Here’s the only article you need to read to be fit and healthy in the new year -- and beyond.

News flash: We regret to inform you that any unrequested email offering ways to lose pounds and gain muscle as you sleep -- for only $19.99! -- is a scam (which rhymes with “spam.” Coincidence? Not!).

Fortunately, making good on that new year’s resolution to tone your body and prime your health doesn’t have to involve an expensive gym membership and a crazy amount of free time. Simply modify a few habits and add some simple exercises -- even if they’re at your desk -- into your busy day, and you’ll notice a major difference.

These 25 realistic fitness and health tips, put together by a pair of nationally respected physical trainers, are aimed at busy people on a budget. Consider it your own personal health care reform for 2010.

Preparation:

1. Look in the mirror. Assess your fitness and health goals. Decide how much you want to exercise, and commit. Exercise is more easily managed when it’s divided into smaller chunks throughout the day, says Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise.

Morning:

2. Get up and get moving. “Do yoga for five or 10 minutes. Or walk your dog for two quick laps around your building or block,” says Gregory Florez, CEO of Fit Advisor health coaching services. “This wakes you up much like the way caffeine does -- and you won’t have the drop in energy later. It also gets blood flowing.”

3. Don’t give up. Studies have shown that you need to repeat a routine (like morning exercising) for three weeks before it becomes a habit. “Most people start a routine and fall off. Give it those three weeks,” says Florez.

4. Start modestly. If you commit to running 5 miles a day five days a week, you’re bound to quit. Begin with, say, 15 minutes on the stair-climber, two or three days a week. “Once you start achieving smaller goals, it’s easier to work your way to bigger goals. Committing to do something a couple times a week is attainable,” says McCall.

5. Eat breakfast daily (as per mom). Breakfast flips on your metabolism like a furnace switch, so your body fires up and starts burning calories. McCall recommends a carbohydrates-protein combo. On Sunday nights, he premixes yogurt, granola and berries, and stores them in a container for five days’ worth of quick breakfasts.

At the Office:

6. Stretch. Especially if you’re tired, stretching will help you stay awake and limber. McCall recommends simply standing up, reaching your left hand above your right shoulder and slowly twisting your torso left as far as you can, then right. Repeat with right hand, left shoulder.

7. Breathe. Make an appointment every hour to stand up at your desk and take a few deep breaths. “You’ve got to schedule it with the same rigor you schedule any business meeting,” says Florez. “It’s important to re-oxygenate your body.”

8. Pack snacks. “I bring fruit and nuts and seeds with me, and keep them in my desk all week. Foods from fresh, whole sources have a lower glycemic index than sugary foods so you don’t get that high energy spike, then a big crash,” says McCall.

9. Go the distance. Use the bathroom farthest from your desk to get in some extra walking.

10. Drink water all day. Before lunch, down 12 ounces. “We often feel hungry when we’re just dehydrated,” says Florez. “Be that nerdy guy with the reusable water bottle at the desk.”

11. Walk it off. After lunch, take a few laps around the building.

12. Walk and talk. Got a Bluetooth headset? Then head outside and make a phone call while taking a stroll. “You’re cheating your body into really small chunks of exercise throughout the day when you otherwise won’t make the time,” says Florez.

13. Accessorize with exercise. Stash a set of rubber exercise tubes at your office so you can do chest presses, rows or squats right at your desk -- two or three times a day. “That way you get your strength training in, in an accumulated way, throughout the day,” says Florez.

Evening:

14. Get these: A medicine ball, balance ball and the TRX Suspension System (Fitness Anywhere Web site). With them, says McCall, your aerobic and strength options are almost limitless. (Many books and Web sites offer workout instructions for medicine balls and balance balls, and a personal trainer can also create a personal plan for you. The TRX system comes with its own instructional DVD.)

15. Befriend the TV. Either take advantage of the on-demand workout videos offered by many cable providers or get a workout DVD for living room workouts, urges Florez.

16. Don’t just sit there. If you’re watching TV, get off the couch during commercials. “Knock out two to three exercises at each break. By the end of the hour, you’ve hit every muscle group,” says Florez.

17. Do the balance ball pike exercise. First, in case you’re wondering, a “pike” is an exercise that works the abs and shoulders. Now on to this one: Facing the floor, rest your thighs on the ball and put the palms of your hands on the ground, arms extended (like you’re at the top of a push-up). Raise your rear in the air, allowing the ball to roll toward your feet, and keep your legs straight, says McCall. Do three sets of five. Feel the burn.

18. Do the medicine ball wood chop. Squat down, legs spread shoulder-width apart. Hold the ball between your knees; as you stand up, grasp the ball with your hands, swinging it overhead, says McCall. Do one to three sets of 15.

19. Exercise intervals. Intervals are essential for strength work or a cardio workout. “Go hard for an exercise for two to three minutes, dial back, then up the exertion again,” says Florez. Do this two or three times a week. It not only breaks up the monotony of always exercising at the same pace but also benefits your cardiovascular system.

Sleep

20. Set a consistent sleep schedule. Your body will thank you for it, and you’ll have more energy to exercise. Yes, eight hours a night is important, and no, you can’t make up for lost sleep during the weekends, says McCall.

21. Close the fridge by 8 p.m. “Don’t go to bed on a full stomach. It’ll interrupt your sleep cycle,” says Florez.

22. Wind down. “[Stretching before bed] becomes a signal to your body that it’s time to wind down,” says Florez. (He recommends enlisting a personal trainer to create a stretching routine.)

23. Get the TV out of your bedroom. Too much visual stimulation will make for lousy sleep.

24. Set bedroom boundaries. Don’t bring work into your chambers. “Your bedroom should only be for sleeping, having sex or relaxing,” says Florez.

25. Create a nightly routine. That’s how your parents used to get you to sleep. “Sometimes it’s a really hot shower. Sometimes it’s reading fiction -- something that will calm the body down,” says Florez.

If staying lean is a struggle, you just might be hanging out with the wrong crowd. Here’s how to stop your friends from making you fat.

Your friends. If you didn’t know they loved you, you’d think they were trying to kill you: convincing you to go streaking during a blizzard, throwing that wild pitch right at your noggin, secretly spicing your chili with jalapenos.

But there’s something else they might be doing to harm you, and neither they nor you may even know it.

They could be making you fat.

Yes, your bros may influence your weight and the behaviors that tend to make you overweight. In a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, youngsters age 9 to 15 were paired up with either a friend or an unfamiliar person of similar age. Friends who ate together consumed more food than those paired with someone they didn't know. Friends were also more likely to eat similar amounts than participants paired with a stranger. The results, researchers said, suggest that friends may act as “permission givers” when it comes to overeating.

“It’s the same as smoking,” says exercise psychologist Thomas Collingwood, who holds a doctorate in psychology and works at Fitness Intervention Technologies in Richardson, Texas. “If your buddies smoke, you tend to smoke. The issue is peer pressure -- and we’ve known for a long time that this has a powerful, powerful effect on all kinds of behaviors.”

Does this mean you need to shed friends to shed pounds? Not necessarily. You can fight the weighty influence of your crew while actually helping them get leaner, fitter and healthier. The ways:

1. Know when you’re at risk and plan ahead.
Beware the dangers of being packed into a booth down at the local TGIF with your posse on a Saturday night. “The dinner table or the bar is probably the worst for guys,” says weight loss expert Kara Mohr, who holds a doctorate in exercise physiology and is the co-owner of Mohr Results Inc. “It’s a ‘man out’ thing -- who can drink the most, eat the most, enjoy the most.”

Recognizing these high-risk social eating situations in advance will enable you to plan ahead. For instance, consider pulling up the menu of the restaurant you’re headed to in advance so you can find the healthy alternatives there -- or maybe even decide you don’t want to go to this place at all! “Once you’re at the buffet at happy hour, it’s probably too late,” adds Mohr.

2. Take one step at a time.
“You don’t have to say ‘I’m going to stop hanging around with my friends, go the gym every night and eat celery sticks from now on,’” says Mohr. Instead, start by skipping the wings at happy hour. Or decide not to drink on weeknights. Or choose the menu’s healthy alternatives. “You still have choices, even if you’re hanging with the same friends,” says Janice Baker, a registered dietitian based in San Diego, Calif. “Instead of five beers, maybe it’s two beers with water in between. Instead of a double cheeseburger and 64-ounce soda, maybe it’s a regular burger with an iced tea.”

3. Put your money where your mouth isn’t.
No need to make an announcement about your new exercise or eating program. Just go ahead and do it. “You don’t have to talk about dieting; just set an example and enjoy your friends,” says Baker. “They might catch on and start asking about what you’re doing to be in such good shape.”

4. Be the game changer.
Perhaps the group could use a shake-up. While watching football on TV, “maybe you take the initiative to say, ‘Hey guys, at halftime, let’s go shoot some hoops instead of sitting around,’” recommends Collingwood. “Or ‘This week, how about we meet at the gym before we go out?’”

5. Work together.
Psychologists often use a “behavior contract,” a written agreement that you and a buddy could sign, to help people make changes. Example: You and your pal can pledge to do a 30-minute circuit workout at the gym together twice a week for the next month. You set a nonfood reward for compliance (e.g., after the month of workouts, you’ll treat yourselves to tickets to a ball game) and a punishment for failure (e.g., you’ll both do the dishes for your respective girlfriends for a week). If one sticks with reaching the goal and the other doesn’t, the non-sticker buys the tix.

Collingwood, who has helped develop fitness programs for everyone from middle schoolers to veteran police officers, says he’s found a 60 percent success rate with those who use a behavior contract. “They’re successful if they’re kept simple and doable,” he says.

6. Make a clean break.
If your playmates refuse to buy into any of this, maybe it is time to move on -- or at least see them a little less or under different circumstances. Instead, you can make some new friends (at the gym, the park -- heck, maybe even Subway!) who want to lift weights and play ball, and whose idea of fun extends beyond seeing how many plates of nachos and cheese they can scarf down. Says Mohr: “It can’t hurt to find new friends that model the behaviors you want to adopt.”

Want to be your team’s alpha male? The leader out in the field? Just remember: The climb to the top all starts in your head.

Want to be the leader of the pack -- the guy everyone turns to, especially when the game’s on the line? The so-called “alpha male”? You won’t have to wear some kind of testosterone patch, and you certainly won’t have to take illegal performance-enhancing drugs. One thing you can do, though: Cultivate some alpha attitude.

That’s right, an important step to becoming an alpha male in competition is building the right kind of confidence, inner strength and attitude -- the kind of persona that makes you a leader, and your teammates your followers.

Before we go out onto that field, though, let’s back up into the locker room and ask the question: Exactly what is an alpha male?

According to Kate Ludeman, Ph.D., and Dr. Eddie Erlandson, authors of the 2006 book Alpha Male Syndrome, the alpha male is someone whose “courage, confidence, tireless energy and fighting spirit makes them natural leaders in competitive situations.”

The original concept of an alpha male had nothing to do with manliness -- or for that matter, man -- but rather, with the behavior of wolves. In packs, alpha wolves “attained their position by maturing and mating, just like humans,” says Dr. Dave Mech, a research biologist whose 1970 book, The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species, helped introduce the concept of the alpha male.

The modern, enlightened, “true” alpha, says James Villepigue -- co-author, with Rick Collins, of the new book Alpha Male Challenge: The 10-Week Plan to Burn Fat, Gain Muscle and Build True Alpha Attitude -- is “intelligent, thoughtful, emphatic, resilient, and someone who makes the most of his life, respects people.” But he’s also strong and in great shape, ready to lead by example. In competition, says sport psychologist Michael Sachs of Temple University, the true alpha’s “sense of self-worth is not based on kicking your [butt] but on being successful. He understands that beating his opponent down physically and mentally is not required in order to win.”

In their book, Villepigue and Collins -- both certified strength and conditioning coaches -- talk about what they call the four C’s of alpha-male behavior: confidence, courage, conscience and commitment. Here are some of their tips on how to develop those qualities and how they will help you in your sport:

Exercise … Confidence
Alphas are confident in their abilities -- confident enough to exude quiet strength. “Confidence is a muscle,” Villepigue says. “It can be exercised and developed.” You can practice by spending an hour a week each week, walking tall -- shoulders back, chin up, no slouching -- at the mall. Deliberately interact with merchants and those around you. Make eye contact. Speak clearly and with intent but maintain a respectful tone.

Field goal: Practice this drill and see how it comes into play at gut-check time -- when you can look into the eyes of your teammate and exude game-winning confidence and poise.

Build up … Courage
To develop the courage to get what you deserve without being a bully or being bullied yourself, practice some straight talk: Find an interpersonal situation you’ve neglected for a while -- a problem with a co-worker, a spat with a family member, an unsettled argument with a friend. Sit down and ask yourself:

• What is the other party’s specific behavior?
  
• What effect is it having on you?
  
• What is the solution or remedy you want?

Armed with this information, invite this person to sit down and discuss your differences. State the facts. State your feelings. State what you’d like to see happen. Be calm and direct. And feel good that you’ve handled a stressful situation like a real alpha.

Field goal: Your opponent, a teammate, maybe even a coach, is in your face. What you learned from the “courage” drill will help you deal with that guy calmly and rationally -- instead of losing your cool and getting socked with a penalty, a technical foul or maybe even expulsion from the team.

Nurture Conscience
This, the authors say, “is what separates the true alpha male from selfish posers.” A conscience comes from empathy -- the ability to share in and understand another’s thoughts and feelings -- and you can help nurture that by simply learning to listen: Engage in a conversation with a person you wouldn’t normally speak to -- like someone you don’t much care for. Initiate the conversation (“So what do you think of…?”) but let them drive it. Pay attention, listen carefully and try to accept what they say without judgment. You don’t have to necessarily agree, but by listening and at least respecting the other guy’s point of view, you’re on your way to developing the alpha qualities of empathy and conscience.

Field goal: You want to throw a pass. Your teammate wants to run the ball. Instead of dismissing his idea, practicing this drill will help you become a better listener and understand his point of view. And who knows, running the ball in that situation might be the correct call. (After all, even alpha males aren’t right all the time!)

Make Commitments
How about this proposition? Make yourself an alpha bet that you can get in better shape. Villepigue says studies have shown that money -- even as little as $40 -- can be a motivator for getting fit. Stick with an exercise program (he offers a 10-week plan in his book) and at the end, use the money to buy yourself something you really like. Even more valuable, you’ll improve your strength and fitness -- and learn a great lesson about stick-to-it-iveness. (Oh, and if you don’t make the goal or can’t stick with the program -- donate the money to charity and try again).

Field goal: Obviously, following through on a better training program will make you stronger and fitter for your sport. But your newfound commitment will show itself in other ways: in your commitment to practice, to your teammates and to improving every phase of your game.

You don’t have to let the cold and flu season have its way with you. Boost your immune system now.

This year’s cold and flu season will feel like one of the latest Batman or Spider-Man flicks: You won’t just be battling one villain; you’ll have to fight off several. Experts predict two flu epidemics: the regular seasonal flu and the possibly pandemic-causing swine flu (along with the usual plethora of rhinoviruses, of course). Colds and flu bugs spread from person to person, so unless you’re a cave-dwelling hermit, you’re at risk.

What to do? Boost your immune system now to dodge these viral bullets.

1. Get Shot
To keep performing at your best, you’ll need to roll up your sleeve. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most powerful tool for preventing flu -- both seasonal and swine -- is the annual flu shot, available in October and November from doctors, public health departments and some pharmacies (Walgreens, for example). Flu shots rev up the immune system to prevent flu infection. This year you’ll need one shot to prevent seasonal flu and another to prevent swine flu. (The swine flu vaccine is currently in the final stages of testing.)

2. Become a Friend of Herbs
Another way to enhance immune function is to take immune-boosting herbs. A great deal of research shows that some herbs activate the immune system against colds, flu and other diseases. For example:

• Andrographis Chilean researchers gave either a medically inert placebo or Andrographis (1,200 mg per day) to 158 adults who felt colds coming on. After five days, “Andrographis had a high degree of effectiveness in reducing symptoms.” The herb cut the severity and duration of sore throat and nasal symptoms in half. A Swedish study compared Andrographis and a standard antiviral drug (amantadine, Symmetrel) for treatment of flu. The herb worked almost as well as the more costly drug. Andrographis is available at health food stores and supplement shops. Take 1,200 mg a day or follow package directions.
• Echinacea “Echinacea is my favorite immune booster,” says James Duke, Ph.D., retired director of medicinal herb research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But Echinacea is controversial. Some studies show strong immunity rallying against colds. Others show no benefit. Swiss researchers analyzed what they called “the three best studies” and found that Echinacea cuts cold risk in half. It’s available at health food stores and supplement shops. Follow package directions.
• Ginseng Asians revere ginseng as an immune booster and total-body health promoter.

Canadian researchers gave 279 adults, ages 18 to 65, either a placebo or dose of ginseng (200 mg twice a day). Four months later, the ginseng group suffered fewer than half as many colds -- and the ones they did develop were brief and mild. Likewise, University of Connecticut researchers gave flu shots to 43 people over 65 years, plus a placebo or ginseng (200 mg twice a day). The ginseng group was 50 percent less likely to develop flu. Finally, at Eastern Virginia Medical School, researchers gave flu shots to 198 nursing home residents, plus either a placebo or ginseng (200 mg twice a day). After three months, the ginseng group was an astonishing 89 percent less likely to catch flu.

Ginseng is available at health food stores and supplement shops. Take 200 mg twice a day or follow package directions.

3, 4 and 5. Just Plain Live Healthy
And let’s not forget standard health advice, which keeps the immune system in top form:

• Get at least seven hours of sleep a night Sleep deprivation impairs immune function and increases risk of illness. Many men think they can get by on five or six hours of sleep a night -- then they wonder why they feel so run down and catch so many colds.
• Eat less junk food and more fruits and vegetables Most food-health studies focus not on colds and flu but on cancer and other serious diseases. In a classic study, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley analyzed 156 studies of diet and risk of every major cancer. Compared with people who ate the fewest fruits and vegetables, those who ate the most had just half the cancer risk. So really, if these crops have the power to push back cancer, it sure couldn’t hurt to up your intake of them during cold and flu season.
• Get regular exercise A great deal of research shows that moderate physical activity invigorates the immune system. Researchers at Appalachian State University in North Carolina assigned 50 non-exercisers to either continue life on the couch or take brisk walks (45 minutes a day). After 15 weeks, the exercisers reported only half as many days with cold symptoms. Exercise also revs up the immune system against cancer. Harvard researchers monitored the health of 47,000 men for five years. Compared with those who were inactive, the men who exercised two hours a week were 30 percent less likely to develop colon cancer. If they exercised four hours a week, their risk dropped 50 percent.

6. Picture Your Health
Finally, as you get your flu shots, take immune-boosting herbs, get more sleep, eat salads and exercise, visualize your immune system growing stronger and devouring cold and flu viruses. Visualization, also known as guided imagery or self-hypnosis, is a form a meditation, and many studies show that meditation boosts immune function. In a 2003 study, University of Wisconsin researchers gave flu shots to 41 young adults, 25 of whom had been taught visualization-based meditation. The visualization group showed a stronger immune response to the vaccine, meaning greater protection from flu.

Want to be fit enough to conquer Tibet’s highest mountains? Or maybe “just” pass a fireman’s fitness test? All you have to do is master this exercise regimen.

Rock climbing Mount McKinley. Tossing a 60-yard spiral. Qualifying for a fire department fitness test. Competing in your local 200-mile bicycle race. Athletic challenges both big and small.

Few of us do workouts that can adequately prepare us for, literally, anything. But what if you could prepare your body to complete all the challenges above by practicing just one routine? If such a workout is what you want, then Sean Burch and his regimens, which have helped men run marathons and climb Mount Everest for the first time, are the ticket. The author of Hyperfitness and a world-record-setting mountain climber, Burch has helped numerous clients achieve amazing athletic feats through his training system.

Warning: His workouts are tough -- really tough. But then, he says, people, including young guys, don’t exercise anywhere close to the level they’re capable of. “If you can do this workout, completely mapped out in the 14 exercises below, there’s nothing you can’t do in fitness,” he adds.

To illustrate the kind of shape his workouts put you in, Sean went on an expedition to a remote part of Tibet, where he hiked and rock climbed for 15 hours every day, 23 days straight. During that time, he ascended a mind-boggling 63 virgin peaks (as in, he was the first one ever to reach the top of those peaks), all between 16,000 and 19,000 feet.

“My drills are meant to change the way you perceive and enact fitness, and were created to get readers in the best conceivable shape in the shortest amount of time. People are still separating their strength and cardiovascular training. This is wrong! Readers must think of their mind/body training as one entity to maximize the total body experience.”

Adds Burch: “The following 14 drills I use to sharpen my body and mind for expeditions around the world.”

The idea is to improve with each session until you can do the exercises completely through as intended. For a 30-minute killer workout, complete these high-energy moves in the order shown without resting, and build up to three times for each session:  

1. Inverted-V Push-up
Start in modified push-up position, with your butt up in the air so your body forms an inverted V. Stay on your toes, legs straight, then bend elbows while lowering head and shoulders toward floor. Go down till forehead lightly touches floor, then push back up. (10 to 14 reps)

2. Squat Palms Touch to Spread-eagle Jump
Squat, touch your palms to the floor, then spring up and spread-eagle with legs and arms. (15 to 20 reps)

3. Scale the Whale
Place one hand on a towel on a hard, smooth surface -- like the basketball court floor -- and get into runner’s starting position, with one leg ahead of the other and knees bent. Sprint forward the length of whatever surface you’re using, with your hand remaining on the towel that slides ahead of you. Then, assume the starting position and sprint back. Switch hands after 45 seconds and continue for another 45 seconds. Essentially, this drill elongates the hardest part of the sprint: the explosive start. (one minute, 30 seconds)

4. Riverdance
While hopping from one foot to the other, alternately tap your fingers on the inside of your raised ankle. (When you hop on your right foot, you’ll tap your left ankle and vice versa.) Increase the height of each hop as you develop more leg strength, and aim to maintain balance while increasing speed. (five sets of six reps; one rep is four touches)

5. Pop-up to Side Jump
Kneeling with legs and hands on ground, pop your body up quickly, bringing feet underneath your hips and arms by sides. Next, jump side to side, aiming for height rather than lateral distance. Return to kneeling and repeat. One rep is one pop-up and one jump to each side. (12 to 16 reps)

6. The Hyper Bound
Squat, jump forward or in place, then bring knees and palms down to touch the floor. Repeat. (20 reps)

7. Mountain Climbers
Get into push-up position. Keep upper body fixed, then bring right knee under body to chest then straight again, left knee to chest then straight again, right foot out to 3 o’clock and back again, and left foot to 9 o’clock and back again. Do in staccato, bouncy rhythm. (20 reps)

8. Staggered Hand Push-ups
Place one hand in normal push-up position and the other about a foot lower than normal so it’s opposite the rib cage. Execute push-up. Do eight reps before switching hand position, then do eight more reps. Repeat series for two minutes.

9. Rollup, Tuck, Rear Jump
Lie supine with arms stretched overhead, legs bent and feet on the floor. Bring arms forward while you roll up your body one vertebra at a time and stand. Jump, bringing heels to glutes. Then roll back down and repeat, in a fluid fashion. (15 reps)

10. 3-point Push-up With Jump-feet Switch
Get into 3-point push-up position (with both hands and only one foot on ground, other foot remaining elevated) and jump and switch feet after each push-up. (11 reps)

11. Triangle T to Full J-jack
Start in push-up position with feet together. Thrust them under your chest, then back to push-up position, over to right side, back to push-up position, over to left side and back to push-up position. Then bring them under chest and spring up for a full jumping jack. (15 reps)

12. Frog Jump Variation No. 4
Frog jump forward, beginning with feet wide and palms on the floor between them. Jump forward while switching hand and foot positions so feet go together and hands move outside feet. (25 reps)

13. Tricep Push-up Clap to Pop-up Squat Jump
Kneel and place hands in diamond shape on ground, directly below sternum. Form a straight line from knees to shoulders to top of head, and drop body down until arms are bent at a 90-degree angle at the elbows, then push back up and clap as you balance on your knees. Next, pop your feet under your chest and squat jump upward. (12 to 15 reps)

14. Flashdance
High-step forward with feet barely touching ground, as if ground was scalding hot. Clap under front leg throughout exercise. (aim for 50 claps)