Our weekly take on fitness news, trends, and workout tips
November 25, 2008
Nikkifitness.com
My grandparents’ house, where I spend every Thanksgiving, is like a black hole—in a good way: Whenever I’m there, I spend most of my time sleeping, eating, and lazing about, pleasantly sedated by the combination of the blazing fireplace, the comfy blankets that Grandma knits and leaves on all of the furniture, and the inevitable food coma that results after one of our afternoon Pennsylvania Dutch feasts. My parents have actually asked me if I ever sleep in New York, since I seem to need a lot of catching up in that department whenever we’re at Grandma and Grandpa’s.
But this year I’m determined to approach Thanksgiving weekend differently. Holidays are all about tradition, and that’s exactly what I need: A new Thanksgiving tradition that keeps me, and my family, moving. So I talked to Nikki Glor, a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor at Crunch Fitness in New York City, and creator of her own NikkiFitness DVDs. Chances are, your family may be planning a similarly lazy couple of days; if so, here’s now to get them (and yourself) out of the rut. Read More
Our weekly Get Fit blog: The latest news, trends, research, and workout tips
November 17, 2008
Pop quiz: Your alarm goes off at 6 a.m. the morning after a busy day at work, a late-night dinner with friends, and only six hours of sleep. This will be your only time today to fit in a workout, but you really just want to hit snooze. What do you do? Read More
Our weekly Get Fit blog: The latest news, trends, research, and workout tips
September 30, 2008
As the editor of Health.com’s Sleep Journey, I’m constantly checking out products that claim to help us relax, rest, and wake up refreshed. A few months ago, I was delighted to find an alarm clock that all but guaranteed to get you up and moving: Every time you hit the snooze button, $10 was donated to a charity of your choice—preferably a cause you don’t support (the NRA for anti-gun advocates, for example)—via a Wi-Fi connection to your bank account. Sadly, I later found out that this clock is just a brilliant joke and not really for sale. I actually tried to buy one; I hate early morning workouts!
But this morning I stumbled upon something just as good—a website that uses the same idea to motivate people to achieve all kinds of goals, from quitting smoking to studying for the GREs to running a marathon. Read More
Our weekly Get Fit blog: The latest news, trends, research, and workout tips
September 23, 2008
Lately I’ve been batting around the idea of training for a triathlon next summer, a thought that’s both terrifying and exhilarating. As if it hadn’t been on my mind enough, everywhere I looked last week were headlines about Jennifer Lopez’s first triathlon in Malibu on September 14.
My friends and I started emailing back and forth, psyching each other up: “If J. Lo can do it, so can we! Yes, she has a trainer and doesn’t sit at a desk all day like we do…but she also just had twins!” We read her training blog and the reports of how fans cheered her on at the starting line. I had a vague sense of déjà vu, remembering similar conversations about Katie Holmes after she ran the New York City Marathon. Read More
August 21, 2008
Katherine Harvey of Dixfield, Maine, always felt a calling to run for public office, but at 196 pounds she was too insecure to go for it. “I hadn’t felt good about myself since my first pregnancy 21 years ago,” she says. Katherine knew she didn’t have the stamina to run a grueling campaign. Then, in early 2006, rising cholesterol and a weight-loss contest got her motivated. She cut sweets and limited carbs to 30 grams a day. She started using an elliptical trainer five or six days a week and lifting weights every other day. And she’s now into running; see “Her gift,” below.
Free of 65 pounds, Katherine set out to become a member of the Maine House of Representatives in 2007. She lost by a small margin but considers just being a candidate a victory. “I don’t think I’d have done it if I hadn’t lost weight,” says Katherine, who plans to run for office again. “Once those pounds were gone, I could just be myself.” Read More
Our weekly Get Fit blog: The latest news, trends, research, and workout tips
July 29, 2008
Last week I wrote about several new studies showing the benefits of regular exercise for older adults. But only about a third of people age 65 and older exercise, reports the National Center for Health Statistics. Many are hesitant to start working out, especially if they’ve been sedentary for a long time or have preexisting health complications to worry about. Read More
July 10, 2008
Here is what I wish someone would have told me when I was trying to reinvent myself as an entrepreneur and life coach: Fear is not a warning sign, telling you to run in the opposite direction. Fear doesn’t hold you back from hunting for a new job, starting a new business, or making some other big life change. Fear is actually a useful guide for what comes next, helping you close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Here, four ways you can make big-change anxiety work for you. Read More
May 22, 2008
One month into our Feel Great Weight Plan, we called on dream team psychology expert Judith Beck, PhD, to help our three candidates—and you—deal with the many temptations, obstacles, and motivation bumps that come with starting a major body makeover. Read More
May 10, 2008
Sometimes the company of a friend can be one of the strongest motivators to exercise. That’s why we’re telling the stories of five women who have successfully made fitness a permanent addition to their lives, drawing upon their workouts both for inner and outer strength. If you’ve found your will to exercise dwindling lately, read on for inspiration. Read More
May 8, 2008
Sarah Gilbert joined her local health club hoping to lose a few of the pounds she had gained since graduate school. She hadn’t exercised in months when she stumbled onto Erin Carson’s Spinning class. It wasn’t Spinning per se that got her interested enough to go back (Gilbert, a 35-year-old project management consultant, had tried it before at another gym). It was Carson. Read More
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