Heart disease is the biggest killer of men in the U.S., second only to Jessica Simpson's dad.  And because Americans are way overweight, which can lead to diabetes and hypertension (which then causes heart disease – lovely, isn’t it?), staying fit and healthy needs to be more than a once-a-week thing. There’s a myriad of things you can do to stay active, beyond playing golf. A combination of focused strength and cardiovascular training make up a complete workout:

Sting Like A Bee – Strength Training: This involves lifting heavy things, such as free weights, objects, weight-lifting machines, and resistance training -- leveraging your own body weight for lifts (like push-ups), and using bands and weighted medicine balls. Did you know that strength training increases bone density and metabolism (read: speeds up weight loss) and protects your joints? It’s a lot more than just getting ripped. A varied strength program mixes up your activities so your muscles don’t become used to the same weights and movements.

Run, Forrest, Run – Cardiovascular Training: Yes, gardening is considered cardiovascular…if you’re 80. For the rest of mankind, a regular regimen of walking, running, cycling, team sports, swimming, jumping rope, aerobics classes and machines (elliptical trainer, treadmill, upright/recumbent bike, stair stepper) makes your heart grow stronger.  Not watching Maria Sharapova playing tennis, but actually going out and playing tennis with the girl from your building who sort of looks like Maria Sharapova.  The stronger your heart becomes, the lower your risk of disease and the better your heart can withstand disease if it does arise. Also, regular cardio workouts help control excess weight gain, which curtails a whole host of problems.

Bottom Line: 4 – 6 days a week of lifting and cardio for at least 30 minutes a pop - concentrated, focused and intense - will cause dramatic improvements to your body and your health. Anything less than 3 days is not going to get you the results you desire. And stretch for 5 – 10 minutes both before and after each workout so your muscles and joints stay loose.

What Works For You

Some people like to work out in the privacy of their own home (why, we have no idea).  Others get their exercise playing on rec teams or throwing the football in the parking lot outside Fed Ex Field. There are advantages to them all.

See You In The Basement: There is a host of exercises you can do at home for next to no money, such as pushups, crunches, tricep presses, lunges, and carrying your 14-year-old Golden Retriever up 5 flights of stairs. Additionally, there are lots of workout tapes that range from Tai-bo to yoga to “Fitness Made Simple” (with that creepy-looking John Basedow character with the manboobs and frosted hair). There are also home gyms for the recluses of the world.

Back to Class: Classes are a very good way to mix up your routine, particularly if you’re losing motivation and getting bored with your current program. From spinning to aerobics, kick-boxing to yoga, we find motivation in having others around us partaking in equal suffering.

The Gym -- One-stop Shopping: Most gyms have it all – loads of cardio equipment, racks of weights, benches, machines, hot and cold running water - all stuff that would cost you a ton of money to own yourself.  Memberships range from as little as $15-$20/month at the meat market gyms to well over $150/month for exclusive types (not inculding the initial deposit). Gyms can be very motivating for the same reason classes are – when there are others around, you tend to perform harder than you might on your own.

The Planet "Gym": Not much of an indoors person? Buy a bike and hit the trail. Or take up rock climbing or hiking. If you saw the lastest Bond movie, you might be crazy enough to try free-running (not for the faint of heart). With all the outdoor activities around, you can get  a great workout without going to a gym. Not to mention you can drop and do push-ups anywhere.  Now give me twenty!

Still Having Visions of Greatness?  A lot of guys play team sports regularly to keep fit. It eliminates the drudgery of endless runs or repetitive hours on the elliptical trainer.  Basketball leagues, softball leagues, football leagues, tennis tournaments, kickball leagues. Lord help you if you join a kickball league.

Whatever you do, finding the time to work out is usually much harder than figuring out what you’re going to do with your workouts. David prefers working out during lunchtime, Brian usually late afternoon. A lot of folks dig working out late at night or first thing in the morning, but at those hours, we’d rather be in bed with our wives.