That's Fit

I don't always feel like exercising when I'm down in the dumps. But I know it's good for me and whenever I force myself into physical activity, I always cheer up. I usually turn to running when I want to banish my blues. But according to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, mopping my floor may be enough to boost my mood.

As little as 20 minutes a week of any sort of physical activity can help alleviate psychological distress, say researchers from University College London. While vigorous activity has the most effect, you can still enjoy an emotional lift with minimal effort. Clean the house, work in the garden, or walk around the block, and you could enjoy a 41% lower risk of feeling blah.

Personally, I subscribe to a pretty active fitness routine for overall health and happiness, but it's good to know I can bust out of my bad mood with a little light housecleaning.

When you think of the people who've made you mad, done you wrong, sent your blood boiling, do you get all flustered? Does your heart start racing? This is what happens to many folks when they recall a past slight against them, reports a Psychological Science study cited in May's Women's Health magazine.

Blood pressure and heart rates increase to nearly twice the normal rate when some people think about vengeful situations. Conjuring up thoughts of ill will can cause repeated periods of stress and can ultimately lead to cardiovascular damage. The good news is this: When people imagine forgiveness, their stats return to normal.

Next time you get all worked up about a past nemesis, be sure to call up some memories of making amends. If forgiveness is not part of the equation, try to recall what was true about the situation -- leave out all four-letter words -- and focus on wishing your one-time enemy well.

Sometimes, going it alone has great value. Sometimes, being part of a group has a certain appeal. According to those involved with AthletiCamps -- home to cycling camps designed to help riders enhance their performance -- one of the most splendid attractions of road cycling is the feel of rolling down the road in a big collective pack.

What do you think -- ride with the group or go it alone? Before deciding, you may want to better understand the anatomy of a group ride.

A typical group ride consists of any number of riders -- maybe three, maybe 150 -- and typically lasts between two and four hours. Common to group rides is a psychological factor. There's usually at least one person in the group more aggressive than the others, a person who either inhibits or inspires riders.

There are two types of rides, neither of which are races, both of which prepare riders for races. There are training rides, where riders work together on a skill. And there are club rides, where it's not clear who will show up and where a lack of focus can present a challenge.

There's so much more to consider about group rides, and you can learn more here. But the bottom line is this: each athlete's fitness level and goals are unique. For those new to race preparation, it may be wise to avoid unstructured group rides. For those with a little training under their belts, the group ride may be in order. If you're up for it, give it a go -- see how you feel when you're rolling the down the road in that collective pack. I can only imagine it must feel exhilarating.

My kids aren't into sports yet. They show some interest in at-home athletics -- like tossing around footballs, batting at the balls their daddy pitches at them, and running in an occasional fun run. But at the moment, they don't show much interest in organized sports. That's fine by us. We're not pushing. When they're ready, they're ready. And if they're not ever ready, well then, they just aren't.

In the event my boys do take a turn into the world of sports, it'll be important that we continue to not push -- when it comes to practice anyway.

While practice may make perfect, practicing every day can increase a child's risk of injury. In fact, up to 50 percent of all injuries seen in pediatric sports medicine are related to overuse, according to a recent report of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). To protect your mini-athlete from overdoing it, consider these AAP recommendations:

If you suffer from panic attacks, which can often feel like a heart attack due to the rapid heart beat and shortness of breath, you should be aware that they can often signal very real heart problems later in life. In a group of women studied those who reported having even just one panic attack were 5 times more likely to report having a heart attack over the next 5 years.

Experts are lumping panic attacks into the same category as other psychological disorders like depression and anxiety, which have already been established as heart risks.

There is a big difference between not being depressed and actually being happy. It seems all too often we're focused on the avoiding the negative (stress, depression, anxiety) that we lose track of pursuing the positives. Just because you aren't depressed doesn't mean you're happy.

So in the interest of changing your focus away from preventing negative feelings and more toward creating positive ones, try incorporating these habits into your everyday life:

• Every night write down three good things that happened during the day, and why you think they happened. Gratitude is a powerful tool for the positive.
• Share good news as often as you can, and encourage and reinforce others when they share good news with you.
• Work on cultivating at least one of the following five qualities, all of which have been shown to have close ties with life satisfaction: love, hope, gratitude, curiosity, and vitality.
• Don't always go for "the best." You'll save yourself stress and a lot of emotional energy if you aren't constantly setting the bar so high just because everybody else is. Think about what you really want and really need, and not just what you're supposed to want and need.

Do you have a phobia? I don't but I think I'm one of a rare few who don't. Everyone around me seems to have some sort of irrational fear, whether it's spiders, the dark, flying or one of the hundreds of other fears. An irrational fear of something is called a phobia, and phobias affect many people worldwide -- celebrities included.

When I came across this article on celebrity phobias, The nosy person in me couldn't resist peeking. Here are some celebrity fears you might not have guessed:

Justin Timberlake is afraid of Sharks and Snakes
Uma Thurman is afraid of small spaces
Oprah is afraid of chewing gum
Billy Bob Thorton is afraid of Antique furniture

Pretty random, huh? What's your phobia?

Whether it's that frustrating driver in front of you who turns without signaling, or that the snow plow blocked your car in yet again with a mini-mountain range of ice chunks, we all get angry sometimes. And it's a perfectly healthy emotion designed to help us know when something is wrong and let others know how we feel. But unfortunately, many of the ways we deal with anger are not so healthy.

The most common negative ways most of us deal with anger are: withdrawing or moping, denial and suffering in silence, lashing out, using sarcasm, or even feeling guilty.

It may not seem like the most pressing issue in your quest for healthier living, but unmanaged and suppressed emotions can wreak havoc on both your physical and mental well-being. Depression, insomnia, and even physical aches and pains can result from misdirected and/or unmanaged anger.

So how should you deal then? Learn to recognize the physical and behavioral cues that signal you are angry, identify exactly what it is that is making you upset, and validate/accept your own feelings. Try listing all the possible solutions, and think out what you're going to say ahead of time -- remembering to avoid laying blame and focus instead on getting your feelings across and finding a resolution.