By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

John P. Kelly/Getty ImagesCan brief bursts of exercise improve your health?

While many of us wonder just how much exercise we really need in order to gain health and fitness, a group of scientists in Canada are turning that issue on its head and asking, how little exercise do we need?

The emerging and engaging answer appears to be, a lot less than most of us think — provided we’re willing to work a bit.

In proof of that idea, researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, recently gathered several groups of volunteers. One consisted of sedentary but generally healthy middle-aged men and women. Another was composed of middle-aged and older patients who’d been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.

The researchers tested each volunteer’s maximum heart rate and peak power output on a stationary bicycle. In both groups, the peaks were not, frankly, very high; all of the volunteers were out of shape and, in the case of the cardiac patients, unwell. But they gamely agreed to undertake a newly devised program of cycling intervals.

Most of us have heard of intervals, or repeated, short, sharp bursts of strenuous activity, interspersed with rest periods. Almost all competitive athletes strategically employ a session or two of interval training every week to improve their speed and endurance.

But the Canadian researchers were not asking their volunteers to sprinkle a few interval sessions into exercise routines. Instead, the researchers wanted the groups to exercise exclusively with intervals.

For years, the American Heart Association and other organizations have recommended that people complete 30 minutes or more of continuous, moderate-intensity exercise, such as a brisk walk, five times a week, for overall good health.

But millions of Americans don’t engage in that much moderate exercise, if they complete any at all. Asked why, a majority of respondents, in survey after survey, say, “I don’t have time.”

Intervals, however, require little time. They are, by definition, short. But whether most people can tolerate intervals, and whether, in turn, intervals provide the same health and fitness benefits as longer, more moderate endurance exercise are issues that haven’t been much investigated.

Several years ago, the McMasters scientists did test a punishing workout, known as high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, that involved 30 seconds of all-out effort at 100 percent of a person’s maximum heart rate. After six weeks, these lacerating HIIT sessions produced similar physiological changesin the leg muscles of young men as multiple, hour-long sessions per week of steady cycling, even though the HIIT workouts involved about 90 percent less exercise time.

Recognizing, however, that few of us willingly can or will practice such straining all-out effort, the researchers also developed a gentler but still chronologically abbreviated form of HIIT. This modified routine involved one minute of strenuous effort, at about 90 percent of a person’s maximum heart rate (which most of us can estimate, very roughly, by subtracting our age from 220), followed by one minute of easy recovery. The effort and recovery are repeated 10 times, for a total of 20 minutes.

Despite the small time commitment of this modified HIIT program, after several weeks of practicing it, both the unfit volunteers and the cardiac patients showed significant improvements in their health and fitness.

The results, published in a recent review of HIIT-related research, were especially remarkable in the cardiac patients. They showed “significant improvements” in the functioning of their blood vessels and heart, said Maureen MacDonald, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster who is leading the ongoing experiment.

It might seem counterintuitive that strenuous exercise would be productive or even wise for cardiac patients. But so far none have experienced heart problems related to the workouts, Dr. MacDonald said. “It appears that the heart is insulated from the intensity” of the intervals, she said, “because the effort is so brief.”

Almost as surprising, the cardiac patients have embraced the routine. Although their ratings of perceived exertion, or sense of the discomfort of each individual interval, are high and probably accurate, averaging a 7 or higher on a 10-point scale, they report enjoying the entire sessions more than longer, continuous moderate exercise, Dr. MacDonald said.

“The hard work is short,” she points out, “so it’s tolerable.” Members of a separate, exercise control group at the rehab center, assigned to complete standard 30-minute moderate-intensity workout sessions, have been watching wistfully as the interval trainers leave the lab before them. “They want to switch groups,” she said.

The scientists have noted other benefits in earlier studies. In unfit but otherwise healthy middle-aged adults, two weeks of modified HIIT training prompted the creation of far more cellular proteins involved in energy production and oxygen. The training also improved the volunteers’ insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation, lowering their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published last fall in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Since then, the scientists completed a small, follow-up experiment involving people with full-blown Type 2 diabetes. They found that even a single bout of the 1-minute hard, 1-minute easy HIIT training, repeated 10 times, improved blood sugar regulation throughout the following day, particularly after meals.

Of course, HIIT training is not ideal or necessary for everyone, said Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster, who’s overseen the high-intensity studies. “If you have time” for regular 30-minute or longer endurance exercise training, “then by all means, keep it up,” he said. “There’s an impressive body of science showing” that such workouts “are very effective at improving health and fitness.”

But if time constraints keep you from lengthier exercise, he continues, consult your doctor for clearance, and then consider rapidly pedaling a stationary bicycle or sprinting uphill for one minute, aiming to raise your heart rate to about 90 percent of your maximum. Pedal or jog easily downhill for a minute and repeat nine times, perhaps twice a week. “It’s very potent exercise,” Dr. Gibala said. “And then, very quickly, it’s done.”

By Emily G. W. Chau

If you want to turn up the heat in the bedroom, it can be as simple as lacing up your sneaks. After all, staying in shape doesn’t just help you look good—it can enhance your sex life, too.

“Physical fitness absolutely affects the physical intensity and quality of sex,” says Sara Nasserzadeh, PhD, co-author of The Orgasm Answer Guide. “Sex is a kind of exercise itself.” (Search: How many calories do you burn having sex?) Research shows that exercise can boost your testosterone levels, increase blood flow “down there,” and even improve your orgasms. Here, we get down and dirty and share seven ways that your workout could pay off between the sheets. Who knew that getting sweaty could be so sexy?

It just makes sense: The more you exercise, the healthier your arteries—including the ones that go between your legs. A cardio routine to get the blood pumping) Exercise increases the flexibility of your arteries, so it’s easier for them to expand and get blood coursing through your veins. And for men, the better your blood flow, the stronger your erection.

But it’s not just men who benefit. University of Texas at Austin researchers had 35 women come in on two separate occasions to watch a brief travel film followed by an erotic video; before one session, the women cycled for 20 minutes. Using a device that measures blood flow to the vagina, the researchers found that women were 169% more aroused while watching the X-rated film after a sweat session.

It Boosts Testosterone

By David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding

Like most kids growing up in single-parent households, I had a lot of unstructured time in which to get into trouble. And my kind of trouble was junk food.

I didn’t pull fire alarm bells, I pulled Taco Bells. I didn’t run with the juvies, I ran with the Friendly’s. Burger King was my gang leader, and Pizza Hut was my hangout. But running with this dangerous crowd not only turned me into a fat kid, it turned me into a depressed kid as well.

Turns out my fast-food diet, with all those processed chemicals and hardly any nutrients, was throwing off my body’s feel-good chemistry. Drew Ramsey, M.D., co-author of The Happiness Diet, says that eating the wrong foods can add to our daily stress and make us feel anxious, lethargic, and downright grouchy.

What’s worse, a diet that deprives our brains of much-needed “happy” nutrients also makes us fat. When you’re stressed out, you’re more likely to reach for high-calorie junk foods that pack on the pounds, fueling a never-ending unhappiness cycle that goes like this: You eat bad, then you feel bad, so you eat worse, and then you feel—you guessed it—even worse.

But, Dr. Ramsey says, there’s an easy, drug-free way to boost your spirits and shrink your belly: brain food. Yep, feeding your brain with the right nutrients—found in the 11 simple foods below—is all you need to do to improve your mood, boost your energy, and keep your hands out of the chip bag for good.

And for more simple secrets that will keep you looking and feeling your best all year long,  follow me right here on Twitter or sign up for our FREE Eat This, Not That! daily newsletter. You’ll learn how to lose weight without ever dieting again.

Mood-Boosting Food #1: Mussels

Mussels are loaded with some of the highest naturally occurring levels of vitamin B12 on the planet—a nutrient that most of us are lacking. So what’s B12′s mood-saving trick? It helps insulate your brain cells, keeping your brain sharp as you age. Mussels also contain the trace nutrients zinc, iodine, and selenium, which keep your mood-regulating thyroid on track. Another benefit? Mussels are high in protein and low in fat and calories, making them one of the healthiest, most nutrient-dense seafood options you’ll find. (Tip: For mussels that are good for your body and the environment, look for farmed—not wild—options raised in the good ol’ USA.)

Mood-Boosting Food #2: Swiss Chard

This leafy green is packed with magnesium—a nutrient essential for the biochemical reactions in the brain that increase your energy levels. A 2009 study in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry also found that higher magnesium intake was associated with lower depression scores. And Swiss chard isn’t the only way to get your magnesium hit. Spinach, soybeans, and halibut also contain healthy doses of the energy-enhancing nutrient.

Mood-Boosting Food #3: Blue Potatoes

Blue potatoes aren’t a common supermarket find, but they’re worth looking out for on your next trip to the farmer’s market. Blue spuds get their color from anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that provide neuro-protective benefits like bolstering short-term memory and reducing mood-killing inflammation. Their skins are also loaded with iodine, an essential nutrient that helps regulate your thyroid. Other awesome anthocyanin-rich foods: berries, eggplant, and black beans.

Mood-Boosting Food #4: Grass-Fed Beef

Animals raised on grass pastures boast much higher levels of healthy conjugated linoleic acid (or CLA), a “happy” fat that combats stress hormones and blasts belly fat. Grass-fed beef also has a lower overall fat count and contains higher levels of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids compared to grain-feed beef. Another great grass-fed option: lamb. It’s packed with iron, a nutrient vital for a stable mood (the areas of the brain related to mood and memory contain the highest iron concentrations). For easy “happy fat” recipes, check out these 4 Simple Mood-Boosting Meals.

Mood-Boosting Food #5: Dark Chocolate

Turns out chocolate’s delicious taste isn’t the only reason it makes you feel so warm and fuzzy. The cocoa treat also gives you an instant boost in mood and concentration, and improves blood flow to your brain, helping you feel more vibrant and energized. But sorry, Snickers bars don’t count. Cocoa is the chocolate ingredient that does your body good, so pure dark chocolate is your best bet if you want the mood-boosting benefits minus the extra belly flab. And don’t overdo it: A recent study published in theJournal of Psychopharmacology found that a few ounces of dark chocolate a day is all you need to reap the benefits.

Mood-Boosting Food #6: Greek Yogurt

This dairy pick is packed with more calcium than you’ll find in milk or regular yogurt, which is good news for your mood. Calcium gives your body the “Go!” command, alerting your brain to release feel-good neurotransmitters. As a result, inadequate calcium intake can lead to anxiety, depression, irritability, impaired memory, and slow thinking. Greek yogurt also contains more protein than regular yogurt, making it a terrific stay-slim snack. Our Greek-yogurt pick: Fage Total 2%, which packs an impressive 10 grams of protein per serving.

Mood-Boosting Food #7: Asparagus

Your mom was on to something when she made you finish those green spears at the dinner table. This vegetable is one of the top plant-based sources of tryptophan, which serves as a basis for the creation of serotonin—one of the brain’s primary mood-regulating neurotransmitters. Asparagus also boasts high levels of folate, a nutrient that may fight depression (research shows that up to 50 percent of people with depression suffer from low folate levels). Some other terrific sources of tryptophan: turkey, tuna, and eggs.

Mood-Boosting Food #8: Honey

Honey, unlike table sugar, is packed with beneficial compounds like quercetin and kaempferol that reduce inflammation, keeping your brain healthy and warding off depression. Honey also has a less dramatic impact on your blood-sugar levels than regular sugar, so it won’t send your body into fat-storage mode the way the white stuff can. Try adding some honey to your afternoon tea or morning bowl of oatmeal, but don’t go overboard; the sweet nectar has 17 g of sugar and 64 calories per tablespoon, so too much honey can make you heavy, rather than happy.

Mood-Boosting Food #9: Cherry Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, an antioxidant that protects your brain and fights depression-causing inflammation. And because lycopene lives in tomato skins, you’ll get more of the stuff if you throw a handful of cherry tomatoes into your next salad instead of slicing up one full-size tomato. Or enjoy them on their own with a little olive oil, which has been shown to increase lycopene absorption. And try to go organic whenever possible: Researchers at the University of California-Davis found that organic tomatoes have higher lycopene levels.

MOOD-BOOSTING RESTAURANT MEALS: Not all delicious-sounding restaurant dishes will set you back in your quest for health and happiness. Find out which meals ended up on our list of 20 Shockingly Healthy Restaurant Foods.

Mood-Boosting Food #10: Eggs

Eggs are loaded with mood-promoting omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, B vitamins, and iodide, and because they’re packed with protein, they’ll also keep you full and energized long after you eat them. Need another reason to crack some shells in the morning? A 2008 study in the International Journal of Obesity found that people who ate two eggs for breakfast lost significantly more weight than those who ate a bagel breakfast. (Tip: Don’t buy into unregulated supermarket-egg claims like “omega-3 enriched” or “free-range.” If you’re looking for the most natural eggs, hit up a local farmer.)

Mood-Boosting Food #11: Coconut

Coconut is chock-full of medium-chain triglycerides, fats that keep your brain healthy and fuel better moods. And although coconut is commonly found in high-calorie desserts, you don’t have to (and shouldn’t) stuff your face with macaroons to get your fix. My suggestion: Try throwing some unsweetened coconut shavings in your oatmeal or yogurt, or toss some in your next healthy smoothie for a flavor boost that will keep you smiling and skinny.

For more foods that can improve your mood—and strengthen your heart, and fortify your bones, and boost your metabolism—check out these 40 Foods with Superpowers.

No matter how healthy we try to be, there will always be times — at the airport, on road trips — when we have no choice but to take advantage of the inexpensive convenience of fast food.

“The minute you opt for fast food, you’re vulnerable,” says Lisa Gosselin, Editor-in-Chief of Eating Well Magazine. “You’re generally hungry, you’re pressed for time and you walk into this environment where everything is trying to make you eat and spend more money.”

While the big chains have enhanced the quality of their menus, it’s hard to really know which items are really healthy. It’s only until the end of the year when the FDA will require all major food outlets to post caloric values on all menu items.

In the meantime, here are some fast-food tips and healthier picks at the top chains to help you get the healthiest bang for your buck.

Taco Bell: Order tacos “al fresco.” They’ll skip the cheese and sauce and give you a fresh tomato, onion and cilantro salsa on it, instead.

Burger King: The Whopper Junior has 360 calories compared to the 670 calories and 40 grams of fat of the Regular Whopper.

Wendy’s: Opt for the small chili at just 210 calories. The sour cream and chives potato is a healthier option than their burgers.

Subway: Split a sandwich with a friend. Or if you go for the 6-inch veggie delight sandwich — with just 230 calories – have it all to yourself. It also costs less than $4.

McDonald’s: Rather than a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, choose the smaller honey mustard-flavored Grilled Chicken Snack Wrap. It’s just 250 calories and 8 grams of fat. Pair that with the snack size Fruit and Walnut Salad, and a bottle of water and you have a meal for less than $4.

Here are some good tips to follow no matter where you stop:

Plan Ahead
It pays to be organized. “If you’re going on a two-and-a-half hour drive, you can guess where you’re going to want to stop,” says Gosselin. She suggests checking online menus of any of the fast-food chains along your drive. “Many have nutrition and calorie counters…to help you avoid last minute temptation.”

Be Cautious With Salad
One trap is assuming salad is the healthier — or cheapest — option. Toppings are where the calories and fat hide so instead, opt for flavorful ingredients like grilled chicken, but skip the dressing and croutons.

Choose Foods With “Staying Power”
Foods with the similar caloric values don’t necessarily keep you full for equal lengths of time. They may not be equally healthy, either. “If you’re choosing between an Egg McMuffin and oatmeal [at McDonalds], they may have around the same number of calories, but the oatmeal is going to give you a lot of healthy fiber and it’s going to be much lower in saturated fat,” says Gosselin.

Choosing foods high in protein will also keep you full longer. Experts say, go ahead and order that double burger once in a while. Just skip the cheese and mayo. Scooping out some of the bun can also shed another 200 calories from the sandwich.

Save With Kids’ Portions

Remember: Adults aren’t restricted from ordering Happy Meals. “One of my favorite strategies is to order from the children’s menu,” says Gosselin. “For instance McDonald’s Happy Meal now has apple slices, a smaller portion of fries and low fat milk. It’s an economical choice and you can give the toy to a kid.”

Watch For Sodium

Always watch out for high levels of sodium when eating out. “Some entrees have as much as 900mg to 100mg of sodium and that’s almost half as much as you should be eating all day,” says Gosselin.

By Farnoosh Torabi

What are your Money-Saving Fast Food strategies? Get in touch on Twitter @Farnoosh, using the hash tag #FinFit.

Fitness to Go: Anywhere, Anytime Exercise Classes Print Version E-Mail Article Reprints By Vivian Wagner E-Commerce Times 02/01/12 5:00 AM PT Traveling? Staying home with the kids? Unable to afford a gym membership? No time to schlep across town? No problem: Fitness websites and apps are available wherever — and whenever — you are. For some users, they replace gyms and yoga studios altogether, and for others, they are a helpful complement. Cross-Channel Marketing Guide Step-by-step guide: Taking A ‘Crawl, Walk, Run’ Approach To Cross-Channel Marketing. Download the white paper today! Fitness instructor and personal trainer Yu Hannah Kim has always believed that fitness should be available to anyone. Now, with the launch of her new site, Yufit, she’s making that dream a reality. Yufit offers streaming videos for everything from cardio kickboxing and core burn workouts to yoga and stretching. “I wanted to create something that people could use anywhere, anytime,” Kim told TechNewsWorld. “I wanted to give people something that was inexpensive and easy to use.” Classes on the site run 30 or 60 minutes, and members can follow particular classes and interact with the instructor and fellow members through a news feed. Kim says that the site is particularly useful for people who aren’t able to attend fitness classes at a gym. “When they go on travel or on vacations, they find it difficult to keep up with their workouts,” said Kim. “They can access Yufit anywhere they have an Internet connection. Some people use it instead of the gym, and others use it in addition to the gym.” Yoga for the Masses For people who want all yoga, all the time, My Yoga Online gives access, for a monthly or yearly membership fee, to more than 1,000 videos in many different styles, including anusara, kundalini, power and vinyasa — as well as pilates and meditation. One key to the site’s appeal, according to its CEO and cofounder Jason Jacobson, is the variety it offers. “This replaces DVDs,” Jacobson told TechNewsWorld. “Instead, it’s many videos in one place — and practice at home, while traveling, or at work.” For some users, it replaces yoga studios altogether, and for others it is a helpful complement to their studio practice. “When we first launched, we thought we’d be competing with yoga studios,” said Jacobson. “What we’ve found is that a lot of members look at this as a complement, a way to expand their horizons. This is a great way for people to expand into different styles of yoga, different teachers … without leaving their home.” In addition to streaming videos, the company has an iOS/Android app called “My Yoga,” which lets users access their favorite videos on the go. The site also features content such as articles about yoga and fitness, and it has a social component, allowing users to create profiles and interact with other users. “It’s making yoga available to more people and erasing the myth that yoga is a religious or isolated practice,” explained Jacobson. “It’s really making it open to the masses, especially people not in major cities who don’t have access to quality yoga programs.” Getting Challenged For those who want to set creative fitness goals for themselves, the recently launched Fleetly might be the way to go. The site and its companion iOS app allow users to participate in a variety of challenges, such as 100 workouts in 2012, 36,500 Push-ups in 2012, and a Winter 100 Miler. They track their progress, interact with friends, and use the service as motivation to achieve their fitness goals. “Our mission is to make Fleetly the digital hub for fitness,” explained Geoff Pitfield, Fleetly’s founder, who was inspired to create Fleetly while training for his first triathalon. “By this I mean Fleetly is where people come to not only discover and track their progress, but also interact with others about their fitness through challenges, talk and content.”

In order to achieve an average level of fitness, you have to significantly increase your level of exercise from what has become the norm. This can be achieved by running a few miles each week and then performing some moderate strength training 2 days per week, or attending a few bootcamp style classes with no specific structure, programming or progression.

However, if you want to actually train for a race or train to get in your best shape, you need to approach your “exercise program” with a well designed, comprehensive approach that gives you the opportunity to get consistently stronger, more powerful, and better conditioned.

If you want to get in the best shape of your life and feel 10 years younger, then you have to set goals and do the things it takes to get there. A colleague once said it best, “You can’t just get up, do your 30 minutes on the treadmill at the same level you’ve been doing for the past year, go to work, eat like crap, go home, watch tv, go to bed, get up and repeat. You need to adopt a lifestyle that will affect your ability to meet your goals.” I couldn’t agree more.

There’s nothing wrong with achieving an average level of fitness….more Americans need to do at least that much, but if you really want to change the way you feel and look, then frankly it’s going to require your adopting a lifestyle that will allow you to reach that goal. Planning what you eat, getting adequate sleep, and exercising with a purpose is the only way to train to get better at a sport or activity you want to improve in. It’s no different in achieving a healthy life.

When asked, “Why do you exercise, or why do you want a personal trainer or coach?” the goals people typically state are “I want to get in shape”, or “I want to lose weight”. These are not goals. Stating instead, “I want to bench press 100 lbs for 10 reps or I want to lose 30 lbs in 8 months is a goal. See the difference?

If you have a goal, I can get you there, if you are willing to do your part. We have a staff of trainers that are all equipped to get you there. Many of our trainers are training for something whether it is a fitness competition, a biathlon, a triathlon, or some other event. We understand training…not just exercising. Let us help you train for your next event (life), and let us help you set and reach your next goal.

Cream-Filled Strawberries

Ingredients:

18 large fresh strawberries
1 cup cold fat free milk
1 (1 ounce) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups reduced-fat whipped topping
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

1.Remove stems from strawberries; cut a deep X in the top of each berry. Spread berries apart. In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Fold in whipping topping and almond extract. Pipe or spoon about 5 teaspoons into each berry. Chill until serving.