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Plateaus suck, don’t they? And they happen to the best of us. Your body will adjust to any exercise program over time, so you need to fool your body into continuing to progress by changing your program every six weeks or so. Not only should you change your cardio workouts, you should also change your strength training routines as well. This will keep your muscles confused so that they’re constantly challenged. There are many ways to change your routines including:

* Changing the frequency (adding a day or subtracting a day of workouts)
* Changing the intensity (adding more or less weight to your exercises, or working harder or easier on your cardio)
* Changing the amount of time your exercising (if you usually walk for 20 minutes, try walking for 25 or 30 minutes)
* Changing the type of activity (for strength training, changing the exercises, for cardio trying something completely new)

Keeping track of your workouts can help you determine when you need to change them

Use a calendar or a workout log and write down your workouts for six weeks. At the end of that time, sit down with your log and create a new routine by changing the elements mentioned above.

One of the hot buzzwords flying around the gym these days is ‘core strength.’ While dancers and athletes have long known the advantages of having a strong torso, the idea of core strength is only now trickling down to the rest of us. So what is core strength and why should you worry about it? One reason is this: all of our movements are powered by our torsos–the abs and back work together to support the spine when we sit, stand, bend over, pick things up, exercise and more. The torso is the body’s center of power, so the stronger you are in that area, the easier your daily activities will be.

What is the Core?

When someone talks about the core, they’re referring to all of the muscles that deep within the abs and back, attaching to the spine or pelvis. Some of these muscles include the transversus abdominis (TVA), the muscles of the pelvic floor, the lats and the obliques, just to name a few.

These muscles are where movement originates and it’s also the source of our stability. Whether you’re running, lifting weights or picking up your toddler, these ‘core’ muscles help keep your body stable and balanced.

With this focus on core strength, the fitness industry has moved towards training the body as a whole, rather than focusing on separate muscle groups. This means incorporating torso training throughout your workout, rather than just doing the usual standard crunches. This type of functional training can be seen everywhere as more people use things like stability balls and wobble boards in their regular workouts.

Core training has many benefits including:

* More functional workouts that translate into daily life activities
* Improved performance in sports
* Reduction in the risk of injury
* Better ability to function each day
* Interesting workouts that challenge you in new and different ways

Adding more functional training to your workouts is a simple matter. Read on to find out easy ways to increase your core strength.

Enhancing Your Core Strength

Incorporating more functional training into your workouts may be as simple as changing or adding new exercises to your usual routine. The following are just some ideas for making your ab/back workouts a little more dynamic:

* Woodchops
* Pikes on the Ball
* Side Plank with Oblique Twist
* Ball Crunch with Med Ball

Another way to make your workouts more functional is to add new equipment to your exercises. Adding an element of balance will naturally engage your core and add a whole new dimension to your training. Some ideas include:

* Stability Balls. You can use exercise balls in a variety of ways to challenge balance, stability and torso strength.
* Wobble Boards. Adding a wobble board to your routine will help you with balance, stability, torso strength and coordination.
* Foam roller. Using a foam roller in your workouts will enhance balance, body awareness, flexibility and torso strength.

A few weeks ago, I saw a voting poll on whether healthy foods are more expensive and if that’s one reason so many people don’t eat a healthier diet. Some of the comments I saw were enlightening and there were plenty of readers who just weren’t buying it.

We have a little more information to go on now thanks to a new study, Is Price a Barrier to Eating More Fruits and Vegetables for Low-Income Families? by the American Dietetic Association. Some of the interesting facts gleaned from this study:

* The dietary guidelines recommend 9 servings of fruits and veggies a day
* People with higher incomes are more likely to meet these dietary recommendations
* People who make less than $25,000 a year eat only about 5 servings a day
* Low-income neighborhoods often have higher food prices since these neighborhoods often have fewer and smaller supermarkets, which charge more
* Studies show that it costs about 17-19% more to eat healthier choices (e.g., whole-wheat instead of white bread, nonfat dairy, etc.).
* On average, low-income families would have to devote 43-70% of their food budget to meet the fruit and veggie dietary guidelines.

Looking at these facts, it’s easy to see why choosing healthy foods isn’t always an option. One recommendation is to shop at bulk food stores, which usually have the lowest prices. That’s great if you can find one nearby but, for many, the cost of getting there and the time it would take may end up offsetting what they would save.

So, what’s the answer? Would lowering prices solve the problem or would people still keep eating the same way? Should we tax unhealthy foods to make them less appealing? Should we educate people on how to budget their money so they can afford healthy foods?

Who knows…