A lot of studies and research has shown that kids
who eat breakfast perform better in school and
have a healthier diet. Eating breakfast will help
promote the proper growth and maximize school
performance as well.

Breakfast is often times a victim of the morning
time crunch. Even though you may be tempted to
skip breakfast, you can simplify your morning
routine by following these 8 tips:

1. Finish homework and pack school bags
at night.
2. Decide on what your children will
wear to school before you go to bed and locate
lost shoes for the following day.
3. In the morning, get up 15 minutes
earlier.
4. Give up computer games and morning
television.
5. Have healthy foods on hand. You
should also shop for breakfast foods with your kids
and take into account their personal preferences.
6. Set the cereal out the night before.
For younger children, fill a zippered plastic bag
with her portion, then add the milk in the
morning.
7. Allow your children to use the
microwave often, as most breakfast foods can be
prepared in under 5 minutes.
8. Allow your kids to eat in the car or
on the way to school.

There are several foods that you can eat for
breakfast, even leftovers from supper if they
are sufficient. You can eat bagels, pizza with
fruit juice, pretzels, or the normal bacon and
eggs that breakfast is known for. Most foods are
a snap to prepare, and won’t take you but a
few minutes.

The next time you are in a hurry in the morning,
remember that you are probably about to skip the
most important meal of the day. If you follow the
tips above, you’ll find that you have plenty of
time for breakfast.

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The following is a list of the healthiest foods that
you can get. This will help you get an idea as
to what foods are the best for your body.

Fruits

Apricots
Apricots contain Beta-carotene which helps to
prevent radical damage and also helps to protect
the eyes. A single apricot contains 17 calories,
0 fat, and one gram of fiber. You can eat them
dried or soft.

Mango
A medium sized mango packs 57 MG of vitamin C,
which is nearly your entire daily dose. This
antioxidant will help prevent arthritis and also
boost your immune system.

Cantaloupe
Cantaloupes contain 117 GG of vitamin C, which is
almost twice the recommended dose. Half a melon
contains 853 MG of potassium, which is nearly
twice as much as a banana, which helps to lower
blood pressure. Half a melon contains 97 calories,
1 gram of fat, and 2 grams of fiber.

Tomato
A tomato can help cut the risk of bladder, stomach,
and colon cancers in half if you eat one daily.
A tomaton contains 26 calories, 0 fat, and only
1 gram of fiber.

Vegetables

Onions
An onion can help to protect against cancer. A
cup of onions offers 61 calories, 0 fat, and 3
grams of fiber.

Broccoli
Broccoli can help protect against breast cancer,
and it also contains a lot of vitamin C and beta-
carotene. One cup of chopped broccoli contains
25 calories, 0 fat, and 3 grams of fiber.

Spinach
Spinach contains carotenoids that can help fend
off macular degeneration, which is a major cause
of blindness in older people. One cup contains
7 calories, 0 fat, and 1 gram of fiber.

Grains, beans, and nuts

Peanuts
Peanuts and other nuts can lower your risk of
heart disease by 20 percent. One ounce contains
166 calories, 14 grams of fat, and over 2 grams of
fiber.

Pinto beans
A half cut of pinto beans offers more than 25
percent of your daily folate requirement, which
protects you against heart disease. Half a cup
contains 103 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 6 grams
of fiber.

Skim milk
Skim milk offers vitamin B2, which is important for
good vision and along with Vitamin A could improve
allergies. You also get calcium and vitamin D as
well. One cup contains 86 calories, o fat, and 0
fiber.

Seafood

Salmon
All cold water fish such as salmon, mackerel, and
tuna are excellent sources of omega 3 fatty acids,
which help to reduce the risk of cardiac disease.
A 3 ounce portion of salmon contains 127 calories,
4 grams of fat, and 0 fiber.

Crab
Crab is a great source of vitamin B12 and immunity
boosting zinc. A 3 ounce serving of crab offers
84 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 0 fiber.

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If you’ve been looking for a way towards a high
octane diet, you’ll find fiber to be exactly what
you need. Even though research has shown fiber to
be powerful, many people aren’t taking this nutrient
seriously.

To help you fuel your health with fiber, here are
10 facts to help.

1. Fiber fights diseases. A diet high in fiber can
help to prevent colon cancer and heart disease. High
fiber helps the body to eliminate cholesterol by
binding it in the digestive tract. For thousands of
years, fiber has been used to stop constipation.

2. Fiber can actually help with overeating. All high
fiber foods will take longer to chew and digest,
making you feel satisfied longer

3. Most popular foods don’t have enough fiber. If
you like the more popular foods, you probably need
to increase your intake of fiber.

4. Grains offer the most fiber. Dietary fiber is
actually plant matter that we cannot digest. The best
sources are whole grains and concentrated grain
products.

5. Kids need fiber as well. Children that are older
than 2 years of age should consume a daily intake of
fiber. Kids are most receptive to fiber found in
fruits, vegetables, and even fortified breakfast
cereals.

6. More fiber needs more water. In order to keep
fiber moving through your digestive tract, you’ll
need to consume a lot of water. With your diet of
fiber, you’ll need eight or more glasses of water
every day.

7. Fiber cannot be cooked out. When you cook
your fruits and vegetables, don’t worry about cooking
the fiber out, as it stays. The fiber found in
fruits and vegetables aren’t just in the skin or
in the peel.

8. You can get enough fiber. If you eat more than
50 grams of fiber in a day, you can get diarrhea
and bloating, which can interfere with your body’s
absorption of other key minerals.

9. Getting the right amount of fiber in your diet
doesn’t have to be hard. Even though you may think
so, getting the amount of fiber you need isn’t very
hard to do. All you have to do is eat the right
foods and you’ll be well on your way to a fiber
rich lifestyle.

As one of the key ingredients to healthy eating,
fiber is something you don’t want to skip. Fiber can
serve many different purposes, which were covered
above. If you aren’t getting enough fiber in your
diet – you should do something about now instead
of waiting until it is too late.

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The vegetarian way of eating can be a very healthy style
of eating. The rules still apply with healthy eating,
although you should add variety, balance, and moderation.

A vegetarian is someone who avoids all types of meat,
whether it be hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, or even fish.
Vegetarians are also sometimes classified by the type of
food they are or aren’t willing to eat. For example,
Lacto-ovo vegetarians will avoid animal flesh yet they
will eat eggs and most dairy products. A Vegan on the
other hand, will avoid all food that has any trace of
animal origin.

Because they don’t eat meet, vegetarians will often
wonder how they’ll get enough protein. Although you may
not realize it, the average American actually consumes
more protein than he actually needs. For the lacto-ovo
vegetarian, dairy products are an excellent source of
protein. Vegans on the other hand, get their protein
from nuts, seeds, and soy products.

Along the lines of beans, there are several to choose
from, including green or red lentils, peanuts, split
peas, pinto, soy, kidney, and many more. Some of them
you are already familiar, such as kidney beans in
chili, refried beans in Mexican dishes, red beans and
rice, and pinto beans. Although some beans taste good
as they are, others are available with different flavors
to help enhance their taste. Nuts are hihg in protein,
although they deliver a lot more fat than beans, which
means you should enjoy them in moderation. By having
one cup of cooked beans, you’ll get the same amount of
protein as eating two ounces of meat!

The nutrients of concern for vegans, who avoid all types
of animal food, are vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin D.
In the average North American diet, the primary source
for B12 is animals. To have an adequate intake of B12,
vegans should reguarly consume vitamin B12 supplements or
foods, which contain vitamin B12, such as soy products
or milk.

For calcium, vegans can rely on orange juice or soy
milk, as they are fortified with calcium. Beans and
leafy green vegetables will also contain some calcium as
well.

Although all types of vegetarians rely on simple food
groups, controlling your vitamins and calcium intake is
something you should always do. This is very important
for eating healthy, as well as staying healthy. If you
control what you eat, you’ll have many years of healthy
eating ahead of you.

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Healthy eating is a way of balancing the food you
eat to keep your body in great health. With healthy
eating, you’ll have energy all day, get the vitamins
and minerals you need, stay strong for activities
you enjoy, and maintain a healthy weight.

Below, you’ll find tips designed to help you with
healthy eating.

1. Don’t skip any meals
Eating 3 meals with snacks in between is the ideal
way to maintain both energy and a healthy weight.
When you skip meals and get hungry, you’re more
than likely to choose foods that aren’t very good
for you.

If you are eating away from home, take food with
you or know where you can buy healthy food from.

2. Learn about how to prepare foods
Instead of deep frying, try grilling, stir frying,
microwaving, baking, and even boiling. You should
also try fresh or even dried herbs and spices to
add flavor to your food. Before you eat any type
of meat, be sure to trim the fat and skin off of
it.

3. Avoid a lot of sugar
Drinks that contain sugar are a major source of
empty energy. What this means, is that the drinks
contain a lot of energy that your body may not
need, and it doesn’t contain any vitamins or
minerals. If you plan to drink sugary drinks,
don’t go overboard – limit yourself to 1 a day.

4. Avoid thinking about diets
There are no good food nor any bad foods. All
food can be a part of a healthy diet, when eaten
in moderation. You don’t need to buy any low
carb, fat free, or even diet foods, as these foods
normally have lots of other added ingredients
to replaces the carbohydrates or fat.

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Whenever we get too busy or stressed, we all tend
to make poor food choices that will actually
increase stress and cause other problems. To get
the most of your healthy eating and avoid stress,
follow these simple tips.

Always eat breakfast
Even though you may think you aren’t hungry,
you need to eat something. Skipping breakfast
makes it harder to maintain the proper blood and
sugar levels during the day, so you should always
eat something.

Carry a snack
Keeping some protein rich snacks in your car,
office, or pocket book will help you avoid blood
sugar level dips, the accompanying mood swings, and
the fatigue. Trail mix, granola bars, and energy
bars all have the nutrients you need.

Healthy munchies
If you like to munch when you’re stressed out,
you can replace chips or other non healthy foods
with carrot sticks, celery sticks, or even
sunflower seeds.

Bring your lunch
Although a lot of people prefer to eat fast food
for lunch, you can save a lot of money and actually
eat healthier if you take a few minutes and pack
a lunch at home. Even if you only do this a few
times a week, you’ll see a much better improvement
over eating out.

Stock your home
As important as it is to get the bad food out of
your house, it’s even more important to get the good
food in! The best way to do this is to plan a menu
of healthy meals at snacks at the beginning of the
week, list the ingedients you need, then go shop
for it. This way, you’ll know what you want when
you need it and you won’t have to stress over what
to eat.

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The numbers on your scale do not indicate whether you are fit or fat. Far more significant than your total body weight is the composition of your body tissue. If a man’s fatty tissue is bigger than 14% up to 15% of his body mass, or if a woman’s is more than 20% to 22%, he or she is overweight, or more precisely, overfat.

A small amount of fat is needed for padding the internal organs and as insulation under the skin. Excess fat leads to such diseases as diabetes, gout, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and gallbladder problems. There are very few, very fat persons. The reason is that the fittest, not the fattest survive.

The problem now is focused on how to resolve the problem. The problem with most people who want to lose weight is that they have the propensity to concentrate more on getting those numbers lower than what they are seeing now. What happens next is that they strive harder to achieve a lower weight, according to the “ever reliable” result of the weighing scale.

It would be more important to think of the human body as a heat-exchange engine that works on the basic principles of energy physics. The caloric balance equals the total calorie intake minus the total calorie expenditure.

Some of the calories people ingest are used for basal metabolism. As people get old, their bodies require fewer calories for this basic upkeep. Some calories are excreted as waste products. Some go into “work metabolism,” the energy expenditure required for any physical activity.

Hence, if people take in more calories than are used by these functions, there is a definite caloric excess. By the laws of physics, energy is transformed rather than destroyed. In this case, each excess of 3,500 calories is changed into a pound of fat. If people want to reverse this process, they have to burn up 3,500 calories to lose a single pound.

Winning the War Against Fat

When you think of fighting fat with exercise, you probably think of hours of hard, sweaty exertion. If this is the case, then, you will not get any farther. This is because people who are so much into losing more by exerting more effort tend to get bored easily.

Why? Because experts contend that when people exert more effort than what they are capable of doing creates a tendency to develop weariness and ennui. Hence, they give up, stop doing their routine exercises, and end up sulking in the corner with a bag of chips that seems to have all the bad calories in this world.

Now, you might ask, “What should be done instead?” The answer: cross training.

After some intensive studies and experimentations, health experts were able to come up with the concept of incorporating cross training in order to overcome or break the monotony or dullness in an exercise program.

Cross training refers to the integration of diverse movements or activities into a person’s conventional exercise routine. The main purpose of incorporating cross training into an exercise program is to avoid overdoing excess muscle damages and to put a stop to an imminent boredom.

Three of the most commonly used activities whenever a person decides to engage into cross training are swimming, running, and cycling.

In cross training, distance is one way to extend your activity as your condition improves. For this reason, you need to traverse a measured distance.

If possible, swim the course and measure the distance. If you will be using a running track, such courses usually are a quarter-mile per lap for a complete circuit.

Cross training offers a variety of benefits for fitness and fatloss. It builds up the strength and endurance of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It has also some tranquilizing effect on the nerves, and it burns up calories as much as it makes your “losing weight” more bearable.

Cross training has three basic components:

1. Endurance exercises to condition the heart, lungs, and blood vessels and to induce relaxation. These begin with a careful planned walking and jogging regimen, depending on fitness level.

2. Exercises to strengthen the muscles, particularly those important to good posture. These include some activities that are selected to encourage some people who are already burnt out with a particular routine.

3. Exercises to improve joint mobility and prevent or relieve aches and pains. These consist of a series of static stretching positions that are safe and effective for most of the people who wish to try to lose some fat.

Indeed, cross training is a great way to modify the concept of exercising and losing fat without having to endure monotonous activities. In fact, the idea of exercising is to like what you are doing, hence, if you engage into cross training, you will be aware of it that you have already achieve your desired weight.

Boiled down, cross training is, certainly, one way of having fun.

You cannot measure every morsel that passes your lips, but it is a good idea to measure most foods and beverages until you get a feel for portion sizes.

It is a supersized world out there, and most people are surprised to find that their idea of a single serving is actually two or three.

If you are into bells and whistles, there are food scales that are preprogrammed with nutritional information, as well as scales that will keep a running total of your daily food and nutrient intake for you. The only tools you really need, however, are a simple and inexpensive gram scale, dry and liquid measuring cups, and idea on reading food labels.

Among all of the mentioned tools, reading food labels seem to be the most effective way of determining the right kind of food to be bought in the supermarket. It lets you make sensible food selections. Through the “Nutrition Facts” section in a particular item in the grocery, you can identify the amount of serving sizes provided in that product.

With food labels, you can clearly understand the amount and kinds of nutrients that are provided in the item. Usually, it contains the information on saturated fat, sodium, total fat, fiber, and cholesterol amount “per serving.”

However, understanding and reading these food labels can be very perplexing. A typical consumer would definitely ask what those numbers mean and how it will affect her diet intake if ever she will religiously follow the serving guide as stipulated on the food label.

To further have a clear and more comprehensive understanding of the items stated in the food label, here is a list of things that you need to know:

1. Serving size

This is the primary item you will see in a food label.

The amount of servings stated in the food label refers to the quantity of food people usually consume. However, this does not necessarily mean that it reflects your very own amount of food intake.

Moreover, serving size determines the amount of nutrients that enters the body. This means that if you will follow strictly what the serving size is, you will obtain the same amount of nutrients according to the serving size that was given in the label.

For instance, if the serving size says one serving size is equal to 54 grams, that would mean you have to measure 54 grams and eat that and you have just eaten one serving. So to speak, the amount of nutrients stated in the food label is the same amount that has entered your body considering the fact that you have just eaten 54 grams.

However, if you have eaten everything, and the food label says that each pack is equivalent to 4 servings, you have to calculate the amount of nutrients that have entered your body. This means that if the food label says 250 calories per serving that means you have to multiply it to four to get the total amount of calories you have taken.

2. Nutrients

This refers to the list of available nutrients in a particular item. It is also where the nutritional claims of the product based on the recommended daily dietary allowance are stated. Usually, the nutritional amounts are based on both the 2,500-calorie diets and the 2,000 recommended dietary allowances.

In order to understand the numeric value of each item, you should know that the “% daily value” that the food label indicates is actually based on how a particular food corresponds to the recommended daily dietary allowance for a 2,000 calorie.

If in the event that you have purchased an item that has a dietary allowance different from the 2,000-calorie diet, you just have to divide the stipulated amount by 2,000 and you will be able to identify the “%daily value” for the nutrients.

3. Ingredients

This refers to the list of the ingredients that were used to manufacture the product. The listing is usually arranged from the main ingredients that have the greater amount by weight up to the smallest quantity. This simply means that the actual quantity of the food includes the biggest quantity of the main ingredient or the first item and the minimum amount of the very last ingredient.

4. Label claim

This refers to the kinds of nutritional claims of a particular food item. For instance, if an item says it is sodium-free, it has less than 5 milligrams per serving or a low fat item actually contains 3 grams of fat or less.

Indeed, reading food labels can be very tedious and confusing. Nevertheless, once you get the hang of it, it would be easier for you to watch your diet because you can already control the amount of food that you take.

Your bones hang out in a lot of joints. Knee joints. Hip joints. The joints in your fingers and the joints in your toes.

Wherever bones meet, there is also cartilage, a rubbery, protective layer that ensures your joints bend smoothly and painlessly. But even cartilage cannot do this tremendous job alone. A thin membrane called the “synovium” provides fluid that lubricates the moving parts of the joint. When the cartilage wears out of the synovium becomes inflamed, the result is generally a case of “osteoarthritis” or “rheumatoid arthritis.”

In osteoarthritis, the cartilage can be eroded so much that bone does rub on bone. Thos type of arthritis develops gradually over a lifetime as a simple result of the wear and tear placed on your joints over the years. Very few people escape some degree of osteoarthritis, though the severity varies a great deal.

As a matter of fact, if you are over the age of 50, you are likely to have at least one joint affected by osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis affects men and women equally and is by far the most common type of arthritis, with almost 16 million Americans in the list.

In rheumatoid arthritis, damage to the synovium is at the source of trouble. Doctors and researchers are not absolutely sure what causes it, but most think that rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system actually attacks certain tissues in the body, including those that connect the joints and the synovium.

Rheumatoid arthritis begins with swollen, red, stiff, and painful joints, but it may progress until scar tissue forms in the joint or, in extreme cases, until the bones actually fuse together. Almost 75% of the 2 million people with rheumatoid arthritis in the United States are women. The disease can hit as early as teen years.

Exercising Your Prevention Options

Investing a little time in developing a good weight-bearing low-impact exercise and stretching plan can add up to great results when it comes to staving off arthritis pain. Strong muscles help protect the joints from wear and tear, and the movement keeps joints flexible.

That is why the quest for fitness is at hand, even if you are 50 years and over. However, most Americans over 50 are still right where they always were sitting back and watching others jog by. Most of them contend that that is just for people who have been athletic all their life, or some say exercise is for young people and engaging into exercise will do them more harm than good.

There are still some that insist on excusing their selves in exercise routines because they do not just have time or they have less energy than ever before. These are all lame excuses. Hence, it is time to start to get rid of those pains. Start exercising.

Consequently, preventing arthritis is not an exact science, but physicians have discovered a few ways to lower your risk. Here is how:

1. Do not weight around

The single most important measure anyone can take to prevent osteoarthritis of the knee is to lose weight if they are overweight. Extra weight puts extra stress on your knees. If you are 10 pounds overweight, for example, you put 60 pounds per square inch of extra pressure on your knees every time you take a step. That extra pressure can slowly but surely erode the cartilage in your knees, leading to arthritis.

A study has clearly supported the theory that weight loss weighs in on the side of prevention. In the study, overweight women who lost 11 pounds or more over a 10-year period decreased their risk of developing osteoarthritis of the knee by 50%.

2. Stretch those muscles

Any kind of stretching is good as long as you do not bounce, which can lead to a muscle pull. This is according to some of the professors of clinical medicine in New York City.

Try to hold a slow, steady stretch for 15 to 20 seconds, then relax and repeat. It is best to flex up by stretching before any exercise, especially running and walking. But it is also a good idea to stretch each day. Ask your doctor to teach you stretches that focus on potential arthritis trouble spots, such as the knees or the lower back.

3. Walking is always the best exercise

Take a good long walk at least three times a week or participate in a step-aerobics or low-impact exercise routine maximum results. There is no proof that running is bad for the joints, but remember, it may aggravate an injury if you already have one. Just remember to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program.

The bottom line is that of all the healthful habits, exercise is the most important. This is because people are designed to be active. Hence, it is really important for people to exercise in order to stay healthy and keep those joints free from wear and tear.

Just keep in mind that the unexercised body, even if free from the symptoms of illness or problems like arthritis, is not at its full potential. Hence, start exercising right now!

If there is one equipment you should not miss in your training, it is the stability ball. The market comes up with new training tools every now and then. Yet you are not sure if they do work and if they are safe. So for one that is guaranteed to work, use the stability ball.

What Is a Stability Ball?

This is a large and inflatable ball used as an exercise equipment. Despite being air-filled, it is generally heavy-duty and capable to hold 600 to 700 pounds of weight. It is comfortable and gives good support. It perfectly suits the trainee as it easily goes with the structure of the body.

This exercise tool is also sometimes called as the physioball or the Swiss Ball.

The good thing about using the stability ball is it reduces the perception of ‘working’ in training, especially for beginners. It gives some element of ‘play’ as you get rough with the training. It adds some fun and excitement as you advance in the movements and techniques.

Another good point with the ball is that it can be used by anybody. No fitness level is required. It is very portable and light weight, easy to bring along even when traveling. It is also inexpensive compared to other exercise equipment and it could last for a very long time.

How Stability Balls Came About?

The use of the stability balls for training can be traced in rehabilitation. As early as the 1900’s, physical therapists have been using balls in addressing the neurological disorders of their patients.

Then, in the early 1960’s, Aquilino Cosani, an Italian toy maker, made the ball and sold it, known then as the ‘Gymnastik.’ Two decades after, Cosani came up with a company called Gymnic and became the major supplier of the stability ball to most rehabilitation programs and centers.

The ball then shifted from the rehabilitation to the athletic area, in the 90’s. It was used to condition the body of professional athletes. From then on, the ball became very prominent in the fitness community.

At present medical specialists and fitness professionals very much recommend the use of the stability ball by the public. It serves more than solving physical problems. It is good in preventing you from having one.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Stability Ball?

The stability ball definitely is best to improve the strength of the abs and the lower-backs. It improves as well the functional strength, balance and flexibility of the body.

1. Proper Alignment
Using the ball during training will test the body to make use of the different parts to maintain the proper balance. The dynamic movements during exercise will improve the natural motor reflexes of the body as different muscles are utilized in movement, especially the ones that are not usually used. The challenge posed by the ball is to maintain balance. As one aims to get the proper balance, the alignment of the body parts is also improved.

2. Great Abs
For people working out to achieve great abs, this ball can definitely target the abdominal areas. The abs and the back muscles are simultaneously moved as you work in your balance. Just imagine the good feeling of having a flat stomach area and you will definitely love this ball.

3. Muscle Strength and Endurance
The stability ball can help in alleviating any back pain and preventing one in the future. As all the major muscle groups are exercised, the muscle tone, strength and endurance are also improved. Thus it gives the body flexibility, stability and resistance.

4. Core Stability
This concerns the major muscles that helps stabilize and support all of the body movements. This is made up of back and the deep abdominal muscles. With the ball, no matter how ‘deep’ or ‘into the core’ these muscles are, they are still exercised. This is something only the stability ball can guarantee.

5. Stretching
The ball is a good companion during stretching exercises. With this, you can easily move into and move out of different stretching positions.

6. Losing Weight
Of course, with all the good benefits of using the ball, you will not miss out on the aspect of losing weight. With regular exercises and trainings done with the stability ball, a person can lose some unwanted pounds as the body is firmed.

Health is definitely your most important asset. So do your regular exercises and maintain a healthy diet. Furthermore, have a happy and fun training with the stability ball.