What if instead of having surgery to open up a clogged artery, your doctor told you it would be a better idea to log 30 minutes on the bike? According to findings presented at the European Congress of Cardiology 2009, cardio can actually be more effective than going under the knife. Plus, it's a lot more fun and costs a tad less, too.

If it seems too good to be true, honestly, there's no catch. "A moderate aerobic workout like biking or brisk walking for about a half hour a day or at least five days a week can train your heart to be healthier so you won't need a stent," says Dr. Christopher Cannon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. A consistent exercise plan slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure so your heart doesn't have to work as hard. "Therefore it can make do with a slightly reduced amount of blood from the blockage," says Cannon.

Cardiovascular risk gradually increases for everyone as we age, but the risk jumps sharply after menopause. "Although we don't know why for certain, it's likely estrogen acts as a protector against heart disease," Cannon says. "As estrogen levels decrease it leaves women more vulnerable." And here's a fact to ward off any thoughts you might be having resembling, 'this won't happen to me': The American Heart Association's latest figures show 1,314,000 angioplasties -- the procedure that inserts the stent -- were done in the United States in 2006.

Photo: Ron Sachs-Pool, Getty Images

You already know that Michelle Obama is one fit First Lady -- after all, her famously-toned arms have their own blog! And now, her trainer, Cornell McClellan of the Chicago-based Naturally Fit, is sharing the workouts that keep her in such amazing shape.

McClellan spoke to Women's Health and said he takes "a holistic approach that includes strength, cardiovascular, and flexibility training," to work Michelle from top to toe. Movements are all designed to work multiple muscle groups, so the First Lady's 5:30 a.m. workouts won't waste any time. Intense weight-training is interspersed with serious cardio intervals for an incredible calorie burn.

In addition to dishing on the basics of Michelle's routine, McClellan offered up some specific circuits he's put her through at the end of the article, including a 9-Minute Arm Workout.

Michelle isn't the only fitness fiend in this family. Find out who else doesn't miss a workout!

Photo: Peppergrasss, Flickr

Last week, I let you in on a wonderful secret: Kegel exercises can not only cure your incontinence, they can improve the intensity of your orgasms. But it's not the only solution for these embarrassing leaks, even if it is the most enticing.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and detailed in The New York Times found shedding just 8 percent of your excess pounds can relieve enough pressure to cut accidents nearly in half. The clinical trial included 338 overweight and obese women who had at least 10 urinary incontinence episodes a week. This makes sense since all that extra baggage bears down, putting pressure on your bladder and pelvic floor. The average age of the women was 53.

Regular moderate aerobic activity has also been shown to help women between the ages of 54 and 79 according to a report published in Urologic Nursing. Look at this as one more reason to get moving! Take a hike, ride your bike, swim laps, go kayaking or enroll in a dance class.

I don't know about you, but my strength routine doesn't include toning the muscles in my vagina. Yet experts at the recent American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition announced that those muscles, referred to as the pelvic floor, are an overlooked aspect of women's health, particularly as we age.

Photo: Datu Ramel

These muscles often weaken as a result of childbirth and menopause and can cause incontinence, an accidental release of urine that can happen from just coughing or laughing. And if you're one of the 20 million women with the condition, that can't make you feel too sexy -- particularly during beach season. But here's the good news: Kegel exercises can help. And in a study conducted by the Women's Health Foundation, in which incontinent women did pelvic exercises, the results showed a good deal more than improvements in bladder control: Over a third of the women reported more powerful orgasms and better sex overall.

"Stronger muscles improve circulation which in turn creates more intense orgasms," says Jennifer Hebert-Beirne, the Director of Research & Development at the WHF.

Sometimes it's hard being a member of the fairer sex. We're busy. Really busy. In fact, a recent study found that women work a 15-hour day, no matter how many hours they actually put in at their jobs. So it's understandable that we may make a few mistakes throughout the day -- forget to pick up milk, send a child to school without her lunch money, leave the cat out all night. It's just going to happen.

But according to Prevention, women are also making big mistakes when it comes to health. But unlike forgetting to wash your daughter's soccer uniform, making mistakes about diet, fitness, and lifestyle can cost you more than inconvenience in the long run. If you're guilty of some of the following mistakes, take a closer look at where healthy habits rank on your list of priorities and see if you can't make a difference in your own personal health.

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Jennifer over at ParentDish has a really interesting post about how women are perceived by their health care providers. It stemmed from a discussion over at the NYT's Well Blog, about all women of childbearing age being viewed as "pre-pregnant" or as "walking uteruses" when being treated for medical conditions. Do doctors assume that all women are pregnant until proved otherwise? And does it have an impact on their ability to treat us as whole patients?

This trend, say experts, started in the 1960s when doctors realized that drugs -- thalidomide was the drug in question -- taken by the mother could harm the fetus. Since the, when treating conditions or precribing medication, doctors have to consider the theorhetical fetus any time they treat a woman. At Well Blog, they're asking the question: Is this appropriate?

I'm used to being asked "Are you/could you be pregnant?" But for the most part, my doctors believe me when I assure them that no, I'm not. They respect that I'm in charge of my body and my fertility. Then again, on one very important occasion, I was wrong, adamantly wrong until proved otherwise through a pregnancy test. So it's easy for me to see both sides of this issue.

What do you think? Do doctors worry too much about a woman's reproductive status when making medical decision? Or is it appropriate to assume that any woman of child-bearing age could be pregnant?

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This month's issue of Women's Health magazine features a comical spin on some serious food crimes we all commit -- knowingly or otherwise -- from time to time.

As part of a sidebar article, they list four popular food chains and a menu item from each that requires a stiff fitness sentence to repay your health debt to society.

PANERA BREAD - Crime: Somkehouse Turkey on focaccia = 800 calories ... Sentence: 120 minutes of race walking

COSI - Crime: Caesar salad with grilled chicken = 942 calories ... Sentence: 60 minutes of running 10-minute miles

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Women's Health magazine just sent me a release with some fun tips entailed, and I thought I'd share this one with you. Four fabulous moves useful for those of you guilty of missing morning workouts to sleep in late, and then missing the gym after work due to fatigue. As your online trainer I want to make this clear to you: skipping your workouts on a regular basis is detrimental to your health!

Of course, early morning workouts can be tough. They're also what keeps you full of the energy you need to get through each day with vigor! Check out this gallery, and next time you go to hit the snooze button ... get your fanny up and do the Cat Cow pose instead. (No moo-ing necessary!) These four easy moves will give you the energy to get to the gym and start your day off right!

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I have a total love/hate relationship with medicine. Although I value science and medicine, quite often I can't stand the affects they have on me. I simply can't stand to be drowsy, foggy or affected in any way. Prescriptions are great if they fix what's wrong with you, but all of the side effects are for the birds. I suppose if we all took each drug correctly, we may have less. So, I was particularly intrigued when Women's Health posted a study regarding drug labels.

According to a survey in the Annals of Internal Medicine, almost half of the participants misunderstood drug warning labels, and most ignored the directions altogether. This gallery provides some of the most common instructions you'll find on those little stickers slapped on each bottle and what they really mean.

Who couldn't use a little more grace in their life? Balance and stability exercises are particularly important for healthy aging, but everybody can benefit from balance exercises. Women's Health magazine shares a great balance routine you can add to your workouts a few times each week:

• Single-Leg Reach. Stand with your weight on your left leg and your knee slightly bent. Slowly lift your right leg behind you and hold for two seconds. Do six reps on each leg.
• Single-Leg Squat. Stand on your right leg and lift your left foot slightly off the floor. Slowly sit as if you were sitting. Start with six reps on each side and gradually work up to 12 reps. (I tried this one and it's hard to get the motion down. I used a chair to stabilize myself until I got the hang of it.)
  
• Hop with Stabilization. Stand on your right foot then hop forward 12 to 18 inches, landing on your left foot. Hold the position for a few seconds, then hop backward and land on your right foot. Work up to 12 reps.

AOL Health has more information on balance and exercises to improve your stability.

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If there's one downside to resistance training, it's the soreness typically experienced a day or two after the most recent workout. Fortunately, our bodies becomes more and more adjusted to the workload over time and soreness becomes less and less of a problem. Still, those days after starting a new workout can be brutal. That's why some new research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research may be the physical reprieve some newbies are looking for.

Women's Health magazine highlights this study in their current issue, citing the discovery that performing quick bursts of cardio between strength training sets reduces post-workout soreness. Because cardio pushes more blood to muscles when done at elevated intensity, the quick delivery helps prevent further muscle damage and also begins a rapid repair. This, as stated, leaves you feeling less sore in the days to come.

For optimal results, the article suggests 30- to 45-second bursts of intense cardio between your resistance training sets. A very easy way of doing this (and a method that does not require you to occupy too many pieces of gym equipment at once -- a big no-no in some circles) is to bring a jump rope with you and get that thing spinning in overdrive in between sets!!

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How old are you? How old is your body? The answers to these questions should be the same, but a great many factors can contribute to a noticeable disparity. Women's Health magazine points to the significant role fitness level plays in determining your body's age.

In terms of genetics, people who exercise regularly are 10 years younger than inactive people of the same chronological age. Researchers from King's College in London found that in twins, those who exercised had the longest telomeres -- genetic markers that shorten with age, oxidative stress, and inflammation. And, because exercise has been linked to a reduction in stress and inflammation, researchers posit that it therefore affects telomere length.

For other methods of finding out your "Real Age," visit (where else?) RealAge.com and complete their online physical assessment.

Did you have fun at the Memorial Day party you attended? I hope so. And what about the food - how was it? I hope great. Did you try any of the chips and salsa dip? If so, I'm sure they were delicious. All that crunchiness, the flavor of the salsa, and the 10,000 microscopic bacteria ... yummy.

Not that I'm pointing fingers at you necessarily, but chances are someone double-dipped at your Memorial Day party. And, more likely than not, someone will do it again at the Fourth of July party you attend, too. While double-dipping may seem more like a fairly innocuous, Seinfeldian faux pas, an article in the most recent issue of Women's Health demonstrates otherwise. Pointing to a recent study in the Journal of Food Safety, the article states that as many as 10,000 bacteria are transfered from a mouth to a bowl of dip when someone dips their chip too many times.

As for sharing beers, I can only imagine how many germs are swapped. Oh well, good thing you're usually with family and friends at these sort of events!!

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Pilates is a mind-body exercise that promotes posture, balance, and core strength. Beyond the physical benefits, pilates is a relaxing activity that is soothing to your spirit. When you pair this great activity with the natural resistance of water, you have a real winner. So the next time you feel like trying pilates ... take it to the pool! Women's Health Magazine gives us five pilates moves that are perfect for the shallow end:

• The 50:50 works your chest, abs, waist, shoulders, triceps, back, hamstrings, and thighs.
  
• The Poolates Squat is great for your abs, back, glutes, and quads.
• The Step Star strengthens your arms, abs, waist, back, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
• The Living Dead works your abs, waist, back, and inner thighs as well as stretching your arms and hamstrings.
• The Frog is great for your abs, waist, back, glutes, and legs.

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