As we wrap up 2010 and look to next year, we await the final vote from Washington concerning the tax laws. We will see what changes come, or if anything of consequence changes at all from the current income tax levels. We are particularly interested to see what happens with the estate tax. As you know, there is currently no tax for those who pass away in 2010. However, the prevailing thought is that a married couple's estate in excess of $5,000,000 will be taxed at 35%. There is quite a bit of opposition to this, as some want no tax whereas others want a lower threshold and a higher percentage. We shall see, and we'll do our best to keep you informed.

Article by Dr. Jade Teta for Mensh Insurance
The number one reason people don't exercise is time, and the holiday season puts even more demands into the day. Luckily, exercise science shows you can generate a significant metabolic effect by engaging in short one-minute bursts of activity multiple times during the day. These special types of high intensity activity are called burst and blitz training.  They are designed to fully tax the metabolism in 30 to 60 seconds, creating a metabolic disturbance that elevates the metabolism even after the activity stops.  A research study conducted at Colorado State University by Dr. Mark Smith and colleagues compared three minutes of burst training to 20 minutes of traditional aerobic activity. Because of the nearly five-fold greater rate of metabolic elevation, the three minutes of burst training burned 74% of the calories that the twenty-minute period accomplished! In 2005, Dr. Smith conducted another study where subjects exercised in short one-minute bursts throughout the week to accumulate a total of just 12 minutes a week.  At the end of the 12-week study, the participants lost an average of 13 inches over their whole bodies and improved their work economy by more than 12 beats per minute on the Harvard Step Test. Want to try it? Here is a quick daily burst workout:
 
Burst 1 7:00am- Roll out of bed, and before hitting the shower do as many pushups as possible in one-minute
Burst 2 10:00am- Just before your coffee break, blast out one minute of half-squats.
Burst 3 1:00pm- Just after lunch, hit the stairs in your office building or house and run up and down them for one-minute.
Burst 4 5:00pm- Do one minute of squat jumps before starting dinner.
Burst 5 8:00pm- During the commercial of your favorite TV show, do one minute of bicycle crunches.
 
When you perform five minutes of burst or blitz training for three to five days a week, you may find you lose rather than gain inches during the holidays. To read more about the science of burst and blitz training, see:

Burst Training I
Blitz Weight Training I

For more information on Metabolic Effect, click here.
Many thanks to Dr. Teta for his exercise advice going into the holidays!