That's Fit

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.

Feet are, in my opinion at least, one of the single ugliest parts of the human body. That doesn't, however, mean they're not important. They're so important, in fact, that if they're not healthy and well taken care of, the whole rest of the body suffers.

How well do you treat your feet? If you're like most people, probably not so well. Most people stand on them too long while wearing shoes that are too tight and heels that are too high, all the while expecting their feet to go everywhere they want to go every day without giving them any care at all really -- until there's a problem of course. And according to statistics, seven out of 10 of us have problems, varying from simple things like sore feet and blisters to much more complicated and damaging disorders like hammer toes, tendinitis, and unexplained back pain.

I ran really far on Sunday, and when the time came to go to the gym with my husband on Monday, I thought I'd be too beat to perform. I literally was contemplating stretching for an hour as I walked through the front doors. But then! Then I saw something beautiful to my left. Over the dozens of cardio machines to my side, I saw Tom Cruise plopped down on the couch with Oprah and was drawn over to the treadmills.

Curiosity got my goat, and up I climbed on to the machine before me. Now strangely enough, because of a back injury, walking hurts more than running. So with emotional bricks in my shoes I cranked up the speed to six miles per hour and got going. I swear to you that before I turned that darn machine on, I would have never imagined my legs would take me half a mile. Apparently I was wrong.

Turns out that even though I felt sluggish and was full of doubt, I was capable of running for an hour straight! Isn't that insane? I think so. Listen. I've been in this business a long time, and have made a living out of proving to people that they could do the things they thought they couldn't! Feeling slow, tired, and unmotivated is not unusual. What is unusual, though, is finding the inspiration to yank out your personal best, even under those circumstances.

Thinking of ways you'll save your skin this summer when the sun's rays come beating down upon you? Don't forget the standards: Avoid the sun between 10 am and 4 pm, use sunscreen with a sun protective factor (SPF) of 15 or higher, steer clear of artificial sources of ultraviolet light, and wear sun-protective clothing when exposed to sunlight.

Wearing clothing that offers UV protection can be more effective than using sunscreen alone, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Look for clothing that offers an ultraviolet protection factor of at least 30 -- it will offer six times more protection than a t-shirt.

Columbia Sportswear offers one option for those seeking to shield themselves from the sun: The Seaside Stretch Tunic with UPF 40. It costs $48 which may seem a bit steep. But the savings your skin will enjoy may be well worth the price.

Got any recommendations on UPF clothing? If so, leave a comment and we'll share your suggestions with our readers.

For years, the prevailing belief about stretching was that it was an integral part of warming up for training and playing sports. However, recent studies have shown that all this prolonged reaching, twisting, and bending may actually be doing more harm than good.

Greek researchers published their findings, from a study they conducted on the effects stretching has on performance and strength, in a 2007 issue of the journal Experimental Physiology. The gist of what they discovered is that static stretching lasting longer than 30 seconds decreased strength by 8.5 percent and stretches lasting 60 seconds or more decreased strength by 16 percent.

It is important to note that the researchers also found that holding a stretch for less than 30 seconds did not have any effect on strength or performance. Therefore, you may not want to rule out your limbering up routine just yet. You just might want to consider only holding a stretch for a little less time.

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.

I distinctly recall being a freshman in high school and taking a typing course. Being that it was the early '90s, computers at that point were still mostly used for programming and only occasionally for word processing. So, there I was, all of 14 years old, sitting in a classroom full of typewriters and wondering why on earth I would ever need to know how to type.

A bit naive of me, don't you think? Fast-forward to today, and half my day is spent writing scripts, articles, blog posts, and emails. Although the specific writing tasks may differ, many other people spend just as much time (if not more) typing on their computers, too. All this keyboard punching has to be the reason for carpal tunnel syndrome, right? Not so, say researchers from two different studies.

According to a report, released in 2005 by Harvard Medical School, titled "Hands: Strategies for Strong, Pain-Free Hands," heavy keyboarding may not be responsible for incidences of carpal tunnel syndrome. The report states that causes instead include heredity, body weight, genetics, and even pregnancy.

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.

Stretching is usually done in one of three ways:

1 - In a Yoga session, where they are performed with precision and purpose;

2 - Before and/or after a workout, when they are done as more of an afterthought;

3 - Not at all.

Save for the first way, stretching is something most people kind of do (or don't do) because they think they're supposed to. It loosens you up before exercising, and it helps ease muscle tension caused by a workout. But does it really do those things?

There's plenty of research that suggests stretching doesn't do anything in the way of preventing injury. What's more, some studies even show that pre-exercise stretching can reduce strength and power during a workout. Does that mean that we are just wasting our time?

Not entirely. Just as there's plenty of evidence suggesting that stretching is worthless, there's also plenty that demonstrate the myriad benefits. Most recently, the National Institute of Health released the results of a study showing that stretching and strength training twice a week may help reduce the risk of exercise-related injury by as much as 45 percent.

So, until we know for sure whether all that reaching, twisting, and contorting is either good or bad for us, I guess it's a personal judgment call. If it works for you -- great. Keep doing it. If you hate it, well, it seems as though you can safely do without it. Well, depending on which study you believe, that is.

I took up running a while back, and one of the major challenges for me has been my knees. I've always had problems with them, and running makes them worse. But I've been doing exercises to strengthen my knees and they've paid off -- I'm usually pain-free when I run, and I'm loving it. If you have the problems with your knees but are aching to be a runner, consider these knee-friendly tips from Fitsugar:

• Lose weight to reduce the pressure on your knees.
  
• Start slowly, and get in good physical condition overall before beginning to run.
  
• Always stretch before and after running.
  
• Wear supportive braces if needed.
  
• Practice good form, running with your knees bent and leaning forward slightly.
  
• Watch where you run -- surface matters!

What have you done to reduce knee pain when running?

Even though tons of studies have been done on pre-run stretching, results continue to be inconclusive. Does stretching first increase or decrease your risk of injury? What if you don't stretch first? Depending on which expert you ask, you're likely to get a different answer.

USA Track and Field is conducting a very comprehensive stretch study that they hope will give the running world a definitive answer. Participation is open to anyone who is:

• 13 years old or older
• injury free for at least six weeks prior to start
• running at least 10 miles a week
• able to continue running for at least three months (the duration of the study)
• willing to commit to either stretching or not stretching, depending on which they are randomly assigned.

If you're interested in participating, you can click here to get started. And, rest assured, when the results come back, I'll let you know!

Stretch marks can a be a bummer for people who put forth a lot of effort to lose weight. It can seem like trading one undesired element for another. These marks can also come from people who gain a lot of weight, such as body builders. This article addresses where stretch marks come from, and outlines some treatment options for people wanting to get rid of them.

First of all, you need to understand why they appear in the first place. By drastically losing a lot of weight, the skin literally acts like a rubber band and suffers the effect of overstretching the elasticity. So what do you do?

There are some prescription creams on the market in the form of vitamin A. But moisturizing twice a day with paraffin-free products is another way too. But probably the quickest route to getting rid of stretch marks is Fraxel laser treatments. It's not cheap, but if you're paying to see a doctor and investing in prescription creams anyway, it could be worth taking a look at. These laser treatments target the lower layer of skin where the stretch marks are and end up burning them away! It sounds drastic, but the thermal treatment is very low -- just enough to provoke your body into repairing itself back to new. Read on here for more information.

If you are pregnant, consult your doctor before applying any creams or using treatments that could be questionable (like Retin A). Thanks to our readers for pointing this out!

"Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head..," says Paul McCartney in the well-known Beatles tune A Day in the Life. It's a very common thing to do, isn't it? You wake up and immediately begin your day of activities; showering, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, eating breakfast, racing to work, and so on. A day in the life, indeed.

Could it be that this routine is what causes sixty-five percent of Americans to report feeling back pain in the morning? Because circulation is slowed during our inactive state of sleep, inflammatory substances can become trapped in blood, thus reducing the flow of healing oxygen and nutrients. As a result, many people wake up feeling quite sore.

Doctors suggest stretching your spine when you wake up to get your blood moving again. For a list of simple stretches you can do after your morning alarm sounds, click here.

Admit it -- we all know one or two kids that seem to play video games hour after hour without pause. While these kids (mostly boys, from my experience) can become coordinated while playing games more than some acrobats, one thing they're not getting is muscle movement. Well, unless they are playing a Wii.

While the Nintendo Wii continues to receive accolades for getting gamers (and the "rest" of us) off our butts to actually become active in gameplay, many are complaining that sudden use of previously-unused muscle groups are causing pain. The same thing happens if you spend a few months being sedentary and then burn up the tennis court one weekend. Been there, done that.

But the reverse is also true -- for those playing on non-active gaming consoles like the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360 -- muscle non-use can lead to pain once physical activity is required. In many cases, kids going to PE each day will receive a decent workout, but for those others, they need to see some kind of physical activity regularly. That, or those thumbs will be the strongest muscles on those gamer's bodies.