That's Fit

I think you might be surprised by this answer.

For more fun fit tips, recipes and videos from degreed experts ...

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz, I'm 26 years old and have never been happy with my upper body. My arms are lanky and my chest is soft. I have a demanding job as an attorney, and simply don't have the time nor the know how to get involved in a complicated training regiment. I know I have to "earn" a good body, so I was hoping you could dumb things down for me. A simple routine I can do in a hurry. P.S. I love your fit tip videos! Thanks. Tim

A. Hello Mr. Tim! Training for a guy with "no time" huh? That' my specialty! Glad you asked. Look pal, I wish I could pull off the persona as a rocket scientist, because I'm on top of this stuff ... but I can't. Fitness is painfully simple, and you can achieve your goals without much complexity.

Yuck! I just watched a little news bit about Minnesota on Fox News. They were featuring the state as it is hosting the Republican Convention in St. Paul. (That title is meant to be read with an adorable accent.)

Apparently all the folks in Minnesota aren't in "the know" about health. On display in this feature was an obnoxious amount of fried food being carried around on sticks. Mmmmm. Heart disease. Corn dogs, fried chips, fried meat and to top it off, chocolate covered bacon!

Would you ever even consider eating this? It looked pretty fowl to me, though I am fairly particular about what I put in my mouth. I can only imagine some guy sitting in a diner one day thinking, "how could I improve on this strip of pig fat? I know! Let's dip it in chocolate!"

Martha recently posted about how exercise can help stroke patients recover. A new virtual reality program that is undergoing clinical trials in the UK and in Canada helps the recovery process a little more.

A researcher at Portsmouth University in the UK created a treadmill that's linked to a virtual reality system. The system helps people recovering from strokes, traumatic falls, and those living with osteoarthritis to build up their endurance, increase their range of motion, and improve their gate.

The system displays scenes -- cityscapes, forest trails, mountains, etc. As the patient is walking on the treadmill, the scenery changes. The system gives them the motivation to walk -- and it also encourages them to virtually pick up objects which aids in balance. In addition, the motion of the scenery is adjusted so the patients walk faster and more smoothly, almost without realizing it.

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!

Alternative medicine may not always works as effectively as traditional western medicine, but they can't harm you, right? Not true. Recent studies recently found that one in five Ayruvedic medicines contains poisonous metallics like lead, arsenic and mercury.

Of hundreds of Ayurvedic remedies purchased from 25 different websites in the USA and India, 21% contained detectable levels of at least one of these metals, and of that 21%, half had higher levels than would be considered healthy.

Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient practice that promotes overall health using a balance of medicine, meditation, exercise and diet, and while it can be part of a healthy lifestyle, it's always a good idea to talk to your doctor first before taking any kind of remedy, natural or not.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hey Fitz, My name is Sarah and I'm almost 16. I have always been involved with sports including: hockey, basketball, soccer and you name it! Now that I am older, I have slowed down a bit and only play basketball for high school and travel. This is what is bothering me: I can't seem to run as long as I used to. I get tired easily and run out of breath. I'm not fat or anything, and I am even really fast. But by the time I run one length of the court I'm pretty much dead. What am I doing wrong and what do I need to do to change this? It seems like I get more out of breathe each season. Thanks, Sarah

A. Hi Sarah, Thanks for writing. I have two thoughts on what may be happening with you, the first being more probable than the last. Most likely, you've just become out of shape. That doesn't mean you're obese or in horrible shape, it just may mean you're not capable of doing as much as you were two years ago when you were involved in three sports! You take pride in the fact that you run fast. That's great! But, the fact that you like to go all out probably makes you more likely to suck wind at the end of one lap.

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.

Well this is one of those subjects, that I, even with all of my degrees and such ... I just can't wrap my head around explaining it perfectly to you. I guess that's what links are for!

Let's just put it this way, a combination of: fruit, gas, fermentation, constipation, pelvic rotation and inflammation can be causing your back pain. I don't think this article will provide the answer to everyone's back pain, but for some ... maybe so!

The article even suggests that a "pooping situation" or "lack of pooping situation" might be responsible for weight gain. So! Without further a-doodoo, click here.

I adopted my son from the US foster care system when he was 10-years-old. He has ADHD and often struggles with focus. He also has high anxiety and can get quite nervous in certain situations. One tool that helps him regain focus and composure is taking a few deep breaths. We face each other, look directly in each others' eyes and take a deep breath in... and out. He usually says "one more, Mom" and we continue until he's feeling in control again. The simple act helps to ground him, reduce his anxiety, and help him focus again. Breathing exercises can help everyone reduce stress and relax.

When you're faced with an abrupt, unexpected stressful situation (such as a car cutting you off in traffic or someone saying something offensive to you) take a moment to pause and breathe deeply before reacting. Those few seconds will calm you so you can respond appropriately and thoughtfully -- avoiding a hasty reaction you might regret later.

When you're faced with longer-lasting stress (such as a difficult deadline at work or ongoing problems with your significant other) make a regular practice of this breathing and stretching technique. It will imbibe your body with oxygen and help relieve stress.

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.

Nutrition expert, Elizabeth Somer, and I recently sat down in New York City at the Prilosec OTC round table event to chat about aging without feeling or looking OLD! She tosses out tons of great advice about living well, living long and looking hot while doing it. The interview was fun and her books are great!

View Elizabeth's books below:

See more training videos at SportsHealthExercise.org on the Active Health Network!

Earlier this month Jacki told you that Christina Applegate, star of Samantha Who?, had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and now I have some great news to share -- the actress has announced that she is completely free of cancer, thanks to the early detection and the proper treatment.

Applegate, 36, has been getting annual mammograms since she turned 30 -- her mother is a breast cancer survivor, so she was aware of her risk. In an interview with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts (also a breast cancer survivor), she recalled her reaction to finding out she had breast cancer: "I was so mad and I -- I just remember I was -- I was just shaking. And then also immediately, I had to go into ... 'take-care-of-business mode,' ... I asked them, 'What do I do now? What -- what is it that I do? I get a doctor, I get a surgeon, I gen an oncologist? What do I do?"

What Applegate did was get all the help she needed, and she switched to a macrobiotic diet. And, obviously, it worked -- she's clear and told the world, "I'm clear. Absolutely 100 percent clear and clean. It did not spread. They got everything out, so I'm definitely not going to die from breast cancer."

Lately, I could set a clock by my son's night wakings. I tease my husband that I will set my alarm for four in the morning and go stand over Owen's bed and surprise him, before he can invade our bed!

I started to thinking, though: why four o'clock in the morning? Deep in my memory, I recalled something about certain hours of the day being associated with different organ systems, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. So I looked it up.

Interesting, to say the least. It seems that the hours between three and five in the morning are when the lungs are most active. Well, wouldn't you know that Owen's allergies have been bothering him recently?

Walking a labyrinth regularly is good for your health, but probably not for the reasons you think. Most people think labyrinths are a kind of maze that takes thinking and memory to solve, but many labyrinths are just a path that follows a single direction, usually taking the form of concentric circles or a looping pattern. The difference between a maze and many labyrinths is that a labyrinth doesn't have choices, there's only one path in and the same path gets you back out. No dead ends, no tricks, no confusion.

So why is walking one good for you? Because, according to an article in the recent issue of Natural Health, it can be a kind of "moving meditation" that can help you relax, bring you peace, and help relieve stress. There's no trick to doing it right -- just walk in and walk out, at your own pace and in your own way. Wanna try it? Check if there's a labyrinth in your area with The Worldwide Labyrinth Locator.