Exercise

It always sounded like such a long way to walk, Jerusalem to Bethlehem. I imagined vast stretches of desert. No roads. No signs. Just the star. No Google Maps to tell them the trek's just seven miles. Nothing to sneeze at, but ... I could do that on Christmas Eve. You, too.n

Even if you exercise vigorously for an hour - five times a week - too much sitting still significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity. So when you're in front of your TV or computer, get up and do this for a minute every hour.

I knew the Coronado National Forest was full of them. I just didn't know they looked like cartoons. Here they are. Thousands of them. For miles. Walk the whole 16-mile trail: 5 or 6 great hours and more than 2,000 calories burned. Definitely a calorie-deficit day.

Want to burn 900 calories an hour? Snowshoe up a really steep mountain. Want to burn another 600? Snowshoe back down.

I'm thinking we both just ate our way through the holiday and it's time to Walk it off. Consider this Walk around Plymouth Rock as a timely example of a cool Walk you can take anywhere. History aside, Plymouth's a lovely small town. Here's a 2-hour, 4.5-mile, 500-calorie Walk.

Roll up one for a flu shot? Or roll 'em both up and get some exercise? Revving up your heart rate during aerobic exercise also revs up your immune response. So exercise is probably your best bet for reducing your sick time throughout the Fall-Winter cold season and the rest of the year.

It's pretty strange hiking to the top of a volcano in the dark and waiting for sunrise - so you can see where you are and where you came from. Six miles up and down at an average incline of twenty degrees. Not bad at the bottom; wicked steep at the top. The sunrise was spectacular.

Let's party like it was A.D. 79. August 24, 79. Via dell'Abbondanza was jammed with people buying their fruits and vegetables and olive oil and wine and ... you know how that story ended. Today, Pompeii has to be the most beautifully fascinating walk on the planet. Eat your way through the ruins and burn more calories than you consume.