FIT TIP #1: WARM UP TO WORK OUT

Suppose you were told that you only had to add an extra five to 10 minutes to each of your workouts in order to prevent injury and lessen fatigue. Would you do it?

Most people would say yes. Then they might be surprised to learn that they already know about those few minutes called a warm-up. If done correctly, a pre-exercise warm-up can have a multitude of beneficial effects on a person's workout and, consequently, their overall health.

What happens in your body?

When you begin to exercise, your cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular systems and metabolic energy pathways are stimulated. Muscles contract and, to meet their increasing demands for oxygen, your heart rate, blood flow, cardiac output and breathing rate increase. Blood moves faster through your arteries and veins, and is gradually routed to working muscles.

FIT TIP #2: EXERCISE CAN HELP CONTROL STRESS

People who exercise regularly will tell you they feel better. Some will say it's because chemicals called neurotransmitters, produced in the brain, are stimulated during exercise. Since it's believed that neurotransmitters mediate our moods and emotions, they can make us feel better and less stressed.

While there's no scientific evidence to conclusively support the neurotransmitter theory, there is plenty to show that exercise provides stress-relieving benefits.

Four ways exercise controls stress

1. Exercise can help you feel less anxious. Exercise is being prescribed in clinical settings to help treat nervous tension. Following a session of exercise, clinicians have measured a decrease in electrical activity of tensed muscles. People have been less jittery and hyperactive after an exercise session.

2. Exercise can relax you. One exercise session generates 90 to 120 minutes of relaxation response. Some people call this post-exercise euphoria or endorphin response. We now know that many neurotransmitters, not just endorphins, are involved. The important thing though is not what they're called, but what they do: They improve your mood and leave you relaxed.

3. Exercise can make you feel better about yourself. Think about those times when you've been physically active. Haven't you felt better about yourself? That feeling of self-worth contributes to stress relief.

FIT TIP #3: FLEXIBLE BENEFITS

We take part in aerobic activity to improve our cardiovascular endurance and burn fat. We weight-train to maintain lean muscle tissue and build strength. Those are the two most important elements of a fitness program, right?

Actually, there are three important elements. Often neglected is flexibility training. That neglect is regrettable, because flexibility training:

FIT TIP #4: BATTLING BOREDOM

Are you finding it difficult to get out of bed in the morning for your daily walk and making up excuses to skip the gym on the way home? Even the most dedicated exercisers occasionally get bored with their routine. Waning motivation, cutting workouts short and not having your old enthusiasm all are signs of a stale exercise regimen.

Quick fix

First, evaluate your current routine to determine what really bores you. A new variation on your favorite activity? such as cardio-funk or kickboxing instead of step aerobics, or hoisting free weights instead of working on machines? may be enough to reinvigorate a stale routine.

FIT TIP #5: EAT WELL TO STAY MOTIVATED AND ENERGIZED

Do you have trouble exercising at noon or after work even though you're truly committed to exercise and it's the only time you have to work out?

Do you feel so exhausted that you just can't face the gym?

Your diet - rather than simple sloth - may be the problem.

If you tend to skip meals in an attempt to save calories, you may be robbing yourself of important fuel for your workout. While skipping meals may temporarily make your stomach feel flatter, doing so can also leave you feeling tired, irritable and unfocused.

Then you'll be tempted to forego your noontime workout, or go home, eat and stretch out on the couch in front of the TV after work.