Plyometrics seem to be becoming all the rage when it comes to really kicking your fitness to the next level.  If you’ve done any of the shorter, more intense workout DVD’s, then you’ve probably noticed that they include some form of plyometric exercise.  Why? Because these are the best way to really blast away the calories and get the heart pumping fast. They’re hard, plain and simple, because they are short, focused bursts of energy that require a lot of muscle power.

I’m very much undecided on this question, whether you should continue to work out with intensity during those periods when you are really trying to lose weight.  I know that you should always at least moderately exercise when losing weight, but I question whether doing those back breaking, high intensity cardio workouts when you are on a serious calorie cutting phase of losing weight is a good idea.  Here’s why.

If you read the news at all, you’ve seen the unfortunate and terribly tragic news about two deaths that resulted from and extended stay in a sweat lodge, which is a sauna-like contraption that is usually hand built.  This particular one was in the Sedona, Arizona area, and was part of a several day long retreat that was designed to refocus, rejuvenate and re-energize people, make them more aware of their goals, and help them to cleanse their souls, and their bodies.

Some people use the excuse that they don’t exercise because they don’t like how it increases their appetite.  Well, that’s a shame, because even though exercising does tend to increase your appetite somewhat, there are so many other numerous health benefits that you are missing out on by skipping the exercise that you might as well cash in some of the benefits it offers for longevity, depression and anxiety relief, and the multiple health benefits it offers for so many other aspects and facets of a happy, healthy existence.

There are little ways that you can keep your metabolism burning on high all day. One of them is frequently getting up and doing short bursts of activity, like jumping jacks or a quick sprint around the house for example.

You can also eat small amounts of food throughout the day, which helps keep the metabolism from stalling and going into hibernation.  Instead, this keeps the metabolism going all day long, and makes it so that you are constantly burning off calories all day since your body always has something that it is working on and something that is fueling it. Of course, this doesn’t mean to just eat junk all day long, oh no, far from it.

Have you ever worked out, where your feet are hitting a hard surface, over and over again, like on a treadmill, or running outdoors, or some other relatively high impact aerobic activity, in bad shoes?  I have, and let me tell you, I was pretty much laid up, unable to work out much less do any vigorous activity at all for a week because I had the shin splints really bad.  The bottom line is that our feet and lower legs are very sensitive, and when they don’t have the proper cushion and support, we tend to get injured and sore much more easily.

If you know anything about the WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment network, then you have heard of the WWE “Diva” Trish Stratus.  She’s the buxom blonde babe who fought her way to the top over and over again, winning “championships” several times over (although we all know it’s fixed, still she was the biggest face on WWE since China pretty much), and left the WWE a few years ago. I’ve actually seen some matches since my fiance watches the stuff from time to time, and she was one of the more talented and entertaining girls to watch in the ring because she knew what she was doing, whereas some of these girls screw up their moves constantly or just look sloppy out there.

There are a lot of things that regular exercise helps me with, but one of them, which is clearly related to it’s ability to dissipate anxiety and stress, is the ability to help me to breathe much easier and not be short of breath of breathing irregularly. I actually have asthma, and so my breathing is really hinged on my levels of anxiety.  For example, if I feel really stressed out or have a lot of anxiety about an upcoming event, I tend to feel like I have large rubber bands around my lungs. It feels like I can’t properly inflate and deflate my lungs.  It’s like I can’t get a normal breathing rhythm going or something.

Mix kickboxing and yoga, and what do you get? KOGA! Yep, it’s yet another crazy mix of two fairly popular exercise regimens that’s hit the scene as a great cardio and stretching workout. You’ve got kickboxing on one hand, that’s a pretty intense, cardio intense workout that leaves most people breathless, and let’s face it, just about ready to black out at the end (I’m thinking of Tae Bo, which inevitably leaves me feeling like I’m gonna die at the end, it’s so taxing, but great exercise of course).

We all want those flat, toned looking abdominal muscles that signify health and fitness at the sight of them, but not all of us are able to achieve that level of fitness in the ab area because of our genetics or because of other factors, like having had children or c sections or other surgeries that may affect the flatness of your abdominal area. However, there are exercises that help the abs shape up more than your regular, average run of the mill crunches.