I'm sick of classic lunges and squats, what else can I do for my legs?

I've decided to break this up into two responses. This week, we'll tackle the lunge portion and next week the squats. That being said, instead of just throwing out either of these exercises, why not try adding some variety to these traditional movements? There are many different forms of the lunge, such as the reverse lunge, lateral lunge, walking lunge, skater's lunge, etc.

In addition, you can also utilize a slide board, especially with the reverse or lateral versions in order to add a different stimulus to the movement pattern. If you don't have a slide board, you can place a small hand towel under your sneaker and perform them on a wood floor.

The Exercise Prescription: Perform three sets of 10-12 reps per side. Make sure you take three seconds to lower yourself, pause slightly in the bottom position and then take one second to return to the start position. Perform all reps on one side and then switch legs.

Here's how to do the moves:

Are you proud of your recent weight loss success? Or have the hours you've logged in at the gym paid off with toned tummy? Whether you've lost 50 pounds or five pounds, we want you to share the results of your commitment to being healthier. Upload your photos yourself feeling fit and happy, and you could be featured in our new daily gallery.

How To Submit Photos:
If you'd like to be featured on That's Fit, upload photos of yourself into the That'sFit Flickr Pool. Be sure to read our main Flickr page for more information.

It would feel very weird to me if after a series of sun salutations my yoga instructor looked around and said, "And the winner is Holly! Perfect form, Holly!" Yoga is something I do to unwind, relieve stress, become more flexible - and above all, not be judged. But now Rajashree and Bikram Choudhury, the couple who created a style of yoga known as Bikram, are trying to qualify yoga as an Olympic sport. "It's far away. A lot of work needs to be done before we get into it, but this is our dream," Mrs. Choudhury told The New York Times.

Isn't yoga based on a philosophy emphasizing being uncompetitive? "Its initial intention was to be an inward experience, a path to enlightenment. Competitive yoga takes this spiritual element away," said April Martucci, a Manhattan-based yoga instructor. "I also think once you present it as a sport, less people will do it because they'll feel intimidated, and say, 'I could never do that.'" Tom Larkin, owner of Sanctuary for Yoga, Body and Spirit in Nashville, Tennessee said this Olympic quest isn't being taken seriously by many yoga enthusiasts. "Most of our students and fellow teachers find it to be completely ridiculous," he said.

I'm definitely in Martucci's camp. But not all yoga practitioners agree. "I think it could get the attention of all sorts of people who might not necessarily be drawn to traditional yoga, like young adults who want a physical outlet but aren't into conventional sports, or those that tend to be bookish. It could also attract people who previously viewed yoga as being just for wimps and nerds," said Paula Heitzner of Nyack, New York, who's been teaching classes that incorporate her own unique blend of yoga styles for 40 years.

If you haven't already seen the infamously hilarious Shake Weight commercials (check it out below), or seen celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Queen Latifah poking fun at the weight-lifting product, we'll clue you in. The Shake Weight for women is an "As Seen on TV" 2.5-pound dumbbell-like product with spring-action that supposedly targets your biceps, triceps, shoulders and chest, and claims you'll only need to work out six minutes a day to get the full muscle-toning benefits.

The men's commercial, seemingly aimed at wannabe bodybuilders, asks, "Would you like to get your arms ripped? Your shoulders pumped and your chest sculpted ... Do you hate working out for hours at the gym with big, bulky equipment, or boring, slow dumbbells?"

The Shake Weight for women commercial, meanwhile, is aimed at fans of Michelle Obama's arms. "Work out your entire upper body in just six minutes a day," the ad touts. "You'll get arms you'll be proud to show off. Feel free to go sleeveless."

The commercials go on to explain these claims are possible because of "dynamic inertia." The manufacturers assert that if men use the Shake Weight for just one minute it's equivalent to doing 240 repetitions of regular weight-lifting. For women, the commercial explains, "Scientific studies at a prestigious University prove that the Shake Weight increases upper-body muscle activity by 300 percent compared to traditional weights." All that for a price tag of $19.95 (plus shipping) for the ladies' version or $29.95 (plus shipping) for guys.

Most people tend to assume that the best time to work out is early in the morning. But as any busy person will know, exercising in the early hours isn't always possible. Over at CafeMom, they're talking about exercising in the evening -- because a workout in the evening is still a workout, and it's better than no workout at all. Plus, a gentle workout like Pilates can help you unwind before bed.

And, as it happens, the evening is actually a great time to exercise. So tell us, when do you work out? Are you an AM exerciser or do you wait until the evening to get your fitness routine in?

Keep track of the latest in diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Not only will AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit ask fitness-related questions and share the best responses with you, we'll scour the Twittersphere for the latest buzz on everything from good eats to exercise routines gone bad.

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Hitting the gym, getting your workout on, or sweating it out are all great in theory. But while our minds and fitness conscience tell us to head for the nearest treadmill, the little devil on our shoulders may have something less strenuous in mind. We turned to Twitter to find out your favorite ditch-the-gym excuses.

A kettlebell workout is done with a kettlebell or traditional Russian weight used for strength training. The kettlebell, typically made from cast iron, can weigh as little as 10 pounds or more than 100 pounds and looks like a large cannonball with a handle on top. Called "one of the most effective means of strength development" by the Soviet armed forces, kettlebell workouts have been popular in Russia for decades and have recently caught on in the U.S.

There are numerous benefits from kettlebell workouts. Training with kettelbells builds strength without adding bulk by allowing users to develop lean muscles. Kettlebell workouts also increase explosive power, agility and stamina. Those who want to outfit their home gym without too much expense often turn to kettlebells, too. Just one or two kettlebells can replace tons of other equipment like weights, barbells, dumbbells and cardio machines.

Kettlebell workouts are effective for toning the entire body because multiple muscle groups are engaged throughout each exercise. These workouts can be customized to different fitness levels, but beginners should work with an experienced instructor to make sure they are using correct form. Like any other piece of exercise equipment, kettlebells that are used incorrectly can cause injuries.

Basic kettlebell moves include the swing, high pull, snatch, overhead press and Turkish get-up. Classic kettlebells can be purchased online and range in price from $47 to $218 each.

When you're ready to begin using kettlebells, you can pull together your own kettlebell workout.

Traditionally, pedometers are small recording devices that you attach to your waist -- or even your shoes -- to track the number of steps you've taken, the calories you've burned walking and the distance (in kilometers or miles) you've traveled. Now, thanks to Google, you can monitor your workout online, without wearing -- or buying -- a physical pedometer. Similar to the virtual pedometer Map My Run, with Gmap pedometers, you map out your exercise routine on a Google map.

That's right, using Gmap pedometers means you don't actually need to wear a pedometer to know how long you've walked or how many steps you've taken.

A marathon runner created the Gmap pedometer to assist with training, which might be why the tool is so easy to use. Runners, walkers or cyclists can enter their zip code and zoom into street level. Next, they can plot their workout route -- whether they want to travel in a big, looping circle or a simple out-and-back course.

Unlike other online tools, Gmap pedometer can report your distance traveled, calories burned and elevation differences.

If you find a route that you love, you can save it to use again or you can print your map and take it with you. Those who might be on long runs can leave printouts for their family members so that they know where to find them if they're not back by an appointed time.

If you're not feeling the high-tech Gmap pedometers, you can stick to the basic waist or shoe pedometer that are slipped on your waist (or shoe) and track each step. Shoe pedometers are a little more accurate than traditional pedometers and can track basketball jumps or jumping rope.

Of course Gmap pedometers are not the first online health calculators; but, if you choose to use one, the key is finding the right one you'll use regularly.

Do you want to amp up your exercise routine and monitor your progress? Studies have shown that pedometers are effective in increasing your workout productivity.

Keep track of the latest in diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Not only will AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit ask fitness-related questions and share the best responses with you, we'll scour the Twittersphere for the latest buzz on everything from good eats to exercise routines gone bad.

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Hauling your cookies to the gym is tough enough without the added stress of irritating workout habits from other gym-goers. From awkward staring to uncleaned exercise equipment, see what gym and workout pet peeves drive the fine folks on Twitter a little bonkers.

You know that you need to add weight-lifting to your workout routine but you may not be sure which routine is best.

Just like any other time you start a fitness program, you'll want to start out slowly.

First, you'll need to start with one or two sets of eight to 12 repetitions. If you're older, injured or unsure of your strength you can do 10 to 15 reps with less weight. When you can lift a weight eight to 12 times and it gets harder to lift during the last rep, you'll want to add a little weight and decrease the reps.

Even if you're a seasoned weight-lifting veteran, alternating the workouts is key. You shouldn't do arm workouts and shoulders exercises on consecutive days. You should avoid working on legs consecutively, too. It's important to vary how you're focusing on strengthening different muscles. For instance, you may want to start by isolating the shoulders. At your gym you can do an overhead press, lateral raise or front raise to work on this body part. Start with two sets of eight to 12 repetitions.

Other parts of this workout might include strengthening the chest via the bench press, chest press machine or push-ups. You can work on your back as well in a seated row machine. To build your biceps you can work on bicep curls, hammer curls and concentration curls using hand weights. As for the triceps? You can do tricep extensions.

As you alternate days to work on your lower body, you can try squats, lunges, leg-press machines, deadlifts or calf raises. As for the abdominals, there are always crunches, oblique twists and pelvic tilts.

If you begin your weight training regimen at your health club, the fym should have staff to supervise and answer specific questions.

Now that you've got your weight-lifting routine set, check out That'sFit's cardio workouts.

Men and women become less fit as they age, according to a new report in the October 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

This should come with a big "duh". But it also comes with some good news.

First the not-so-good news. "The U.S. population is aging and is becoming more obese and sedentary", the authors tell us. No surprise there. But it's a vicious circle. Cardiorespiratory fitness of both sexes declines with age: two of the best indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness are body composition (fat vs. muscle) and physical activity.

The more fat you've got and the less active you are, the higher the chances of disease, not to mention the ability to function independently.

And by the way, the decline gets worse after age 45, and it's worse for men than for women.

What to do, what to do?

Researchers from the University of Houston studied about 20,000 women and men between 20 to 96(!) in a study called the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study between 1974 and 2006. The 30 years of data collected on such a large group of people offer some strong take home messages for anyone who wants to age well. (Here comes the good news.)

Obsession with youth is not only the plague of modern society. In the 1930s, a retired British army officer stumbled upon a remote monastery in the Himalayas where the monks were rumored to have found the fountain of youth. Amazed by their age-defying health and energy, he attributed their vitality to a series of yoga-like postures they practiced daily – as had generations of monks for thousands of years. These Five Tibetan Rites are believed to work by stimulating and balancing energy centers in our bodies called chakras that correspond to each of our endocrine glands. "They're like electricity transformers, receiving and regulating energy and transmitting it throughout the body," explains Sydney-based Carolinda Witt, who's been teaching the rites for more than seven years.

Witt says practicing The Five Rites is like flicking these energy switches to ON. And they're easy to do. In fact, she's made modifications that focus on breathing and building core strength so you don't have to be a veteran yogini to get yourself, well, turned on. Plus, it's yoga, so you'll create a leaner, stronger body! Start with three repetitions of each posture daily and in order. Add two per week until you're doing 21 in about 10 minutes. When you finish each move, pause and take three energy breaths. The directions are below.

Rite #1: Spinning
Harmonizes chakra spin rates. Improves balance, focus and coordination.

Rite #2: Modified Leg Raise
Strengthens and tones the core, hips, lower back, legs and neck.