Exercise of the day: Mountain climbers

I used to hate doing these during our high school sports drills. But mountain climbers as the legendary Pete Shaifer called them, are a highly effective, simple and no-cost exercise that can be done with just a little bit of room. These are some of the top attributes of a Wiser Health-endorsed exercise.

Get into a push-up position, nice and straight like a plank. Bring one knee up to your chest, kick it back and simultaneously bring the opposite knee up to your chest. Repeat quickly like you're climbing, rest, repeat. This is a great one to add to your own circuit of exercises.

No such thing as too much variety

Mixing up your exercise type is generally a good thing. I try to think of my exercise routine like a stack of cards that tells me what to do. Remember Nike's Bo Jackson cross-training campaign from the 1990s? Well, being a good all-arounder is still a good thing in 2010.

I have some overall categories like "heavy lifts" or "fast cardio," but some are a mix like "circuit of pushups, sit-ups, dips, crunches and jumping rope." Today, I just did as many pushups as I can do in three minutes followed by 100 burpees, no limit to rest.

Some easy ways to add variety. Switch the number of reps or to a timed set or make up a circuit of your favorite exercise. Do a yoga routine.

Just try to do very different types of exercises on consecutive days. So use common sense. If you just did something that heavily involves taxing the back, don't do rows the next day for example. Change it up so you don't get bored or burnt out. It's also very good to hit different aspects of fitness.

By the way. 100 burpees are tough. I feel completely spent.

Those amazing avocados

I turned to this ad in "Bon Appetit" and it instantly inspired me to make this simple avocado and tomato salad. Just slice some ripe ones, add salt, pepper, oregano and lemon juice and enjoy.

With such rich natural foods like avocado and tomato, it's easy to eat something that tastes amazing and is good for your health. The ad, from the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association, has a link to more recipes.

The ad says avocados contribute nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.

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Foods to ease stress

This list of foods that help reduce stress from Yahoo! Health is a nice compilation of tasty items.

Blueberries, spinach, salmon, almonds and more. Load up on these. Get plenty of sleep and give each other massages. And don't skip the exercise.

Speaking of exercise, I just discovered this hidden feature on the Wall Street Journal website. There are cool features on the exercise routines of a variety of people who have discovered what works for them.

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workout gear on the cheap

While there are numerous sweat-wicking super shirts, Spandex-ed compression shorts and sneakers that promise to return energy, keep in mind that your plain old T-shirt, regular elastic waistband shorts and $30-60 athletic shoes that fit are just fine.

I get my basketball shorts from discount stores like TJ Maxx or Ross Dress for Less. Usually they have name brands from $9-$15. I have nice stock of old T-shirts that are super comfortable, especially since they have been washed so many times.

When it comes to workout shoes, go with fit. You get the most for your money when your shoe feels nice and won't hinder you while busting out set of burpees.

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Do it the natural way

Plenty of people don't like to admit that they exercise to look good. That's OK. Let's make peace with that notion.

One thing is certain, if you do exercises that train your body to do real-life activities, you will look good and natural. The old design adage that form follows function works in the fitness world too.

How do you apply this principle?

Choose exercises that utilize multiple parts of the body. When you carry groceries back from the store, you are using a lot of muscles to stabilize the bags. Almost 90 percent of the exercises I do on done standing upright. This recruits the legs, midsection, and everything else that anchors our bodies.

I used to love bench pressing because I could move a lot of weight, but when do we lie on our backs and push a heavy load towards the heavens? Instead I do standing shoulder presses. This forces my entire body to stabilize.

Ice cream substitute

I love my Breyers vanilla ice cream, but when I need to fulfill that craving, I turn to the potent combination of plain Greek yogurt, agave nectar and cinnamon. The agave nectar lends the sweetness and the thick yogurt gives this dessert some heft.

Agave is derived from a plant and is a good sugar substitute because it has a low-glycemic index, which means it won't cause a sharp rise or fall in blood sugar. Agave is also said to have health benefits like anti-inflammatory properties as well as an immune-system boost.

Really though, this yogurt treat is simply delicious. That's all you really need to know.

Foam rollers for relief

If you can't get a regular massage, get a foam roller, available at many sporting goods stores for about $30. You can place it underneath your legs, back, thighs, hips to smooth out muscle aches. It's simple: Put the roller underneath, say, your left calf and roll it back and forth using your body weight to apply pressure.

I've been using this at the gym for about a month now. It's really help limber up my lower back and hamstrings. I've also heard you can get a similar effect with a tennis ball.