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Getting fit the P90X way means working out 6-7 days per week, with each workout lasting about 1-1½ hours. And the workouts are so rigorous that you're asked to take a fitness test before ordering the P90X system, to see whether you're up to the challenge.

Each workout is presented in a circuit format, in which you move from exercise to exercise with little rest in between, thus keeping your heart rate up. The strengthening DVDs target certain parts of the body each day: chest and back; then shoulders and arms; legs and back; chest, shoulders, and triceps; and back and biceps. Other DVDs focus on plyometrics (explosive "power" movements), Kenpo kickboxing, cardio fitness, abs/core, yoga, and stretching. 

The P90X system is based on the concept of "muscle confusion," which means varying the workout schedule and introducing new moves so the body never fully adapts. This is similar to the periodization techniques athletes use to get their bodies in top condition.  It also has a basis in science; research suggests that workout programs that offer variation bring greater benefits than those that do not.    

"Renewed interest in personal training" is the number-one fitness trend for 2011 by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and this is driven by baby boomers' interest in health and an anticipated economic upswing, he said.

How personal training will change:   1. Client  expectations. Many clients will want to improve function to stay independent as long as possible, but a subgroup will seek new activities or assistance in training for sports-specific competitions. Trainers will need to guide both types of clients.

2. Demand for knowledgeable trainers. Personal trainers will need to become more knowledgeable in two key areas: the motivations and aspirations of older adults, and the health conditions that can affect a client’s ability to work out, Milner said. They also need to learn how to collaborate with other healthcare providers.   3. More comprehensive continuing education courses. Trainers will need to know learn not just about chronic health conditions and rehabilitation, but also learn about social and psychological perspectives, emotional issues, and lifestyle choices that affect their older-adult clients. They will need to be coaches as well as flexible program designers who can work with their clients in multiple settings besides the gym.   

"Even if you're aerobically fit, it helps to be limber, too, so your body can easily adapt to physical stressors,"

Although countless studies have shown how beneficial exercise is for your body and mind (it may do everything from reducing the risk of some cancers to helping improve memory), less attention has been paid to flexibility.

"Flexibility is the third pillar of fitness, next to cardiovascular conditioning and strength training

The payoff for investing in public parks and recreation sites may be healthier, more physically fit residents and a less strained health care system, according to Penn State researchers. Investments in parks and recreational services have a dramatic effect on health and fitness

spending an extra $10 per person on park and recreational facilities provided more vigorous exercise for girls and better strength-building for both sexes

there was an increase of 17 more minutes of physical activity for each park within a half mile of a home

That's the idea behind this year's "Be Healthy Delaware: Get Up & Move!" fitness challenge, presented by the Delaware Center for Health Promotion and The News Journal. The goal is for participants to log 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week for 10 weeks. Collectively, the goal is 5 million minutes in motion.All types of activities will be considered -- and encouraged -- including walking, running, biking, swimming, dancing, basketball, tennis, hiking, indoor rock climbing, even mowing the lawn. The key is to find activities that will get you moving."We're trying to get away from that word 'exercise' because it connotes some negative thoughts -- that you have to be athletic, super fit, young," said Marianne Carter, a registered dietitian and director of the Delaware Center for Health Promotion at Delaware State University in Dover. "People do have set ways of thinking when they hear the word 'exercise,' so using the term 'movement' tends to be friendlier."

Canada’s guidelines on sedentary activity (an oxymoron to be sure) released last week say children should spend no more than two hours a day in front of a TV, videogame or computer screen.

Only 7 per cent of children meet Canada’s physical activity guidelines. (Adults don’t fare much better at 15 per cent.)

Eating some kinds of berries can help your brain stay healthy by helping to clean out toxic material linked to mental decline, including age-related memory loss, a new study shows.

Experts have long known that as the body ages it suffers “oxidative damage” and is less likely to be able to protect itself against cancer, heart disease and age-related mental decline.

But Poulose and his colleague found that strawberries, blueberries and acai berries activate brain cells called microglia. These cells, according to the ACS, act as the brain’s “housekeeper.” In a process called autophagy, they clean out “biochemical debris that would otherwise interfere with brain function.”

Exercises that look like pilates or yoga routines are in. And the traditional bane of the new private, the long run, has been downgraded. This is the Army’s new physical-training program, which has been rolled out this year at its five basic training posts that handle 145,000 recruits a year. Nearly a decade in the making, its official goal is to reduce injuries and better prepare soldiers for the rigors of combat in rough terrain like Afghanistan.

“What we were finding was that the soldiers we’re getting in today’s Army are not in as good shape as they used to be,” said Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who oversees basic training for the Army. “This is not just an Army issue. This is a national issue.”

“Between 1995 and 2008, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physicals each year because they were overweight rose nearly 70 percent,”

analyzed data on more than 8,600 adults aged 20 or older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 1988 and 1994.

common allergies and heart disease frequently paired up

there was a 2.6-fold increased risk of heart disease with wheezing and a 40 percent increased risk with rhinoconjunctivitis, compared to no allergies. The association was mainly seen in women younger than age of 50.

According to a recent study, regular exercise improves the ability of inactive, overweight children to do better in math. Researchers at Georgia Health Sciences University studied 171 sedentary and overweight 7- to 11-year-olds in an effort to identify what happens to children's brains with regular, vigorous exercise.

After allowing the kids to engage in fun, playful exercises, such as running games, hula hooping and jump roping, which raised their heart rates to 79 percent of their maximum, scientists used the Cognitive Assessment System and Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement III, tests that measure abilities such as planning and academic skills, to identify brain activity before and after the bouts of physical activity. Students showed an increase in complex thinking and decision making -- the areas of the brain that are used in math. In fact, the more the children exercised, the more their brains responded. Intelligence scores increased an average 3.8 points in those exercising 40 minutes per day for three months. Those who exercised just 20 minutes a day also benefited, just in a smaller dose. Researchers noted that the improved math skills were "remarkable," since no math lessons were given as part of the study. This suggests longer, more sustained periods of vigorous physical activity throughout the entire school year could produce even higher results. And researchers believe all children -- not just those who are overweight -- could benefit with improved reasoning and complex thinking skills.

In a country where one-third of our children are overweight, it is increasingly important to motivate schools and parents to encourage daily physical activity. The Center for Disease Control recommends at least 60 minutes of exercise a day for children, yet there is no federal mandate for minimum standards in schools. Each state is responsible for setting their own requirements, and unfortunately, with increasing budget cuts, not all schools comply or engage the children in quality-rich physical education.

"Moderate intensity aerobic exercise improves mood immediately and those improvements can last up to 12 hours," concludes study

The mood of the exercisers was better than that of the sedentary group immediately after the workout and for up to 12 hours later. "This goes a long way to show that even moderate aerobic exercise has the potential to mitigate the daily stress that results in your mood being disturbed," he says. Men and women seemed to benefit equally, and the fitness level of the participant did not seem to matter

“Slowing down in the heat could be a subconscious regulation to protect us from damage, such as heat stroke,”

In other words, you don’t slow down because your body has reached some critical temperature. Instead, your brain slows you down to prevent you from ever reaching that critical temperature. It’s a subtle difference – but as the cyclists in the study discovered, it means that our physical “limits” are more negotiable than previously thought.

“To obtain a substantial heat adaptation, core temperature must be elevated and high sweat rates need to occur,” Dr. Jay explains. “The best way to do this is to combine exercise with heat exposure.”The study volunteers had averaged just 18 minutes a day of “moderate” or “intense” physical activity outdoors. In contrast, researchers have found that proper acclimatization takes 45 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise in the heat, either for seven to 10 consecutive days, or four to five times a week for two to three weeks.