That's Fit

From Sean Connery to Roger Moore, to Pierce Brosnan, to the new kid on the block, Daniel Craig... James Bond has been a symbol of suave and sexy. Thanks to celebrity trainer, Mary Sullivan, you can get fit like Bond, James Bond.

• Biceps are Forever. Use hand weights or even canned goods to complete these bicep a tricep curls.
• The Abs Are Not Enough. Alternating sit-ups and leg lifts are the keys to Bond-like rock-hard abs.
• For Your Legs Only. This stationary seat move and some power lunges will get your legs in great shape.
• The Man with the Golden Pecs. Arm presses and press-ups will define your pecs in no time.

Read the full article for details on all the moves.

Katherine Heigl's beach body might start with good genetics, but the girl works hard to keep her torso long and strong. Her trainer, Missy Beaver, shared some of her secrets with People magazine, and let me tell you -- she's not doing anything fancy that you can't do, too!

Katherine uses kettleballs for 20 minutes, two or three times weekly which gives her long, lean muscles. Her trainer also suggests doing dumbbell back rows and tricep extensions to "help with improving your posture, lifting your boobs up."

Obviously she does a lot more than that, but if you haven't tried those exercises before, there's no time like the present to give it a try. Because, really, who couldn't use a free boob lift?

So you're exercising regularly and really making it a priority. That's great! But make sure you don't fall into some of these exercise traps. You want to make sure you're following good technique so you can get the most out of your workout. AOL Health shares some common bad exercises techniques:

• Weight overload. Lifting too much weight can, at worst, cause injury and, at a minimum, cause the move to be ineffective. When you're lifting too much you may not be isolating the muscles properly.
  
• Biceps only. The bicep curl is a great exercise, but don't spend all of your strength training time on one muscle. Be sure to work out your shoulders, triceps, legs, core, and glutes as well. When strength training, you want to strengthen all the muscles of your body.
  

With so much emphasis placed on summer fitness, I can't help but wonder why the other three seasons are apparently considered slack-off time.

Frankly, they shouldn't be, and not just because you need those months to prepare your body for when beach season rolls around. Being healthy means more than fitting into a particular bathing suit or rocking head-turning abs on the boardwalk; it involves a year-round dedication to a healthy diet and exercise program. Letting your weight yo-yo in what you consider to be the "off season" will not only make the more vanity-based goals that much more difficult to accomplish, it can also be quite detrimental to your overall health.

Researchers from Finland found that seasonal weight fluctuations can increase your risk of metabolic syndrome by a whopping 46 percent. Metabolic syndrome -- although not an actual disease itself, but a collection of risk factors -- boosts a person's chances of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and myriad other diseases and ailments. In short, metabolic syndrome is no day at the beach.

If you've been blasting through rep after rep of crunches, yet your abs are still M.I.A., it may be time to get off the floor and onto a treadmill.

In order for your six-pack to start popping, you have to reduce the amount of subcutaneous fat it's hiding behind. To do that, adding even more crunches to your ab workout really isn't the answer; while cutting back a bit on your caloric intake and ramping up your cardio workout should make all the difference. The first step in this process is to determine your body fat percentage. Then, use that information to tailor your proper ab-unveiling cardio workout. The following tips from Men's Health should help you along.

• If you have less than 15 percent body fat, do cardio 3 times a week. Results should show in one to two weeks.
• If you have 15-20 percent body fat, do cardio 3-4 times a week. Results should show in 2-3 weeks.

I love multitasking! Any opportunity I get to kill two or more birds with one stone gets me giddy. I'm a busy woman with far too much to do, and when things get done in an efficient and pleasing way...I feel elated. Where am I going with this, you ask? Women's Health recently published this Park Workout and I thought you may need to see it as well.

If you have kids, I'm guessing there is a 99.9% chance that they like to run around and play at the playground. If this is true, then I'm talking to you. Let your kids and their buddies have their fun while you get a workout. No use sitting on that park bench anymore....use it for a glute training! Utilize the swings, monkey bars, and more.

One of the most common questions I'm asked is, "how do I get in shape quickly?" Well ... I'm sure as you read that question you might have thought ... impossible! Yeah, kinda. But, there are some things that will get you in shape quicker than others. The key is to challenge yourself, work most areas of your body, and make sure you do both cardiovascular and strength training. These are my favorite five moves that I believe will have the greatest impact on your fitness level, and help you see results sooner rather than later.

Check out the Summer Slimdown Guide -- it's loaded with tips to help you make the best of this summer and that fine body you're living in!

Instead of spending the summer lying like a frying fish next to the pool ... jump in! Cool off, get moving, and earn yourself a body worthy of that hot bathing suit you've been dreaming of. If you're a parent, get your butt in pool and get your kids involved as well. Family fitness should be fun and Women's Health has a great series of exercises you can do alone or all together. Don't forget your sunblock!

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz, I know that most people are trying to lose weight, but I am trying to gain. Gain muscle, that is. I am going to the gym three to four times per week. I'm using the weight machines there, but It doesn't seem like I am gaining any muscle. Could you give me some advice? What types of healthy food should I eat? Should I be doing more reps with less weight or fewer reps with more weight? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Lea Rettig

A. Hey Lea, your question is superb, and the answer thank goodness is quite simple. Strength training should be challenging. Funny enough, my clients always seemed shocked and follow up that feeling of shock by giving me dirty looks when I pass them the dumbbell I'd like them to lift. Along with that dirty look, I receive chronic cries of, "Fitz! That's heavy!" Well, yes. Yes it is. The purpose of strength training is to get stronger, and yes ... build muscle. If I were to give them weights they could already lift comfortably ... they wouldn't be getting any stronger!

Is sitting at a desk all day making you fat? Fitness isn't out of your reach when you're at work -- you just need to be aware of your abs.

When Matthew McConaughey trains, he doesn't need a watch and he doesn't need any sort of mile marker to tell him when he's done exercising. The boy just goes and goes and goes ... until he's drenched and exhausted. He simply just tries to run as far away from his starting point as he can.

This is his argument for doing so: "The return trip is always easier. Think about it. One, you can anticipate the road you've already traveled. Two, when it's time to eat the hay, the horses get home no matter how tired they are. Third, you're past the hump. You're in. Each step gets you closer to sitting down and relaxing." He says the beauty of all this is that the path can be different every single time.

"Pretty Boy Floyd" is not known for mincing words or sugar-coating anything. In fact this elite fighter who has won six world championship belts in five weight classes and has gone undefeated as a professional says it straight. He describes himself as the "greatest athlete ever," and honestly ... has done a lot to back that up.

He's featured in the book, Men's Health Celebrity Diet Secrets 2008, and I think one of his quotes is both poignant and hysterical. I encourage you not to read any further if you're easily offended though. He wasn't vulgar, but his thoughts on maintaining flat abs isn't for children either.

Before I go there, I just want you to know that Floyd not only walks the walk, but he has made it possible for his team (those who bust their butt to keep in at the top of his game) to get and stay fit as well. He's purchased memberships to 24-Hour Fitness for all of his employees. "I want to keep everyone around me healthy and in shape," he says.

With there being so many exercises that target the abdominal muscles, it's really tough to pinpoint which are the best. Everyone's body is different, so that doesn't exactly help make it any easier. Still, there are some exercises that seem to stand out from the rest, either for their effectiveness in firming your midsection or simply because they are less commonly practiced. And sometimes, it's a combination of both of these reasons.

This is certainly the case with the barbell roll-out. The move itself may seem slightly familiar; the roll-out movement itself became quite popular about 10 years ago after TV fitness salespeople hawked various brands of exercise wheels. Then, because some gyms didn't have these wheels, some people actually brought their own. But why spend money on something when you don't have to?

The barbell roll-out is a great exercise for your transverse abdominis, which are primary muscles in the functional core of the human body. And, it can be done with the equipment found in just about any fitness center or home gym. Start by loading a barbell with a small weight on either side (five-pound plates are perfect). Next, kneel down on a towel and grasp the bar with a grip that's around shoulder-width apart. Then, roll out in front of you to lower your upper body just above the floor. When you have reached almost full extension of your arms, hold for a second and then pull yourself back to the starting position.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Fitzy. I work out a few times a week and eat pretty well, but "six-pack" abs have always escaped me. I do plenty of crunches, but nothing seems to bring me even close to the abs I see on the cover of Men's Health magazine. What is the secret to it? Chase

A. Ahhhh Chase. The elusive six pack. Doesn't every body wish for that? Yes ... almost everybody does. Very few actually achieve it, though. This is the deal Chase, the "secret," if you will. If you want to look like an athlete, you're going to have to behave like an athlete. Train ridiculously hard and eat ridiculously well. Six-pack abs are a sign of elite fitness for sure, and you're probably not going to earn them working out a "few times a week and eating pretty well."

Most abdominal exercises can't quite be called relaxing. You might enjoy them, and they might not be painful, but if you try to tell me any exercises really feel wonderful while you're doing them, I'm going to ... well, I just won't believe you. But that's not really my point.

This week's Fit Gadget, the Multi-Core-Flex Excel Body Gym, is designed to massage your back while working your abs, quads, and inner and outer thighs. Actually, it claims that, in addition to giving you a fantastic workout, it will give you "the most relaxing back massage you've ever had. Its comfortable rounded pads enable you to stretch your entire upper body as well as your back for total relaxation."

Hmm ...