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What does it mean to be fit? Fitness is the ability to do your daily tasks with energy and without getting tired quickly, and still have enough in reserve for emergencies, play and leisure. For men, as for everyone, overall fitness is a good goal, and nobody is too young or too old to improve. This post covers the three parts of a balanced plan, plus tips to keep you safe.

What are the three parts of fitness?

A good plan brings together cardiovascular exercise, strength training and healthy eating. Flexibility and balance work are useful additions.

Cardio. Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, jogging, cycling and swimming, trains your heart and lungs and works the large muscle groups. If you can only do one kind of exercise, make it this one, because it does the most for your blood pressure, heart and cholesterol levels. Adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, according to the CDC.

Strength. Muscle mass and strength tend to peak at around 30 to 35 years of age, and then decline slowly, according to the National Institute on Aging. The old saying “use it or lose it” applies, and strength training is the best way to slow the loss. Do muscle-strengthening exercises on at least two days a week, covering your legs, hips, back, chest, shoulders and arms. Our post on full-body workouts shows how.

Food. Your diet should support your training. Build meals around vegetables, fruit, whole grains and beans, and include protein, such as lentils, tofu, eggs, dairy, fish or lean meat. Eat regular meals with a variety of foods so that you get all the nutrients you need, and keep an eye on portion sizes. Our posts on health and fitness and lifetime fitness have more ideas.

How can you train safely?

Drink water throughout the day, especially when you work out.

Learn the right technique, whether you are lifting weights or doing cardio. A qualified trainer can show you the basics, and a few sessions are worth the cost.

Use a spotter. When you lift heavy weights, especially on a bench press or squat, have someone nearby who can help if you get stuck.

Challenge your muscles, but keep it safe. The last repetition of a set should be hard, but your form should not fall apart.

Warm up before and cool down after your workout, and stretch when your muscles are warm.

Check your equipment before you use it. Look at benches, cables, bars, collars and machines for damage.

Do not overdo it. More is not always better. Overtraining causes fatigue, sore joints and a poorer performance. Take rest days, and sleep well.

Flexibility and balance matter too. Gentle stretching after your workouts and simple balance exercises, such as standing on one leg while you brush your teeth, help you move freely and lower the chance of falls and strains as you get older.

How do you get started?

Pick two or three days for strength work and add walking or another cardio activity on most other days. If you have a health condition, have not exercised for a long time, or are over 40, check with your doctor first. Increase the effort gradually, and aim for habits you can keep up for years, not weeks. Fitness is not a look but an ability, and it is something you can keep improving at any age.

The recipe for dry skin care

Dry skin should not be ignored. Dry skin can make the top layer of skin crack and gives it a rough, flaky appearance. Common causes of dry skin include a dry climate, hormonal changes, too much exfoliation and treatment for other skin disorders. Dryness can also simply be the nature of a person’s skin. Whatever the cause, dry skin care is very important (but not very difficult).

Choosing a moisturiser

Dry skin care starts with moisturisers, the most important tool against dry skin. Moisturisers generally fall into 2 categories based on the way they care for dry skin.

The first category includes moisturisers that care for dry skin by sealing moisture into the skin, e.g. Vaseline. These moisturisers are relatively inexpensive and easily available (even at grocery shops).

The second category includes moisturisers that work by drawing moisture from the environment and supplying it to the skin. This is a very effective method of dry skin care in humid conditions. Moisturisers that work this way are called humectants. For dry skin care, a non-greasy moisturiser is often more pleasant to use, and humectants fall into this category. Common humectant ingredients include propylene glycol, urea, glycerine and hyaluronic acid.

Daily dry skin care habits

Dry skin care is not just about using moisturisers but also about using them properly. The first step is to cleanse the skin before applying moisturiser. You can make your dry skin care even more effective by applying the moisturiser while the skin is still damp (after cleansing). Also, use soap-free products (especially on your face, neck and arms). Exfoliation helps dry skin by removing dead skin cells, but do not exfoliate too hard. Your dry skin care routine should also include sun protection. Avoid too much direct sun (simply by using an umbrella or hat) and apply a good sunscreen before going out. Many moisturisers provide sun protection too.

There are also natural products for dry skin care, i.e. skin care products that care for dry skin without synthetic chemicals. These products supply lipids to the skin, which helps it hold on to moisture. Another important point is the temperature of the water you use for showering or washing your face. Use warm water; water that is too hot can make dryness worse.

Dry skin care is also about being gentle with your skin. Avoid harsh detergents and alcohol-based cleansers. Also, after washing your face, do not rub it with a towel; just pat gently to soak up the water.

On the whole, dry skin care is easy for anyone who takes it seriously.

It is natural to want results quickly, and the weight-loss market knows it. Shelves and ads are filled with products that promise a slimmer body in days with little effort. Here is why fast fixes rarely last, and how you can tell which claims to ignore.

Why does fast weight loss often come back?

Crash diets and very strict low-carbohydrate or low-calorie plans can cause a quick drop on the scale in the first week or two, but much of it is water, not fat. The water returns as soon as you eat normally again. People also cannot stay on such strict plans forever, so they go back to old eating habits and regain the weight. This is why slower, steadier changes tend to last longer. For more on this pattern, see our post on five warning signs of a fad diet.

How fast is safe?

The CDC says that people who lose weight gradually, about one to two pounds a week, are more likely to keep it off. The NIDDK adds that losing weight very quickly increases the chance of forming gallstones, and that the usual first goal is 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight in six months. Anyone who has a medical condition or wants to lose a lot of weight should talk to their doctor about a plan. If you want quicker progress that is still safe, our article on six tips for faster, safer progress explains how.

Do slimming soaps work?

Some soaps and creams claim to melt body fat through the skin, often with herbs or seaweed in the ingredients. I could not find any research that shows these products reduce body fat. They may cleanse or soften your skin, and that is fine, but fat does not wash away in the shower. The Federal Trade Commission is blunter: in its 2014 “Gut Check” guide for media it says that weight loss is an internal metabolic process, and that nothing you wear or apply to the skin can cause substantial weight loss.

What about magnetic weight-loss earrings?

Magnetic earrings and similar devices claim to curb hunger and speed up metabolism by balancing energy in the body. As with the soaps, I found no study in a medical journal that shows they work, and the FTC’s “Gut Check” guide names earrings, patches, creams, wraps and body belts among the products whose weight-loss claims are false. Wearing one is unlikely to hurt you, but it is probably not a wise way to spend your money. Fashion jewelry is fine as jewelry.

How can you spot a weight-loss scam?

Be careful about promises that sound too good. The NIDDK advises staying away from programs that promise to help you lose weight without diet or exercise, to let you eat as much as you want of your favorite foods, to take off 30 pounds in 30 days, or to lose weight in a specific part of your body. The Federal Trade Commission lists seven claims that experts say cannot be true, including that a product causes weight loss without diet or exercise, blocks the absorption of fat or calories, causes permanent weight loss after you stop using it, or works for every user. Before-and-after photos and personal endorsements can be staged, so treat them with caution. See our post on diet pills for more.

The reliable route is not exciting: smaller portions, more vegetables and fiber, regular exercise and enough sleep, done for months, not days. If you want a plan to follow, start with healthy weight loss in eight habits.

After a day at the computer, the sides of your body can feel short and stiff. The side-angled stretch, known in Sanskrit as Utthita Parsvakonasana or extended side angle pose, is a standing yoga posture that lengthens the whole side of the body, from the back foot to the fingertips. This guide explains how to do it step by step, how to make it easier, and what it can and cannot do for you.

How do you do the side-angled stretch?

These instructions follow the standard form of the pose. Take your time and breathe normally throughout. Step 1: stand tall and step your feet wide apart, about three to four feet. Raise your arms to shoulder height with the palms down. Step 2: turn your right foot out to the right by 90 degrees and turn your left foot in slightly. Step 3: exhale and bend your right knee until your thigh is about parallel to the floor, with the knee directly above the ankle and not past it. Keep the left leg straight and press through the outer edge of the left foot. Step 4: lower your right forearm onto your right thigh, or place the right hand on your shin, on a block or on the floor outside your foot. Step 5: reach your left arm up and over your ear so that you form one long line from your left heel to your left hand. Hold for about five slow breaths, then press into your feet to come up and repeat on the other side. If you like, stand with your back near a wall to keep your hips and chest facing the same direction.

How can you make it easier?

Rest your forearm on your thigh instead of reaching to the floor, shorten your stance, or keep the top hand on your hip. Do not worry about how low you go. A pose you can hold comfortably while breathing is worth more than one that strains you. If your balance is not steady, practice next to a wall or a sturdy chair.

What does it do for you?

Stretching keeps muscles flexible, and Harvard Health Publishing says that we need that flexibility to keep a range of motion in our joints. Without it, muscles shorten and become tight, which can make you prone to joint pain and strains. Sitting in a chair all day, for example, tightens the hamstrings. The side-angled stretch works the legs, hips and the muscles along the side of the trunk. The older version of this article claimed that it tones every muscle, cures spondylosis and improves digestion. There is no good evidence for those claims, so I have left them out. Read more in Harvard’s article on the importance of stretching.

How can you stretch safely?

Harvard gives simple rules. Warm up first with five to ten minutes of light activity such as a quick walk, because stretching cold muscles can hurt them. Hold a stretch for about 30 seconds and do not bounce. You should feel tension but not pain, and if you feel pain, stop. Aim to stretch daily, or at least three or four times a week. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health adds that yoga is generally safe when done properly, that injuries are most often sprains and strains, and that the knee and lower leg are the parts most often hurt. People with a knee or hip injury, lumbar spine disease, balance problems, severe high blood pressure or glaucoma may need to change or avoid some poses, so check with your doctor and a qualified instructor.

What should you try next?

The side-angled stretch is a close relative of the triangle pose, so the two make a good pair. For more postures you can learn at home, see our guide to basic yoga postures and the introduction to yoga postures and styles. If you are new to the practice, what yoga is explains the basics.

Book: Yoga for Computer Users by Sandy Blaine
View this book on Amazon (affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you)

The old version of this post was a guide to finding discount vitamins: watch for sales at your local nutrition store, check the Sunday paper for coupons, and buy in bulk. Some of that is practical, but the post claimed that buying in bulk is “always the best way,” which is not true, and it said nothing about quality or safety. Here is a more balanced guide to saving money without cutting corners.

Do you need to buy vitamins at all?

Possibly not, and that is the cheapest answer. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) says that supplements cannot take the place of the variety of foods that are important to a healthy eating routine, and some people do not need any. Before you spend money, check whether you have a reason: a doctor’s advice, a known deficiency, pregnancy or a restricted diet. Our post on vitamins and your health: do you need a supplement helps you work that out.

How can you find real discounts?

The old post’s tips are fine. Sales at a local store come and go, and the post warned that the sale stock can run out before you get there. Coupons and store flyers are worth checking, and so are online retailers. The key is to compare the price per serving, not per bottle: a large bottle can look cheap and still cost more per dose than a small one. Also compare the amount of the nutrient in each serving, since two products with the same name may contain very different doses. This is general shopping advice and not from a study.

Is buying in bulk a good idea?

Sometimes. A large bottle of a vitamin you take every day can save money. The old post made a sensible warning that you should only buy in bulk if you can use the vitamins before they expire, and that is the main risk. Check the date printed on the bottle, because many products lose strength over time, and store them as the label directs. I could not find an official rule that requires every supplement to carry an expiration date, so if there is no date at all, buy a smaller size. Never buy a large supply of something you have not tried yet. If it upsets your stomach, you will have wasted the money.

Is the cheapest product good enough?

This is the real question. ODS explains that the FDA does not determine whether supplements are effective before they are marketed, and that quality seals from independent groups, including ConsumerLab.com and NSF International, show that a product was properly manufactured, contains the ingredients listed on the label and does not contain harmful levels of contaminants. The seals do not guarantee that a product is safe or effective, but they are a useful check. A product with an independent seal that costs a little more can be a better value than a cheaper product with no checks. The post on choosing a vitamin supplement explains how to read labels.

Which deals should you avoid?

Be careful with very large doses sold as bargains. The upper limits exist for a reason. According to ODS, the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin C is 2,000 mg a day for adults, and for supplemental vitamin E it is 1,000 mg a day. Too much preformed vitamin A from supplements can cause severe headache, blurred vision and nausea, and in pregnancy it can cause birth defects. A bigger bottle does not mean you should take more. The old post also said that millions of Americans take vitamins daily and that this makes them a sound investment. Popularity is not proof of benefit. NCCIH notes that strong evidence for many supplement claims is lacking.

How do you get the most for your money?

Buy only what you need, take it as directed, and put the savings into food. Fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, beans, whole grains and nuts give you vitamins, minerals and fiber at a low cost per serving. If you take a daily multivitamin, a store brand with an independent quality seal can be a sensible choice. Read about how and when to take supplements so that you get the most from each dose, and ask your doctor or pharmacist whether your medicines interact with anything you plan to buy. You can read the full ODS consumer guide here: Dietary Supplements: What You Need To Know.