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    Take these 4 little health tests!

    How's your body doing? These surprising self-checks will tell you instantly.

    1. Test your balance...
    Stand with your feet in a line, heel to toe, arms by your side. Close your eyes and count to 10. If you wobbled, you need better balance, says sports medicine expert Keith Lustig, M.D. "People with bad balance are more likely to have their ankles or knees give out," he says. You can work on yours by standing on one leg whenever you can (try it when you're doing dishes).

    5 ways to work out smarter--straight from Christina Aguilera's trainer!

    2. Test your ears...

    Have a friend stand three feet in front of you, facing away, then try to have a conversation. If you can hear her clearly, increase the challenge by turning on the TV at a background volume. Did you miss the endings of her words or sentences? Then get your ears checked, says hearing loss expert Jed A. Kwartler, M.D. Mild hearing loss is on the rise among young women, partly because of listening to too-loud music on headphones. You can't get lost hearing back, but you can likely stop it from getting worse by keeping the volume on any audio device to no more than 50 percent of full volume.

    3. Test your lungs...
    Hold a lit candle at arm's length, then open your mouth and try to blow it out without pursing your lips. If you can't do it, you may have a respiratory problem such as chronic bronchitis or early-stage asthma, which often goes undiagnosed in young women who think they're too "old" to develop it, says Hormoz Ashtyani, M.D., director of the Breath and Lung Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. Breathing issues can make working out or even lugging groceries tougher, so make an appointment with your doctor to see if you need treatment.

    Easy exercises to increase your engery!


    4. Test your posture...

    Stand as you normally do and have a friend snap a digital photo of you from the side. "Your head should be in line with your shoulders, not leaning forward or back, and your shoulders should be in line with your ears, not slumped or rolled forward," says Costa Mesa, California, chiropractor Tim Ramirez. Also, your lower back should have a slight inward curve, but not so much that it looks like you're sticking your butt out. "Bad posture could cause hip and back problems, whereas good posture not only makes you look better, it also expands the chest, helping you to breathe more easily and giving you more energy," says Ramirez. To improve your stance, try this stretch, one of Ramirez's favorites: Stand in a doorway, holding the sides of the door frame at the nine and three o'clock positions; lean forward for several seconds. Then move hands to about 11 and one o'clock, and repeat. Ahhh. Improve your posture with these moves!

    --Linda Melone

    Related: 5 Foods to Boost Your Mood!


    [photo credit: Getty Images]

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    11 comments

    • GG1000  •  3 years 4 months ago
      I challenge Superman to blow a candle out at arm's length without pursing lips. Ain't gonna happen, people! And I was doing it to avoid doing the laundry.
    • Docter  •  3 years 4 months ago
      hmmm...nice nd fabulous health tibs,i got much advantages 2 keep my
      self smart!!!
      nd candle blowing,it was soooo easy task 4 me hehehehehe coz i practised only in my imaginations.
    • Montereyme  •  3 years 4 months ago
      LOL - I agree re: work avoidance ;)
    • Montereyme  •  3 years 4 months ago
      How do you blow out a candle without pursing your lips? Are you supposed to go "HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA" with mouth wide freaking open instead of WHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO like a normal human blowing out birthday candles ? ?
    • me  •  3 years 4 months ago
      OMG what's the big deal i have a candle at my desk and I just did it!
    • buddhabrown  •  3 years 4 months ago
      Haley, I immediately thought the same thing! Then I began trying to blow out without "pursing my lips" until my office mates began to look at me strangely. I guess you just do it like you're exhaling. I failed anyway. Whatever, the things you will try to avoid work!
    • Montereyme  •  3 years 4 months ago
      Yeah no kidding....I dont' think it's physically possible to 'hot breath' out a candle at arm's length.

      that makes me wonder though....are we somehow misunderstanding the test somehow?
    • palo  •  3 years 4 months ago
      some ladies can blow, some can't. cum on, ladies...!
    • Glydas B  •  3 years 4 months ago
      Maybe you are supposed to spit it out...
    • Lillian  •  3 years 4 months ago
      mayb the 1s who have probs w/blowing the candle out might b smokers or just don't get it
    • Montereyme  •  3 years 4 months ago
      I don't smoke...never have. I have no breathing or lung problems.
      and btw...the object is NOT to "blow" because that implies pursing your lips like you're blowing out a birthday candle. The object (if read correctly) is to "HHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" out the candle, NOT BLOW IT OUT.

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