That's Fit

A few months back I went to a place I like to call "Man Heaven" and wrote a few articles about it. Man Heaven is also known as ESPN: The Weekend at the Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida. The event was jam packed with dozens and dozens of your sports lovers' heroes from today and yesteryear. Football, basketball, baseball, tennis, hockey and golf stars flooded the theme park with ample opportunity for each Disney guest to get up close and personal with the athletic love of their life.

Of course, there were also a ton of female fans decked out in their team jerseys, but truly....this event was for boys. Young boys, elderly boys, and every boy in between. I saw big groups of men in coordinating jerseys riding the tram to the park, and then I saw tons of father/son duos shooting baskets with their favorite hoops star.

The event isn't until early next March, so you'll have plenty of time to book your air, hotel, and ticket reservations. He'll have lots of time to squirm with anticipation for the big event. Trust me.....if your guy loves sports, he will love ESPN: The Weekend and love you even more for sending him to it.

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 want to take one of the BOSU classes at my gym, but I've never done it before and I'll feel like a total dork if I bust my butt on one of those things. Plus I'm a guy. Mostly girls take those classes. Should I bother? Eric.

A. Ahhh! Eric, you are too cute. First of all. The BOSU is a balance tool and is designed to make people wobbly. Until that is, they earn the strength and control to not only stand on top of it, but do some tricks too. Second. You can stand in the back of the classroom if you don't want to be a spectacle. Third. Most people in a BOSU class are too concerned with their own balance to have the time and ability to look at what anyone else is doing.

I just returned from a place I've decided to be Man Heaven. Man Heaven is a place where loads and loads of men dressed in various colored athletic jerseys giddily board trams with feverish excitement to spend time with their favorite sports heroes. These men were squirming in their seats, beaming bright smiles and high-fiving their way all the way to the entrance gates of Disney World's Hollywood Studios. ESPN the Weekend is Man Heaven.

The weekend was filled with endless opportunities to meet, train with, question and listen to America's favorite ESPN stars: Donovan McNabb, Tony Gonzalez, Hershel Walker, John Stockton, Cal Ripken Jr., Chris Carter and more. Oodles of ESPN Sportscasters took stages across the park hosting their own scheduled and aired ESPN shows, and also hosted other fun question and answer sessions with the stars of Man Heaven.

Larry the Cable Guy, also known as Dan Whitney, has happily shed 50 pounds on the NutriSystem diet. On celebrating this huge milestone, the comedian says: "I immediately took my wife out to eat and had everything I'm not supposed to."

The Blue Collar comedian, whose new big-screen comedy, Witless Protection opened on Friday, works out twice a day and travels with a personal trainer while on tour. His workout routine includes weight training, 50 minutes of cardio early in the day and 50 minutes of cardio later in the day.

The once 282-pounder blames his wife's recent pregnancy for his weight gain.

"She'd crave a double cheeseburger, order two bites of it and then I'd eat the rest," he says. "I couldn't let it go to waste!"

In last week's post I talked about ways to pamper yourself or someone you love on Valentine's Day. In one of the paragraphs I discussed gifts for men, including a short bit on grooming gifts. This week I thought I would elaborate on it because, to me, Valentine's Day often seems to be more about gifts for women. I know this may come too late for today -- or not, depending on how organized you are -- but here are a few of my favorite companies that do great grooming products for men.

Aveda is easily my favorite place to buy any kind of beauty product. I don't get to shop there often as I find it a bit pricey, but it is still great for a treat. They have a good range of items for men including hair care, skin care, body and shaving products. If your guy is mane-obsessed, you can try the pomade, grooming clay or cream, or if he's looking for face care, Aveda offers the All-Sensitive Cleanser, All-Sensitive Toner and All-Sensitive Moisturizer.

Fitzness Fiends is a section devoted to you, the reader! We all have learned so much on our path to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! Fitzness Fiends are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect, some are not. All have health on the mind. Please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Craig Dorn

Age: 22

Occupation: Full-time student

How often do you exercise? Six days a week.

What type of exercise do you do? Weight lifting and running.

What gets you to workout, even when you're feeling lazy? Knowing that I'll feel and look great as an end result.

Is your man making you fat? I think we'd all like to answer 'yes' to that question and call the nation's obesity problem solved, and although it's not that simple for the world in your case it is likely that your guy is contributing to your weight gain. It's been found in studies that women gain weight when they move in with a man, which is likely due to the fact that couples tend to adopt each others eating habits and men burn an average of 26% more calories in a day than women do. Those extra calories burn away on him, but on you they park on your hips and settle in for the long haul.

Guy-proofing your diet isn't completely effortless, but it is easier than you probably think. Take a look at these tips, which address all of his worst habits (like skipping veggies and drinking a beer every night with dinner) and give easy advice on how to deal. And please share if you have any tricks of your own! Us ladies got to stick to together.

I don't know how it works but for some women, dating seems easy. They see a guy they like and somehow make it happen. If things don't work out, they find a new man quickly and without much of the anxiety that the rest of us feel while dating.

For most of the girls I know though, dating is a lot more like the way it's described here. The author of the piece compares finding the right boyfriend to getting a great new coat. Sound silly? It is a bit and I'm sure it's meant to be, but she does make some good points.

Our dutiful shopper recommends trying on a lot of coats before settling on the one that's just right, suggests sticking with a classic rather than going for something cute and trendy that will only last a season and says we should watch out for coats that have special care instructions because they may be too tough to maintain.

What do you think? Do these tips make sense when finding that special someone?

I don't know why there's a stereotype that dogs are for men and cats are for women. Dogs are "Man's Best Friend" while aging women with no families and a cat or three are often described as "Crazy Cat Ladies". Not only is it unfair, it's also inaccurate.

I've always loved dogs -- especially big dogs (not that there's anything wrong little breeds if that's what you fancy), and I can't imagine my life without one. For that reason, I was impressed to read these 6 reasons why women prefer their dogs over their boyfriends:

• They Always Want to Spend Time With You - Totally true, a dog will never abandon you for baseball, work or X-box.
  
• They Never Scrutinize What You Made for Dinner - Every dog I've ever had (mostly Labradors which, to be fair, are often compared to garborators), will eat whatever you give them with zeal, enthusiasm and appreciation. No complaints.
• They Always Want to Cuddle - Dogs revel in your attention and will give it to you whenever you're willing to accept it. The same cannot necessarily be said about a boyfriend.
• They Never Make You Feel Insecure - Your dog will always be thrilled to see you when you walk through the door, whether you've got a bad haircut, gained 15 pounds or feel all bloated. Although again to be fair, a smart boyfriend who knows what's good for him won't point these things out either.
• They Never Complain - If you've had a bad day and need to talk or need some time on your own, your dog will listen to your problems and keep you company on a solo walk.
  
• They Are a Great Judge of Character - Unless you've got a particularly aggressive pet that dislikes everybody, how your dog treats the guys you bring home -- and perhaps more importantly, how the guys your bring home treat your dog -- could tell you everything you need to know about your date. Basically if you bring a man home and he's not a huge fan of you dog (or vice versa), send him packing.
  

In an ideal world, we'd all have a great partner and a dog, but until the right guy comes along, I'm happy to have my dog as a faithful companion.

I was recently a guest on Dr. Fitness and the Fat Guy, and it was a blast. The guys are hysterical and they're pretty on top of the health and fitness industry. To listen to the June 21st podcast click here. We talk all about my infinite broken bones from my kickboxing career, movie stuff, and more.

I know there are men out there who cook. I hear about them from time to time, but where are they? They're like Loch Ness ... there's the occasional sighting, but never any proof that they really exist.

Well maybe you can make the legend a reality in your home by getting your guy into the kitchen. Wouldn't it be awesome if he was able (and willing!) to occasionally do the cooking? Try these 6 steps to get him there and let us know how it works out!

• Encourage him to cook what he wants to eat. It may take some sacrificing on your part since his choices probably are not your idea of ideal, but it's about the big picture.
• Help him if he needs it, but let him do it his way.
• Positive reinforcement works! Praise him generously, no matter how the meal turned out. If he feels appreciated he'll be more likely to try it again.
• Offer to do the dishes (I know, but it's better than doing the cooking and the dishes, right?)
• Review basic kitchen safety. If he's really new to the kitchen reminding him of things like where the fire extinguisher is and how to handle hot oil is a good idea.
• Review basic food safety. Nobody can hear too much about the importance of handling raw meat and perishable food items safely.

Is this true? Do men really have trouble and get confused in the grocery store? According to a new survey 71 percent of men have done some kind of shopping in the grocery store over the past three months (up from 41 percent back in 2002), and they aren't having an easy time of it. They have trouble finding things, are uncomfortable making substitution decisions, and (of course!) don't ask for help when they need it. And because they are so different from women in the way they shop, grocery stores (currently designed for women) often leave them feeling generally confused and even a little overwhelmed.

Unfortunately it's unlikely that stores will be making major changes anytime soon, since women still represent the majority of the shopping market. So, for now anyway, it looks like it's "sink or swim" guys! Good luck!

It's hard for a lot of people to ask questions when they're in with the doctor. Whether it's because you feel a little intimidated, you feel rushed, don't want to bother them, are afraid you'll sound stupid, are worried you'll get bad news, or (like me) simply forget once you're in there, it's a real shame. After all, the whole reason that doctor is there is to help you get or stay healthy and to answer your questions and concerns.

So Sarah wrote a post earlier this month on important questions women should ask their doctors, and here's something for the guys: the 5 most common questions men don't ask their doctors, and the answers that go with them.

Answers and everything, it doesn't get much better than that!

Osteoporosis and weak bones are generally thought of as a women's issue, and although women are 4 times more likely to suffer from "brittle bones," with 1 in 12 men getting the disease it's a serious issue for them too.

A common culprit for women who have weak bones is the decline in estrogen after menopause, but what about for men? Surprisingly, most men have higher levels of estrogen than most post-menopausal women, which may be why they generally have lower risk. But those men who have a lower number of active estrogen metabolites also have a correspondingly higher risk of developing lower bone density (low -- high -- low -- did that make sense?).

But don't worry guys, there are no plans yet to start generally prescribing estrogen hormone replacement for men. Not yet anyway...

If you asked me to list a bunch male habits that might be distantly linked to stroke risk, shaving once a day would be the very last thing I would have guessed. But this 20-year study will really make you think twice about it. Apparently shaving less than once a day increases our risk of having a stroke by 70 percent!

Over 2,000 men aged from 45 to 59 were studied in South Wales. You must be asking yourself how this link originates. Well, some of the infrequent shavers were found to be smokers, which automatically put them in the club for high risk. But when they took away those risk factors, the hormonal links ended up showing through regardless! Just like the relationship between baldness and heart disease, infrequent shaving and strokes were found to have a biological link.

So next time the long weekend rolls around, think twice about sporting that five o'clock shadow.