If there’s one thing Danielle Peck loves more than singing, it’s her family. That’s one reason she became the spokesperson for Nashville’s Safe Haven homeless shelter.

“Safe Haven is one of only two homeless shelters in Tennessee that takes in the whole family as a unit,” she says. “Because I’m such a big family person, it made sense to get involved with a place that helps whole families together. I just fell in love with the whole place. They do so much — they keep the kids in school, [they have] budgeting and skill classes for the parents, and they get parents that are out of work back into work. And the success rate is like 84 percent of all the families they take in. That’s incredible!”

On March 24, the “Findin’ a Good Man” singer headlined the second annual Danielle Peck and Friends Benefit Concert for Safe Haven at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville. Performers include Keith Anderson, Eric Church, Bucky Covington and Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

“We’re raising awareness and making money for [Safe Haven] to continue doing what they do, because it’s not a government-funded place,” says Peck. “Anybody who’s ever had to go through hard times, whether it’s a natural disaster or too many medical bills or the loss of a job, their family can find themselves in a position where they lose their homes. It’s a terrible thing to happen to anybody, but there’s a place that tries to help out, and that’s Safe Haven.”

Peck is so sold on the shelter, she volunteers there as often as possible throughout the year. “Anything I can ever do for them, any holiday, any festival, they’ve got my number, they can count me in!”

Have you recently started a workout program, but you’re not seeing the results you hoped for? Maybe you still have too much flab on your abs or no bulk on your biceps. If so, you might be a victim of one of these common fitness mistakes:

1. Exercising more, but eating more.
Country singer (and former personal trainer) Keith Anderson says there’s usually a simple reason why exercisers aren’t reaching their fitness goals. “[As a trainer] the most common mistake I saw with people was diet,” he says. “When you see people working out every day at the gym and they’re still a lot heavier than they want to be, nine times out of ten it comes down to diet.”

2. Inconsistency and impatience.
You can’t work out just once a week, or every now and then, and expect to see sleek thighs in three weeks. “People get in there and want their whole body to change completely in one month,” says Anderson. “It’s just one of those things where it has to become a lifestyle. You just have to go and get whatever kind of workout you can get every day, and work on your diet, cardio and strength workout.”

3. Playing favorites with body parts.
Most people go into a fitness program with one goal in mind — a flatter tummy or thinner thighs or a perkier backside — and that becomes the focus of all their exercise. For example, “Most people do not want to work on their legs,” says Anderson. “All they want to do is work on their upper body, so they can see some biceps. But you want to work on every body part.” Becoming healthier should be a whole-body experience, with sculpted shoulders or a smaller dress size as a welcome side effect.

Exercise improves everything, from heart health to muscle tone to balance, coordination, self-esteem and sleep patterns. But if the last time you jogged was in P.E. class, you’ll need to start slowly. Also, check with your doctor before starting any new fitness plan.
 
Create goals. Most people start exercising to lose weight, but exercise has many other benefits. Maybe you want to increase your general fitness level, in which case you might want to improve your aerobic endurance (how long you can run or walk without becoming exhausted). Or maybe you want to increase your muscle strength or flexibility. Take some baseline measurements — your weight, resting heart rate, how long it takes you to walk a mile, how far you can reach toward your toes, and so on. Then set a goal for how much you want to improve: “I want to be able to walk a mile in less than 15 minutes,” for example.

Consistency is key. Exercise at least three to five times a week. “People get in there and want their whole body to change completely in one month,” says country artist and former personal trainer Keith Anderson. “It’s one of those things where it has to become a lifestyle. You can’t just work out for three months and think everything will be OK.”
 
Choose activities you like, so you’ll stick with them. For the more social types, a cardiovascular workout might include group fitness, like kickboxing or dance-oriented classes at a gym. More of a loner? Try walking, running or swimming. Or get a fitness DVD so you can work out at home. If you want to improve flexibility, yoga and Pilates are great options. Challenge your body by adding some different exercises. If you always walk, try jumping rope or dancing. Don’t forget that a nice hike in the mountains or a good game of basketball also count as exercise.
 
Warm up by walking at an easy pace. Then speed up gradually, aiming for five to 10 minutes of exercise that gets your heart rate up, but still allows you to carry on a conversation. Increase the amount of time you exercise every day by one to five minutes, until you can do 30 minutes at a stretch. Check your fitness progress after four to six weeks. By then, that mile that took so long to run before just might seem like a piece of cake.

You’d have to be blind not to notice that Keith Anderson is pretty buff. After all, the “Pickin’ Wildflowers” singer was named Men’s Fitness magazine’s “Ultimate Country Star,” one of People’s 50 Hottest Bachelors, and he was once runner-up in the Mr. Oklahoma bodybuilding contest. But Anderson’s fitness credentials go beyond good looks — this certified country hunk is also a certified personal trainer. 

“I was a fitness trainer for three years in Dallas, and after I moved to Nashville I did it for another two years,” he says. “Fitness is important to me for many reasons. One is you feel better, not just physically but mentally and spiritually. You feel better when you’re in shape — your clothes fit well, your energy level is up. When you’re an artist and you’re out on the road every day, you’re not eating that well, and if you can get a good workout in every day it can make a difference. Plus you’ve got to look as good as you can for the photo shoots and videos.”

The Miami, Okla., native was a sports star as a kid and played baseball in college until an injury sidelined him. “I started gaining a little weight and got bummed out,” he says. “A guy I knew from the football team got me into the whole bodybuilding/body sculpting thing. After college I moved to Dallas and got certified as a personal trainer. I put a band together, and I would do that during the day and play in the band at night.”

His athletic experience taught him a lot about his body and made him a tough trainer. “I was pretty strict,” he laughs. “As a trainer you want to work on every body part, and most people do not want to work on their legs — all they want to do is work on their upper body. And that’s probably one of the things I learned from bodybuilding was to develop the definition and shape of the legs. So I really had a lot of leg workouts.”  However, Anderson doesn’t consider his lower body his best feature. “My legs are not are not my favorite body part — they’re short and stocky,” he says. “I don’t know, I guess probably my arms are my best body part because all the Andersons have kind of big arms and big shoulders.”

Even with his regular gym schedule, Anderson admits it’s not easy staying fit. “Now it’s a constant battle with the old gut, trying to keep the old six-pack going,” he says. “When you’re 21, you can drink beer and you don’t have to worry about it, but now it’s hard to keep the weight off!”