Lovely links!

Holy links! A reader (hi Kelly!) sent me this link in an email forever ago, but due to the pains of being a college student, I just finally got around to looking at it. I haven't gotten the chance to explore the links as much as I'd like to, but this is a for sure bookmark page for anyone looking to get some more info on health and fitness. Find fitness programs, health and nutrition calculators and other fitness links. Some of my favorites are SparkPeople, MapMyRun and the oh so disturbing What Does 200 Calories Look Like? Check it out! Thanks for the tip, Kelly!

Push up challenge

Anyone remember that push up challenge? If you haven't heard about it, CHECK OUT THE SITE! Then try it.

You know that quote, something about it being ok to fail as long as you try? That would be me with the push ups. I coaxed my parents into doing the routine with me but by week 4, I left for school, and suddenly it was easier to "forget" about a very painful 5 minutes of upper body work.

I do still get updates from the site's creator. Steve emailed me about 2 weeks ago with upgrades on the site! You can now use an interactive logger to keep track of your progress and even see where other users are in the program. Very cool.

If you haven't attempted the challenge, I highly suggest you do so. Tell Steve I sent you. :)

Energy drink mayhem

Oh it's about time!

I see kids carrying these around campus all the time (especially those with unfortunate 8 a.m. classes). The NBC video talks to a John Hopkins professor who says some energy drinks can have up to 500 milligrams (Mountain Dew has about 50) of caffeine with little to no warning labels.

What ever happened to a good old breakfast to get you going in the morning? Given sometimes my breakfast is a pop-tart (which is about as good as having a bowl of ice cream) but it's something!

What are your thoughts? What do you rely on to get you up in the morning?

Back rolls?

Get your back rolls removed! What??

There's a NEW surgery out there that will lift and tuck those pesky "back breasts" out of your way. Now I've heard it all.

My first ASA post was a readers opinion article on plastic surgery. Over a year since that, I'm curious to see, what do you think now? A new surgery for back rolls makes me wonder about where plastic surgery is headed. Do you have wider fingers that need a nip and a tuck?

I'm curious- what do you think about back rolls? While I've noticed them before, it's never changed my judgment on someone. You can find fit bodies at the beach with a little extra luggage back there. Is your back an area of concern for you? If you could make up a plastic surgery procedure, what would you go under the knife for?

Sidenote: Check out ABCNews covering JLo's back rolls!

Kiddie equipment

Get your kids moving on their own workout equiptment?

Some experts are saying this is a horrible idea, and may be pushing kids too hard in the direction of fitness. Parents however seem to like the idea.

I think the equipment is awesome! While its been argued that kids using this equipment are missing out on the fun of social interaction sports like tag and kickball, I think the pros outweigh the cons. The last time I saw neighborhood kids out playing tag and kick-the-can was when I was doing it. There are too many toys that coax kids to stay inside, and the idea of playing outside is as foreign to kids now as a typewriter.

Most children want to emulate their parents, or older siblings. I don't think any child should be made to spend 20 minutes on a kiddie treadmill, but when mom or dad is on the in home stationary bike, giving junior the option to ride along to can be an empowering experience. Even for physically active children, there is an appeal to kid equipment. Eventually Billy is too old to play on the school soccer team, but if he grew up with a familiarity to exercise equipment, will he be more prone to going to the gym on his own?

What's your stance?

I'm famous!

Well, not quite, but I did make it on the iVillage diet secrets slide show! Vote and then share your favorite tip here!