Hernias can happen to anyone, no matter how fit they are, but commonly affect more men than women. A hernia occurs when soft tissue (usually the intestine) bulges through a weak spot or tear in your lower abdomen. This bulge is especially painful when you cough or lift heavy objects.

Most hernias occur in middle-aged or older men, and they are usually caused by strenuous physical activity, especially lifting heavy objects. However, hernias can also occur as a result of the heavy coughing that accompanies heavy smoking or an extended illness.

Most people who develop a hernia can sense the bulge where the intestine is protruding. Other signs that you may have a hernia include:

• Groin pain or discomfort, especially when bending, lifting or coughing.
• A dragging sensation in the groin area.
• Swelling around the scrotum and testicles (if the intestine is protruding into the scrotum)

Hernias themselves aren't dangerous, but they are painful and should not be ignored. In fact, most doctors recommend a simple surgery to repair them. Your father might have had a more complicated surgery that involved a large cut across the abdomen, but nowadays many hernia operations are done laparoscopically. This procedure involves several small incisions rather than one big one. That means that you can go home the same day and get back to your usual activities within a few days. Unfortunately, if you have a very large hernia you may need more extensive surgery.

As with some other health conditions, prevention is the best medicine for a hernia. You can reduce your risk of developing one by maintaining a healthy weight, lifting heavy objects with care and good form (that includes lifting weights) and not smoking.

As you and your partner become ready to start a family, keep these tips in mind to make sure that you are doing your part by contributing healthy, high-quality sperm.

• Exercise regularly, but don't overdo it. Research shows that regular exercise is as good for your sexual health. But you may want to cut back on the intensity of your workouts while you are trying to conceive. Studies have shown a temporary drop in sperm quality due to changing hormone levels in men who exercise to exhaustion.
• Watch your weight. If you maintain a healthy weight you are more likely to produce plenty of high-quality sperm. Being too heavy--or too thin--can disrupt the reproductive hormones.
• Take your vitamins. Doctors recommend prenatal vitamins for women who are trying to conceive, so think of a basic multivitamin as your equivalent. Look for a multi-vitamin that includes selenium, zinc and folic acid--three nutrients that are important for sperm production and function.

If you haven't achieved a pregnancy after a year of trying, then it's time to see your doctor to pinpoint the problem. About 40 percent of infertility problems are traced to men, and this percentage goes up with age, but there is one myth about male infertility that you can rule out: Biking does NOT damage the equipment. There's no direct correlation if you take precautions. Research indicates that sitting on a bike for more than 30 minutes (especially in tight shorts) can raise the scrotal temperature, which can affect sperm count. The solution: Take breaks and choose a bike seat that's not too hard or narrow, and make sure to adjust it so there is minimal pressure on your genital area.

Are you fit but relatively new to weightlifting or have just been winging it on your own without instruction? It may be time to review the building blocks of bulking up.

To begin with, are you doing the right number of reps and sets to reach your goals? If you want to build muscles as big as your body type will permit, do less than 8 reps per set. If your goal is tone and balance rather than bulk, do 8-15 reps per set. More reps than that don't usually add any benefit, and will likely leave you sore and burned out. As for how much to heft, you should select a weight that's heavy enough so your final repetition is tough, but not so hard that you have to compromise proper technique. When you are looking to build muscle lift enough weight until you exercise "to failure," which means that your last rep is so tough that you can't do one more (at least not during that workout!).

When the maximum number of reps you want, whether it's 8 or 15, feels easy, increase the amount of weight by the smallest increment possible and start with fewer reps. When you step up to a higher weight, allow yourself some extra rest time between sets.

Here's another tip: Keep a separate strength log of how much weight you lift for each exercise, along with your current reps and sets. This saves you time of experimenting to get to the right weight each time you go to the gym.

There are many opinions on the subject of how to build muscles, and it's important to remember that no one rule or strategy works for everyone. It may take some trial and error to find the exercises that give you the results you want.

That said, if you are serious about building muscle, don't do your favorite exercises every single day. Splitting a strength training routine into two parts can better help you build muscle because it gives your muscles time to recover and rebuild after a tough workout. Make sure that each muscle group gets at least one full day of recovery between workouts. When you lift weights, you are literally shredding the muscle fibers, and your rest time is when they repair and get stronger. Insufficient rest will put you at risk for overuse injuries-- overusing a muscle can make it weaker, not stronger.

Also, if you divide your weight training workouts, you are more likely to stay motivated. Why? Because you will probably work the assigned muscles harder knowing that you will rest them the next day. Try one of these to divide your strength training sessions that are popular in many men's fitness workouts:

Push vs. Pull: On alternate days, work your pushing muscles (chest, triceps, lower body exercises) and your pulling muscles (back, biceps, shoulders, abs).

Upper Body vs. Lower Body: On alternate days, work the muscles of your upper body (back, chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps) and lower body (abs, gluteus, quads, hamstrings, calves).

A healthy man's diet should include adequate zinc. Studies have suggested that zinc's ability to promote cell repair might protect against the specific cell damage that causes prostate cancer. Need another reason to get plenty of zinc in your diet? Zinc has been linked to improved sexual function and increased sperm counts.

Fortunately, it's easy to get enough zinc in your diet. The recommended daily dose of 11 milligrams of zinc can be found in just one serving of shellfish, lean meat, pork or legumes. Oysters are particularly high in zinc; maybe that's why they're often considered an aphrodisiac. Many fortified foods, such as cereals, are good sources of zinc. Most multivitamins contain adequate zinc, and you can buy zinc-specific supplements.

If you generally eat a healthy diet, you probably get enough zinc without thinking too much about it. But two factors in particular might make you zinc-deficient:

• Going vegetarian. If you don't eat meat, you may not be getting enough zinc from non-meat sources such as green leafy veggies, whole grains and nuts. If you aren't eating enough of these foods, consider a zinc supplement.
• Drinking alcohol regularly. Studies have shown that long-term heavy drinking (defined as more than 2 drinks daily for men younger than 65 years) can impair the body's ability to absorb some vitamins and minerals, including zinc.

Reducing belly fat is one of the most important things that men can do to improve their overall health and fitness. Although women accumulate belly fat, too, it is more common among men. And research has shown that excessive abdominal fat is associated with an increased risk of health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and insulin resistance.

Even if you consider yourself fit, you may have too much belly fat if your workout routine doesn't include enough cardio.

Is your belly is too big? Use the trusty tape measure. If your waist circumference is greater than 40 inches (102 centimeters) you may be at increased risk for heart disease and other health problems. To measure accurately, wrap the tape measure around your bare abdomen, just above your hip bone, and make sure that it is level all the way around, not looped or folded over. Your wrap should be snug, but not tight. Caveat: Be sure to measure as you breathe out--this is not the time to suck in your stomach!

One factor that impact how men develop belly fat is age. Even naturally thin men are prone to putting on belly fat with age. Although genes do play a role, lifestyle plays a bigger one. If you become less active with age, you are more likely to accumulate belly fat. What to do? Stay active and remember that although sit-ups and other abdominal exercises may make your stomach look flatter, it's just the muscles holding in the belly fat. There's no such thing as "spot reducing," so you need to include cardio in your fitness plan.

Men (and women) are busy, but it's important to develop a regular workout routine that you can stick with if you want to see results. Fortunately, it's not hard to design a personalized plan. You can find plenty of ideas online, or work with a personal trainer to create a routine that works for you. No matter what workout routines and plans you follow, keep these principles in mind:

Balance hard days with easy days. Unlike strength training, you can do cardio workouts on consecutive days because cardio workouts don't shred your muscle fibers the way strength training workouts do. But to avoid burnout and possible injury from your cardio work, alternate tougher workout days with easier days. For example, if you go to a power yoga class on Wednesday, make Thursday a day for an easy run and a short strength training circuit, rather than Power Yoga Part II.

The stepwise principle. As you built up the amount of exercise you do, don't pile on tougher workouts each day; follow a stepwise progression that builds up your level of activity gradually, allows your muscles to develop and reduce your risk of an overuse injury. For example, if you are moderately active in a variety of ways, but you want to start running, start with 20 minutes of running every other day for a week. Then, the next week, run for 30 minutes one day, but then back down and run for 20 minutes the next day, then 30. As you get stronger, gradually increase the amount of time, alternating with less time or shorter distance. Don't start out running 5 miles one day, then 8 the next day, then 10 the next day.