WEST KENDALL

Fit for Life helps teens shed weight and gain knowledge

A GROUP OF 32 TEENS IS SHEDDING WEIGHT AND GAINING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH FIT FOR LIFE, A 15-WEEK NUTRITION AND EXERCISE PROGRAM

MIAMI HERALD FITNESS CHALLENGE

Trio has slimmed to two for now

Glenn Garvin is missing in action. He quit the Fitness Challenge competition, not to be heard of again. The working out was too much for his frail 215-pound frame. To be honest, it was taking too much time away from maintaining his beard. Have you seen that thing?

GET SMART

Stand at attention for this

''Get up, stand up'' may be the best advice for the today's desk jockeys. Noting a growing body of research on the health hazards of sitting for prolonged periods, the British Journal of Sports Medicine warned last month that we need to be aware of the dangers of sitting. Here's what you should know (but please stand up while reading this).

JOCK DOC

Injury may end senior's year

Q: I am an 18-year-old pitcher who is going into my senior year of high school. Two weeks ago I was throwing and developed a sharp pain on the inside part of my right elbow. I saw a sports medicine doctor who got an MRI scan and said that I tore the Tommy John ligament. He recommended surgery but said I would miss my senior season. Are there any other alternatives?

MIAMI HERALD FITNESS CHALLENGE

Girl Scouts, threat or menace?

Forget underwear bombers. What we need is a comprehensive multilateral War on Diet Terrorism. Target No. 1: Girl Scout cookies.

FITNESS CHALLENGE

Diet secret revealed!

Forget 2012! A new world dawns today! For centuries, a cabal of nutritionists, gym instructors and bulimic celebrity authors has withheld from us the simple secret to losing weight fast. But after two weeks on the Miami Herald Fitness Challenge, I have pierced the veil of secrecy -- and though it may cost me my life, I'm ready to tell. It is . . .

JOCK DOC

Get second opinion on achy knee

Q: About 10 years ago I fractured my tibial plateau just below my right knee. It was not severe enough to require surgery and I was treated with a brace and physical therapy. I regained my motion and strength and was able to return to sports. Over the last year, though, I have had more and more pain in my knee and recently noticed swelling. The doctor told me I have arthritis. He gave me anti-inflammatory medication and told me to give up sports. Do I have any other options?

MIAMI HERALD FITNESS CHALLENGE

Fitness contestants are off -- to a queasy start

I win! I win! A week into the Miami Herald Fitness Challenge, and I'm the only one who hasn't thrown up after a workout. I merely feel like I've been worked over with a sledgehammer. Some victory!

HEALTH Q&A

Talking fitness, diet with trainer Marco Borges

Marco Borges, a Miami exercise physiologist, has spent the past 16 years teaching people how to lead healthier lives. His clients have included ordinary people and stars such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, Pharrell and Gwen Stefani. He recently helped Gloria Estefan lose 20 pounds.

ROAD TO FITNESS

How you can fit fitness into that busy schedule

Q: My resolution is to start exercising, but I have a very hectic schedule. Can you recommend a workout that doesn't take a lot of time but will still give me good results?

HEALTHY BONES

In puberty, fat builds mass

Girls suffering through the insecurities of puberty are often likely to yearn for the rail-thin bodies of supermodels plastered across the typical supermarket glossy.

JOCK DOC

To fix ruptured tendon, surgery, therapy needed

Q: I read in the paper about a pro-athlete that had ruptured his patellar tendon and would be lost for the season. What is a patellar tendon rupture and why does it take so long to get better?

Need some company as you work to get in shape this year?

New Year's Day Plus Four: The diet's already wavering and the new treadmill gathering dust, right? But what if you had company on your ''this year I get in shape'' resolution? How about if three plump, cheery Miami Herald staffers were sharing your every grunt, moan and vicious stab of hunger?

FITNESS

Top 10 trends for new year include cheaper workouts

Where is fitness going in 2010? Well, people want to sweat, get it done quickly and not spend a lot of money. The American Council on Exercise announced the top 10 fitness trends for 2010 based on an annual survey of personal trainers, group fitness experts and others. The key words are ''unique'' and ''efficient.''

FITNESS

Don't sweat the scale

Trying to get fit? Stop worrying about being up or down a few pounds. That's the consensus of doctors we asked to help us wade through the bewildering and sometimes conflicting number of ways to measure your fitness level. Instead, these doctors say, you need to pay attention to your Body Mass Index and waist circumference.

JOCK DOC

Ankle sprains throw hoopster for a loop

Q: I am a basketball player who has had at least six sprains of my left ankle. Now my ankle feels loose and even when I am walking it feels like it will turn in.

EXERCISE

Here's a get fit quick scheme

10 minutes, that's all we've got. But fret not, sweat plenty, that's all the time you'll need to squeeze in a rat-a-tat whole-body workout.

EXERCISE

Here's the exercise gear that's fit to give

Spread healthy holiday cheer with exercise gear for the active on your shopping list.

HEALTH TIPS

Don't break your back getting ready for the holidays

People have kicked into high gear to prepare for December holidays. Here are some health tips from doctors.

FITNESS

Big loss a huge win in Key West fitness challenge

KEY WEST -- Leigh Smith, an out-of-shape, 240-pound mother of two, wanted to get healthy, but growing up on Southern fried food and routinely putting her family first, the 35-year-old admitted she didn't know how.

AGING

Exercise gives seniors improved balance

Six women in their 60s to 80s lunge side to side in swimming pool, emulating falling and regaining balance. At times during the one-hour YMCA class, they also pad about, reaching for bobbing Nerf balls, and balance on one leg and against turbulence.

FITNESS

Working out to video games

On most days, Sherry Bridson gets up at 3:30 a.m. and heads to her TV, where for the next 90 minutes, she plays a video game. This is how she has lost 98 pounds -- and counting.

JOCK DOC

Pop could spell trouble for lifter's shoulder

Q: I am a 27-year-old who enjoys weight training and in particular power lifting. Last week I felt a pop in my left upper arm and the left side of my chest. Since that time I have noticed swelling and bruising, and my chest muscles do not look exactly the same on the left as compared with my right side.

FITNESS

New research focuses on heavy pro athletes

The can-you-be-fit-and-fat debate just got more fuel, courtesy of a study presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in San Diego.

FITNESS

Keeping track will help you keep moving

What if there was a small, inexpensive device that was proven to boost your fitness, help you lose weight and lower your blood pressure? Would you use it, especially if doing so was nearly effortless?

HEALTH Q&A

Kendall doc's got your back

Dr. Elliott Grusky treats professional race car drivers and athletes in his Kendall chiropractic practice. He is also the team chiropractor for the University of Miami Athletic Department, where he helps young athletes stay in shape without injuring themselves.

FITNESS

The new Rx: Take a hike and call me in the morning

''I have a StairMaster right in my own basement, but honestly it's been there for years gathering dust and making me feel guilty,'' one of my patients told me. ''It wasn't until I started walking the three-mile trail in the park near my house that I got serious about exercising. I do it now rain or shine. I love the fresh air. The best part is that I get a great workout and don't even mind sweating.''

JOCK DOC

Arthritic knee calls for joint replacement

Q: I have been told that I have knee arthritis, and that when it gets bad enough I will need a knee replacement. I have heard about cartilage regrowth surgery and wonder if I would be a candidate.

JOCK DOC

Old ankle injury may have contributed to bone spurs

Q: I sprained my right ankle several times when I was a teenager. Recently I have gotten into running and now am experiencing increasing pain in the front part of my ankle. I also have less motion in the right ankle joint than the left. A doctor told me I had bone spurs and needed surgery. Why do bone spurs occur and what are my other treatment options?

EXERCISE

It's a reach to say you must stretch

It's been a long, hard day at the office, and you need a good workout to blow off all that stress. But before you hit the free weights, the stationary bike or the elliptical machine, you spend 10 minutes carefully stretching all those stiff muscles, just as every coach, trainer and physical therapist has advised for as long as you can remember.

Running groups keep South Florida marathoners on track

The sky is still dark, the road ahead is long and everything hurts. That marathon race, the motivation for putting in all these miles, isn't for two more months. But at least there's someone to talk to.

GET SMART

Do you know your 'fat gap'?

Have you heard of ''the fat gap?'' It's a term that sprang up last month, when a survey in Great Britain found the majority of overweight people there are oblivious to the fact that they're heavy. Are you, too, caught in the fat gap?

JOCK DOC

X-rays might not show cause of basketball player's foot pain

Q: My son is a 14-year-old basketball player who has developed pain over the last month on the outside of his foot. Originally he was able to keep playing but over the last week the pain has gotten bad enough that whenever he runs or jumps he has to stop playing. My family doctor took X-rays, which showed no fracture. He was told to rest it for a couple of weeks, as it might be a sprain.

FITNESS

Get out and get moving -- again

If you belong to a gym and have fallen off the fitness wagon, maybe a trip to the park or beach is in order. Not to lie on your back, but to get moving again. So says Dr. Rhonda Fine, a Miami psychologist who advises health nuts and the people who train them on how to get their mojo back.

JOCK DOC

Arm deserves a surgeon's look

Q: I was doing biceps curls in the gym last week and felt a pop near my shoulder. I noticed a deformity above my elbow that made my arm look like Popeye's, and I also noticed some bruising and swelling in my arm. It is my left arm and I am right-handed. After researching it online, I think I probably have a biceps injury. Does it need to be fixed?

Rehab for kids hits South Florida sports scene

Shauna Davis dances every day, all styles. The teenager has been dancing since she was 3 -- and suffering the aches and pains that go along with it.

FITNESS

How to make the most of your workout with weights

Ever wonder if you're getting the most benefit from your workout program? It's important to remember that more is not necessarily better. A big factor in getting results from strength training is choosing a weight that fatigues the muscles by the end of the set. The more repetitions, the greater the muscular endurance. Fewer reps with a heavier weight builds more strength.

FITNESS Q&A

Mom's book aimed at helping other moms shape up

One look at TV trainer and author Tracey Mallett's flat abs and rock-hard thighs is probably enough to send most postpartum women into a depressive tailspin.

JOCK DOC

Tennis elbow may require surgery

Q: I have had tennis elbow for the better part of one year. I am not sure if I hurt it playing tennis or working out with weights. I have tried to rest it, take an anti-inflam-matory medication, done physical therapy, and had two cortisone shots.