Fitness

Determining the Best Workout for Your Body Type

People come in all shapes, but most can be placed into a particular category of body type, mesomorph, ectomorph, or endomorph. These body types have different characteristics, and you should tailor your [more…]

Busting the Great Myths of Fat Burning

Your body burns either fat or carbs depending on the intensity of your activity. But when it comes to losing weight, calories are calories. You burn fat even when you're in couch-potato mode. Yet, a lot [more…]

Following a Cardio Plan for Weight Loss

If your goal is permanent fat loss, you need to burn enough calories to make a significant impact. Here's why: In order to lose a pound in one week, you need to create a 3,500-calorie deficit; in other [more…]

Exercising with a Fitness Ball

The fitness ball — basically a big, somewhat bouncy ball — was supposedly developed by a physical therapist in Europe who wanted injured patients to be able to get some aerobic conditioning. The therapist [more…]

Determining Your Resting Heart Rate

In general, the higher your resting heart rate, the less physically fit you are, and the lower your heart rate, the more physically fit you are. (Some athletes have resting heart rates in the 40s.) One [more…]

Finding the Right Running Shoes

Your chances of landing in a comfortable, quality pair of running shoes greatly increases if you shop at a running specialty shop rather than a huge, multisport center attempting to hawk everything from [more…]

Developing Your Oblique Muscles

Your oblique muscles (side abdominals) help you bend from the side or twist your torso. Strong obliques support the lower back, warding off back pain and posture problems. Improved posture, thanks to strong [more…]

Stretching Tips for Runners

A stretch is a stretch, right? Well, not really. Stretching and the different ways to stretch are topics of controversy among runners.

For the past 25 years, so-called [more…]

Blooming into Full Lotus Posture

The Full Lotus Posture is a wonderful exercise for opening up the hips and creating flexibility in the ankles and knees. Practiced in moderation, the Lotus can invigorate the nerves of your legs and thighs [more…]

Getting an Upper Back Workout

Upper back exercises fall into three general categories: pulldowns and pull-ups, rows, and pullovers. For the most complete upper back workout, perform at least one exercise from each category, although [more…]

Getting a Chest Workout

You can change the feel and focus of many chest exercises by adjusting the angle of the bench you use. Performing chest exercises on a flat bench emphasizes those fibers in the center of your chest. When [more…]

Getting a Great Lower Body Workout

In general, work your large muscles before moving on to your small ones. So perform your lower body workouts in the following order:

1. Glutes

2. Quads

3. Hamstrings [more…]

Hitting Your Running Stride

When it comes to foot strike, most runners naturally land on the heel and then "roll up" to push off with the ball of the foot or toes. Midfoot strikers push off with the ball of the foot, and those rare [more…]

Stretching the Spine

If you've ever watched a cat, be it a house cat or a jaguar, you may have been intrigued by the cat's incredible agility and resilience. How does a cat jump from high places and land with little impact [more…]

Working Out with Resistance Machines

Resistance machines come in many shapes, styles, and sizes. In some cases, several machines work the same muscle groups and perform the same basic exercises, but they put you in different positions [more…]

Mastering Gym Etiquette

Even at a health club — a place where tank tops, profuse sweating, and mild grunting are perfectly acceptable — rules of etiquette should be followed. Sure, the social graces expected in a weight room [more…]

Reaping the Benefits of Using an Exercise Ball

Besides developing good overall muscle tone for your entire body, the ball provides numerous other benefits that range anywhere from rehabilitating back, hip, and knee injuries to delivering a powerful [more…]