Diet & Exercise Expert Chris shares Diet & Exercise management news and commentary at MyDietExercise.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458 http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458 http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/28260/heart-monitor Mon, 19 May 2008 18:43:30 -0000 Chris Basics of using the heart rate monitor. Nobody wants a new gadget in his life but using a heart rate monitor is a superb idea to help you get much more out of aerobic exercise. So, WHAT IS IT? It's a simple gadget that tells you how hard your heart is working...in particular, how many times a minute it is beating. Almost all such monitors are two part gizmos... a strap to go around your chest and a unit like a wrist watch that goes on... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/28260/heart-monitor http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/24672/working Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:45:00 -0000 Chris If you can bear it, try to work out in the morning. Some people - like my colleague, Harry Lodge, just can't do it. Okay, but there are pluses. First, you're so much less likely to blow it off as your day gets crowded. More important to me, it whee's you up, first thing, and puts you in a positive frame of mind for the day...makes you less likely to gobble down crap (waste that workout)...more optimistic for whatever comes. THE GREAT WAY TO... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/24672/working http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/24671/stuff-works Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:44:00 -0000 Chris This is hard, right?... six days a week of exercise...four of aerobics and two of weights? Hard. But guess what: It is SO worth it. Take this past week. I am out west, skiing at Vail. I jump into an Expert class with four locals...two in their 20's and two in their early 50's. And we spend the afternoon, flying down the "Back Bowls"...serious expert runs. And I am able to more or less keep up...able to play with kids 20 and more years my... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/24671/stuff-works http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/24669/days-dog Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:40:00 -0000 Chris Look...some days I dog it. Just like you. Some days I do not get a really serious workout. But, if I may say so, I dog it at the High End. Today, for example, I am in a hotel in Florida...there's an okay gym but not great. And I am a little whipped with travel. So I take it easy on myself. But I do the main thing. The main thing is to change your clothes and Go to the Damned Gym...Do Something. For me, dogging it meant no weights... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/24669/days-dog http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/24668/note-liars Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:38:00 -0000 Chris So many people are delusional. We had Christmas dinner with a guy who was curious about Younger Next Year. I told him a little and he said - and I hear this constantly - "Oh, yeah. Great stuff. I already do it all the time."  LIAR! You just look at this bird - a 65 year old man with a conspicuously red face and a huge gut - and you know that cannot be true. Sure enough, it turns out that he walks - God bless him... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/24668/note-liars http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/20896/dont-kid Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:42:00 -0000 Chris Okay, you've signed on for six days a week. Now let's make sure they are real. You don't want to over do. But you don't want to kid yourself either. If this is an aerobics day, make sure you do it hard enough to sweat. No sweat, no credit. If it's a weights day, make sure you get close to some kind of a limit on one set of weights (that means pain, kids). So often, I see a guy or, more often, a woman in the gym with some... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/20896/dont-kid http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/20021/time-start Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:03:00 -0000 Chris Okay, we've talked enough about WHY to do all this hideous workout stuff...now let's talk about WHEN. And HOW HARD. Here's an idea: RIGHT NOW! And, HARD FOR YOU! The New Year is upon us. You probably ate and drank yourself stupid the past few weeks. You could truly use a fresh start. Well...go with a REALLY NEW START! Go with the Younger Next Year program, TODAY! Do it the rest of your life.  Here's what you do: if... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/20021/time-start http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/19905/build-bone Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:29:00 -0000 Chris The other amazing thing about weight training is that it is really the ONLY thing that builds significant new bone. Send the signals that weight training sends and you signal your bones to grow new bone! Again, it sounds fantastic, but it is absolutely true. And it matters. Because, in later age, you lose a lot of bone mass. Women - after menopause - lose a whopping 2% a year. That's terrifying. Leads to osteoporosis...falls, and broken... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/19905/build-bone http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/19904/strength Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:27:00 -0000 Chris The real reason that strength training is so important is not just to get strong - although that matters hugely. It is to improve your balance and coordination. The way that works is interesting. When you lift heavy weights, you send signals to your body to strengthen the amazing wiring system that a) tells you where you are in space (proprioception) and b) regulates the thousands of subtle messages that handle your coordinated... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/19904/strength http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/19049/doable Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:27:00 -0000 Chris Do weight training and you will get a lot stronger...no question about it...no matter what your age. A sixty year old man can, typically, double the strength in his legs in four months. Absolutely true. And terribly important. Just do the **** weights two or three times a week and you will get very significantly stronger. And that matters. Just having strong legs - never mind the rest of your body...never mind the coordination, the... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/5458/19049/doable