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I'll be honest: I've typically been that person who, when I see a cluster of people doing qigong (always seems to happen in a park, right?), thinks "how lovely for them," with a healthy subtext of, "yeah, not for me." Break it down, and I could probably point to the slowness of it -- your feet stay planted as your torso and upper body rotate -- or, for that matter, the fact that everybody doing it appears to eclipse me in age by at least three decades.

But then this happened: The fitness team at Stone House, a beautiful Rhode Island resort I visited not too long ago, told me that qigong -- which they had just started to offer -- was a "beginner's martial art." Qigong, it turns out, is actually a form of tai chi, geared toward building balance, strength and energy. (This is why it often appeals to older people.) I, in my infinite maturity, thought, "wow, how cool to update my Facebook status to say I just finished doing some martial arts." I signed up immediately.

And that was how I found myself feeling very small on an expansive plot of grass, facing Antonia, my new instructor. She was built, driven and clearly meant business. I am a laughably-slow, uncoordinated learner. Only now has it occurred to me that the stuff I lack -- like precision -- was probably key.

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).

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Scottish actor Kevin McKidd, known best as Dr. Owen Hunt on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, has had his health and fitness habits completely uprooted as a result of his career. Besides starring on a hit prime time TV show, Kevin starred in Rome and has an athletic role in the upcoming action movie Bunraku. He used to be a carb addict and now he's passionate about the fighting arts and fitness. Pay close attention to the lessons he's learned to stay hot in Hollywood and see if they can change your life as well.

Fitz: The characters you play are usually pretty fit. What type of training do you do?

Kevin: Fitness has always been a part of my life, but it's become a much bigger part because of my job. I just finished an action movie called Bunraku (with Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson), which I did a lot of martial arts training for.

Fitz: My sport is kickboxing; it's the best exercise ever! How did you like it?

Kevin: It was great fun. I had a boxing trainer, and I did a lot of rounds hitting the bag and his mitts. During the week, I trained with the stunt team.

Fitz: What's your favorite strike?

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Notoriously thin Nicole Richie has been called lots of things, but buff is not one of them. However, that all might change -- the petite socialite has been working out lately to prepare for her role role in the TV show Chuck. According to Richie, "In 'Chuck', I play a cheerleader who ends up in a huge girly fight with an old classmate. We had a week of intense training with a martial arts guy to get ready for this scene and I loved every minute of it. If I had any baby weight left, that definitely got rid of it."

And it looks like she's planning on keeping up her healthy routine -- according to sources, she's hired celeb trainer Harley Pasternak to whip her into shape. But it's not for health reasons -- says one friend, "Nicole feels huge right now. Her breasts are enormous and she finds it difficult to get comfortable. The change to her body has been drastic and it's been hard for Nicole to accept. She looks in the mirror and doesn't even recognize the person staring back at her."

She feels huge? I think she looks great with a couple extra pounds -- better than she has in years. Your thoughts?

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proved he's a macho man as a world leader -- now he's setting out to prove he's a macho man off the political circuit too. The feisty figurehead recently announced plans to produce a fitness DVD. No, really. I'm not kidding. Let's Learn Judo with Vladimir Putin was recently released in Russia.

But Putin, a black belt in the sport, has admitted that the title, while catchy, is little more than an advertising gimmick. Yes, Putin appears on the DVD, but the real teaching is left up to master of martial arts, Yasuhiro Yamashita, who is an Olympic Judo champion.

Sorry gang -- no word yet on whether the DVD will be released in North America.

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Her relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio may be on-again, off-again, but model Bar Refaeli's commitment to the legs is unwavering.

Refaeli's legs simply kick butt, thanks to, well, a whole lot of kicking. Her trainer is teaching her all kinds of kicks, and she says they work everything -- the abs, the butt, and yep, the legs. The kicks come from an Israeli self-defense discipline called Krav Maga. Martial-arts moves are part of Refaeli's fitness routine too.

For more on Krav Maga, click here. For more famous hot legs, click through the gallery below.

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T'ai chi is generally classified as a form of traditional Chinese soft-style martial arts. Some consider it a form of moving meditation, as focusing the mind solely on the slow movements purportedly helps to bring about a state of mental calm and clarity.

And while training in t'ai chi won't have you kicking but like Jacki Chan, it will help you fight off infection by boosting immune function. A recent study from the University of California found that performing t'ai chi three times a week for four months can halve a person's risk of infection from many common viruses.

To find a t'ai chi school or private instructor near you, check out this U.S. directory from the WorldTaiChiDay.org website.

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Powerstrike Forza is a fitness class taught in New York City, but this is no ordinary class. The moves are all based on Samurai sword techniques and it generates quite a workout. Participants work their arms, legs, glutes, and core muscles. According to the Powerstrike web site, participants can burn around 500 calories per class.

Don't live in NYC? Or don't have the $399 to shell out for the class? (Whew! That's pricey!) Self Magazine shows us how to get the workout at home. Just grab anything that's sturdy and a few feet long (for example: an umbrella or a wiffle bat) and you've got an instant "sword." You can also use a bokken (wooden sword for martial arts training).

Self's slideshow gives you eight different moves to start with.

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I'm a bit of cardio-holic. When I go to the gym, my time is usually spent on the elliptical trainer, treadmill or bike. That other half of the gym, the one with the weight training area, goes neglected. It's not that I'm afraid of weights, don't know how to use them or don't know their benefits -- it's that they're, well, boring. This is something I thought I was largely alone in until I read a post by regular reader Crabby McSlacker. She dislikes lifting weights too. Do you too? For this week's feature I'm going to suggest some things that will give you the benefits of weights but without the drawbacks.

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Do you know what Capoeira is? Chances are you've seen it without knowing it, in movies like Meet the Fockers and Oceans Twelve. It's an activity with African and Brazilian roots that combines martial arts-style moves with dance techniques. Sounds pretty harmless and fun, right? When the practice was originally developed by Africans enslaved in South America, Capoeira was used to teach people deadly fighting techniques. However, in the days of slavery, slaves weren't permitted by their masters to teach or learn deadly fighting techniques so these moves were 'hidden' within what seemed like a harmless dance. Today, though, things aren't quit so serious: Capoeira is a way of getting active, becoming fit and enjoying the benefits of group exercise.

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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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