There's a workout, and then there's a Work Out. And THEN, there's a BOXING WORK OUT. Trust me, there's a reason why boxers are able to spend over a half an hour in a ring exchanging punches and not go into cardiac arrest. It's because these guys and gals have trained their butts off for months before ever stepping foot in that arena, let alone that ring. But, you don't have to be Rocky Balboa to get the benefit of a boxing workout, which is why I am this week highlighting some of the basic boxing moves that you too can add to your fitness routine.

First of all, be sure to always maintain a proper stance. This means keeping your feet a little more than shoulder width apart, with your dominant foot in the back (in other words, if you're right handed/footed, than you want your right foot in the back and for your left foot to lead). Try your best to stay on the balls on your feet, which will allow you to do all your fancy stutter-stepping footwork (or for now, just keep you balanced). Your hands should be made into fists and kept close to your face. Your elbows need to be tucked closely to your body. From here, you're ready to start dotting some imaginary bad guy's eyes.

There are four basic punches in boxing: the Jab, the Cross, the Hook, and the Uppercut. To keep things easy, we're going to only focus on the Jab and the Cross. To throw the Jab, you need to flick out your lead hand (which should be the hand that is not dominant -- again, if you are right handed/footed, that hand/foot is kept toward the rear, whereas the weaker hand/foot leads...which, in this case, is your left). As you extend your arm to throw your Jab, your hand should twist like a corkscrew at the end of the punch. Once you have extended your arm, be sure to immediately bring your arm back, tuck your elbow back into your side and return your fist to the side of your face. To throw a Cross, you take your dominant hand and throw a straight punch with it, twisting at the waist as you do. Again, you want to twist your wrist at the end of the punch, adding more 'snap' to the motion. Once the punch is thrown, bring your arm back right away, tuck your elbow back in, and bring your fist back next to your face.

By combining these two punches, you are doing a 1-2 combination. A lot of times people will throw a few jabs before throwing a cross, which of course is fine (and very much the case in an actual boxing match). Use this punch combination on a large heavy punching bag (the cylindrical kind that hangs from the ceiling or stand) while wearing what are known as bag gloves (lightweight boxing gloves that can be purchased at most any sporting goods store or even Wal-Mart).

Boxing is broken into three-minute rounds with one-minute rests in between each round. In accordance with this design, that is how you will also train. Three minutes of, say, shadowboxing -- using the 1-2 combination I just taught you, followed by a round or two of jumping rope, followed by three or four rounds of hitting the heavy bag, and then finishing off with a few rounds of abdominal work.

Even if you take it slow at first (which I really suggest you do), you'll find that the boxing workout is absolutely exhausting. This is exactly why so many health clubs now offer "cardio-boxing" as a group aerobics class. You'll burn far more calories doing this workout than you will on a stair-stepper or walking on a treadmill, and you'll do so during less time. Intensity is the key. Like I said, there's a workout, and then there's a Workout. And then there's a BOXING WORKOUT. Try this routine and, before long, you'll be wearing a grey track suit and running the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

For a great video demonstration I found online that features the basics of boxing, click HERE.

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

If there's any one exercise that everyone seems to use as a show of pure strength and power, it is certainly the bench press. "How much ya' bench?" is a popular question thrown around weight rooms, and the answers are almost always inflated so as to match the ego of the responder. But, throwing around as much weight as possible may not exactly be the best way to see and feel results from this exercise. That's why I am highlighting the proper form, execution and target muscles of this gym workout staple.

The bench press targets the development of the pectoral muscles (aka the chest muscles), but also calls upon help from your triceps (located on the back of your arms) and deltoids (aka shoulders). To properly do this exercise, you first have to lie flat on your back on a bench (or sturdy alternative -- remember my makeshift bench idea with milk crates and a long, thick plank of wood?). You will then place an equidistant grip on the bar with your hands, lifting it off the support rack. Once you have the bar securely above your sternum and with your arms fully extended, you can now begin. Slowly lower the bar until it touches the chest or stops only an inch from the chest (this is up to you), but be sure to not let the weight "bounce" off of you. Once you've reached the bottom of the movement, hold for one second and then press the weight back up to the starting position. Tip: when you raise the bar, be sure to exhale the air you took in while you were lowering it. Also, when you press the weight upward, try to avoid completely locking your elbows to full extension. This will ensure that there is constant pressure and also help avoid elbow injury). Continue this motion for the desired number of repetitions and sets.

There are several variations to the bench press, including the incline bench press, the decline bench press, the dumbell bench press, etc. Also, you can try mixing up the amount of reps you do from one set to the other, or even the amount of weight you place on the bar. Bear in mind that if your goal is size and strength, fewer reps/longer rest in between sets/fewer sets/heavier weight is the combination you want to go with. If muscle tone and a bit of cardiovascular effect are your desired results, I would stick with a combination of more reps/shorter rest in between sets/more sets/lighter weight.

For a good video demonstration of the bench press, click HERE.

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

UCLA researchers report Nevada County, California residents have the lowest rate of diabetes in the state -- 2.6 percent. That's about one-third the state-wide average (6.8 percent), and slightly less than one-quarter the prevalence of diabetes in Imperial County (11.2 percent).

Take a few guesses why Nevada County's rate of diabetes is so much lower than Imperial County, and well under the national average of 7 percent. Do families eat less processed food around the dinner table? More jogging trails? Better health insurance coverage? Researcher Theresa Hastert states, "There is no one thing, but higher income is associated with better foods and exercise."

Hastert explained Nevada County is mostly white, affluent, educated and insured. Imperial County has a large population of Latinos and migrant farm workers. Nevada County's numbers support general findings that minorities without affordable, continuous health care are more prone to the disease. Who's got time for the dinner table -- Hastert openly speculates eating more junk food may be a consequence of dodging between three jobs just to get by. Also, Nevada County is a beautiful area -- she wonders if environmental factors play a role.

Is diabetes a socio-economic disease? If so, we're in trouble. The gap is widening between our nation's haves and have nots, and large concentrations of poor minorities may explain the disproportionate rates of diabetes from county to county. Read more in The Union.

A friend of mine told me about a friend of hers who had a cat that used to have diabetes - until she left him with the Vet. Her friend was overprotective of her little cat since it was diagnosed with diabetes. The cat was put on insulin injections. She also upgraded the entire posse of cats to low-carb cat food. Routinely she took her cat to the vet to have the blood sugar levels checked ($75 a pop!) So far, so good - the story is mundane until her friend left for a vacation and boarded the cat at the Vet's for the week.

All week her friend was worried about the welfare of her cat - even though she was safely under the watchful eye of the vet. As it turns out, upon her return from vacation - the vet notified her that her cat no longer has diabetes. She was sent home with instructions to continue feeding the cats low carbohydrate food, and to discontinue the insulin injections.

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine says, "Some diabetic cats may lose the need for insulin, months or years after diagnosis. If diabetes has resulted from obesity, it is likely to improve a great deal-or even completely resolve-once the cat's weight is under control. If obesity or some other disorder is not a factor, the diabetes probably will not go away; however, it can be successfully managed."

So here's my question: are animals so different from human beings? Why isn't the equation so simple in curing Type 2? Simple is a grave understatement - but understanding the cause of elevated blood sugar could be the great escape from diabetes. It's more than just switching a diet to low-carb cat food, isn't it? Meow.

Walking -- it's the first thing we learn to do after crawling. Factor in the amount of it we've done over the course of our lives since then, and it's clear that we're more than warranted in considering ourselves experts. Professional, even. We are the walking gurus, and we have the extensive track record to prove it. With this being the case, why is it when it comes to walking as an exercise, so few people do it? Probably because we do it all the time anyway, therefore it does little to stimulate our interest.

We are an easily bored species, one that needs almost constant change in some way, shape or form. This is likely the reason why so many people prefer elaborate workouts to something as simple as placing one foot in front of the other for an extended period of time. To help remedy the situation, you may want to try some of the following Boredom Busters:

Tune-Up. One of the best ways to liven-up a workout is to listen to music. Whether it's the Rocky IV soundtrack to get you all fired up, some body-moving hip-hop, or even Classical favorites, music will help keep your feet moving.

Intervals. Walking is a low-intensity cardio workout, but it doesn't always have to be. To burn extra calories, and to mix things up a bit over the course of your stroll, try picking up the pace for a minute or so every now and again. By doing so, you can burn an extra 100 calories or so over the course of a 30-minute workout.

VERY Short Term Goals. Of course it's important to have long-term goals (i.e. feel healthier, maintain healthy blood sugars, lose weight, etc.), a great way to keep you motivated through your daily walk is to have an almost immediate goal in sight. By this I mean having a goal, or even a reward, waiting for you at the end of your walk. It could be a landmark (such as a view from the top of a hill, or your arrival to a friend's house), but could also be something such as a tasty, low-fat, low-carb meal that is waiting for you.

Make it a Family Affair. With quality time becoming harder and harder for the modern family to find, a great solution is to use that daily walk to serve that purpose. Because you're only walking, you'll have plenty of wind left to have discussions about school, work, and any other topic that would before be part of typical dinner table discussion. Plus, with childhood obesity rates on the rise (as well as the increasing number of children being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes), bringing the kids along may benefit them, as well.

Get Creative. This could mean anything from taking a different route each day, to holding a set of very light dumbells in your hands while you walk. Not only will changes of this kind prevent you from becoming bored, they will also ensure that your fitness results do not plateau over time.

Just because the summer season has reached its end, it doesn't mean that it's time to let our exercise programs go. People tend to put on more weight during the colder months for a few reasons: 1) Because they probably won't be donning their bathing suits at the beach for quite some time, and 2) Because our bodies are designed to slow our metabolism down -- a carry-over from our more primitive days when food sources became more scarce during the cold season. For these reasons, and probably about eight thousand others, it's a smart idea to keep stoking the flames of your metabolism right through the upcoming frost. So, to help you do just that, I'm showing you an exercise this week that will help you burn some serious calories while toning up your legs.

Called the Step-Up, this cardiovascular movement will help you speed up your metabolism as you strengthen and tone your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and even your calves. To perform this exercise, start by standing in front of a weight bench or any safe substitute for one (tip: take two milk crates, spread them apart, and place a firm, wooden board over them -- a great, makeshift bench). Next, take your right foot and place it on the surface of the bench. From there, step-up onto the bench, using your right leg to power the rest of your body up. Once you are standing firmly on top of the bench with both feet, step back down with one leg and follow with the other. Then, step up onto the bench with your left leg, following with your right. Repeat this movement for several repetitions, increasing speed and perhaps even adding small weights (dumbells in hand work well, as does holding a medicine ball) as you get stronger and more familiar with the movement.

I found a very good video demonstration for the Step-Up on ShapeFit.com. To view it, click HERE.

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

Jennifer Ordoñez, a Newsweek journalist who is also a Type 1 diabetic, reported on her experience at a triathlon training camp geared for diabetics. After reading her report, I was curious as to why hypoglycemia would cause a diabetic to fail the VO2 max test.

Nobody likes failing tests - especially when it comes to something as important as VO2 max. VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen a person uses while exercising at their limit for one minute. If you are in shape, your muscles will use a lot of oxygen to create energy. The prime source of energy for the body comes from blood sugar. When Jennifer took her VO2 test her blood sugar was falling and she failed. Apparently when blood sugar is falling the body puts itself into energy lockdown which compromises even conditioned athletes VO2 max.

Hypoglycemia causes muscles to fatigue quicker. Muscle fatigue is the result of inadequate oxygen availability. Prevention of hypoglycemia is one of the major objectives of adequate blood sugar when you are about to work out. By maintaining optimal blood sugar, you can assure a better level of exercise performance. I know better than to tell you what to do. But as a friendly reminder: make sure you've fueled up adequately before you hit the gym or the open road to work on your VO2 max.

For a few months now, I've been offering fitness tips in what I'm calling the Exercise of the Week (very creative, I know) on TheCardioBlog. But, what occurred to me today is that you folks reading TheDiabetesBlog may be just as interested in learning some of these tips. Sure, I suppose you could very easily drop on by TheCardioBlog and read them over there, but that would be too easy. And, if your serious about losing weight and getting into better shape, let me be the first to tell you that nothing ever comes easy!!. So, on a going forward basis, I think I will also start posting these tips here on TheDiabetesBlog. With that, I offer the first installment of the Exercise of the Week.

Some of the best fat-burning and muscle-building exercises are those that combine several movements into one. The squat-press is probably one of the well known of said movements. And while you may very well want to add that exercise to your routine, I'm instead going to focus on a different multi-muscle movement: A Side Lunge with Upright Row. Although it doesn't have a fancy combo name like squat-press, the results can be just as impressive.

To perform this exercise, start by holding a dumbell in each hand with your palms facing in. Next, take a big step to the right side with your right foot. As you do, bend your right knee approximately 90 degrees and keep it in line with your toes. As you do this, try to keep your left leg as straight as you can. Now, this is where it really gets good and difficult -- as you lower your body to the side by bending your knee, lift your elbows until the dumbells are just below your chin. As you then press off from your foot and return your leg to the original position, slowly lower the dumbells. Continue by next going to the left leg, then back to the right, and so on and so forth. For a very good demonstration, click Here.

Compound movements of this kind are a great way to ignite your metabolism and jump-start your muscles. I'll be sure to show you a few more like it in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, feel the burn, baby!!

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

When I read the headline in this Yahoo! news, Obesity rates climb in most states, I took a stab at guessing the leanest and fattest states in America. My favorite state, Colorado, immediately came to mind for the fittest state. Ding, ding, ding ... that is correct! But I had no clue on the fattest state, West Virginia was a shaky guess. I heard the buzzer on that one, Mississippi became the first state to break the 30 percent barrier for obese, adult residents. But hey, I wasn't far off, West Virginia and Alabama are slightly behind the double-letter state.

Colorado has an obesity rate of 17.6. Yikes, this is the leanest state in the nation. Statistics were provided by the Trust for America's Health. They analyzed state health department-generated telephone surveys of height and weight, combining three years of data (2004-2006) for improved projections. No one denies obesity increases the risk for diabetes and chronic diseases. Jeffrey Levi, executive director, stated everyone believes obesity is an epidemic, but political and policymaker attention is lacking. Levi agrees weight is a personal choice and responsibility, but he wants societal improvements to help people make better choices, such as healthier school lunches and safer places to be active across all classes.

The report is not intended to stigmatize fat states, but motivate them to action. Is this honestly a good way to do it? We should be talking about poverty in Mississippi, not scolding them. The five poorest states were in the top 10 when it came to obesity rates. I'm sure the Mississippi fat jokes have already begun. This country loves to categorize, from Money's Best Places to Live to U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges. Now we'll be adding an obesity category to all these reports. I can see it now, some diet rag will announce the Top 100 Thinnest Universities.

A new study by Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research carries both good news and bad news. Bad news first -- research of 9,439 mother-child pairs shows maternal blood sugar is tied to a future risk of obesity in offpsring. Pregnant women with above-normal blood sugar levels were twice as likely to have overweight kids. Across all racial and ethnic groups, the higher the mother's blood sugar during pregnancy, the greater the chance her offspring would develop obesity by 5 to 7 years of age.

Now if you're pregnant and you've been diagnosed with high blood sugar, take a deep breath. The good news is the risk of childhood obesity is reversible if elevated sugars are treated through diet, exercise and insulin (if required). At particular risk are women with sugar levels higher than normal, but not high enough to be deemed gestational diabetes. They were more likely to have obese children than women treated for gestational diabetes or those with normal sugars.

Borderline blood sugars are nothing to ignore. I shared in a previous post that moderately elevated glucose during pregnancy is associated with other problems such as cesarean section and heavier babies. Gestational diabetes criteria may widen. Also, Deanna reported earlier this month that gestational diabetes is linked to pancreatic cancer.

Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with David Kliff, of Diabetic Investor. When diabetes came knocking on David's door - he took the higher road, literally, and many would agree he has made the most of it.

David created Diabetic Investor to share his opinion as a leading authority on the business of diabetes from the unique perspective of a diabetic. Along the way he has gained interest in leading-edge technologies and breakthrough medicines to enhance the treatment of diabetes. His research and his craft for controlling his diabetes has significantly impacted his health for the best - and it keeps getting better.

David is now a marathon runner. His training efforts have resulted in a resounding 45 pound weight loss, cutting his insulin dose substantially, and improving his overall health. He launched a blog to promote his participation in the New York City Marathon this November. Checkout Dave's Run for Diabetes, and show your support for his efforts to go the distance for diabetes - all 26.2 miles!

How come type 2 diabetes does not affect all obese people? A study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation may explain why. Adiponectin is a hormone that controls insulin sensitivity. Leptin is a hormone which lessens appetite. Too much adiponectin allows mice to store excess calories in fat tissue instead of in more dangerous areas -- the liver, heart or muscle tissue -- where extra fat may lead to inflammation, diabetes and heart disease. Unfortunately adiponectin levels decline as people get fatter. So researchers wondered "what if overeating mice had high levels of adiponectin?"

Researchers genetically engineered mice to produce lots of adiponectin and a lack of leptin. The mice overate and became obese, but their high levels of adiponectin enabled them to dump their fat into fat tissue, which has antidiabetic effects. Dr. Philipp Scherer, senior author, stated the inability to appropriately expand fat mass while overeating may be an underlying cause of insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Low adiponectin levels don't allow fat cells to accept fat, so the fat builds up in inflammatory locations.

Considering 66 percent of American adults are overweight or obese, Dr. Scherer stated researchers need to find way to deposit extra calories in the least harmful places. He plans to investigate how to maximize good fat areas and shrink bad ones. This solution is disturbing to me -- don't we need to get rid of the fat in the first place? Read more in Health News Digest and check out Diane's recent post on upper body fat's link to insulin resistance.

Next month, 67-year-old Gary Stenlund is heading to the World Masters Championships in Riccione, Italy. He will compete against other senior javelin throwers for the World Masters crown. He's throwing with an arthritic knee and type 2 diabetes.

No stranger to the javelin, Stenlund set the world junior record in high school and was a two-time NCAA runner-up at Oregon State University. In 2003, he nailed the 60-to-64 World Masters top spot with a record throw of 191 feet. Here's one good reason to age, Stenlund topped the world record in the 65-to-69 age division three times last summer.

A sober alcoholic since 1984, he is no stranger to facing life challenges. I shouldn't complain about my sore knee, Stenlund competes with a bone growth on his right knee big enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The article does not mention much about his type 2 diabetes, but he keeps his 6' 1", 185-pound frame healthy through calisthentics, stretching and throwing that skinny metal rod. Go get 'em Gary! Read more in The Portland Tribune.

Do not miss this recent NY Times article by Gina Kolata, Looking Past Blood Sugar to Survive With Diabetes. It is a must read for anyone associated with type 2 diabetes, including patients, family caregivers and doctors. I am very encouraged to see a feature on type 2 diabetes in such a well-read newspaper. Many doctors are uninformed on the best ways to treat a person with type 2 diabetes, they spend much more time with type 1 patients. Furthermore, type 1 and type 2 are very different diseases, but since they both end in 'diabetes' there is deep confusion -- see Diane's previous post on this topic. Undoubtedly, we need Big Media to provide greater coverage on the differences and unique treatments for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

First off, type 2 diabetes is a form of the disease that usually appears in adulthood where the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells are resistant to insulin. Kolata's article focuses on one man's battle with type 2 diabetes, as well as the importance of other treatments beyond blood sugar control that can markedly prevent heart disease -- the number one threat to a person with type 2. Dave Smith, a pastor from Fairmont, Minnesota, has dealt with type 2 diabetes for nine years. From the start, his doctor advised him to control his blood sugar, so he was a faithful carbohydrate counter, finger pricker, type 2 pill taker. Nothing worked, so he added insulin.

Unfortunately, his fixation on controlling blood sugar ignored the most crucial treatment of all -- lowering cholesterol. According to Kolata's article, heart disease kills nearly everyone with diabetes. The second treatment Smith did not consider was the importance of controlling blood pressure. The third treatment is taking aspirin to control blood clots. Last October, Smith had a major heart attack and nearly died. He had never thought about heart disease, and his doctor never advised him to take a cholesterol-lowering statin or a blood pressure drug. The American Diabetes Association reports only 18 percent of people with diabetes know their increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Grrrr! This lack of awareness among patients and doctors must change for lives to be saved. It took a near-fatal heart attack for Smith to receive the combination of drugs he should have been prescribed at diagnosis: a statin, two drugs to lower blood pressure, aspirin, insulin and two drugs to reduce his blood sugar level.

The epidemic doctors now refer to as Diabesity is a condition where obesity is the precursor leading to the full blown development of diabetes. An Australian surgeon wrote a cause and effect piece to potentially nip this growing problem in the bud.

The call to action in this article is quite simple: eat less and walk more. Could such a simple suggestion really curtail an epidemic that is poised to become the biggest health threat in Asia within the next decade? This is not a trick. It's actually quite simple. Don't believe the hype? Probably much easier said than done -- but here's an evolutionary explanation that might inspire you to make this work.

Since the beginning of time, human beings were meant to use up the calories they consume in their food by their daily physical activities. Our ancestors started out living in caves, eating the roots and vegetables they gathered and the flesh that they hunted. These days we live in houses, and consume more than we need to sustain homeostasis and beyond. We walk very little and we all put on weight as we get older, especially around our waists. As we continue on this path of least resistance, and most convenience -- diabesity is becoming a mainstay in our lives. If eating healthy and walking more became an easy and convenient option for everybody -- could this be an automatic resolution to an unforgiving problem?