Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly, our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Brandon Russell is the super sexy carpenter building up a storm on TLC's Trading Spaces. Easily filling Ty Pennington's boots of long ago, Brandon is passionate about carpentry and the viewers are passionate about him. One homeowner even tried to unzip him! We spoke for about an hour this week, and besides being gorgeous, Brandon is a true southern gentlemen. His drawl is adorable, and he is truly a sweet and smart guy. Brandon is also a former personal trainer, and his body is proof that he knows his stuff. Want to know his secret to spectacular abs? Read on!

Fitz: You're in your second season of Trading Spaces. How's it going?

Brandon: It's unbelievable! I've always wanted to work on television, and when I was told I got this job, I honestly cried. To be able to do what I love, carpentry, and just be myself on TV is an amazing gift. In fact, after I cried, I called all of the girlfriends I ever mocked for being weepy to apologize.

Fitz: That's pretty "manly" of you to admit it! But you're not just "the carpenter" on the show, you're the "hot carpenter." How's that?

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Trisha Yearwood isn't just a country music star and the wife of country-music performer Garth Brooks. Nope. She's also a cookbook author who shares some of her kitchen secrets with Health.com. Check out what the author of Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen has to say right here. Here's a sneak peek.

• Yearwood calls her kitchen the social center of her home.

• Don't cook a sleepy meal when you're trying to be romantic, says Yearwood. The first meal she cooked for Garth -- fettucine Alfredo -- gave him a glazed appearance -- he looked like he was going to pass out.
  

• Make fruit a priority. About her step-daughters, Yearwood says: "With young girls, it's a challenge (to get them to eat healthy). I keep a stocked fruit bowl on the counter, so they'll choose something from it."

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When the time comes to change your lifestyle habits for the better, it can seem overwhelming. If you have to change your habits because of an unexpected heart crisis, then you may have the additional stress of worrying about your health. On hospital in Atlanta, Georgia is trying to ease the way for patients to make it through the transition smoothly.

St. Joseph's Hospital runs a three-hour "Heart School" for any patient that's suffered a cardiovascular event. Because patients worry more about recuperating while in the hospital, they are invited to the program after they've been released and have had some time at home to settle in to their diagnosis. Heart School offers comprehensive information on diet, exercise, and other factors that affect heart health.

Sounds like a good way to get your ticker back on track! Of course, you don't have to wait until a cardiovascular event strikes to take care of your heart. Here's are some great tips for lifelong heart health.

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When you're reading up on how to add more activity to your life, one of the more common tips is "Skip the elevator, take the stairs." Some athletes are taking that to an extreme and using the stairs as a regular workout. Regulars at the Shut Up and Squat fitness studio in Georgia can make climbing the stairs part of their fitness routine, and even earn a plaque when they can run up and down them 100 times without stopping.

Tomorrow, some of those same fitness buffs will put their stair climbing skills to the test in a race to the top of the Bentley-Forbes Bank of America Plaza -- a 55-story building that's one of the tallest in the Southeast. Stair climbing races can be found all over the country, including a thigh-busting 80-story climb to the top of the Empire State Building.

Stair climbing is an intense aerobic workout that offers the same benefits of jogging, in half the time. It also builds muscle and endurance, but health experts recommend that -- if stair climbing interests you -- you start small and work your way up slowly. Even the extremely fit don't conquer the stairs every day.

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If you're reading this from the Georgia or South Carolina, your eyes may be too red and watery to see the screen! In the last week, a yellow haze has descended on the country's southeast states creating a boon for car wash businesses and makers of allergy medicine. The culprit? Pollen, mostly from pine trees.

The pollen is sticking around because of a lack of rain. Rain washes the pollen out of the air, but because there's been no precipitation (and none in sight for the next week), the stuff is just hanging there. Pollen counts have hit 5000 and above in an area that rarely sees counts above 120, and residents are feeling it. Watery eyes and irritated respiratory passages have citizens running for relief.

If you live in the Southeast, experts say stay inside as much as possible until the pollen leaves the area, or at least try to limit outdoor activities to early morning, when pollen counts hit their low point.

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