That's Fit

Though I know that yoga is so beneficial for flexibility as well as mind-body strength, I have yet to try it. But reading Prevention's article about how yoga can lead to a better sex life... well, who wouldn't be tempted to give it a try?

Flexibility obviously can help lead to success in the sack. Many of yoga's moves will increase your flexibility. Yoga is also beneficial for balance which could be helpful if you're, oh, more ambitious and inventive than most. But other yoga moves have more specific bedroom cred. "Root Lock" (or Mula Bandha) will help strengthen your pelvic muscles for increased sexual sensation and control. And "Legs Up the Wall" can help you energize you and leave you ready for other non-yoga positions. And guys? Yoga has some benefits in the bedroom for you, too.

AOL Body has more information on women's sexual health. They've got tips for guys, too.

Every day I learn something new from my son. He's so much better at forgiving and forgetting, he throws himself into all his activities with his whole heart, and the second he meets someone new he considers them his friend. They're beautiful lessons to learn and I'm constantly reminded that while I'm the parent and it's my role to teach him, it's also my role to put my jaded adult heart aside and learn from him, too.

When it comes to physical activity we could all take a tip from our kids. Dietblog has a list of 5 things we can learn from toddlers:

• They stay on the move. Toddlers wake up and don't slow down until it's time to go to sleep. They play, play, and play some more. Just the simple act of being in motion more can make an impact on adults' weight control and energy level. If you find you're stuck behind a desk all day, make an extra effort to move a bit more -- by a small stepper for use underneath your desk, get up and walk around the office, stand up and stretch, and make some extra trips up and down the stairs.

Stretching is an important part of any exercise routine. It develops your flexibility -- increasing your range of motion. Stretching will ultimately improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury from exercise.

Stretching a "cold" muscle, however, can be counterproductive. Cold muscles are tight and stretching them in this state can actually cause injury. It's best to warm up with gentle activity for 5-10 minutes before stretching. This minimizes the chance of injury while stretching and ensures that you'll get the most benefit from your flexibility exercises.

Yogis seem to a separate group of people -- calm, sensitive, new-agey vegetarian types who wear hemp and shop at health food stores and rescue bugs rather than killing them. But yoga takes all types, and it can benefit you.

Yes, even you, Mr. Sports buff. According to this article from Glee Magazine, Yoga is the type of activity that many people are getting involved in, even pro athletes. And why not? With 18 different styles of yoga, there's sure to be a type that suits anyone. And it has a number of great benefits -- like improving your balance, your flexibility, your strength and your mood.

So what's stopping you from becoming a yogi?

If you watch Dancing with the Stars, you might have suspected the females are more bendy than males. But is this a fact, or is it just the way things are because of lifestyle of exercise habits?

Turns out it's fact, according to this article from The Daily Mail: Women are more flexible, particularly in their back. It's an evolutionary trait, carved out by the need for females to be mobile even when they're extremely pregnant.

But I suspect there's more to it than that--it often seems like flexibility is more important to women than men. For example, what percentage of participants in your regular yoga class are men? In the classes I go to, it hovers somewhere between 1 and 25%. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with men in yoga class--just sayin', is all.

What do you think?

If you could boil good fitness advice down to six essential tips, that would be a pretty handy thing to have, wouldn't it? The knowledgeable people over at eDiets have tried to do just that, coming up with the six top fitness tips. They include:

• Keep workouts intense, but under an hour (unless your a distance athlete).
• Challenge your body and avoid fitness plateaus by changing your workout every 4 to 6 weeks.
• Slow and steady wins the race. Gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts.
• Vary your strength training routine every 3 to 4 weeks.
• Consider interval training to burn fat.
• Don't neglect flexibility. Add Pilates, yoga, or stretching to your routine.

Now you tell us, That's Fit readers -- are these the top 6 fitness truths? Or do you have something different you'd put on this list?

Are you having trouble sticking to your goal? You're not alone, and although there are many possible reasons why consider if it's because the goal you're trying to stick to is unrealistic or unclear in some way. Often people set their goals too low (motivation is an issue), too high (risking disappointment), or they aren't specific enough with how they're going to measure it. But understanding different fitness benchmarks, and using them to focus and measure your goals, can fix all that and give you both clear direction and clear ways to mark your progress. It's hard to know where you're going if you don't know where you're starting from!

Use these benchmarks to set you're starting point, and your finish line:

• Heart Rate A great way to measure your physical fitness level and cardiovascular health is to keep track of your heart rate -- hence all the heart rate monitors on the market these days. You want to aim to be at around 50% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) when you're first getting started, and work your way up to 75% as your fitness level increases.
  

LA Fitness audited fitness levels of 1,000 people in the UK. Now they don't say if the small sample is representative of the UK populace, but here are the pathetic results of this particular sample.

Fitness levels are at an all-time low. More than half the population cannot cycle for 20 minutes nor touch their toes. Sixty-eight percent cannot manage 20 sit-ups, while 66 percent avoid rigorous activity such as cycling, running or speed walking, becoming breathless after three flights of stairs.

Turns out Northern Ireland is the least fit. Half cannot sling home groceries from the market and an astounding 70 percent cannot touch their piggly wigglies. Probably a nasty combination of belly fat and tight hamstrings.

How flexible are you? Take a minute and answer carefully...what did you come up with? Probably hard to say since it's a subjective thing and it's difficult to measure, but when coming up with an answer did you just consider your abilities or did you actually get down on the floor and test yourself?

Well if you didn't then you should, because not only will you feel better and do your body some good but you'll increase your own awareness of what your body can and can't do. Being more in touch with your own system will help you both avoid injuries and can motivate you by getting you that much more in touch with the positive effects of exercise!

Click here for a body flexibility test you can do at home.

There's this thing that you -- all of you -- can do to reduce stress, to lose weight, to tone your body, to improve your health and to generally feel great. It's called yoga and if you're not doing it yet, you should be. Even if you're pressed for time, or want to spend your gym-time on an exercise that burns more calories than yoga, you should commit just an hour a week to yoga. You'll feel better -- I know you will.

Still have an excuse? Here's what Be Concussions Now has to say:


So get to a yoga class and read this article if you still need inspiration.

I know lots of people who are trying or have tried Weight Watchers at some point in their life. Most have given up on it or lost a few pounds but gained them all back, but some have done really well on the program, including my friend Fran. Promising that you can eat anything in moderation, the weight-loss program is one of the most popular in the world. Is it for you? Here's a brief explanation, courtesy of AOL Body;

The main tenet (of Weight Watchers) is to consume fewer calories than you expend. Instead of counting calories, however, you'll either track your consumption using a POINTS system or use the no-counting Core Plan in which you select foods from a detailed list.

The plan basically follows a low-fat, high-fibre model, and for $12-$14 a month, you have access to materials outlining plan, plus you can attend meetings which help keep you on track. Fitness is encouraged, and you're welcome to eat out -- the POINTS program has an extensive list of the values of popular menu items. The plan is nothing is not flexible, which is one of it's main selling points.

What do you think of Weight Watchers?

Exercising while you are pregnant has proven to help reduce fatigue, build endurance, and can help women have a shorter labor. This is particularly true if you use movement in labor by changing positions. Despite the differences in your body, exercise is still important. One of the things you need to determine before you jump right into an exercise program is how fit you are and if you have not previously been on any exercise routine. There are several exercises that you can do while pregnant, even if you were previously a couch potato or sedentary.

Here are four exercises that are safe while pregnant.

Yoga combines exercise and relaxation.
Walking is a great workout for muscles and aerobic fitness.
Pilates emphasizes balance, strength, and flexibility.
Swimming helps relieve stress and strain on muscles and builds endurance.

One hundred years ago, only 3 million people in this country were aged 65 or older. Today, more than 36 million Americans are in this age group, and that number is expected to grow during the next 25 years to over 70 million as baby boomers age.

Regular physical activity, keeping the mind busy, and a healthy diet are key to healthy aging and physical independence. Not only does it keep the body strong, but keeping the body moving protects and improves your emotional and cognitive health and people who mentally challenge themselves, and stay connected with loved ones are less likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, short-term memory loss, and illness in general. Maintaining a healthy diet keeps the body and mind sharper. Avoid high sodium, sugar, and high fat diets. Stay away from smoking or heavy alcohol use.

Regular walking and aerobic exercise is proven to help manage depression, anxiety, and stress and maintains balance, strength, and flexibility, which are key to preventing injuries and falls. Challenging your intellect on a daily basis by reading, learning a new musical instrument or language, doing crossword puzzles, or playing games of strategy or cards with others will keep the brain active and developing and less likely to lose its power and memory. Eating healthy will maintain your weight, as well as keep a handle on developing diabetic, heart, or colon problems.

Stretching is one of those basic things we all know we should do but all too often end up skipping, or worse yet, doing incorrectly. So number one don't skip it! And if you think you might be doing it incorrectly here's a few general guidelines to make sure you're doing it right:

• Spend at least 5 to 10 minutes stretching before any exercise.
• Keep muscles relaxed, move slowly, and never bounce.
• Stretch until you feel tension in the muscles, but not so far that it hurts.
• While breathing slowly and deeply (don't hold your breath!) hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds.
• Relax, and then stretch for another few seconds before moving on.
• Repeat each stretch several times.

It's always good to remember the basics, especially when it comes to your fitness and exercise routine. And thanks to our friends over at FitSugar we have this handy reminder of 5 things all good workouts should include:

• Warm-Up. If you're excited to get started it's easy to jump right in to your routine, but skipping this step could result reduced calorie-burning or worse, injury.
• Cardio. It has great benefits not only for weight loss and weight management, but also for your heart and cardiovascular system, reducing your risk of disease and health problems.
  
• Flexibility training. Stretching and keeping flexible is good for preventing injury, reducing muscle soreness, and getting/keeping healthy joints.
• Strength training. Also a major player in weight loss and weight management, resistance training also enhances strength and posture, reduces the risk of back injury, and has been shown to help with bone health.
• Cool-down. It's never good to start anything physical and/or quit abruptly, so a cool-down is necessary to get the most health benefits from any workout. Cooling down helps the heart rate slow down more naturally, can help prevent blood from pooling, and reduces the chances of dizziness or fainting.

Does your workout have all these pieces? Honestly, I don't always do cardio and strength training in the same session, but I'm thinking that's okay. I hope so anyway!