If you've ever tried to touch your toes, or stretch your quads, and you just can't, you already know how flexible you aren't.

"Flexibility is the key," says Rick Bradley, author of "Quick Fit".

Bradley says it isn't just about cardio and strength: you need to be flexible and balanced, or you'll lose your motion.

Decreased range of motion is the killer. If we lose our flexibility, we lose our range of motion, and we lose our ability to move.

That's no good. So just how flexible are you?

In the "Quick Fit" book there's a flexibility evaluation: Sit and reach. Sit on the ground, reach forward. If you can reach your ankles, that's good. If you can grab your shins, that's fine. If you feel the pull as you lean forward and grab your knees, you need to work on your flexibility. If you can lean forward and grab your thighs, you're in trouble.

Remember, most feds are stuck at a desk all day, or on airplanes, or in cars, and it is easy to lose that flexibility.

There are some people who even have a hard time sitting on the floor with their legs straight out. Their lack of flexibility is so great, it hurts just sitting.

If you want to be more flexible, Bradley suggests you practice sitting and reaching and doing side bends. Do it gently - don't push it - but do it every day.

And if you have any questions for the Fit Fed, you can email us at fitfed@federalnewsradio.com.

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On the Web:
The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports -
Exercise: The Key To The Good Life - http://www.fitness.gov/pepup.htm

As you get older, you lose your balance. You also lose bone density, and you risk breaking a bone somewhere down the line.

And that's not just a warning for older Americans. Even you baby-boomers can find yourselves at risk.

You have to workout and practice to keep your balance, flexibility, and strong bones.

As Americans age, we don't want to lose our balance and fall. Older Americans lose their balance and break hips, or break other bones.

Rick Bradley is author of Quick Fit, and works with federal employees to make sure the workforce gets fit and stays healthy. And as agencies deal with the brain drain as workers retire, it is these retiring workers who need to make sure they don't lose their balance.

And sometimes, balance is harder than it looks.

But it is very interesting. This doesn't just apply to older americans. Baby Boomers are traditionally very active, and they are now starting to complain about osteo-arthritis. That is the "wear and tear" arthritis which causes their knees and hips to hurt. Flexibility is the key there. The problem with these kinds of diseases is you become stiff, and you lose flexibility. Because you don't have flexibility, you don't exercise as much, so you're not as strong as you were. That lack of strength leads to imbalance. It is a Catch-22.

The CDC recommends you include endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility exercises in your workout when you can. Researchers say no single type of activity will do it, so try to include all of them.

I've done extensive research on arthritis. What they're saying now is even if you have arthritis, maintain your exercise. Try to walk as much as you can. Maintain your flexibility. That's what's going to help you, in the long run, stay active and prevent the onset of more severe arthritis.

For more, check out the CDC's page on special recommendations for older adults.

We've been telling you how you can save money and time for your agency, if you can keep your employees healthy, but you might even become a more successful agency.

Rick Bradley, author of "Quick Fit", and a retired federal employee, says you can't lose if your employees are getting some regular exercise.

"First of all, when you're healthy and fit, obviously you're going to be more productive, so there's money savings right there. When you're fit, you're going to be sick less, and there's money savings there too. Your employee morale is greater when you're healthy and fit, you'll feel great about your job. You'll have a different attitude about your job."

His plan: take ten minutes a day at ten o'clock in the morning, but you have to get started.

"It is the law of inertia," Bradley says. "A body at rest stays at rest, a body in motion says in motion. Once you get started, its very easy to stay with it, especially if they see results."

So if a manager sees his employees taking ten minutes to go for a walk, he should know that they're doing it for the benefit of the whole agency. And not only that, says Bradley, "if a manager sees people taking ten, my recommend is the manager join them. And the camaraderie has really grown. When this was initiated at DoT, they had a thousand employees taking 'ten at ten' within a month."

Bradley says more than one survey shows companies saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just by helping their employees get and stay fit and healthy. It all starts with a little exercise. Just ten minutes a day, to begin with.

"So there's lot of money to be saved simply with health and fitness, and obviously the health care system can save lots of money by encouraging their employees and their clients to exercise a little bit, because it'll help them out in the long run."

But how do you as a manager get started? We'll learn more about that next time. But Bradley says, "remember, our bodies were made and designed to exercise. They weren't made to sit for eight hours a day."

Listen for The Fit Fed every Monday! And if you have questions or tips about how to keep your workforce healthy, e-mail us: FitFed@federalnewsradio.com.

(Copyright 2005 by FederalNewsRadio.com. All Rights Reserved.)

Variety is the spice of life and your workout too!

"What's happening today, is people are starting to figure out that they have to exercise."

Rick Bradley, author of Quick Fit is a retired federal employee - who has a new mission in life: to make sure all feds are fit and healthy.

He says if you get tired of doing the same old thing every day, change it up. It'll keep you from getting bored and your body won't hit a plateau.

Number two, they're trying to figure out what's best for them. They have choices. Yoga is an excellent form of exercise and that can be their complete fitness program. They can incorporate short bursts of aerobic activity like brisk walking. That's a phenomenal comprehensive program.

A University of Florida study agrees, saying you're more likely to stick with it if you don't get bored. And you're less likely to get bored if you try new stuff.

So what's happening is, people can pick and choose what they want to do, and that leads to success. Choice and flexibility is key to a successful program.

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On the Web:

U. Of Fl. - Adding Variety To An Exercise Routine Helps Increase Adherence: http://news.ufl.edu/2000/10/24/variety/

Exercise doesn't just work your body's muscle, it works your brain too!

It is a good way to alleviate stress, fight depression, and stay alert.

Feeling a bit down or just kind of logy? Take a walk, get some air, and get moving!

"More and more, social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists are using brisk walking for their treatment."

Rick Bradley, author of QuickFit and a retired federal employee says now its clear that physical fitness is good for more than just losing weight and staying in shape.

For instance, I know one social worker who counsels his patients while taking a 45 minute walk. They talk while they walk. Not only do they get things off their chest and share with their social worker, they get 45 minutes of exercise. They're getting help, they're getting in shape, they feel good about themselves, and they never thought they'd be in walking programs. You take a brisk walk for mental health, you take yoga for mental health, these are terrific stress management programs. No doubt about it.

Bradley says he practices what he preaches. "I have a flexibility program that I do. I call it saluting the sun. Its terrific. And now, it's really going to be big."

And an article by the American Heart Association cites studies that show exercise can help you clear your head, think straight, even think smarter.

On the Web:
American Heart Association: Exercise (Physical Activity), Mental Health and Mental Ability