Six Quick Tidbits

Whenever you have an errand, park your car as far away as you can handle and walk to the store. At the mall, park at the farthest end and walk the length of the mall. Use every opportunity to walk. At the end of the day, it all adds up to better fitness.

If you do the same number of abdominal exercises everyday, and the same exercises for them, you are doing nothing but building endurance in the muscle, and maintaining somewhat of the strength and firmness you've already accomplished through this method of abdominal training.

Today the heart is recognized as a symbol for love and compassion, through the ages it has been known as the "seat of compassion, joy and love". Researchers believe love is a physical state that we can be taught to create in ourselves; that it is created within this 10-ounce muscle (heart) by changing our heartbeat rhythms; and that simply by focusing in the heart with feelings of love and appreciation, this change in rhythm occurs.

The interplay of hormones throughout a woman's menstrual cycle impacts on her body and state of mind. Energy intakes are generally higher in the premenstrual phase than after menstruation. Some women also experience food cravings as their period approaches. Eating high protein foods every few hours can often temper the cravings or stop them altogether. This should not be done at the expense of other food groups, especially carbohydrates, which should form the basis of the diet.

Do yourself a favor and drop crunches, reverse crunches, sit-ups, machine crunches and other spine-crushing movements out of your routine. Not only will these movements weaken your spinal column, you very well may wind up with poor posture. There may be some benefit to doing crunches for 3-6 months, but after that it is time to move on and never look back.

Walk 10 Minutes a Day and Increase Your Fitness Level Old thinking was to work out in a sweat-filled gym for hours a day. No pain, no gain. New studies show that even short bouts of activity can increase your fitness level, especially if you're new at working out.