Fitness Tips

Daily Exercise Suggestions
Walk 10 minutes a day and increase your fitness level. No pain, no gain. New studies show that even short bouts of activity can increase your fitness level, especially if you're new at working out.

Park and Walk
Whenever you have an errand, park your car as far away as you can handle and walk to the store. At the mall, park at the farthest end and walk the length of the mall. Use every opportunity to walk. At the end of the day, it all adds up to better fitness.

Crunch in Bed
Before you even get out of bed in the morning, do 10 stomach crunches while lying flat on your mattress. Increase daily by one until you get up to 100. Think you'll never get there? Try it. You may eventually have to set your clock to wake up 15 minutes earlier, a small price to pay for a flatter stomach.

Move More
Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it's a stress buster. Think 'move' in small increments of time. It doesn't have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or kick-boxing.

Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats. Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise.

Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie.) Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to 10 before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible.

Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes.

Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it's because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don't?

Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There's a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life.