Chips away

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, Sept, 2004 by Jody Buffalo

Lifting weights is great for your body, but your nails ... not so much. Here are a few things to keep in mind between manicures:

* Chips stand out more on bright colors, so stick with sheer shades that don't require serious maintenance. Try Revlon Nail Enamel in Bare Essentials, a shimmering pearl shade, and in Naked Lace, beige shimmer ($4.79 each) and Cover Girl Continuous Color Nails in Pink Mist, a light petal color ($3; all at drugstores).

* A strengthening treatment, like Orly Tough Cookie ($13.75; www.orlybeauty.com),

can be a base coat and should be applied every three days as a topcoat to keep polish in place.

* A must-have product for any active woman who likes to paint her nails is a drying accelerant. We love OPI Drip Dry Lacquer Drying Drops ($9.95; www.opi.com). One to two drops applied over a fresh manicure dries nails to the touch in 60 seconds and completely in less than five minutes so you can get going.