Photo: Rob Inh00d, Flickr

In this hectic world, there's nothing better than taking care of two things at one time. Physical exercise will reward you with greater energy, overall health and a fit body -- but did you know that exercise also helps you develop a fit mind? It's true! When you work out your body, you also work out your mind.

In addition to cognitive challenges (such as taking a class, learning a new skill or even just doing some brain teasers), several studies concur that physical activity helps keep your mind sharp. Moderate activity has a positive impact on mental acuity, but cardio workouts that really get your heart pumping seem to have the greatest effect. What's more, an active lifestyle will have a long-lasting impact on your mental fitness.

The mind and the body are closely connected. One study found that even short bouts of physical activity in previously-sedentary seniors restored some of the brain loss that's associated with aging.

Exercise is also a great stress reliever. As you're running or biking (or whatever else gets your heart pumping), you'll have time to sort through your thoughts and process your emotions. If you want to really give your brain a good workout, look for a new sport to try or set up a challenging obstacle course -- the combination of physical and mental stimulation will do you good.

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I think you might be surprised by this answer.

For more fun fit tips, recipes and videos from degreed experts ...

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Endurance athletes are some of the most disciplined, dedicated people. Tap into that mojo by learning how to think like they do.

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Can't get motivated to exercise? Don't blame your body -- it's always ready to work. It's that mind of yours holding you back.

Yep, the body wants to move. The mind? Not always. That's why it's key to cultivate mindfulness, says Director of Exercise Physiology at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Reba Schecter, M.S., P.T.

"Half of developing a strong exercise habit is noticing how good you feel once you've gotten going on your workout, and how great you feel afterwards," she says. "If you really pay attention to that enlivened, relaxed, good-tired feeling, it becomes much easier to get out the door next time and to your gym or yoga class."

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Strokes can be debilitating at best, deadly at worst. But for those who've survived a stroke, new research shows that there is one important thing they can do to help their brain facilitate positive changes: Exercise. And we're not talking about running weekly marathons here--walking on the treadmill as little as three times a week can significantly improve mobility and physical conditioning.

What's more, patients don't need to start an exercise regime immediately after their stroke -- Starting a workout program any time after a stroke was beneficial. In fact, one patient showed improvement after exercising 20 years after his stroke.

Man, is there anything a good workout can't do?

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Practicing activities that make you think (like crossword puzzles) could do a lot more than just improve your memory -- they just might lengthen your life a little too.

Any activity or game that requires you to concentrate will do the trick so you can pretty much take your pick, but if you're looking for something fun to practice on right now try taking this brain quiz and see how you do. An example from the quiz:

• Say "silk" six times. What do cows drink?
  

...

...

How did you do? Cows drink water, by the way, not milk (yeah, I totally fell for that one...). Happy concentrating!

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You've only got a limited time to enjoy the summer, now that we are already into August. If you are like me, many of the fun things on your summer fun to-do list either haven't gotten done yet, or seem so monumental that you don't feel like attempting them anymore... canoeing with a three-year-old comes to mind....

Never fear, you can enjoy summer with some easy activities that keep your body active and your mind serene. Ten healthy ways to enjoy summer include:

• biking
• yard-saling
• enjoying nature
• brewing sun tea
• enjoying a good book
• grilling
• fishing

Visit Monica Resinger's original article for all ten ways and then go out and have a healthy rest of the summer.

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I'm reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen right now. In one of the beginning chapters, the main character discusses how when you're a child you can pinpoint your age to the exact month, when you're in your 20's your age springs to mind rapidly when asked, but when you hit your 30's sometimes you think of yourself as a year or two younger than you actually are. Denial? Maybe. Or maybe it's just the beginning stages of your mental fitness starting to slip.

Exercising your mind is just as important as your physical fitness. If you want to check your mental prowess, try out this fun brainteaser quiz on Good Housekeeping. The test is adapted from a Mensa quiz and it's not easy. But it's a good workout for your mind.

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I completed my first marathon six years ago. June 23, 2002 in Kona, Hawaii. I refer to this event as my first because I'm considering when to start training for my second as I'm craving the intensely satisfying mind boost such an experience provides.

As most marathoners will say, running 26.2 miles is a life-changing experience that has more to do with the mind than the body. Certainly, I trained rigorously over six months in order to accomplish the feat. But believing I could do it was key. Despite being an active person in general who loved to walk, hike, swim, etc., I had never run even a mile before training for the marathon. Others along the course on that hot and humid Hawaiian summer morning were clearly similar. Some were quite overweight, even obese. Some had disabilities. Some walked the entire way. Some were in wheelchairs. Some had lived beyond 70 years. But everyone was welcomed by the running community, a group I found to be kind, supportive and nonjudgemental.

So, if you're saying to yourself right now "I could never run a marathon," that's probably true. But if you think you can, that's true as well. And I encourage you to embark on the adventure. Pure elation lies ahead.

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Smarts: most of us think we have them but surprisingly, few really do. Although it's true that your intelligence is in good part determined by factors out of your control (like genetics and whether or not your parents let you eat lead paint chips as kid), it's also true that you have more control over your brain power than you probably think. All kinds of daily decisions affect how well your brain works and how "smart" you are, including everything from what you eat to how you act to what exercises you choose for your workout. Are you maximizing your mental potential? If your coffee cup is too big or you often try to multi-task while working out you probably aren't. The following is a list of a few of the ways you can make the most of what you've got in the smarts department (don't worry, they're all pretty easy!).

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It's not just a judgment call that bikinis make men stupid -- it's a scientific fact. Check out this month's issue of the Journal of Consumer Research for the skinny on this truth. Here's the gist of it.

Belgian researchers conducted tests on 358 young men and found that they made poor decisions after looking at images of women in bikinis, touching bras, and watching video clips of young women, dressed in bikinis, run across hills, fields, and beaches. Basically, men become more impulsive after exposure to sexual cues. Ever wonder why automakers place leggy models in front of high-priced cars at auto shows? This is why.

Other studies offer their support. In 2006, for example, it was determined that sexually-aroused men would do all sorts of things they might not otherwise do. Essentially, sex narrows a man's mind. When they think about sex, pretty much all they can do is think about sex. Whether or not women are blinded by sex remains to be seen -- most studies have been done on men only.

Don't let bikinis get the best of you this summer, guys, or you might end up looking like quite a boob.

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I do some of my best thinking on the treadmill. I happen to have one at home and whenever I hop on for a power walk or run, my mind starts working. Sometimes, I plot the course of my day as the miles tick by. Sometimes, I watch my kids play in front of me and marvel at their passion for pirate ships, dragons, and Lego creations of all kinds. Other times, I generate items for my ongoing to-do list, I dream up ideas for stories I can write -- like this one -- and when I'm feeling really reflective, I count my blessing on that treadmill.

My treadmill is more than an exercise apparatus. It's a location that is all my own, reserved not only for the fine-tuning of my body but for the fitness of my mind too. I never knew that piece of equipment, purchased more than seven years ago and still going strong, would be such a great investment. Now, I know.

It's no wonder we're always hearing horror stories about young women starving themselves in efforts to look like so many emaciated celebrities -- our minds seem to actually be complicit in that health crime.

A new study in the American Journal of Public Health sheds some interesting light on self-image and how our perceived health plays a role in our actual health. Researchers surveyed over 150,000 adults to answer questions about their current weight, their ideal weight, and how often they felt unhealthy. Researchers found that the less happy people were with their size, the less healthy they felt -- irrespective of how much they actually weighed.

So, it would seem that thinking you're out of shape can actually play a role in feeling out of shape, even if you're weight tells a different tale. You may not look like this person or that person, but that doesn't mean that you're too fat or too skinny or too anything. Listen to the people around you -- and not the glamorized, celebrity-obsessed media -- when they tell you that you look great, because chances are you do.

Alex Lenkei, a 61-year-old hypnotist, opted against using any traditional anesthetic for his recent surgery, choosing instead to send himself into a hypnotic trance for the duration of the surgery.

He was able to hear the cracking of his bones and the surgeon asking for a saw -- he could even hear the surgeon "hammering away at the bone" with a hammer and chisel. He could feel the doctor "pulling and manipulating" him, but felt no pain.

Much of the medical community is quite interested in this, as studies have shown that using less anesthetic can reduce the time patients spend in the hospital and speed healing. Additionally, many patients are nervous about using an anesthetic, and while they might not opt for using hypnosis only, it might help to calm them and allow a lower dose of anesthetic to be used.

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I'm sure you've heard plenty of times that push-ups are one of the best exercises you can do (if you didn't already know that, you can read about it here, here, and here). But, according to The Earth Times, push-ups are also "The New Fitness Nirvana."

According to Ted Skup, the new Dalai Lama of fitness (the article's words, not mine), push-ups are fast becoming the workout of choice for those looking to harmonize mind, body, and spirit. He calls his push-up routine "Horizontal Jogging" and wrote his book, Death, Taxes, and Push-ups after officially completing ten million push-ups himself. As a new Dalai and spiritual leader, he has decided to take on the fitness industry by showing people that they can achieve enlightenment (and a hot body) without paying a yogi $2500.

Personally, I think push-ups are a great exercise, but I think yoga has it's place too -- I'm having a hard time understanding how the two forms of exercise compete. I suppose I'll have to watch for the book and find out for myself.

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