Search Results for: blog ways to integrate exercise into your life

Learning How to Walk Properly

Believe it or not you could be walking all wrong. If you suffer lower back pain and swollen ankles don’t blame your footwear, health experts say it could be that you simply don’t know how to walk properly. Enter: walking lessons. If your doctor recommends walking lessons to relieve your pain don’t be insulted. According to health experts, walking classes really work. Most walking classes are offered through yoga centers and include private instruction by a trained professional. For example, the Yoga Center of Brooklyn in Brooklyn, New York offers a 10-session program that runs about six months. Students in … Continue reading →

Say So Long to Old-School Stretches

Your junior high school P.E. teacher had it all wrong. If you grew up in the 70s like I did you were likely taught the importance of warm-up exercises and how holding stretches for at least 20 seconds was essential. Well, time has moved on and now scientists maintain that some of those tried and true stretches you did in 7th grade are not only a waste of time but also are bad for you. According to researchers, the belief that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds (known as static stretching) primes muscles for a workout is not … Continue reading →

How Exercise Can Help Chocoholics

If you are desperately trying to overcome your addiction to chocolate this blog might come in quite handy. According to British researchers, chocoholics can reduce their cravings by taking a simple 15-minute stroll. The results of this new study are making headlines around the world (which just goes to prove how powerful the lure of chocolate really is). In a recent news conference scientists announced that for the first-time ever research shows a link between exercise and managing food cravings. The study followed 25 self-professed “chocoholics” (defined as people who ate chocolate on a daily basis). Each chocoholic was told … Continue reading →

Runners vs. Drivers—Sharing the Road with Lunatics on Four Wheels

Granted I have never been pelted with a half-eaten jelly donut while cruising down the street on my morning run, but I’ve had my share of empty plastic bottles hurled in my direction over the years. Runners (all 41 million of us in this country, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association) often become targets of lunatics behind the wheel regardless of whether or not we deserve to be. Okay, “deserve” may be a bit strong, though I’ve seen many a runner darting through intersections, cutting off vehicles and sprinting in the middle of public streets. This lack of running … Continue reading →

Running: It’s All About the Shoes–Part 2

Now that you’ve determined that you need a new pair of running shoes (the forefoot is shifted medially and laterally or you’re always suffering injury) and you’ve found the best place to shop, consider the following tips to get the right fit: Work the Shoe. Experts recommend that you leave a finger’s width between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. Meaning each shoe you try on should have an index finger’s width between your longest toe and the end of the toe box. Once you get the shoe on don’t be afraid to move around in it. … Continue reading →

Running: It’s All About the Shoes

It is for me anyway. I am a severe overpronator and I sustained a nasty injury as a result of not wearing proper shoes when training for my first marathon. That was nearly a decade ago and since then I have spent countless hours researching running and other sport specific footwear. If you are just getting started in a specific sport and are shopping for shoes I would suggest the following: Find a Reputable Specialty Shoe Store. With all due respect to discount retailers, if you want a quality pair of running shoes you need to shop at a store … Continue reading →

Bad Things Happen When You Stop Going to the Gym

Remember when you first got your gym membership? Everything was new and exciting; you were determined to drop excess weight, get fit, and look great for your high school reunion, pool party, 40th birthday, etc. You used that adrenaline to fuel regular gym visits for the first month or so, then you discovered how easy it was to skip the gym one day, then the next day and the day after that. If this scenario sounds familiar to you, I have bad news: A new University of Missouri study found that the negative effects of skipping exercise can occur in … Continue reading →

Getting Fit: No More Excuses

With the holidays fast approaching many people find themselves sucked into the shopping vortex. To-do lists are growing and finding time to get everything done is challenging to say the least. The months of November and December are also the time of year when many people slack on their fitness routines because they simply can’t find the time to get in a workout. Personally, I feel the opposite should be true. This is the time of year when you should try even harder to maintain your exercise regimen. After all, most of us tend to eat more during the holiday … Continue reading →

Girls Make Gyms Germier Than Guys Do

Good news for all you sweaty stinky men who hit the gym on a regular basis—-you are no longer solely to blame for spreading germs on fitness equipment. In fact, a new study found that women are germier than men. The new study found that women have a greater variety of bacteria on their hands than men do. In addition, the study also revealed that both males and females have a disturbing amount of bacteria on their hands. “The sheer number of bacteria species detected on the hands of the study participants was a big surprise, and so was the … Continue reading →

Is Your Favorite Sport Putting You at Risk for Injury?

Health experts (as well as government officials) are constantly trying to motivate people to get moving. They want couch potatoes to get up and walk, run, enroll in an aerobics class, join a bowling league, play tennis, etc. However, doctors are now saying that if the right precautions are not taken, the amateur sports that experts want people to participate in can have unexpected long-term health risks. A new study conducted by a leading occupational therapist found that when leisure activities are not done properly they can have negative effects on the musculoskeletal system. According to the study, in the … Continue reading →