flynn23 wrote:
] With much appreciation to crankymessiah for sending me this:
]
] From Defective Yeti:
] Last night some friends and I were sitting around drinking
] beer and, it goes without saying, discussing the Washington
] State system of taxation. Here in Seattle we have a sales tax,
] which is a total pain in the ass because (a) you have to pay
] it (lame), and (b) it means that your average item in The
] Dollar Store costs some ridiculous amount like $1.31 and you
] can't figure out the real price of things without resorting to
] irrational numbers and you have to carry around your spare
] pennies instead of throwing them at children like you would do
] in other states. True fact: When 50 Cent was here in concert
] last week, he was legally obligated to perform under that name
] "67 Cent." (Whoa, that joke was even worse than I had
] anticipated.)
]
] Anyhow, we were wondering how much of sales tax revenue goes
] to health care programs. More every year, we guessed, since,
] statistically, Americas are becoming ever more out-of-shape.
] But you got to figure that a lot of that revenue goes to
] administrative costs and middle-men, not to mention that
] health care tends to be reactive rather than preventive. We
] decided that there must be a better way.
]
] That's we came up with this great idea for a General Health
] Tax: for every dollar you spend you must do a sit-up. Want the
] new No Doubt CD? No problem: fourteen bucks and two dozen
] sit-ups, please. Got a two pack-a-day cigarette habit? Well
] now you have a six sit-up-a-day habit as well. Just bought a
] brand new Ford Excursion? Fantastic. That will be 50,000
] sit-ups over the next 10 years, plus 60 sit-ups every time you
] fill up the tank -- BET YOU WISH IT DIDN'T GET ONE MILE TO THE
] GALLON NOW DON'T YOU SUCKA?!
]
] I think we should pilot this plan in Washington state, and
] then extend it to the entire United States. Conspicuous
] consumption would go way down, people would have a great
] incentive to save, and America would quickly come to dominate
] the United Nations Council On Killer Abs. Plus, what tax payer
] doesn't want the opportunity to check "no" to "Would you like
] to do three sit-ups for the Presidential Election Campaign
] Fund?"

Situps are an ineffective method of achieving overall health. And they won't remove your belly, since spot fat reduction is a myth :( A squat, deadlift, bench press, or 10 yard dash would be a better solution ;) Either a compound movement like the first three, which raises metabolism significantly as your muscles recover and adapt to the load, or some form of cardio like the last option.

Ok, I'm a fitness nerd.