Photo: Liz Arch

Everyone has one of those days where you simply cannot propel yourself to the gym (or even onto the stability ball in your living room), but your exercise routine doesn't have to compete with your schedule or mood.

"Workouts should reflect our lives, and what we personally need on any given day," says fitness expert Cameron Shayne, creator of the Budokon exercise DVDs, which feature body-sculpting martial arts and soul-soothing yoga. "Our lives dance between two distinct energies -- the Yin and Yang -- and balancing and feeding these two energies is the key to exercise adherence and good health," says Shayne.

Based on Budokon training -- which has worked wonders for celeb clients such as Courteney Cox Arquette, Jennifer Aniston and Amber Valletta -- Shayne offers two distinct styles of workouts that either supercharge your stamina with dynamic martial arts sculpting (Yang), or target your strength and balance with static yoga poses and deep breathing (Yin).

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Welcome to Twitter Fit Tips. Keep track of the latest diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and Thats_Fit will post fitness-related questions and the best tweet responses will get posted here. Start following Healthpop and That's_Fit today.

This week we asked,"What's your biggest fitness goal or challenge?" Here's what these Twitterers had to say:

bodybypizza@HealthPop 6 months ago, tying my shoes used to be a 'big fitness challenge'. Now I'm training for a 10K!

priorfatgirl@HealthPop Goal: get to 100lbs lost by August 1st. 4lbs stand in my way - stay tuned!

fitsmi Great question. Being consistent in an exercise routine. Maintaining that is HARD.

lmbwrites@Thats_Fit My biggest fitness feat is kickboxing consistently for the past 7+ months and losing almost 40 pounds while doing it.

aggiegrl@Thats_Fit finishing P90x and getting amazing results!

So far, I've enjoyed the 10 Minute Solution DVDs (at least, for the most part). And I love kickboxing. Plus, I'm all about awesome accessories. And so, when I received 10 Minute Solution: Knockout Body along with a pair of pink weighted gloves, it wasn't even a day before I was trying it out.

10 Minute Solution: Knockout Body with weighted gloves. Photo: amazon.com

As I'd hoped, this is a workout. Kickboxing really works your entire body, and this video did just that. The instructor, Jessica Smith, keeps you moving and motivated from beginning to end. Five 10-minute segments were focused on five different areas, but truthfully, each of them works the whole body.

Knockout Body Blast is an interval workout, mixing cardio and strength. Fat Attack also uses intervals, but with different intensity and different moves. Ultimate Upper Body focuses on punches, but there are enough squats to get your legs screaming, too. Kickbox Cross Train shows more combinations and incorporates cardio, strength and balance. Then, Fierce & Fabulous Abs, as you'd guess, works your abs, but you do a lot more than just crunches.

When Rob Pattinson (who also played Cedric Diggory in the fourth "Harry Potter" film) was cast as a super sexy vampire in the film version of the hit "Twilight" book series, he decided to get serious about his level of fitness (perhaps taking a cue from his villainous co-star?).

He cut out all alcohol and a lot of his meals, hoping to rid his body of "every ounce of body fat." He kickboxed three hours a day and ran for at least two hours a day for more than two months, saying that he hoped, "... when I took off my shirt, I would look like an alien. I thought that kind of worked for the story. The idea of taking my shirt off and looking like some sort of Adonis ..."

But, it didn't work for the director -- Pattinson lost so much weight that the shirtless scenes were cut. It didn't seem to bother him too much, though. Once he knew the shirtless scenes were out, he went about putting some of that weight back on by starting "a full cheeseburger diet."

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Alanis Morissette seems like the real deal to me. Just listen to one of her songs, and you'll realize the girl is brutally honest about her emotions, which makes me totally believe her when she claims she is enjoying watching her body age. Forget the Fountain of Youth. Morissette, 34, is embracing her body's transformation.

"I'm fascinated by aging and how a woman's body changes," the singer says. "I don't want to spend the next 50 years of my life trying to hide those changes. There's something very relaxing about watching it unfold instead of fighting it the whole way."

This isn't to say Morissette doesn't pay attention to health -- she's recently completed a triathlon and names cross-training, kickboxing, dance, basketball, and volleyball as her favorite fitness activities. She's just not consumed with the natural and inevitable evolution of her aging body. We should all follow her lead, don't you think?

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You might remember Emmy Rossum as the sweet ingenue in the film version of Phantom of the Opera (or maybe for her gorgeous red carpet appearances -- the girl just glows!). She's been in a couple of things since, then, but most recently she's filmed Dragonball, a role for which she really had to step up her fitness routine.

The actress incorporated a lot of strength training and kickboxing into her workout to get ready for the action film, saying it was "hardcore, but it was a lot of fun." She didn't notice a change in her weight, but she was aware of a change in the tightness of her body, and said, "I got really buff and strong while training."

Though she might have gotten "buff," she's continued to have a very feminine shape, which is just one more piece of evidence that working out is sexy!

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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 one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hello Miss Fitzness, I see you have an extensive history as a kickboxer. I also like to kickbox, although I've never actually had a fight. I've since left my trainer though. I have bought a water based heavy bag, and know all of my punches and kicks. It's just hard to come up with things to do each round like my trainer you to have me do. I'm getting bored now without a goal. Have any advice? Scott

A. Hi Scott! Thanks for asking! Yes, my competitive kickboxing days go way back to the mid 1990s and I'm still desperately in love with the sport. It's a ton of fun, and a tremendous workout. Plus ... I personally enjoy kicking people in the head! Only those who have willingly signed up for a charming bit o' competition though, of course! I have also spent the past 15 years as the Fitness Division Director of the International Sport Kickboxing Association. The ISKA is the sanctioning body of the sport, just like the NFL is for pro football. So, yes sir! I can help you with that heavy bag training.

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There have been a lot of fitness trends that have come and gone since the 80s, but at least one has managed to stay popular throughout the decades -- Jazzercise. The word alone brings to mind images of leg warmers and tights, but Jazzercise has managed to stay flexible over the years, which is probably why it's still around.

Today, Jazzercise still uses many of the same classic movements, but it also incorporates more "modern" workouts such as Pilates and kickboxing. The result is a workout that resonates with people, and the company recently enjoyed the best year of their nearly four decade long history.

Maintaining a regular exercise routine means finding a workout that you love, so if dancing to pop hits sounds like your idea of a good time, Jazzercise may just be for you. (Leg warmers not required...)

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Are you thinking about incorporating kickboxing into your fitness routine? Good for you! It's a blast and a serious workout. You're sure to work up a sweat, burn tons of calories, and feel great afterward (even if you are a little sore).

If you're anything like me, you want to make sure you look the part when you walk in for your first class or training session -- I don't mean that you need to have all of the authentic gear or anything, but you should know what attire and equipment is necessary for the best results. Your class or trainer will likely provide a lot of the equipment, but you still have to provide your wardrobe:

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One of the most popular questions I'm asked as a fitness trainer is "how do I get abs like Usher's? You know.....I want the grooves inside his hip bones!" Ahhhhhhh yes. I know exactly what they're talking about, and yes.....I too love those abs. In fact, the particular body parts folks are truly desperate for are his hip flexors and psoas. Mmmmm yummy psoas.

Usher is the role model for a sexy midsection, and if you're eager to have yours look like his......you're going to have to earn it. Truly earn it. Just being skinny isn't enough. Just doing crunches isn't enough. You're going to have to work! This is a two factor type accomplishment. First of all, you'll have to be pretty lean. If you're not lean, we probably won't be able to see any of your muscles with such great definition. So dropping pounds and body fat may be in your future.

The second component to earning abs like Usher's is working the proper muscles. Crunches will never ever give you such provocative hips. You're going to have to do more. Those interior hip muscles are responsible for lifting your legs, so that's what you are going to have to do. But, simple leg lifts are not enough. You are going to have to strain the hip flexors and psoas severely. Not in a dangerous way, just in a "ahhhh! this is tough" way. I recommend doing double leg lifts on the roman chair or while hanging from a pull-up bar. To do this, hang from a bar and lift both legs to at least a 90 degree angle at the same time. Hold that lift as long as possible and lift. If this is too difficult at first (which it probably will be) do a double knee lift instead.

Resistance training is an important aspect of your workout, but so is cardio, particularly if you're trying to burn fat. But cardio is beneficial for more than just fat-burning -- it can strengthen your heart, it increases your lung capacity, it helps reduce stress, it aids with sleep, it increases your mental functioning and so much more. I've heard a fitness expert say that you can lift as many weights as you want but if you can't run around the block, you can't call yourself in shape.

Me, I love cardio, much more than the weights. But some people are the opposite and see cardio as tedious. It doesn't have to be though. There are a number of cardio exercises that you can do -- the key is to pick one you enjoy.

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Summer is a great time of year to get outside and try a new sport that will help you stay fit and look great. After all, when it's nice out, who wants to be couped up on a treadmill? If you're bored of the same old gym routine and want to get out and enjoy the weather while getting some exercise, try the sports discussed here (note: calories burned are based on an 150lb person):

• Soccer: The sport burns between 630 and 900 calories an hour depending on the level of play and works your quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes. All that running is great for your cardiovascular system too.
• Squash: According to the piece, squash helps burn a whopping 1,080 calories in an hour! The sport also helps hand-eye coordination and strengthens core, shoulder and leg muscles.
• Basketball: Not only is shooting hopes fun, it will burn 400 calories in an hour. A competitive game will burn up to 700, and basketball also helps build coordination and agility. Plus, like soccer, it's good for your cardiovascular system.

Want to find out more? Take a look at the article for alternate work-outs for each sport, as well as for a breakdown on additional activities like water polo and kickboxing.

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Remember those fitness videos from the 80s? The ones that featured headbands, legwarmers, permed hair pulled into a high ponytail and colorful tight tights? Ahhh, aerobics. They've become a cliché for bad 80s trends, but maybe they shouldn't be. Properly defined, aerobics means any sustained exercise that stimulates and strengthens the heart and lungs, thereby improving the body's utilization of oxygen. That is, anything that gets your heart pumping.

Aerobics have come a long way from the cheesy music and cheesier movements. Check out the fitness schedule at your local gym and you'll see a variety of Aerobic classes that are influenced by current global fitness trends. The catch is that they might not be called 'Aerobics', but that's exactly what they are.

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It seems like martial arts has been a popular form of fitness ever since the Karate Kid all those years ago. I know dozens of people who are black belts in Karate (including a 13-year-old cousin!) and even I've taken a kickboxing class or two. So I decided to figure out: What's the hype all about? Is it merely a really good workout, or is it, like yoga, more of a mind thing, a way of life?I realize that beyond my limited kickboxing experience, as well as watching the Kill Bill movies, I really don't know much about Martial Arts. It turns out there are several types, including practices that appeal to people looking for a fun, challenging workout, practices that are specifically for self-defense, practices that are for combat, and practices that have a specific cultural or traditional appeal for people looking for a unique experience. There's even a genre of martial arts that emphasizes dance. About.com has a list of Martial Arts styles that you should consider based on your fitness needs and desires.

Martial Arts are typically thought to have originated in the Orient, but they're spread so far around the world, it's difficult to tell which are traditional practices and which have been modified, westernized, to suit North American fitness goals. Variations of Martial Arts can be found almost everywhere, as this list on Wikipedia shows.

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Chances are, the DVD section of your local store devotes an aisle or two to the latest fitness DVDs, which all promise to deliver a svelte body within a seemingly impossible time frame. The amount of choices can be overwhelming, and you can't judge a fitness video by its cover, so how do you pick the one that will pack the biggest punch to your paunch? You could start by checking this out -- it's a review of some of the most popular DVDs. Unfortunately, only 5 DVDs are reviewed, and there are definitely more than 5 out there. But hey, it's a start.

I don't own many fitness DVDs, but I do have The Windsor Pilates set, and though I grew a bit tired of the 20-minute workout after doing it for what seems the 100th time, I really liked each of the workout DVDs. I would probably give it an A.

What DVDs have you tried?

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