmer and more muscular physique. Many fitness enthusiasts have discovered another way to be sleek and strong. They've learned Pilates and love it. Many fitness experts believe that this workout can help you develop long, strong muscles, a flat stomach, a strong back, and improved posture. And like working out with weights, Pilates can strengthen those crucial connective tissues ( your tendons and ligaments).

Another wildly popular option in today's financial climate helps you save a bunch of money and work out in the comfort of your own home. Why not turn that extra bedroom into your very own mini fitness center! Get a TV and DVD player and watch funny videos while you work off those extra pounds! Buy some low impact exercise equipment and get an excellent workout – right at home!

Tennis Fun in The Big Apple

Andy Roddick can serve a tennis ball at more than 100 miles per hour. His serves travel 80 feet across the court in less than one second! And yet - Andy had an unfortunate and early exit from this year's U.S. Open. The beauty of tennis - and many other sports is that on any given day even the best players or teams can end up with the short end of the stick! (Look what happened to Maria Sharapova last weekend.)

Every year new and sometimes younger stars emerge and knock off one or more of the top ranked players. The excitement in the air around Flushing Meadows is almost electric! Memories of Jimmy Connors pumping his fist in the air. Pictures of Rafal Nadal running down seemingly impossible shots and hitting yet another winner.

Tennis offers plenty of excitement for those of us watching in the comfort of home and the lucky thousands who get tickets to one of September's signature sporting events. The U.S. Open - weather permitting - comes to a close this weekend. Will this be Rafa's year? Or another boring victory for Roger Federer? Will one of the Russian girls walk off Centre Court smilling? Or maybe this September will produce a new wave of U.S. Open Champions.

Decide to Live Healthy

For centuries women and men much wiser than I have suggested a very simple route to self improvement - We are what we think we are. Our present state is often the result of where our thoughts ( and the resulting actions ) have taken us.

Success is in the blood. There are men whom fate can never keep down - they march forward in a jaunty manner, and take by divine right the best of everything that the earth affords. They are ever alert and alive to any good that may come their way, and when it comes they simply make the best of it and move steadily on.


Whenever you go outdoors, take a nice, deep breath and fill your lungs to the utmost; drink in the sunshine; greet your friends with a smile. Do not fear being misunderstood; and never waste a moment thinking about your setbacks. Try instead to fix firmly in your own mind what you would like to do, and then move straight towards your goal.

Fear is the obstacle on which many a goal gets stranded. When we become fearful, the judgment is as unreliable as a broken compass.

Keep your mind on the great and splendid thing you would like to do; and then, as the days go gliding by, you will find yourself unconsciously seizing the opportunities that are required for the fulfillment of your desire, just as the coral insect takes from the running tide the elements that it needs. Picture in your mind the able, earnest, useful person you desire to be, and the thought that you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular individual you so admire.

Thought is supreme - Preserve a right mental attitude - the attitude of courage, frankness and good cheer.

Darwin and Spencer have told us that this is the method of Creation. All things come through desire and every sincere prayer is answered. We become like that on which our hearts are fixed.

The choice is ours to make. We can direct and control our thoughts! And our actions! Our achievements are the result of two things - mental attitude, and the way we spend our time. It is what we think and what we do that make us what we are. Choose to enjoy eating healthy foods. Choose to exercise daily. Choose good, clean thoughts. Make the choice for better health!

Enjoy Eating Healthy

Why do so many of life's simple pleasures end up in our waistline or belly? Why are donuts so good and so unhealthy at the same time?

If you're like me you already know the effects of these little joys. Those useless calories in every beer. The trans fat hidden in our favorite baked goods.

We can exercise until we drop and we'll never lose those that belly if we don't watch what we eat.

A few tips to help you stay on track with your healthy eating plan:

Don't skip meals. Skipping meals may cause your metabolism to slow down or lead you to eat more high-calorie, high-fat foods at your next meal or snack.

Select high-fiber foods like whole-grain breads and cereals, beans, vegetables, and fruits. They may help keep you regular and lower your risk for chron­ic diseases, such as coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Choose lean beef, turkey breast, fish, or chicken with the skin removed to lower the amount of fat and calories in your meals. As you age, your body needs fewer calories, especially if you are not very active.

Have three servings of vitamin D-fortified low-fat/fat-free milk, yogurt, or cheese every day. Milk products are high in calcium and vitamin D and help keep your bones strong as you age. If you have trouble digesting or do not like milk products, try reduced-lactose milk products, or soy-based beverages, or tofu. You can also talk to your health care provider about taking a calcium and vitamin D supplement.

Choose foods fortified with vitamin B12. Many adults over the age of 50 have difficulty absorbing adequate amounts of this vitamin. Therefore, they should get this nutrient through fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals, or from a dietary supplement. Talk with your health care provider to ensure that you are consuming enough vitamin B12.

Keep nutrient-rich snacks like dried apricots, whole-wheat crackers, peanut butter, low-fat cheese, and low-sodium soup on hand. Eat only small amounts of such foods as dried apricots and peanut butter because they are high in calories. Limit how often you have high-fat and high-sugar snacks like cake, candy, chips, and soda.

Drink plenty of water or water-based fluids. You may notice that you feel less thirsty as you get older, but your body still needs water to stay healthy. Exam­ples of water-based fluids are caffeine-free tea and coffee, soup, and low-fat or skim milk.

You can drop those unwanted pounds. The best way to lose belly fat is vigorous exercise and eating healthy foods! Cutting calories is not that hard.