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Want to keep from gaining weight as you age? You may need to get as much as 60 minutes of exercise every day. Here's how to sneak it in.

It's hot. If you're on the East Coast, you know what I mean.This 2010 heat wave has driven normal July temperatures from merely sauna-like to volcanic. It's enough to make a cross-country runner fall in love with a treadmill. In fact, it can be dangerous to exercise in triple-digit heat even if you're healthy. If you have a chronic illness like heart disease, diabetes or asthma, it can be deadly.

That doesn't mean you can't run or walk outside when summer temperatures send the mercury skyward. You just have to be careful. Here are some ways I'm keeping cool in the heat:

Work out when the sun is low. The summer running adage is run early or run late. Temperatures are already in the high-70s or low-80s by 7 a.m., but that's a lot better than temperatures in the mid-90s.

Wear sunscreen and protective clothing. I hate how sunscreen leaches into my eyes when I'm sweating -- and lately, I've been sweating a lot. But going without sunscreen isn't an option. For light-skinned people like me, the sun can cause a burn in less than 15 minutes. The sun's rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you're going to run outside, slather on sunscreen and avoid peak sunburn hours.

As for clothing, I was surprised to find out that a simple white t-shirt lets most of the sun's harmful rays through to your skin. So I bought a shirt at a running store designed to reduce my exposure to ultraviolet rays. And I'm wearing a ball cap with a bandana underneath to cover my neck and ears. Here's more info on what clothing will best protect you from the sun.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. The more you sweat, the more you need to drink. This is especially true if you have a chronic illness like I do. Drink when you're thirsty but also keep an eye out for signs of dehydration: less-frequent urination, dry skin, fatigue, light-headedness, dizziness, confusion, dry mouth and increased heart rate and breathing.

If you're going to exercise or work in the sun, fill up with cool water. Water is the best way to rehydrate your body, although many sports drinks are fine, if a more expensive, substitute. If I don't pack water when I exercise outside, I plan my routes to take me past public water fountains or convenience stores.

Avoid sodas and energy drinks, which can contain dehydrating caffeine. And don't drink alcohol or take salt tablets. Both can make dehydration worse.

Don't overdo it. How hot is too hot? This handy chart from the National Weather Service shows when the humidity and the temperature combine to make heat-related illnesses more likely. I steer clear of anything in the dark orange or red areas.

How does hot weather affect runners? One jogger/journalists becomes a guinea pig.

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Resolved to get healthier in 2010? If so, good for you. Of course, the big challenge with any resolution is following through. When it comes to health resolutions, there's another one: making sure you're following sound advice.

Too often, the health advice we get is filled with hype, half-truths, and spin. While we think we're helping ourselves, our efforts may actually be wasting time and money, and doing little to promote our health. They may even cause harm.

Here are some pitfalls to avoid for three common resolutions.

1. LOSE WEIGHT
We're bombarded with ads for weight loss plans that promise dramatic results, and bookstore shelves bulge with guides that offer all kinds of "secrets" to help us shed those unwanted pounds. The sad reality is that there are no magic bullets for weight loss, and over the long term, dieting rarely works. About 95 percent of dieters eventually regain lost weight.

One reason is that most diets leave us feeling deprived, and we fall back on our old eating habits. Another is genetics. No matter how much they diet, people prone to be heavier are unlikely to become skinny, and even if they do shrink substantially, their bodies eventually return to a higher weight. (Just ask Oprah.) This doesn't mean we're completely powerless regarding our weight, just that there are limits to how much we can control.

If you've tried and failed at counting calories, cutting out carbs, or combining foods, consider a different approach: focus on eating healthfully (meaning more fruits, veggies, and whole grains, and less junk food) and getting more physical activity. Unlike many diet plans, this method offers no guarantees to melt away pounds quickly. But it will make you healthier, give you more energy, and help you feel better.

2. EAT BETTER
Every day, it seems we hear about another food that we're supposed to eat to ward off illness. Acai berries, pomegranate juice, green tea, dark chocolate, yogurt, garlic, tomatoes. The list goes on and on. While there's nothing wrong with most of these foods–indeed many are quite healthful–the claims for them tend to be overblown.

In recent years, there's been an explosion of research on all kinds of constituents in superfoods–everything from alpha-linolenic acid to zeaxanthin. Though this line of inquiry is interesting scientifically, it's still in its infancy. Because foods contain multiple nutrients, which may interact with one another and with other foods to affect our bodies in a myriad of ways, teasing out the precise effects of a single constituent in one food is tricky, to say the least. But that hasn't stopped superfood promoters from pushing the misleading idea that specific foods, in isolation, are proven to keep us healthy.

While it's tempting to believe that tossing some blueberries into a cup of ice cream will keep heart disease at bay, what matters in the long run is our overall diet–not whether we include one specific food or another. Instead of stuffing yourself with superfoods, focus on broad categories–fruits, veggies, whole grains, fish, legumes–that constitute a healthful diet. When you can choose a variety of foods you like, rather than specific ones you feel compelled to consume, it makes eating far more enjoyable.

3. EXERCISE
We've all seen those ads for gadgets promising to give us rock-hard abs or thinner thighs. Targeted exercises can in fact strengthen muscles in a particular area, but they can't get rid of fat that covers those muscles. How quickly and easily fat disappears depends on where it's located, as well as your age, gender, and genes. But in any case, it requires vigorous, whole body exercise. Unfortunately, you can't spot reduce flab with ab crunches or leg lifts alone.

Likewise, you generally can't reshape your body with moderate exercise. Yet that's sometimes the promise we get from fitness clubs or personal trainers. Certainly, a half-hour a day of walking on a treadmill or riding a bike is highly worthwhile; it can provide an array of benefits from improved heart health to increased energy. But don't expect it to give you a perfectly-sculpted body. Changing your physique requires far more intense, sustained activity.

False promises about exercise create unrealistic expectations that eventually lead to disillusionment. After failing to get the results we're led to expect, we may give up entirely. Don't let that happen to you in 2010. Set reasonable goals–and get going!

I am part of a small (and perhaps strange) minority of people who actually enjoy running. When non-runners learn about my passion, they sometimes seem slightly apologetic--as though they have this nagging feeling that they too should be hitting the trails but for whatever reason aren't.

If you fall into that category, here's some good news: Other activities may be even better for you--and easier to stick with.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen divided 65 subjects--all of them women ages 19 to 47--into three groups: One learned to play soccer for two hours a week; the second ran for two hours a week; and the third did neither. After 16 weeks, the soccer players had greater improvements than the runners in measures of fitness such as maximum oxygen uptake, muscle mass of the legs, and sprinting speed.

Perhaps most important, the soccer players were more likely than the runners to continue their activity after the study was over. The reason is motivation: Runners cited health benefits as the impetus for their exercise, while the soccer players were motivated by the opportunity to join others in the group and have fun.

The research offers two lessons (and no, one of them is not that everyone needs to run out and join a soccer league). First, running is by no means the only way, or necessarily the best way, to stay fit. If you like it, then great. But if not, don't feel you're a slacker. And second, exercise has to be enjoyable. If you're doing it only because you feel you must, you're far less likely to continue over the long term.

There are all kinds of ways to be physically active and have fun. Watch these videos to learn about just a few: waltzing, tai chi, kickball, belly dancing, sword fighting, and self defense.

So if you're discouraged because you can't bring yourself to pound the pavement or hit the gym, don't fret. Instead, just find something you enjoy--and get moving.

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Whether you prefer Shakira or Springsteen to serenade you while you work out, you know that music can make exercise more enjoyable. But if you choose the right music - and that's the key - you may also be able to boost your performance.

Yes, there are scientists who study such things, and Dr. Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University in London is among them. In his latest study, he asked 30 volunteers to listen to specially-selected music while they exercised on a treadmill. His finding: Their physical endurance increased by an average of 15%.

The key to the right music is the number of beats per minute (BPM). For maximum performance, Karageorghis recommends tunes with 120 to 140 BPM. Songs at the lower end of this range are appropriate for moderate activities such as walking, while those at the upper end are best suited for more intense forms of exercise.

Wondering how many BPMs your favorite Snoop Dogg ditty has? Here's a cool tool that helps you figure it out. Or check out Jogtunes.com. Created by a physician who's a runner, the site lists BPMs for a wide array of music and has downloadable mixes for various types of activities. Runner's World also features recommended playlists for warming up, running, doing yoga, and lifting weights.

So what does Karageorghis suggest? According to his research, "The Heat is On" by Glenn Frey is particularly effective for intense workouts. I'm not so sure, though. I think I'll stick with the Beach Boys.

More from Wayne Wright on his experience with heart disease.