That's Fit

FitSugar has a simple and effective tip to share: Really push yourself for five minutes of your workout.

My favorite exercise is a cardio DVD that I follow in my living room. Without realizing I was doing it, I often follow FitSugar's tip. I use the weights for a while longer than the instructor, I pump up the intensity, or add some of my own moves to make the workout just a bit more challenging.

Whatever your workout of choice is, try adding five minutes of high intensity activity. Push yourself and let your body get a little winded. Unless you have asthma or another condition that contraindicates you for this type of high-intensity exercise, the change in pace will be good for your workout.

Do you have a fitness role model? Maybe a professional athlete that you look up to? I know I have a fitness role model, but it isn't anyone famous. My fitness role model is one of my best friends. She's a dedicated athlete who, for many years now, has participated in at least one Ironman competition a year.

I'll never forget the time I asked her how her trip to Florida was and after commenting on the weather and things her family did she casually said "Oh, and I placed well." I asked what she meant and she told me that she had run a marathon. I congratulated her and expressed my surprise because I hadn't known she was going to run a marathon while there. She nonchalantly said "It was only a marathon." Oh, to be so fit that a marathon is a non-event ... mere training for the real competition.

Elastic Waist posted about finding inspiration in these iron athletes. [via FitSugar] The author summed up the allure of the Ironman well: "It's about making a promise to yourself and then making it happen. It's about being, for one minute, something more than you are during your every day."

Who is your fitness role model?

I remember watching Ice Castles as a kid and wanting nothing more than to be an ice skater. (Preferably without a terrible accident that caused blindness, though.) So maybe the movie is a bit cheesy and admitting that I had a little crush on Robby Benson certainly dates me as a child of the '70s, but it motivated me into trying something I'd never tried before. And that's exactly what a great sports movie can do.

FitSugar recently asked readers what their favorite motivational sports movies were... and they came up with a great list. Some of the picks are:

• Remember the Titans.
  
• Million Dollar Baby
• Miracle
• Rudy
  

Click over to FitSugar for the full list. A couple of my favorites that didn't make the list are Hoosiers and The Rookie. What other sports movies have inspired you?

Fitsugar gives us a great exercise that will help strengthen your back. Not only are strong back muscles important for posture, they'll also help prevent injury. Prone Leg Raises will work your core and upper back.

• Lay your belly on an exercise ball, stabilizing yourself by placing your hands on the floor. Your legs should extend behind you with your toes touching the floor; keep your feet about hip distance apart.
• Lift your right arm and your left leg at the same time. Hold for two seconds and then return to the starting position. Try to keep the movement controlled and keep the exercise ball steady.
  
• Repeat on the other side.
  
• Repeat on each side 15-20 reps.

I, for one, know that it's a struggle to fit my day into the number of hours I'm awake. Between work and bills and chores and spending time with my son, there just isn't a spare minute left. It's important to carve out time for exercise even in the busiest of schedules. But if you find that you aren't exercising as much as you'd like, try finding ways to multitask.

Fitsugar has some great multitasking ideas for fitting squats into your day. Loading the dishwasher? Squat instead of bending at the waist. The same method can be used when pulling clothes from the dryer. Will you look a little silly doing squats while doing chores? Yep. You absolutely will look a little ridiculous. But, who cares? If anyone chuckles at your unusual moves, just wait until you've got killer thighs from all those squats and see who's laughing then.

Mississippi takes top honors once again in the fattest-state contest, according to the results of a 2007 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The state has had the highest obesity rates every year since 2004.

While Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Louisiana are not far behind, Mississippi is the one with 30 percent of its adults tipping the scales at obese levels. Perhaps it's because the South has a lot of rural residents and black women -- both groups tend to have higher rates of obesity -- or because the typical Southern diet is rich in fatty and fried foods. Perhaps the results of this study are not entirely accurate -- it was conducted over the phone and not with actual weigh-ins.

Colorado wins for least obese state -- 19 percent of adults here are considered obese -- mostly because of its healthy and active communities. Skiing, biking, and hiking apparently keep Colorado folks moving.

Where does your state place? According to this CDC site, my state of Florida is 24.1 percent obese. Plug your state in here, choose the year '2007' and the category 'Overweight and Obesity (BMI)' and see how it compares.

Oh, ice cream ... heaven in a bowl. Now that the weather is getting warmer, a trip to the ice cream store is always a welcome treat. But that's exactly what ice cream should be ... a once in a while treat. Eat it too often and your hips (and butt, and stomach ... ) could pay the price. This decadent treat can pack a whopping calorie punch. Newsweek counts down the six biggest ice cream offenders (via Fitsugar).

• Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter (360 calories, 24 grams of fat)
• Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby (330 calories, 20 grams of fat)
• Haagen-Dazs Butter Pecan (310 calories, 23 grams of fat)
• Sheer Bliss Pomegranate with chocolate chips (320 calories, 20 grams of fat)
• Ben and Jerry's Vermonty Python (300 calories, 19 grams of fat)
• Coldstone Cookie Batter (300 calories, 19 grams of fat)

If you have to have your ice cream fix, search your grocery store freezer for lighter alternatives such as sherbet, sorbet, frozen yogurt, or light varieties of ice cream. (Be sure to check the label, though. Sometimes "light" isn't all it's cracked up to be.) And, if you're like me, you'll still indulge in a Coldstone "Like it" Cake Batter (with chucks of yellow cake and chocolate shavings) once in a while, because sometimes we all deserve a special treat!

You've seen the infomercials and you've gotten the spam... miracle weight loss in a pill. When it comes to weight loss (actually, when it comes to almost anything in life) if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

FitSugar gives us the skinny on some of those weight loss supplements. Some of the components in the pills can actually be detrimental to your health. The list of red flag components includes ma huang, bitter orange, guarana, synephrine HCI, caffeine anhydrous, and more.

For long-lasting, healthy weight loss your best bet is eating well and working out. Check out AOL Body's America Takes It Off for tips. The proof is in the low-fat pudding, people. So far, ATIO participants have lost 155 pounds and counting.

Healthy or not healthy? It's a pretty easy question to answer when you're comparing apples to, say, a candy bar. But when you take a look at coconuts, the answer just isn't so clear. Several years ago I worked with a Registered Dietitian who wrote a piece about the benefits of coconut oil. I ended up 86ing the article because I just wasn't convinced that her conclusions were sound nutritional advice. Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid which is said to benefit your immune system. But coconut oil is also crazy high in saturated fat. The RD swore by her stance, but I wasn't convinced. I'm still not. Do the benefits of coconut oil outweigh the negatives?

Fitsugar just ran an article with some further explanation about coconut oil. It has a long shelf life and high smoke point which makes it a good choice for many restaurants and bakeries (particularly those that have had to switch from trans fats). But coconut oil is 90% saturated fat; 60% of which is a form of lauric acid and is metabolized quicker than most saturated fats.

So, the debate continues. As for me, I'd prefer to boost my immunity through fruits and veggies and avoid the unnecessary saturated fat.

I like to jog, but I worry it's not good for my 'weaker' left knee -- survivor of an ACL-reconstruction and a trimmed meniscus over nine years ago. I can hike with a heavy backpack for miles, but I can't regularly pound the pavement for more than 5 kilometers without knee pain. If you've got a sore knee (or a hurting hip, aching ankle ... you get the idea) FitSugar offers a few sensible tips to take care of your joints and keep on jogging.

• If your joints are aching, don't run through the pain. Lay off and allow the injury to rest. I try and religiously follow the RICE formula -- Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation -- to hasten healing and manage pain. So many people forget the magical qualities of ice to reduce pain and swelling.
• Jogging on a soft path is always better. Asphalt is softer than concrete. Grass is nice, but make sure it's pretty even -- I've almost turned ankles jogging on uneven, grassy surfaces.
• Buy running shoes and don't wear them to your grave. Recommended maximum mileage is 300 to 350 miles a pair. If you can easily twist your running shoe, the mid sole might be tuckered out.
• Take those scheduled rest days when training for long-distance challenges -- your joints need down time.
• Stretch! Tight leg muscles are not good for knees. Pay attention to the hamstrings, quads and calves. My physical therapist taught me years ago to hold sustained stretches for at least 30 seconds each.

I'm not a huge fan of mint anything, really, so the fact that I'm not at all excited about a sports bra scented like peppermint is no surprise. But what do you think? FitSugar has a poll going on the topic, based on the new Reebock Pulse Scented Short Bra Top which "releases the refreshing scent of peppermint" when you workout. It seems like more people like it than don't (48% cool, 38% not cool, so far), but I'm not convinced. I keep thinking that it doesn't keep you from sweating so what does 'sweaty peppermint' smell like? That could be downright nauseating.

I read this post over on Fitsugar about working out on a Friday night and how it can get you going for a great weekend and it got me to thinking, is there any truth in that? I think, like most things in the health and fitness arena, it depends on personal preferences. Exercise is relaxing, and if you have the energy working out at the end of a long week could really start your weekend off right. Plus I would think that even if you have plans to go out and have fun squeezing a workout in beforehand would certainly help boost your confidence and buffer some of the guilt from the beer and chicken wings.

But then maybe that time after you get home from that long stressful week is about no plans, no demands, just relaxing and kicking your feet up.

What do you think? Friday night workout session a good idea or not?

Here's some super news: One of my favourite fitness blogs, Fitsugar, is giving away Polar Heart Rate Monitors to some lucky readers. If you have some sort of fitness routine, a heart rate monitor is a great addition. Even if you don't have a fitness routine, you should and maybe free stuff will motivate you to get to the gym. Heart rate montiors can keep track of your heart rate and they amount of calories you've burned, which is I think you'll agree is an awesome addition to your fitness gear.

So go enter! Um, wait. Scratch that. Please don't enter so my chances of winning are improved.