Smart fabrics with sensors positioned in a wide range of apparel - bras to jock straps - are being developed to monitor myriad human conditions: sweat rate to breast cancer cells and prostate tumors. Multi- sport athletes already use garments that monitor heart rate, body position, and skin temperature (www.numetrex.com, www.zephyr-technology.com).

Smart clothes that can repel insects, sunlight and mask odors like cigarette smoke are available today. Trials of garments that can help prevent colds, flu and never need cleaning will soon debut. And in the not-too-distant future, expect to see fabric technology with built-in cooling for hot weather performance, heating units, deodorant moisturizers - and even vitamins. A new shirt that produces electricity simply by the moving body is in final testing. And it's possible to insert cameras, microphones, accelerometers and GPS units into clothing. Yes, it seems the entire body can be equipped with sensors. Get ready to get sensed.

Forty-two million Americans belong to gyms. But if you're using your gym's treadmill or elliptical machine to burn calories (and to keep your waistline in line) beware: accuracy of cardio equipment is weak. And if you're among the 127 million overweight Americans (that's one-third of the population) your efforts may be wasted if you expect weight loss results using the calorie burn from cardio equipment.

Why? There's a gross exaggeration of the number of calories burned because calories are estimated - not measured. The potential risk is to assume that if you burn calories exercising you can eat the same number of calories to stay in balance.

According to Colleen Magana, Heart Zones Testing Center's certified metabolic specialist, "At the end of your workout, the cardio display shows the number of calories burned - it is totally inaccurate so don't use it as a measurement of energy expenditure."

Caloric expenditure is unique to an individual's age, sex, size, fitness level and metabolic efficiency. It cannot be estimated any other way than by taking a metabolic fitness test. A metabolic test gives you your caloric burn maximum heart rate, and fitness level - the essential metabolic numbers. "You may as well just guess your calories burned on the machine or in your heart rate monitor because they can't be accurate unless you take a metabolic fitness test," says Magana, Director of the Sacramento-based exercise testing facility.

If you take the resting or exercise test you get a report on your metabolism. If you know your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, it's time to know your metabolism, said the Director of Sacramento's Heart Zones Testing Center. See a sample of the metabolic report. You can sign up for the test at any of our six different locations in Washington, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois.

Joy is infectious. And who doesn't want more? Joy is healthy and regenerating. Joy resides squarely in the emotional zones, in the low ones. Take a glance at the Emotional Threshold Zones chart below to better understand what happens when you hang out in each of the different emotional zones. Look for Blue Zone 1 named appropriately the "Safe Zone" because you most often find the positive emotion of joy in abundance in these low zones.

Find the white horizontal line that crosses the chart with the title Emotional Threshold Line. Joy abounds in all of the zones below the white line. Try to spend all of your time below the threshold line - it is healthier there.

How do you know where you are emotionally? A quick test is to complete the Emotional Threshold Questionnaire that follows and score yourself. Do it now and see if you're below the threshold in the joy zones.

Purchase Emotional Threshold Zone cards individually or in packets of ten. Use them as a reminder to yourself or as a way to teach others about staying healthy emotionally. The cards are postal mailers, too. They're available individually for 30 cents or as a pack of 10 for $2.50. Visit: The Heart Zones Store

This cardio-workout is designed to gradually take you higher into the top zones, like climbing to the top of a skyscraper. The workout incorporates the appropriate amounts of rest for recovery so you can climb the intensity stairsteps repeatedly, flight after flight. Try it. It is fun. It is tough. It takes you into higher zones - as high as a skyscraper.

**If you use threshold training zones, take the maximum percentages and add 10 per cent in heart rate numbers.

You are invited to attend a Heart Zones event and receive an E-newsletter subscriber discount of 10% with the coupon code HZVIP at the time of check out in our webstore. Here are some of the upcoming events please check for updates on the site:

• International Conference Denver, CO - November 14-16, University of Denver