Are you a fan of the circus? To be honest, I'm not -- the clowns really freak me out. However, I do have a lot of respect for the athletic abilities of the performers. Performing these difficult, death-defying acts several times a day takes a major commitment and a lot of work. To see how some performers stay in shape, check out this article on fitness secrets from performers in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

If you have children who are interested in the circus, you need to get yourself on over to CircusFit (warning for those of you at work: automatic music!). It's a fitness program designed to teach kids the fundamentals of fitness -- when kids realize that the ability to perform the different circus tricks requires peak fitness, they get excited about getting exercising

There are five modules, each one with its own fitness objectives, testimonials and demonstrations by real circus performers, and an opportunity at the end for discussion or journaling. Sounds like a fun way to get kids excited about fitness!