African American women who exercise regularly could be lowering their risk of breast cancer, according to a new study. While links between breast cancer and exercise levels and intensity have been found in previous studies involving women, the participants have primarily been white women.

With so much high-fat, high-calorie, not to mention, high-sugar foods so easily at hand, it is no big surprise that many women suffer with a weight problem. However, to eat healthily it is not just a matter of women eating less but understanding how their diets need to differ from men and what their nutritional needs are.

Motivation might be all in the mind, springing from your attitudes, approach and focus but it might also be in the brain too! Recent research suggests an area of the brain which controls your motivation to work out might have been discovered. The Seattle Children's Research Institute study is interesting as a person who is motivated to work out can enhance their mood and this in turn could help researchers develop more targeted treatments in the fight against depression.

The power of positive thought doesn't just lie in feeling enthusiastic and adopting a can-do attitude, although of course that helps; for positivity to be really effective it has to run far deeper and not just be a face-value sentiment that pays lip service to the idea of feeling motivated about exercise.

Sisters are doing it for themselves...and the rest! When it comes to athletics there is way more interest in the sporting prowess of women than there perhaps used to be. You don't need to look far to find inspirational women who have focused on practicing their athletic skills and really achieved their goals.

It's one thing to keep fit and to lead a healthy lifestyle, but it's quite another to train to with the aim of improving fitness in a specific way or to ensure a particular result. Take strength training for example, you may want to increase muscle power building any bulk; you might want to concentrate of bodybuilding as opposed to strengthening up your core muscles; or you may even want to build muscles so that you can burn fat more effectively and slim down.

Do you enjoy marveling at the exciting exploits of superheroines on the big screen as these female forces champion all that is good in the world? Most women probably don't make any real comparisons between Wonder Woman and themselves but you can be the star of your own life and a real inspiration to others by leading a fit and healthy life.

Going for a run seems to have somehow lost its standing in the exciting mix of exercise programs. However, a new study suggests that not only can running promote longevity, you don't have to commit to an intense amount of sprinting at a fast pace to really reap the health benefits.

When you're focusing on health and fitness and leading a more balanced lifestyle, what becomes clear is that you need to have a plan in place if you want to achieve any real change. As with every aspect of life, realizing dreams takes more than imagination and improvements and transformations come with setting goals and putting in place techniques to reach these ambitions.

One of the marvellous benefits of a good exercise plan has to be how it promotes a good night's sleep. And for insomniacs out there, or those women with disturbed sleep patterns, the value of getting in some good quality z's cannot be underestimated.