That's Fit

The weather is perfect for nice, long outdoor runs on the beach or right through your neighborhood. The leaves are changing colors, the air is crisp, and you've got miles and miles to go. That's why picking up a new pair of kicks is one of the most sound investments you can make for this autumn climate (and economic climate, for that matter).

To help the shoe shopping experience that much easier, Maximum Fitness offers these five tips in their current issue, on newsstands now.

• Do You Need New Shoes? This is obviously the most important step of all. If the soles of your shoes are showing significant signs of wear, the forefoot is shifted medially and laterally or you're always suffering injury, then it may be time to ditch those kicks for a new pair.

What do headaches, depression, fatigue, illness, irritability, weakness, joint pain, insomnia, loss of appetite, and muscle atrophy have in common? If you answered a day in Amy Winehouse's life, you're probably right, but that's not the answer we're looking for. What is the answer, then? They are all signs of over-training.

As important as it is to push yourself during your workouts, it's entirely possible to push yourself too hard and too far. To help remedy the effects of an overzealous workout program, Men's Health offers the following five tips:

1. Take a Week Off Exercise. Rest is the most effective way to treat over-training, as it provides your body with the time it needs to fully repair the damage.

The average adult living in the U.S. spent a total of two months watching TV in 2007. So, if there's a goal for this year, let's make it to keep that number down and at the same time increase our outdoor activity time. Here are five reasons why Weight Watchers magazine feels fresh air is a wellness must.

1. Lower Blood Pressure. In a recent New York University study, patients who gardened for just 45 minutes experienced a drop in heart rate and blood pressure.

2. Sunnier Disposition. The American Journal of Psychiatry reports that light therapy works as well at treating depression in some cases as prescribed medication.

After weeks and weeks of successful weight loss, the needle on the scale seems to freeze at a certain number. And then, worse yet, you notice it begins turning clockwise again. Fear not, there are things you can do to stop that needle and soon get it turning in the healthier direction once again.

Here are five ways to help make that happen:

1. Amp-up the Exercise. If you haven't changed your workout in four to six weeks, you're probably starting to plateau. In addition to mixing the reps, number of sets, rest time, distance on treadmill etc., for maximum results, you should also increase your intensity level.

2. Eat Slowly. Sit back, relax, and savor the food you're eating. Research shows that people consume around 67 fewer calories per meal when they take their time.

3. Make Half Sandwiches. Skipping the top slice of bread will save you around 70 calories. If you eat a sandwich a day for lunch, you'll save yourself 490 calories a week.

4. Eat Protein. Try to consume more protein if you don't eat enough already. Protein digests very slowly (especially casein protein, which is found in dairy products), so it requires a great deal of calories to be expended in order for it to be processed.

5. Be Salad Smart. Because many popular salad dressings contain about 75 calories per tablespoon, you can save yourself about 150 calories per salad by substituting in vinegar.

Cutting fat - let's just get right to it. Exercise? Of course. Proper diet? Absolutely. The former is pretty straightforward; move around, burn some calories - that sort of thing. The latter, however, can sometimes involve a bit more complexity.

To effectively burn fat, your dietary changes must not interfere with your fitness progress or quest for overall health. As such, a massive calorie-cutting diet isn't really the answer. Instead, try these vie fat-torching tips on from size.

1 - Cut Calories by a Reasonable Percentage. Again, this does not mean starving yourself; rather, it means taking an honest look at your daily caloric intake and calculating a percentage (be it 10, 20, or even 30 percent) you can cut it by.

If you're a neophyte in the whole working out scene, deciding on which exercises to perform may be somewhat difficult. With so many machines and movements to choose from, it's easy to get lost in the decision-making process. To help you along, you may want to consider starting with the following five exercises. And, for those of you who have been working out for quite some time, you too may want to give thought to adding these five moves to your workout.

Some are lesser-known, some are pretty common, but all are dynamic muscle-toners. Just don't hate me if you're sore in the morning.

1 - Box Jumps. Think of this exercise as a squat without a bar but somehow still as difficult. Not only will your quads be screaming by the time you're done with your set, but your heart will feel like you just ran wind sprints, making this a fantastic resistance/cardio exercise.

2 - Pull-Up. A sure-fire method to get that famous V-taper is to do this exercise. Try any number of variations on this classic muscle-builder, and you'll soon see the definition in your back, shoulders and arms that you were hoping for.

The nutritional supplement industry is an economic juggernaut, one that continues to thrive even during these tougher financial times. Unlike prescription medications, supplements do not have to undergo a vetting process by the FDA, which serves to explain why manufacturers are able to make many unsubstantiated claims with relative impunity.

Does this mean that all supplements are worthless? I certainly wouldn't go as far as to say that. What I would say, however, is that it is wise to speak with a medical professional before taking a supplement to find out: a) If it is safe for you to take it, and b) If it will help you achieve your specific health and fitness goals. In efforts to expedite that conversation (doctors are busy people), at least narrow your options down to supplements that have shown promise in peer-reviewed studies.

Here are 5 of them:

5 - Protein Shake. While it's entirely possible to get enough daily protein from your regular diet, it's sometimes quite difficult to do so. Protein shakes provide you with a convenient and tasty way to get at least 20-25 grams of protein and a substantial amount of amino acids with each serving.

Summertime can be a boatload of fun, but too much enjoyment can sometimes lead to scrapes, bumps, bruises, sprains, and even splinters. That's why it's good to have your medicine cabinet stocked with the essentials.

To help keep everyone as prepared as a Boy Scout, Maximum Fitness magazine suggests some of these Medicine Cabinet Must-Haves:

1. Bandages and Triple-Antibiotic Ointment. You never know when junior might fall during a backyard barbecue and scrape his knee. Put some Neosporin on that cut, cover it in a band-aid and the little guy will be up and running again in no time.

2. Acetaminophen. For pain relief with the fewest side effects, pop one or two of these (check the suggested dosage). This should help keep you from whining for at least an hour or so about the ankle you sprained during that game of touch football.

Have an hour to spare each day? Looking to drop a few pounds? And help the environment? If you said yes to all three of these questions, you're the calorie-burning, eco-friendly person that a recent Men's Health article was obviously written for.

Slim down and tone up your muscles while doing your part to save the world; here are five ways to make yourself a green superhero.

1. Running (1 hr at a 9-min.-mile pace)

• 902 calories burned on a treadmill
• 943 calories burned running outdoors with hill sections
• Energy Saved: Running for 30 minutes on a treadmill a day uses about 2,000 watts a year and costs around $50
• Go the Extra Mile: Add stairs to your run. You'll burn an extra 308 calories in just 15 minutes

2. Trimming Trees and Hedges (1 hour)

• 287 calories burned using an electric trimmer
• 369 calories burned using a hand trimmer
• Energy Saved: Besides the electricity used to run the power trimmer, you can go a step further to help the environment by using watering cans instead of a sprinkler -- which loses most of its water to runoff or evaporation. You'll also burn an extra 123 calories in the process.

With the warm weather here, you may already have made the decision to unfetter your workout from the confines of the gym. Rocky trails and windy roads have replaced treadmills; push-ups, pull-ups and other bodyweight exercises have been subbed in for weight machines; and the scenery has suddenly become a whole lot better than some painted-over concrete walls, dirty mirrors and outdated fitness posters. You're outside, and you're very happy to be there. Buuuuut ... then it rains. Or the heat becomes too much to bear, just as it did here in the northeast last week. Looks like a sojourn back to the ol' gym may be in your future.

To ready yourself, make sure you have what you need. Your gym back has been sitting idly in your closet for over a month, so you may need to restock it a bit. To help you along, here is a quick checklist of some gym bag essentials.

1. iPod. For whatever reason, gyms are notorious for playing some of the worst music known to man. So, it's incumbent upon you to be your own personal D.J. if you want to hear some halfway decent tunes during your workout.

2. Water Bottle. Depending on where you live, the water coming out of your gym water fountain may or may not be palatable. Therefore, you may either want to fill-up a large water bottle at home or buy a bottled water on the way to the gym. Either way, make sure it ends up in your gym bag and then by your side during your workout.

Eating healthy at home can be accomplished with relative ease. You prepare the food, so you know what to expect. Do you know exact calorie, fat, carb, and protein counts? Maybe, maybe not. You could always find out by visiting sites like DietDetective.com, but there's not always time for such measures to be taken when you also have nine thousand other things that need to get done before the new episode of Lost comes on. So, in most cases we go by educated guesses. Again, not all that difficult to do when we're the ones making the food.

However, things can become much trickier at restaurants -- especially those where the healthy menu options are limited. To help you along, here are five healthy suggestions from Self magazine that should make your restaurant dining experience both enjyoable and guilt-free.

1. Quiznos - Black & Blue Salad. Go with reduced-fat dressing and only use half of the amount they give you. Also, ask for additional tomatoes and mixed greens.

2. Burger King - Tendergrill Chicken Salad. Lightly drizzle with 1/2 packet of low-fat dressing.

As I pointed out in a recent post about olive oil, many foods have a wide variety of applications that fall beyond simply filling up our bellies. This is certainly the case with the potato, which is, as the Men's Health article from which this information was sourced suggests, a utility player.

Here are five less common uses the folks at Men's Health mention for this super spud:

1. Heal Injuries. Wrap a cold potato with plastic wrap to make an effective compress. A raw potato will help reduce the swelling around cuts and bruises.

2. Soothe Eczema. Cube and then lightly boil a potato. Next, fold it into a thick gauze and apply it to the affected area. The warm potato poultice can relieve inflammation in some cases.

3. Fight Heartburn. Drop an uncooked, white potato through a juicer and get ready for an awful tasting drink but an effective method of reducing heartburn. Drink a half a cup after dinner for best results.

Olive oil is a great source of healthy fats, helping to lower cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular complications. However, a recent Men's Health article listed five alternative uses for this healthy kitchen staple, many of which may come as somewhat of a surprise.

1. Remove Paint From Your Skin. No longer do you have to deal with the putrid stench of paint thinner to wash that lavender wall paint off your hands. Evidently, olive oil's lubricant properties softens your skin and the paint itself, making it much easier to scrub away.

2. Ease Constipation. A doctor at the London Nutrition Clinic was quoted in the Men's Health article as saying that taking two tablespoons of olive oil will soften your stools and make your sit-down session a bit more tolerable (well, that's me paraphrasing what he said. His actual quote was far more charmingly British.)

3. Fight Bad Breath. Bacteria in your mouth is one of the main causes of raunchy breath. Rinsing once or twice daily with a tablespoon of olive oil will bind the bacteria together, helping to reduce the smell (and thus increasing your chances of finding a date for this weekend).

I typically don't pay much attention to the cleanliness of a gym, whether or not their music selection sucks, or even if they have TVs in the cardio room. One thing I do notice -- usually not on purpose, but because it's so hard not to notice -- are the people around me. As dialed into my workout as I usually am, I still can't help but be distracted sometimes when I see, hear, or smell something that's just plain wrong.

I've written about gym etiquette in the past, but some of the things I mentioned certainly bear repeating. Plus, there are a few other tidbits of information that I feel are worth adding to the list, chief among them being the five listed below.

1. Unless you're lifting bar-bending amounts of weight, keep your grunting and screaming under control. There's nothing wrong with showing a little effort, but there's no need to showcase the fact that you're lifting 35-pound dumbbells, either.

2. Don't fart. Plain and simple. Sure, one may sneak out of you once and a while, which is perfectly normal and, depending upon your company, no big deal at all. But, if you keep blasting them out over and over again, you're going to make a bunch of people upset and grossed out.

When we hear about people dying from vaccine-preventable diseases, we tend to associate such loss with poorer countries than our own. This assumption is not terribly off-base, as many third-world nations do suffer an enormous amount of preventable human loss due to a lack of access to proper medical treatment. However, such vaccine-preventable loss is not exclusive to these less fortunate countries; an article in Women's Health magazine asserts that 50,000 adult Americans die each year for the same reason.

According to the article, the following is a list of five of the eleven vaccinations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests getting:

1) Hepatitis A: A virus spread by infected food and water that can cause liver infection. Most often a danger to travelers to foreign countries.

2) HPV: The Human Papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted disease that can potentially lead to cervical cancer in women. Genital HPV is the most common sexual transmitted infection in the United States. About 6.2 million Americans will get infected with genital HPV this year.