TRAINER DECISIONS.

Hiring a trainer can be a great step toward fitness or an easy way to waste money. According to the new book, Fitness for Dummies, the five best reasons to hire a personal trainer are:

1. You're totally out of shape and don't know how to get started on a fitness program.

2.You want to update your current program but don't know how.

3.You want to train for a specific goal, like running a race or losing 20 pounds.

4.You've been injured or ill and want a trainer's exper-tise to get you back in action.

5. You need the drill-sergeant routine for motivation.

WALK, DON'T RIDE Walking up two flights of stairs a day instead of riding the elevator could lead to a 10-pound weight drop in a year, according to a Cleveland Clinic study. Walking up stairs burns more calories than running, and the accu-mulation of a year's worth of stepping up equals enough calories burned for the 10-pound drop.

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Stretch Second Don't stretch before you warm up for exercise. Cold muscles can get injured from stretching, so you should break a sweat with a pre-workput warm-up, such as walking fast or light jog-ging in place. Then stretch.

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Devious Croissants They may seem light and airy, but according to the University of California at Berkeley Wellness Letter, a two-ounce croissant contains 14 grams of fat and 260 calories. That's 12 times as much fat and twice as many calories as a plain English muffin of the same weight.

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Seven Squares ? According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, most people eat up to seven times a day.As long as the total caloric intake doesn't exceed three full meals, it's actually better to eat more frequently.

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