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"   You just have to love 11-year-old boys. The other day Matthew delighted in pointing out the &amp;quot;wobbly&amp;quot; skin on the back of my upper arms. Gee, thanks! (And not to worry \u2014 I will be posting no photos of my wobbly arms.) But it got me thinking\u2026 I can eat healthfully and I can walk until my shoes fall off, but without some kind of upper-body strength training, I can improve this middle-aged body only so much. So I&amp;#039;m planning to add a bit (just a bit, nothing fancy) of weight training to my routine. I bought some simple \u2014 and not terribly heavy \u2014 hand weights and I plan to follow an exercise video created by a certified fitness trainer so I don&amp;#039;t hurt myself. I&amp;#039;ll keep you posted.  As we start week 4 of Ellie Krieger&amp;#039;s 12-week plan, she suggests incorporating strength training \u2014 for some very good reasons: \u00B0 It boosts your appearance. \u00B0 It boosts your metabolism. \u00B0 It helps keep you feeling younger by staving off the loss of muscle and bone as you age. \u00B0 It makes you tougher. \u00B0 It reduces anxiety by reducing tension at the end of a long day. \u00B0 It improves posture. \u00B0 It makes life easier because you&amp;#039;re stronger and better able to perform daily tasks. Gosh, if that isn&amp;#039;t enough to make us grab those weights, what is? Stretching, too, is something I could stand to do a whole lot more often. And in Small Changes, Big Results, Ellie notes that most of us just plain ignore stretching when it comes to exercise. But if we do it regularly, she says, it can help prevent injury, promote flexibility, maintain range of motion and serve as a great relaxation tool. Ellie says one study showed that people who stretched for 30 seconds per muscle group each day increased their range of motion significantly in just a few weeks. Stretching, weights, walking\u2026 What are you doing this week to help reach your weight-loss and fitness goals? \u2014 Kathy Sena "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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