Editor's Note: JumpSnapNation.com is proud to bring you periodic posts from guest authors who are experts in their field. The following post is from Timothy S. Cusack of Phytness Solutions.

I know this is shaping up to be one of those years. Money is tight. Stress is rising both at work & at home. Most of us haven't even started Christmas shopping. We don't have a single present for anybody yet. When are we going start?? How are we going to pay for everything? How are we going to make it until 2010? Will we have a job in 2010? What can we do to stop from spiraling out of control? 
 
Stop. Take a DEEP breath, think and make a plan! Remember the old saying "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!!", it is true. Take another couple of deep breaths, grab some paper and a pen. Now sit down and start to write some things down on paper. Just brainstorm ideas like your shopping list, to-do list, holiday meals, etc... This will help relieve some of your stress, and prepare you for the hectic weeks to come. We all need to take the time to come up with a game plan for the holiday season.  As I stated in my last post, just like your favorite team has a game plan for their season, you need to come up with a plan of attack for tackling the holidays. You need to plan alternatives to your annual holiday travel arrangements, eating plans, exercise regimens, nutrition and supplementation. Everything will not go as planned this holiday season, it never does, so you have to be prepared by having a Plan B to go along with your game plan.

I was meeting with a group of nurses and doctors recently as part of a collaborative effort with our local medical center to help bridge the gap between medicine and fitness. Before we got started, one of the nurses was quizzing me on what type of exercises she should be doing. Like most of us, she was looking to slim down and tone up but also wanted to increase her energy. She informed me of her current program that included walking several days a week with co-workers and admitted she was still waiting for the energy to kick in. While I am one who appreciates all types of exercise, I must admit that when it comes to fighting fatigue, not all exercise is created equal.

The higher the intensity of cardio exercises you do, the more energy you will have. Of course, this is all relative to your individual fitness so there is not one specific workout I can suggest. Instead, think of taking your moderate to lower intensity workouts and put some short bursts of higher intensity work in there. Sweat! Raise your heart rate! I promise you, you will feel a change in energy shortly after as well as a gradual increase of energy over time alongside a decrease in fatigue.