FITNESS

Trainers to the stars bring routines to TV

Two to four times a week, Holly Perkins works with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, putting him through sets of lunges and stepping exercises to keep him buff.

JOCK DOC

Wrist injury is spoiling his game

Q: I love playing tennis and over the last few weeks I have had pain in my wrist. It particularly hurts when I hit a backhand. I have no swelling and I went to the emergency room and they took X-rays and nothing was broken. However, I cannot play tennis without it hurting and wonder what it could be.

Health & Fitness Calendar | Yoga, health fairs and more

Ashtanga Yoga Workshop: Lectures and discussions that focus on integration of yoga practice and philosophy into one's life led by Govinda Kai, a certified yoga teacher; 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday; Miami Life Center, 736 Sixth St., South Beach; $155 for three days, $35-$40 for one day. 305-534-8988 or www.miamilifecenter.com.

Health & Fitness Calendar | Kayaking, aikido and more

Aikido for ages 13 and up: 8-9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 7:30-9 a.m. Saturdays at Tumblebees Gymnastics, 6950 SW 117th Ave., Miami. $85 per month. 305-632-3075.

Doggone fit: Your pet could be your best workout friend

Unlike first kids Malia and Sasha, my brother and I never convinced our parents to let us adopt a dog. My dad said he was allergic, while my mom came up with a more creative excuse: ''We don't believe in species subjugation.'' Actually, they didn't believe in picking up poop.

POSTURE

Sitting too long puts stress on the spine

Your chair could be slowly killing you. ''Chair disease,'' as some informally call it, is an increasingly common malady in the United States that is almost always caused by spending too much time parked on your rear end.

JOCK DOC

MRI best to show fractures

Q: What is the difference between a stress reaction and a stress fracture in an athlete? A: This is a controversial question: when does a stress reaction become a stress fracture?

HEALTH & FITNESS CALENDAR

Health calendar for June 9 and beyond

Aromatherapy for Children: Rachel Markel explains how to use essential oils with children; 7:30-9:30 p.m. Thursday; Miami Dade College-Kendall Campus, 11011 SW 104th St., Kendall; $35. 305-237-2161 or www.mdc.edu/kendall/ce.

'Diet Detective' Charles Stuart Platkin relentlessly pushes clients

If nothing else works, Charles Stuart Platkin, the Miami Beach-based ''Diet Detective,'' will badger you into losing weight. There was Jennifer Cadle, 276 pounds. He bought her a huge chocolate cake -- her weakness -- and had her cut a big slice and put it in a box. ''You'd have to walk 2 ½ hours to work that off,'' he told her.

GET SMART

Debunking myths about warm-ups, eggs

There are so many things to worry about these days. Wouldn't it be nice to cross something off the list? Turns out you can. Researchers have been busy debunking some common medical myths that have been repeated so many times, people assume them to be true. Here are five misconceptions you can stop biting your nails over now:

JOCK DOC

Squats may have done knee damage

Q: Last week I was doing squats in the gym and felt a pain on the inside part of my left knee. I was able to finish my workout and later that night it swelled a little bit. I rested it for a couple of days and then returned to my workouts in the gym.

The promise of pushups

The old-school exercise rivals fancy equipment and elaborate cross-training regimens for the full-body workout it provides.

FITNESS

Parents can adapt workouts for kids

Athletic parents who've been through it have some advice for those embarking on parenthood for the first time: Don't fret, you'll still get your sweat on.

JOCK DOC

Sprain's a real pain

Q: I sprained my left ankle at least six times and it feels really loose. I wear ankle braces that I picked up at the pharmacy that help a little bit, but still, when I play sports, it feels like my ankle will turn inwards.

Olympian Dara Torres, 42, not slowing down

When U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres took her place at the starting block at the 2008 games in Beijing, she was the first woman over 40 to swim in the Olympics.

HEALTH Q&A

Pioneer fitness expert's advice still good as new

Mark Adams, contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure magazine, has written Mr. America (HarperCollins, $25.99), about pioneering fitness and nutrition guru Bernarr McFadden.

JOCK DOC

Doctors at odds over treatment

Q: I am 19 years old and fell on my right shoulder. I felt a crack and went to the emergency room and was told that I had a clavicle fracture and to see an orthopedic surgeon.

Weighty issues: Fighting childhood obesity

An overweight child often has more than excess pounds to bear -- they're often taunted by peers and can suffer health problems, now and later.

SONY ERICSSON

Old man of the courts still has some magic

The oldest, trickiest, Frenchiest player at this year's Sony Ericsson Open is Fabrice Santoro, who won his first-round match against a towering Brazilian 15 years his junior in two hours and change last week.

Health & fitness calendar

Balance Screening for Seniors: Improves walking and balance and prevents falls. Call for appointment; 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesday; National Balance Centers, 16378 NE 26th Ave., North Miami Beach; free. 305-940-0040.

JOCK DOC

Elbow pain rough for duffer

Q: I am a 35-year-old attorney who loves playing golf at least three days a week but my right elbow has become so painful that I have had to stop playing. I did rest it for a couple of weeks and it felt better, but as soon as I went back to golfing it hurt again. I saw my family doctor, who gave me a cortisone shot that helped for a while, but again the pain has come back and I am now very frustrated. What should I do?

GET SMART | RED WINES

Health risk-benefit debate rages on

Women have been toasting red wine research for years, tossing back their cabernets and pinot noirs with every finding that has linked red wine to such health benefits as lowered heart attack risk and slower aging. But the party may be over. Two major studies in the past month have linked alcohol, including red wine, to increased breast cancer risk in women. What's a red wine lover to do?

FITNESS

Can I run with a runny nose?

Problem: I'm all stuffed up, but I want to work out. Should I? Solution: Yes! As long as you don't have a fever and the symptoms are above the neck -- or you have a sore throat or sinus infection -- it's OK to moderately exercise, said Shazia Khan, an assistant professor at Loyola University Health System.

FITNESS

Trainer's the model of perfection

He has been the cover model for Men's Health magazine a record 18 times. And his book Muscle Chow is a bible for trainers and fitness fanatics. But Gregg Avedon is ready to turn his focus elsewhere, which explains why he walks around a dim Sunrise gym in a deserted industrial park at 8 on a Friday night, mapping out a training routine so strenuous that clients sometimes weigh this option: quit or vomit.

CHEW ON THIS

Diet fads? Just limit calories

Diet roulette has been going on for years. This is the game in which you hear a new diet plan, change the way you eat, lose a little weight, go back to your old ways and then gain the weight back.

GET SMART

Multivitamins not a magic bullet

We've been told for years that popping a multivitamin will make us healthier and prolong our lives, but a major study recently found that daily multivitamins don't make a difference in the rate of breast or colon cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots or mortality. What you should know:

FITNESS

New video games provide workouts in disguise

As they try to get children off their couches and onto their feet, schools and gyms across the country are harnessing some of the same technology often blamed for making kids fat: video games.

DIETING

Low-carb? Low-fat? Calories count more

Low-fat, low-carb or high-protein? The kind of diet doesn't matter, scientists say. All that really counts is cutting calories and sticking with it, according to a federal study that followed people for two years.

BODY BY YOU

Workouts Power (Plate) off the pounds

Body: Mia Sylvestre, 28, 5-feet-4, 144 pounds, trainer at Myra & Company in South Miami. Her passion: The Power Plate, a new workout machine that uses whole-body vibration to contract muscles 30 to 50 times per second. (The continual vibration causes you to tense and relax your muscles to keep your balance.)

FITNESS

For personal trainer, losing weight was in the cards

Lori Wengle has come by her credentials as a personal trainer through experience. In her transformation -- from 242 pounds to 135 pounds, from weak to strong, from hiding her body to showing it off -- Wengle also has discovered the inspiration for a new business.

FITNESS

Book promotes 10,000-step program to better health

Want to reduce health-care costs? Ready to take charge of your personal health and lifestyle? ''Walk this way!'' says Sue Parks, founder and chief executive of WalkStyles, a Laguna Hills, Calif., company that promotes walking as a lifestyle.

RESEARCH

University of Miami embarks on landmark study of Latino health

When a recruiter from the University of Miami's Behavioral Medicine Research Center knocked on Claudia Berrios' Little Havana door, she didn't know the encounter would change her life.

BODY BY YOU

What a kick! 'You're exercising without knowing it'

Body: Peter Reilly, 34, 5-foot-8, 168 pounds, dietician at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami. His sport: Kickball. He plays on a team called the Backyard Bandits every Friday night at Indian Hammocks Park in Kendall.

Cardio equipment's calorie tracking accuracy varies

Problem: You are trying to lose weight and want to know how many calories you're burning while on cardio equipment. Which provides the most accurate calorie count: a stationary bike, a treadmill or an elliptical machine?

MIAMI

New fitness facility opening in Midtown Miami area

Shuichi Take Fitness Company will open a fitness facility in the Midtown Miami area. The grand opening for Shuichi Take Fitness Club takes place 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at 3250 NE First Ave., Suite 504.

HEALTH BOOKS

Pump up weight-loss motivation with a plan

Already the crowds at the gym are starting to thin as New Year's resolutions start to fade. Need to jump start your motivation? Pick up the 2009 edition of The Cooper Clinic Solution to the Diet Revolution (Good Health Press, $34.95) by Georgia Kostas, former director of nutrition of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas.

JOCK DOC

Simple steps will ease wrist pain

Q: I am a 22-year-old law student who has pain in both my wrists. I do not recall hurting it playing sports or working out. A friend said that it may be from using the computer so much, taking notes in class and writing briefs. Usually the more I use them, the more they hurt.

FITNESS CALENDAR

Balance screening for seniors

TUESDAY, FEB. 3 GRACE IN MOTION Balance Screening for Seniors: Improves walking and balance to prevent falls; 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays; National Balance Centers, 16378 NE 26th Ave., North Miami Beach; free, but call for appointment. 305-940-0040.

FITNESS

Free exercise classes boost activity rates

Free exercise classes in a public setting might be just what it takes to make residents of a city more active. It seems to be working for residents of Recife, the fifth-largest city in Brazil. There, city officials set up free calisthenics and dance classes in 21 public places, enrolling more than 10,000 residents a year starting in 2002.