Whether you’re mountain biking, kicking a soccer ball with friends, or just sprinting down the street to catch a bus, your quadriceps are hard at work. The quads are the large muscles that run down the fronts of your thighs. The stronger they are, the less strain each movement will exert on your knees. Lunges… read on >
If you’ve been told that your blood glucose is higher than normal and that you have prediabetes, your doctor is likely to first suggest lifestyle steps to stop it from progressing to diabetes. The steps that can have the most benefit are losing weight and improving your diet, which obviously go hand in hand. But… read on >
The range of motion of the human thumb makes so many everyday hand movements possible. Whether you’re an athlete gripping sports equipment, a baker whisking egg whites or a do-it-yourselfer hammering a nail, you’d be at a total loss without your thumbs. Yet most people do little to protect these overlooked but essential digits. First,… read on >
The strains of everyday life can affect overall health, says the National Safety Council. To focus on wellness each day, the council encourages you to: Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go for a walk at lunch. Find nearby exercise classes. Choose healthy snacks. Take breaks to stand up and stretch. Get regular medical… read on >
Don’t shrug off working your delts, the muscles of your shoulders. Besides assisting with good posture, strong shoulders help you lift and carry items with ease, and create excellent upper body definition for men and women alike. Deltoid rows work not only your shoulders, but also your biceps, lats and the muscles of your middle… read on >
A little bit of testosterone cream might help women run faster longer, a new study suggests. Some female athletes have naturally high testosterone levels that are similar to men, and there is controversy over whether it’s fair to allow them to compete against female athletes with normal testosterone levels. There’s a lack of clear evidence… read on >
Universal gym etiquette includes steps like turning off your cellphone whenever you’re working out, being courteous when using shared equipment in the weight room, taking thoughtful steps such as not wearing heavy perfume, and wiping off your sweat after working out on a machine. But there are also good rules to follow whenever you walk… read on >
The most common misconception about weight training is that it adds bulky muscle mass, a fear of some women. While elite male lifters can — and want to — get very developed, for most people the result is simply well-toned muscles. Other benefits are increased mobility, more support for your joints and the ability to… read on >
Chemotherapy can be hard on the heart, but an individualized exercise program may mitigate some of that damage, new research suggests. Heart problems are a common side effect in patients with cancer because cancer treatments can impair heart function and structure or accelerate development of heart disease, especially when patients have risk factors such as… read on >
If you are older and you have heart disease, you might think you should take it easy. But new research suggests the opposite is true. Exercise is especially beneficial for patients who have a physical impairment, the study authors found. “Aging is associated with several factors such as increased inflammation or oxidative stress that predispose… read on >
