The sun was out. I put on my running shoes. As a rule, I don't usually jog, but the blue sky, the white breeze, the green trees. I had to.

So I ran. And I jogged. And I walked. And I stopped. At about not more than 10 minutes into my long leisure morning run I pooped out. And as I sat on a bench in Central Park, next to the reservoir, I realized why. I hate jogging! But the reason I hate it so much is not because I'm unfit or lazy. It's because it's not me. I dance to CD singles, not entire albums. I'm a sprinter, not a long distance runner.

We have two exercise energy systems: Aerobic and Anaerobic.

Aerobic means "with oxygen". The more oxygen your aerobic muscles can consume, the faster you will be able to go. Aerobic ("slow-twitch") muscles are primarily used in distance-related events. Slow-twitch refers to the slow release of oxygen through your blood into your muscles. This makes sense if you think of all the breathing you must do to keep your body going during one of those long runs. Aerobic exercises include bicycling, running, long distance swimming, step and hi-/lo-impact classes and jumping rope.

Anaerobic, as the name implies, is just the opposite - "without oxygen". Anaerobic ("fast-twitch") muscles are more powerful but lack endurance. Fast-twitch muscles can be seen in action during a very short all-out sprint. Unlike the slow-twitch muscles, fast-twitchers expend energy quickly, requiring more time to regenerate. Exercises include weight lifting, sprinting and jumping - any exercises that consist of short (roughly no more than 3 minutes, typically a few seconds) exertion.

The American College of Sports Medicine ("ACSM") says that the primary factor for determining whether a swimmer is better at distance or sprinting lies in the muscles of each athlete. People inherently have either more fast-twitch or more slow-twitch muscles. And, depending on the type of muscle that predominates, a swimmer will either be better at endurance events or quick, speed events.

When I put in my initial goals as a Member of www.PlusOneActive.com, I wanted to spend 3 days per week performing aerobic exercising for about 60 minutes a day. After the first six weeks I have done well but my Expert is making a suggestion that seems extreme. He is asking me to devote 6 days per week to exercise with two of those days incorporating a total-body strength routine. What is he trying to accomplish by changing the workout frequency (number of days) so drastically?

Your body's genetic make-up is a result of thousands of years of human evolution. For most of these years (with the exception of the last 100 or so) survival meant hunting to eat. As a result your body is still programmed to survive in yesterday's world of hunting, gathering, and escaping from danger. But we do not live in that world anymore and many of the diseases we face through the second half of life are clearly a result of disuse. However you can stop and slow this physical decay by making a serious commitment to exercise. Here's how.

Make it a habit: most of us are very committed to the responsibilities that life requires. We never skip changing the diapers because we don't have time. The car gets the oil changed regularly, the bills are paid, and we get up and go to work every day; right? Keeping your one-and-only body healthy and ready to face life's challenges until you are well into your eighth decade takes the same level of commitment. Get mentally prepared to make exercise a habit, make it a habit, and revel in the fact that habits are hard to change.

Plus One Spins for Relief
We would like to acknowledge Candace Madden and the Team at Bear Stearns for conducting a Spin-A-Thon with great success. The group raised more than $100,000 for hurricane relief.

Plus One provides you with a positive ROI
Plus One has an interactive feature on our website, www.plusone.com, that provides users with a personalized Return on Investment calculation. The tool has provided corporations with an easy and fast approach to determining the return on investment that a corporate fitness center would produce. ROI is provided at no cost, and gives a free PDF assessment report based on your criteria which is delivered instantly to your email address. The feature provides sample layout with significant usage and savings information.

"I'm SO stressed".

All the little gadgets and leaps in communication have amped our pace of life to a frantic speed. In the "olden" days, there were no cell phones. When you left the house, you were unreachable. Unless there was someone there taking messages whoever was trying to reach you would just have to wait, because there were no answering machines, no fax machines, Blackberry's, or e-mail. Weekends were weekends. For the most part, you left on Friday and were off, blissfully and really off, until Monday.

Not any more. Now-a-days we are wired and ready for action, 24/7. Our children have cell phones and instant messenger, our pets have microchips, our crock pots cook our dinner in our absence.

Although the fact that the world has become so small is a wonderful thing, many of us feel the pressure to constantly perform and be available in our gut, in our chest, and in our heads. We develop mysterious aches, pains, and illnesses, some of them serious. We grind our teeth, can't sleep, our hearts race, we shake and tremble, our palms sweat, we're dizzy, sad, and disconnected from our jobs and the people we love.

Research says that people under stress tend to pick up unhealthy behaviors, often reaching for what makes us feel better instantly...a cigarette and/or a drink, a box of cookies. Or maybe we ride the caffeine train until our teeth chatter and the sound of another human voice makes us want to scream. In reality, substance abuse, whether it's a gallon tub of ice cream or Jack Daniels, will amplify stress, rather than relieve it.

We don't need to talk about cigarettes, we all know how bad they are for you. If you are quitting and you can't keep from lighting up, try a nicotine substitute. The new gums and lozenges have come a long way, baby, and are said to be quite tolerable.

What about food? It's okay to overindulge now and then, but if you're already in a blue or distressed state, emotional eating and the resulting weight gain is going to make you feel worse. Alcohol may initially make you feel relaxed, but alcohol actually produces the same hormones that your body produces when you're under stress. Not to mention, the high anxiety that results from an alcohol binge can be positively crazy making.