Exercise

Walk Away. Next time you stick that key in the

ignition to travel just a few blocks, consider walking the

distance. It's better for you and better for the

environment. If it's too far to walk, take a bike.

Get Cooking. In the kitchen, if it's electric, it's

taking away your opportunity to firm up your arms.

Use the old fashioned can opener. Chop the vegetables

by hand. Whip the eggs with a fork.

Short Circuits. Circuit training in the gym is

nothing more that doing short spurts of medium-tointense

exercise. You can do short circuits at home or

the office. Do jumping jacks between calls, jog in place

during commercials, lift a load of laudry like you'd lift

weights.

Do Your Chores. Vaccuuming, sweeping, mopping,

dusting all get your heartrate moving. Reach up high

to clean off the ledges and down low to get the

baseboards. Your house and your health will thank you

for it.

Pet Projects. Take your pet for a walk. Put a little

more pizzazz in brushing him. Play tug-o-war or tag

with your puppy. Move around the house with a

feather to delight your kitten or do your stretches with

a length of yarn to watch her jump for it.

Exercise doesn't need to be by the book or by the

clock. Just putting a little more motion into your daily

activity can make all the difference.

Every move you make is helping your body slim

down and firm up. Every breath you take, muscle you

move, step you take ... it all adds up.

"BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME!"

We all say this, and with today's on-the-run lifestyles

this statement is often too true. But you can make

small changes to put a little more umph in your

movement to get more benefit from the work you're

already doing.

Park Farther Away. Give yourself more distance

between your car and your destination. Walking gives

you some down time to get your thoughts together.

Don't think about the extra steps as extra work!

Instead, make it a moving meditation: take time to

appreciate the world around you.

Pack and Play. Walking with weights burns more

calories and builds more muscles. You can use actual

weights or pack a backpack of items you need or even

pick up a child and carry him the distance. If you'd

rather not carry a kid, try playing like one -- skip down

the street, jump in puddles of water, or find a soccer to kick around.

Go ahead and join the gym, if that's a method of

exercise that works for you. You can buy

workout tapes, a treadmill, or home gym

equipment.

After watching your new plan at

work on TV, on line or in store, you

need to rememeber it is your plan.

You are not the supermodel on TV or

the weightlifting expert on the

videotape, so don't expect that you'll

have a perfect routine your first time

out.

Many people *****new their

dedication to fitness start out giving

everything they've got -- curling 20

lb weights, running 15 mph. Those

workouts cause you to burn out much

too quickly.

A much more sound approach to exercise is to take

it slow on your first efforts. Your goal should be to

make it to the end of a workout.

Start slowly and work up to a full workout. Instead

of pumping iron during your first workout, consider

workout bands -- large elastic bands to provide

resistance. Instead of setting

the stationary bike to a program

of mountains and hills, try a less

elevated route.

Working slowly to start is

working with the long-term in

mind. If you work slowly, you can

work up to have the work out you

want. If you rush in and do too

much too quickly, you can get

injured or get sidelined.

A good rule of thumb is to

monitor how you feel at the end

of a workout and then how you

feel the next day. If you can feel

your muscles as you move around the next day, you

put in a good workout. If you feel your muscles so

much you can't move, you likely went too far.