Squatting five hundred pounds is a sure sign of physical fitness, but not everyone has the time or willpower to rack up the weights needed to develop stronger muscles. The good news is that 

Spin class is both a mentally and physically challenging form of exercise. Although the level of difficulty will change generally with each song (most spin classes are designed to have two peaks), your legs never stop moving for a full 45 -60 plus minutes. In other cardio focused fitness classes, you'll see instructors encouraging their students to lightly jog or skip during the transitions, but how many people actually do it? The momentum you build up while on a bike forces your legs to continuously stay in motion, so that you never truly get a break.

As I sweated through my very first spin class, I remembering having some serious doubts that I would be able to finish. I consider myself to be a very physically fit individual, but my legs were exhausted 15 minutes into the hour long class. I remember looking incredulously at the timer on my bike as it ticked by at what felt like an impossibly slow speed. “When will I be allowed off this sadistic contraption?” I thought to myself. Despite the difficulty, I returned for a second class the following week, and found it to be easier. Encouraged, I returned a third time, then a fourth, then a fifth, and now I'm a spin instructor. Funny how these types of things work out. In the beginning I couldn't fathom how anyone could potentially enjoy this as a form of exercise, but now I love it. Biking uses muscles that are different from those you use in your everyday life, so OF COURSE it's going to be hard the first time you try it. Your body just isn't used to it, but don't base your decision to love or hate spinning on one class, because you won't really know until you've tried it 3 or 4 times.

Free tools to get you organized, motivated, and fit!

Smartphone apps can either be another distraction that squeezes fitness out of your schedule, or they can help you track progress, connect with likeminded friends, and stay motivated to get in shape. Here are a few of the cheapest, highest-quality cardio tools on the market for Android and iPhone.

For many people, it is a difficult task to choose the right exercise equipment. This makes sense though, since there are hundreds of pieces of equipment to choose from. However, the best piece of exercise equipment is something basic. More importantly, anyone looking at exercise equipment needs to get what works for them, though there are certain staples that will work for everyone. Here are five ways to choose effective fitness equipment that will work for almost anyone.

GUEST BLOGGER: Marcia Chester writes about fitness, shopping & more at http://www.homeequityloan.net

While it would be difficult to overemphasize the importance of crafting one's diet around the food pyramid, there are clearly other necessary factors for attaining optimal health, such as regular exercise and adequate sleep. That said, the World Health Organization created the food pyramid in the 1980s in order to inform the public about the right foods to eat and the correct allotment of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins to consume every day.