Today I’ve got something for the men. AOL Health has a piece on the best exercise for even better sex.  C’mon guys, grab your weights, and lets get busy.

*Push-ups - Men need good upper body strength to support themselves in the missionary position.  Push-ups build muscles and help increase endurance. They don’t mention it, but the yoga position known as The Plank would also help here. Lean forward with forearms along the floor, hands in fists, feet bent down, toes on floor. Lift mid-section off the floor and support your weight on forearms and toes. Try to keep your body in a straight line, butt tucked in, not poking out. Hold for as long as you can, work up to 1 minute at time. Works your arms and core.

*Pelvic Tilts - A long time favorite of women, pelvic tilts help to increase control in pelvis region. A tilted pelvis helps a man to position himself for better friction for the woman in the cowgirl position. Lay on your back, bend knees, feet on floor, lift butt up off the floor, toward the ceiling, hold for 2 seconds, return to floor. You are trying to lift everything, except your feet and shoulders off the floor.

*First 1/2 of a Clean Lift - To support your lady in a standing position, you need leg and upper body strength. The first half of a Clean Lift works well here. Put a barbell or dumbbells in front of you. Bend your knees, pick up weight(s) with hands facing opposite directions, shoulder width apart. Straighten up, keeping back and head straight. Pause, lower the weights back down. Do 3 sets of 15.

*Shrug - The wheelbarrow requires strong shoulders and back. A shrug move helps to strengthen this area. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Stand straight, lift shoulders only, as high as possible, keep arms straight, pause, then lower. Do 3 sets of 8-12.

*Cardio- Any sort of cardio increases endurance and gentlemen, I’m sure it’s no surprise to learn that the ladies appreciate it when you are able to take your time.

Image credit: All Posters.com

For getting (and staying) in shape there is no better exercise than walking. It’s easy on the joints, you don’t need special equipment, and you can do it anywhere. You can even do it in the comfort of your home with some of the walking DVDs that are on the market. (Like the one we’re giving away here at Blisstree.)

To show you just how easy it is to walk for your health, the American Heart Association has started a National Start! Walking Day. The day is April 8th, and you are encouraged to participate!

The movement has a website with loads of great information on getting your coworkers involved as well. Wouldn’t it be great to go for a walk at lunch instead of sit and complain about your job? You don’t need a lot of time to do this, either. The site says that ” just 10 minutes three times a day to walk will help you live longer. In fact, studies show that just one hour of vigorous exercise will increase your life expectancy by two hours.”

Why not commit to a healthier lifestyle and join others who want to do the same? Mark your calendar for April 8th, and encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Image from www.sxc.hu.

This study earns my new Blisstree Health Pat on the Back award:

If someone told you to go for a moderately intense walk, what would that mean to you? If you ask your coworkers or friends, you’d likely get differing answers too. It’s fine for healthcare professionals to offer advice, but we need to be more specific and detailed with this advice, don’t we?

Maybe now, we’re getting somewhere though. According to a press release issued by Elsevier Health Sciences, “Researchers have determined that a rate of at least 100 steps per minute achieves moderate intensity activity. Therefore a simple pedometer-based recommendation of 3000 steps in 30 minutes can get people started on a meaningful exercise program.”

That’s a fairly brisk walk, I think - but it is do-able.

The release also says:

Lead investigator Simon J. Marshall, PhD, School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, states, “We believe that these data support a general recommendation of walking at more than 100 steps per minute on level terrain to meet the minimum of the moderate-intensity guideline. Because health benefits can be achieved with bouts of exercise lasting at least 10 minutes, a useful starting point is to try and accumulate 1000 steps in 10 minutes, before building up to 3000 steps in 30 minutes. Individuals can monitor their progress using a simple pedometer and a wristwatch. The use of a single and simple pedometer-based guideline that is easy both to remember and measure may be more effective in a health communication strategy than the promotion of multiple guidelines and, therefore, messages.”

I often make fun of some studies and how useless they are to us, but this is a good one that actually gives us something to work with. Bravo to the researchers who worked on this study. I offer you the Blisstree Health Pat on the Back award.

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Image: morguefile.com

How do you stay fit?

For me, I love to walk.  Since I live in a colder climate, I like having DVDs around so I can keep up my exercise routine without having to go outside.  The DVDs I use most frequently are by Leslie Sansone.

Leslie has generously donated a few DVDs to us for giveaway items, and I have one for you to win today!  It’s the Walk Slim 4 Fast Miles DVD.  That’s right, four miles of indoor walking for your exercise pleasure!

Here’s a sneak peak of the DVD:

Doesn’t that look like fun?  I actually have this DVD so I can tell you it is.

Would you like to win the Walk Slim DVD?  Just leave a comment on this post by Sunday, March 29th.  I’ll choose a winner at random and announce the lucky guy or gal the next day.  Good luck!

As my regular readers have figured out by now, I heart Leslie Sansone!   Her walking DVDs have made a real difference in my life.

A few months ago she sent some DVDs my way to give to all the loyal readers we have at b5. Since we’re starting our new site called Blisstree, I thought: What better way to celebrate than with a giveaway?

I have a copy of Leslie Sansone’s Teen Walk DVD to give to one lucky reader. In my teen years, we biked and walked everywhere. I knew very few kids that were heavy or out of shape. But times are different now. Here’s a sneak peek into the DVD:

Since our new site is called “Blisstree,” I’d like to hear about the things that give you bliss. There are no right or wrong answers, of course, so include your blissful choice along with your comment below. Your comment will serve at your entry into the giveaway. Do this by Thursday, March 26th. I’ll choose a winner at random and announce the lucky guy or gal the next day.

There are 24 hours in a day.

I can spend 1 of them exercising.

(And if I haven’t been doing it at 6 am when its pitch black and the mythical rapist is the only one out at the track - well, during The View or Oprah on my garage sale eliptical is still an hour of exercise. And if I ate 4 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies last week, oh well - I still got all those exercise endorphans to my brain!)

How are your New Year’s Resolutions going?
Do you feel like a failure in February?
Have you doubted your sanity or wondered why this or that was so dang important to you?
Or are you going strong? Having a few successes and building steam?
I decided I was going to learn to run and lose 35 pounds and count calories.
Feb. 12 - How am I doing?
Well, I’m on track - basically.
The running at 6 am out at the track was a great idea. But, the pitch darkness out at the track next to the woods and the black man wearing black clothes driving the run-down pickup being the only other person out there. Well, it drove me indoors.
I tried to convince myself that he’s most likely NOT a rapist, he just represents every single rape myth ever told. Still. Waiting for mid-summer sunlight at 6 am to tackle that part of the goal.
I thanked God that I bought an elliptical machine for $25 a few months ago.
It’s not running at the park. But, it’s exercise. And since its in my house I can watch podcasts, Oprah reruns, The View.
I still like the idea of 6 am - because I know it will get done and because then I can deal with my high maintenance hair once and for all at the beginning of the day. But, if its not at 6 am its during Oprah, because that’s just fitting.
Calorie counting. Sucks. Still hate it. Time consuming putrid sucker of time. But, useful for a while so you really understand what’s in food.
Loving the Eat This, Not That! Book. I need it to be that easy. I need to not have to spend a lot of time thinking about calories and ingredients.
Don’t feel like a failure.
February should be the month you adjust your expectations.
Which part is working? Which part is not working? How can I make it work instead?
Oh, and yes, I lost 6 pounds. Which is on track for my goal of losing 36 pounds for the year.
My weight loss theory is this: Slow weight loss is permanent weight loss. Make only the changes you can live with for the rest of your life.

At RealAge.com you log on and take a test about your exercise, eating habits, vitamins and supplements, social habits, diseases or illnesses and vices like smoking and drinking.

I updated my Real Age this week and I’ve gotten SEVEN YEARS YOUNGER as a result of my lifestyle changes in the last two years. Since last year I’ve reduced my Real Age by nearly THREE years.

Chronologically I am 35.4 years old, yet my Real Age is only 32.5.

When I began my dramatic lifestyle change two years ago, I took the Real Age test. I was 33 at the time, but because of my lazy-ass lifestyle, my pack a day smoking habit for 20 years, and the demon of anxiety and depression that controlled my life, not to mention living in a horrendous environment that made me sick with allergies all the time - I was 38.5 years.

Screw That.

In 2009 I’m upping the ante again. I never want to make any changes I can’t consistently do for the rest of my life. Last year I maintained my weight at 166. Being able to maintain for one year has given me more confidence because I know I made a true lifestyle change that will last. Now, I’m ready to step it up and make more - as I wrote last week in The Secret to Weighty Resolutions.

I started on Christmas Day so it’s been 14 days. I’ve been dedicated to running before the family starts their day. And I’m doing it. Few logistical issues I’m working out, but overall I’m loving it.

It’s dark when I head out to the 1 mile track at the park, so I get to see the sunrise during my run. Awesome. That scary looking guy - the only other person out there at that hour - was sent by God to protect me. He’s getting in his morning run in, the same as I am.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I follow my run with an hour of yoga. It’s still the kindest thing I do for myself.

I’ve lost 2 pounds. I’m logging my calories and educating myself about what I’m eating. In turn, I’m making better choices based on actual facts and not just my own theories about how many calories might be or probably are in foods I eat. It’s impossible to eat consciously if you don’t even know what’s in your food.

Go take the Real Age test and come back and tell me how old you really are. Are you happy with the results? What are you going to do about it?

Oh, and check out Weighting Line if you started the year with a weight loss goal in mind.

Images Source: Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me

Alli is the best-selling “weight-loss miracle pill” right now.

Of course, the side effect is that you crap your pants.

Come on Ladies. Is being a few pounds thinner worth crapping your pants?

If it’s worth that, then why is it not worth walking a mile or two?

Another study reports that women would rather take 10 years off their lives rather than gaining 50 pounds.

Well, if you gain 50 pounds you kind of DO take 10 years off your life, don’t you? And if you are willing to sacrifice 10 years of time, then why not give up 1 hour a day to yourself by exercising?

I’m just saying - hello, there is no magic pill. If there were, I believe Oprah would have found it and told us all about it. If there is one thing in life you can count on, it’s probably that.

Stop crapping your pants, stop taking pills and decide you’re worth the effort of a healthy diet and exercise.

You’ll not only be thinner, you’ll be happier and less depressed. That’s a fact you can count on.