fitness

12 INTERESTING NEW FITNESS PRODUCTS SEEN IN 2015

This year’s trade show took up most of the Los Angeles convention center and it was a challenge to see all of the vendors. For this reason, this is not an exhaustive list of all the new products and programs that were presented, but these are the ones that caught my eye because they could change how we deliver fitness to the consumer. ActivMotion Bar This is one of those products that makes you think: “Why hasn’t someone developed this sooner?” The ActivMotion Bar is basically a hollow tube with ball bearings that shift as the bar moves. This creates two different types of challenges: 1) maintaining stability to keep the bearings from moving—moving a weight more slowly keeps the muscles under tension longer, which can help develop strength; and 2) controlling a shifting mass involves the elastic fascia and connective tissue, which can improve the strength of the entire myofascial system. Spartan Race Workout Programs on a Stairm

Why is Cardio Exercise So Important?

Cardiovascular fitness is the ability of the heart, blood cells and lungs to supply oxygen-rich blood to the working muscle tissues and the ability of the muscles to use oxygen to produce energy for movement. This type of fitness is a health-related component of physical fitness that is brought about by sustained physical activity. A person’s ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles is affected by many physiological parameters, including heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, and maximal oxygen consumption. Understanding the relationship between cardiorespiratory endurance training and other categories of conditioning requires a review of changes that occur with increased aerobic, or anaerobic capacity. As aerobic/anaerobic capacity increases, general metabolism rises, muscle metabolism is enhanced, hemoglobin rises, buffers in the bloodstream increase, venous return is improved, stroke volume is improved, and the blood bed becomes

Healthy Holiday Eating Tips

Thanksgiving is gone and past, which means the holiday season is creeping up. The holidays are a time for celebrating what you have with your friends, family, and other significant persons. Festivities usually center on giving gifts and, of course, eating a ton of delicious food—the latter of which can pose a big problem for those kids and adults looking to stay fit. Here are a few healthy holiday eating tips for you and your kids this holiday season.

• Cook with healthier substitutes. Cooking a healthy holiday feast for the family doesn’t mean turning everything into boring, tasteless mush. With some simple substitutions, you can still enjoy your holiday favorites without as much of the bad stuff.

-   A little salt is fine, but too much sodium can lead to hypertension and a variety of other issues. Cut back on the salt and replace with some more creative flavorings. Use more herbs, spices, garlic, and lemon or other

Your Body Recovers When Rested - Let It!

Even with the assistance of modern medicine and virtually infinite scientific studies into sporting injuries, athletes are getting injured more than ever before. Have you ever seen so many professional baller's tear their ACL's? Nope. The surge is real. Derrick Rose isn't too much of an aberration anymore. Players are running themselves into the ground as a result of constantly pushing their body beyond its limits. Guys are so frequently sidelined that last year Nerlens Noel was drafted #1 in the 2013 NBA Draft and he wasn't expected to play at all in his rookie season due to a torn ACL in his one-and-done year at Kentucky.  A big injury in college used to be a huge red flag for any NBA scout and a torn meniscus or ACL, used to be a "good luck with getting drafted" flag. But, not anymore. This year, Joel Embid underwent surgery for a broken navicular bone - his hand was broken. Big guys in the NBA need their hands more than a farmer needs his shovel, but Embid still was drafted

Get Your Walk On!

Alright, I’m that person, the one out there fast-walking, talking on my cell phone. I used to roll my eyes when I saw those people, so connected to the hip by their devices. But let me explain. I have this “date” with my best friend Meg, to go walking every Wednesday at 7:00 PM, no matter the weather. (You may have read about this on my blog before.) And we are really good at keeping our date—except she’s had to travel for the past few weeks. She’s had weddings to attend, and family to visit. If she’s not here, how can we keep our date? When this has happened in the past, Meg being out of town, I simply got my workout by walking alone, taking pictures with my camera or just looking at the scenery. But I missed Meg, and she wasn't at the wedding last Wednesday night, just in Chicago after the wedding, visiting family. So we kept our date. She walked with her phone, in Chicago, I walked with my phone, in Cleveland. To us “older” folks

Sarah's Fitness Blog

There was a cool, light misty rain all evening Wednesday, and it would have been so easy to stay inside, maybe even turn on the heat or sit under an electric blanket (I’m in Cleveland, by the way), but I didn’t want to break my “walk” date with Meg, so after dinner I drove to her house and we bundled up, put on the rain parkas and rain boots, and headed off toward Shaker Lakes. It’s getting darker earlier as it always does in the fall, and the sidewalks are slick with rain and newly fallen leaves. That time of night, the side streets were mostly deserted, so we walked there, avoiding the slippery slate sidewalks. Acorns crunched under our feet, as if we were walking on popcorn. We had a lot of catching up to do; stories from work, stories about our friends, a trip to Maine to plan, descriptions of sweaters we’d bought, etc., and along with all that, the constant, “Oh, look at that tree,” or “Look at that bird,” or “L