Ab attack! buns of steel!

Six Weeks to Your Most Perfect Thighs Ever! Oh, the pressure for a perfectly fit body. But your quest to get in shape needn't be directed by get-thin-quick gimmicks or torture-inducing contraptions. Your fitness plan can be as easy as ABC . or rather, CCBF: cardiovascular exercise, core strength, balance and flexibility.

Cardio Counts

No matter how strong you might get, or how flexible, you won't truly be fit unless you're elevating your heart rate regularly. It doesn't matter what you do. You can walk the neighborhood, ride a bike or take on the elliptical at the gym. You can hula hoop or jump rope or hop on one foot, for that matter (but do switch feet now and then), as long as you do it often.

How often? Two or three days a week at minimum, says Rick Lademann, site director for NCH North Wellness Center in Naples. "Start out with two days, then push it to three, once the body adapts," Lademann says.

Scott Wills, fitness program director at The Wellness Center of Cape Coral, suggests a formula from the American College of Sports Medicine: "Three days a week, for 30 minutes, at 60 percent of your maximum heart rate." (See p. 171 to determine your heart rate.)

This heart-rate mandate often trips the walkers up. "A lot of people rely on those daily walks around the block," Wills says. "They do it regularly, consistently, and after a month, wonder why they're not seeing any improvements."

It's usually because they're not walking quite fast enough. Although 60 percent of the heart-rate maximum will do your body good, 65 to 75 percent will bring on a metabolic response, says Lademann. On the other hand, exercising at 90 percent of your maximum heart rate or more will simply wear you out.

Build Core Strength

Strength in the core-the center of the body including the abdominal wall and the lower back-is "your power source," says Lademann. "You're only as strong as your core is."

To perform everyday tasks without injury, Lademann suggests doing abdominal crunches and a bridge exercise. One version of the bridge is this: Lie on your back and put your feet on the floor, your knees bent. Push down on your feet and, concentrating on using the muscles at the tops of your thighs, lift your pelvis up. Then slowly lower the hips back down to the floor, using your leg muscles to stabilize you. Do these in sets of three, 10 repetitions per set.

Improve Your Balance

According to the Centers for Disease Control, falling is the top cause of injury among older adults. And a hip fracture can have serious consequences. It causes the most deaths and the worst long-term health problems of all, says the CDC. Good balance can reduce the risk of falling.

Wills suggests some new equipment that can make balance work fun. Wobbleboards, air discs and Bosu balls are meant to challenge and improve balance. That's because you perform your exercises on an unstable foundation, which requires your muscles to overcompensate to keep you upright.

Physiologists are finding that strength training improves balance as well. By working a muscle with weights or resistance equipment, neural pathways in the brain are strengthened, which improves proprioception: our awareness of where different parts of our bodies are at all times. So if a threat to a person's balance occurs-say, a toe catches on a rug-the brain may respond more quickly with corrective action if pathways to involved muscles have been well forged. Not to mention that the muscles will be stronger and more able to correct the imbalance.

Develop Power and Flexibility

If you're new to strength training, see a professional to help you set up a routine, and start with two days a week at first. No matter how fit you are, don't use weights or resistance equipment more often than every other day, says Wills, and be sure to stretch at the end of a session.

Strength training and stretching combine for another fitness benefit: flexibility, which also helps prevent injury. Lack of use can hinder flexibility, but so can a lifetime of overuse or tension settling into an area of the body.

Putting It All Together

One fitness regimen that combines core strength, balance and flexibility is Pilates. The series of exercises has been credited with everything from improved coordination and lung capacity to greater bone density and even serenity.

Fitness centers often offer both yoga and Pilates classes. NCH Wellness Centers in Naples offer classes at both the north site (2330 Immokalee Road, in the Greentree Shopping Center) and the Whitaker South site (300 Goodlette Road S., Grand Central Station).