1 . Are you trying to find the best time for exercise?     1     Follow these tips to figure out what fitness routine works best for you.

Dawn, dusk or dead of night — when’s the best time to work out? Well, that depends on when’s the best time for you, because the benefits of physical activity depend upon how consistent you are.     2     But if you’re not a morning person, it may not work for you to try to get up at dawn to work out. The key is to do what’s most likely to work for you consistently.

    3     If you find that working out too late in the evening keeps you from falling asleep easily, shift your exercise session earlier in the day or try less intense, more mindful forms of movement.

To stay motivated, choose activities you enjoy. If you’re a social person, do something that engages you socially. Take a group exercise class, join a recreational team or walk with a group of friends. If you prefer having time alone, walking, swimming or biking solo might be a better fit for you.     4    

There are so many choices.     5     Having a variety of fitness activities to choose from may keep you from getting bored or burnt out.

2 . Cold weather during winter months may keep many people from leaving home and running in the open air. However, a new study shows that the drop in temperature is a good reason to run.    1    

Many people say running in winter can be difficult. One reason is the low temperature.     2     Yet many runners might find it easier than running in hot weather. That could be because lower temperatures reduce stress on the body. When you run in cold weather, your heart rate and the body’s dehydration（脱水）levels are lower than in warmer conditions.    3    

This information comes from John Brewer, who is a professor of applied sports science at St. Mary’s University. For this study，he and other researchers put a group of people into a special room. The researchers then recreated summer and winter weather conditions in the room.     4     Brewer says he and his team recorded biological measurements of the runners.

He says that the most important thing for people who run in cold conditions is to wear the right clothing. Wear gloves on your hands.     5     And especially, wear more than one layer of clothing to keep sweat away from your skin.

3 . What makes sports fun?

What makes organized sports fun for kids? A group at George Washington University (GW), led by Professor Amanda J. Visek, has been studying this question. The research is important because lots of kids give up playing sports around age 13 or 14.

The reason kids quit?     1     So if the group can figure out what makes sports fun, maybe more kids will play longer and develop better lifelong exercise habits.

First, the group brainstormed 81 things called "fun determinants" that can make sports fun. Then they asked the players aged 8 to 18 to assess how important each thing was to their enjoyment of playing organized sports.     2     The players ranked(排名) “winning” as only the 40th most important fun determinant. Unexpectedly, they ranked "trying your best," "exercising and being active" and “getting along with your teammates" in the top 10 most important fun determinants.

    3     They also compared younger athletes with older athletes as well as recreational athletes and kids who play on travel teams. The recent study revealed (揭露) more surprises. Some people think girls like sports because they want to be with their friends, while boys like to compete.     4     It's true boys placed slightly more importance on "improving athletic skills to play at the next level," but for the most part, the study found male and female athletes’ answers were very close.     5     Although there were some differences between the groups -younger players, for example, like "playing different positions" more than older players-the groups shared lots of the same attitudes toward what makes sports fun.

4 . Why Is Exercise Cool?

•Exercise Strengthens Muscles

Did you ever do a push-up or swing across the monkey bars at the playground?    1    By using your muscles to do powerful things, you can make them stronger. For older teens and adults, this kind of workout can make muscles bigger, too.

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Can you touch your toes easily without yelling ouch? Most kids are pretty flexible, which means that they can bend and stretch their bodies without much trouble. Being flexible is having “full range of motion”, which means you can move your arms and legs freely without feeling tightness or pain.

•Exercise Keeps the Balance

    3    Your body needs a certain amount of calories every day just to function, breathe, walk around, and do all the basic things.    4    If you’re not very active, your body won’t need as many calories. Whatever your calorie need is, if you eat enough to meet that need, your body weight will stay about the same. If you eat more calories than your body needs, it may be stored as extra fat.

•Exercise Makes You Feel good

It feels good to have a strong, flexible body that can do all the activities you enjoy—like running, jumping and playing with your friends. It’s also fun to be good at something, like scoring a basket, hitting a home run, or perfecting a dive.

But you may not know that exercising can actually put you in a better mood.    5    It’s just another reason why exercise is cool!

5 . Every person has time for exercise. The way is to take steps to include exercise convenient for your lifestyle. After I started getting into a habit of exercising, I was surprised by how much I could get done in a day, both physically and mentally. You can make exercise a part of your daily lifestyle.     1    

Start small

One of the reasons exercise programs fail is that we bite off more than we can chew. Instead of telling yourself you’re going to exercise today for an hour, tell yourself you’re going to exercise for five minutes.     2    

Break your exercise into parts.

No time for 30 minutes of exercise? No problem. Do three bouts (一回) of 10 minutes, or six bouts of five minutes each.    3     Just keep a running table of how many minutes you exercise each day to ensure you’re getting the minimum you desire.

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Devices such as Fitbit activity trackers (跟踪系统) turn exercise into a game of sorts. Each day, you can measure how many steps you’ve taken. Many people find this attractive to their competitive spirits, and they and they take great pains to meet their goals. The technology is there, and it’s very affordable.

Exercise with someone else.

    5     You don’t want to let him or her down, even if you’re feeling like you’d rather not work out. Find someone and start moving. You’ll be able to inspire one another and celebrate your success.

6 . You already know that sports benefit your physical health. Now, research has found that sports participation can positively affect your mental health as well.

    1     These skills include critical thinking, learning and using good judgment. Research has shown that doing a mix of aerobic and muscle strengthening activities is especially helpful. Participating in this kind of activity three to five times a week for at least 30 minutes can provide these mental health benefits.

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Sports can improve the quality of sleep. They do this by helping you fall asleep faster and deepening your sleep. Sleeping better can improve your mental outlook the next day as well as improve your mood.     3    Evening practices within a few hours of bedtime may leave you too excited to sleep.

Team sports such as football, baseball and basketball are good for developing leadership traits. Because of the opportunity to train, try, win or lose together, people involved in these sports are naturally more inclined to adopt a" team mindset(思维模式) in the workplaces and in social situations.    4    

Doing sports is good for your health. But keep in mind: some team sports may result in injuries.    5     However, some injuries, such as brain trauma and concussion, can cause lifelong damage to people. So be careful when you do sports and avoid sports injuries as much as possible.

7 . As is known, exercise helps to keep us in good health. Doctors at the American Heart Association suggest getting at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week. Many people have an exercise routine.     1    . So, getting those 150 minutes is easier. But what about those times when you are sick? If you do not feel well, should you keep following your exercise routine? Will physical activity help you to feel better more quickly or will it delay the healing process?

Health experts answer these and other questions on the Mayo Clinic website. Mild to moderate physical activity is usually OK if you have a common cold. According to the experts, it is usually fine to exercise if your symptoms are all “above the neck”.     2    . In fact, exercise may make you feel better by “opening your blocked nose”. This may temporarily reduce congestion and help you to breathe more easily.

    3    , though. So be on guard for symptoms such as chest congestion, extreme cough or pain in the stomach. Besides, there are other symptoms that can tell you to avoid exercise. They include: a higher than normal body temperature, a sense of feeling extremely tired, also known as fatigue, and widespread muscle pain.     4    .

Finally, experts suggest learning to listen to your body. If you feel really bad, take a break and let your body rest. If you don’t feel too bad, these experts both suggest cutting back on the intensity (强度) of your exercise routine.    5    . Experts all indicate that a few days off from exercise when you are sick shouldn’t affect your performance. You can return to your usual intensity when you feel better.

8 . The martial art of Tai Chi is on the rise as more and more people discover the benefits that come from regular practice.    1    With its gentle movements and focus on forms, it' s also a good way to relax and calm the mind while it energizes and build the body.    2    "Chi" means energy, and it's the focus on energy that makes it different from other martial arts. Tai Chi practitioners believe that, in a struggle, meeting force with force only hurts both parties.

Tai Chi is quite easy to learn. Many recreation centers and community groups offer classes, sometimes in parks and other public places.    3    Wear loose and comfortable clothing and shoes, and you can just join in.

One of the major benefits of Tai Chi is that it's a sport you can practice for life. In China, many elderly people continue to do Tai Chi into their eighties and nineties, and the strengthening and balance moves are hugely beneficial to their continued mobility.    4    As you focus on your breathing and posture, your mind can clear itself of its worries, which does good to your whole body.

    5    All you need is your own body and enough room to stand in. You can do Tai Chi on a mountaintop, in a park, on an ocean beach, or in the middle of a forest. It's a perfect camping activity, and it's a lot of fun. So next time you see someone doing Tai Chi, ask them about it. They might offer to teach you the forms of this fascinating sport.

9 . The standing broad jump is an exercise where the jumpers must jump as far as possible. Unlike other classic Olympic events, the jumper cannot run to build up strength. This exercise takes great attention, and it can be difficult to improve.     1    

    2     Use a form to fill out the greatest distance you have reached every workout. You should also write down which techniques you have used so that you will know what actually works on you. Set a distance goal for a future date, and once you reach this goal, set a new one.

Throughout the jump, jumpers should always look forward, toward their goal distance.     3     Try to achieve a great distance without jumping very high at the takeoff and be sure that all of your energy is pointing forward rather than upward.

Using the power from your upper body to push yourself forward can help you achieve a great distance. This can be a great way to warm up before trying the jump. Start by standing in the correct position with your toes lined up and feet shoulder-width apart.     4     Now bend your knees and jump as your arms move forward again.

Having more strength in your legs will allow you to jump a greater distance. Practicing the standing broad jump will exercise your legs as well, but having strong leg muscles to begin with will help you achieve greater distances.     5    

10 . The WHO says that 80% of the world’s teens don’t get enough exercise to live healthy lives. The report was based on research done with students aged 11 to 17 in 146 different countries.     1     It’s a pity that not much has changed since then, as the WHO reports.

Doctors say 60 minutes of exercise daily is needed for teens to build up their bone and muscle strength. It’s also hugely important for the health of the heart and lungs.     2     Besides, more and more research is showing that exercise doesn’t just help the body, but also the brain, improving thinking, test scores, and school grades.

    3     They were also very different between boys and girls. In the US, for example, 64% of boys were not active enough, compared to 80% of girls. South Korea was the country with the lowest activity levels — 91% of the boys and 97% of the girls didn’t get enough exercise.

One big reason for the lack of activity in today’s teens is technology, such as smartphones, computers and TVs. Many teens find it hard to pull themselves away from them.     4    

So the WHO warns that teens need to do less playing in the digital world, and more playing in the real world. Teens should take part in sports, whether on official teams or just playing around on the playground.     5     For many people, walking or biking to school is one way to make that happen. It’s very important for young people to build these habits now, because the positive effects of those habits can carry through into adult life.