I have this theory that anything that’s good for the planet is good for your health as well.  You’ve heard it all before:  ditching the car, eating organic greens, and drinking tap water are all great ways to maintain your well-being.  But did you know that adding a little green to your workout routine can actually bump it its effectiveness and your subsequent sexiness?  Read on, my friend…

Treadmill vs. Trail: Treadmills use a lottt of energy – about 6 hours of lights on a Christmas tree-worth in only 30 minutes (obscure analogy, I know).  Running outside, however, requires no additional energy except for that needed to manufacture your workout clothes.  I don’t expect you to run outside just for the environment’s sake, but what if I told you that running outside can up your calorie burn and save your joints from strain and impact?  Not only are trails more likely to have inclines that torch calories like a wildfire, they also have a bumpier terrain which causes your muscles to make tiny corrective movements. All in all, this can increase your calorie burn by up to 10%!  Run on sand, and burn 1.6 times more calories!  Plus, dirt trails, wet and dry sand, and even asphalt (never run on the concrete sidewalk!) are softer than the surface of treadmills and will better protect your knees and ankles from impact and future joint pain.  Trust me, running in nature sure beats trotting alongside that 50 year old man sweating like a pig in his 1976 gym shorts. Read More »

[Exercise, health and fitness are an important part of every woman's life. But how do you know if you're doing it right? And what new findings, tips and advice will help you reach your health fitness goals? Kelly, our fitness guru, will keep you updated every Monday with the latest and most beneficial news and advice for your health and body. We've covered cardio fitness before, but this week we turn our attention to the often neglected workout of weight lifting.]

While most people tend to focus on the right types of cardio to get their most successful workout on, it’s not the only way to tone, shape and define our bodies into what we want them to be.

Lifting weights can often get a bad rap; lots of women think that weight lifting is designated for those big, steroid looking macho men that hang around the gyms. But, little do some know, weight lifting is perfect for all shapes and sizes; it’s just a matter of finding what works for you.

According to the lovely safe-weight-lifting-for-women.com, weight lifting can help women:

• Have easier weight loss or weight maintenance

• A leaner, stronger body

• Improved appearance

• Better posture

• Lower blood pressure

• Increased resting metabolism rate

• Improved balance and coordination

• Stronger bones, and protection against osteoporosis

Bet you didn’t know that, eh? Read More »

Gym addicts, you’re not fooling anyone. We’re on to you. We know that you’re just trying to make us feel bad.

Like the size two girl in the office bringing in cupcakes, you want the slightly squishy members of society to drown in a pool of self-loathing while you gloat above the rest of us, spending two plus hours at the gym five days weekly and playing intramural athletics on the side. You want us to know that we’ve just failed the physical fitness test of life, and are not as good as you. As people. Our bodies are not as firm and toned, and therefore, you are better at life than any of us who would rather eat Cheetos and take a nap. Read More »

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought to yourself, “I don’t need to lose weight, but I totally want to tone up”?

Let’s say that you fixate on ‘toning up’ your arms and that you start doing bicep curls with three or five pound weights and a high number of repetitions per set. But after two weeks, you don’t see any results, so you give up.

Do you want to know why that didn’t work?

Because there is no such thing as toning up. All of those bicep curls that you do with three pounds weights? That starts you down the path that you want to go on, but what you’ve got to do is put down the puny weights and pick up those heavier bad boys.

If you were working with three pounds, move up to five; if you were at five, move up to eight and so on. Do 12 reps, rest for a minute, repeat the set and after another one minute rest, complete the final set of twelve. You don’t want to do two or three sets of 12 – 15 reps with such ease that you didn’t actually work the muscle.

Yes, the heavier weights can be intimidating but that’s no reason to stay away from them. Perhaps you’re afraid of ‘bulking up’. Well, fear not, because women simply lack the testosterone to bulk up and look anything remotely like those scary ginormous body builders. Read More »