Socializing with friends is great for physical and emotional well-being, but if all of your get-togethers are at restaurants or bars, it can be hard to stick to a healthy eating plan. Try these ideas for having fun without placing the emphasis on food. Both you and your friends will benefit. Turn your brunch group… read on >
All Do It Herself:
Fun Moves for Better Agility
Agility, or the ability to react quickly to change without losing your balance, is an important skill not only for playing sports, but also for everyday living. Strength training helps improve agility, but so do balance and coordination exercises. Simple moves include standing on one foot, standing on tiptoe and walking heel to toe. Specific… read on >
Small Fitness Gains Provide Big Heart Disease Protection: Study
Even a slight improvement in your heart/lung fitness could reduce your risk of a heart attack, a new study reveals. Between 2006 and 2008, researchers assessed the cardiorespiratory (heart/lung) fitness of just over 4,500 men and women in Norway. None had heart disease, high blood pressure or cancer, and most were considered at low risk… read on >
How to Pick a Fitness Tracker That’s Right for You
When it comes to monitoring physical activity, we’ve come a long way from pedometers that only counted steps. Today’s health trackers use sensors to monitor movement and store and analyze the data. You can track calories burned, calories consumed, your heart rate during and after exercise, and even how long you sleep. Like a personal… read on >
4 Exercises for a Better Back
To strengthen your back — the most commonly injured part of the body — it’s important to condition both the muscles in it and the ones that support it, notably the abs. Here are four moves to boost back fitness: For the bird dog, start on your hands and knees. Tighten your abs and simultaneously… read on >
A Prescription for Feeling Young Forever
You know about the value of exercise for heart health and for staying strong and independent as you age. There’s also proof that exercise keeps your body young physically as well as mentally. A British study involving cycling enthusiasts between the ages of 55 and 79 found that their physical shape and abilities rivaled those… read on >
Diet or Exercise — or Both?
MONDAY, Jan. 21, 2019 There’s no doubt that an unhealthy diet and couch potato lifestyle put your health at risk, but when considering improvements, should you change one at a time or both at once? Northwestern University researchers found that it’s not only doable, but also more effective, to change unhealthy behaviors simultaneously. Different groups… read on >
Could Neck-Strengthening Prevent Some Concussions?
Boosting athletes’ neck strength in the off season might reduce their concussion risk in sports such as football and soccer, researchers say. This is among several recommendations from researchers at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., who are looking to prevent these serious head injuries in athletes. “Our ability to detect sports-related concussions has greatly… read on >
Shoes Make the Difference When Starting to Exercise
If you’ve vowed to be more active this year, be sure you have proper athletic shoes, a doctor suggests. “The right shoe is important for a runner as much as a good tennis racket is important for a tennis player,” said Dr. Ronald Lepow. He is an assistant professor in the department of orthopedic surgery… read on >
Dermatologists Cut Back on Antibiotics But Still Prescribe the Most
U.S. dermatologists are prescribing fewer antibiotics overall but are writing more short-term orders for the drugs, a new study finds. Dermatologists prescribe more antibiotics per doctor than any other medical specialty — more than 7.1 million prescriptions per year, the University of Pennsylvania researchers said. According to their analysis of 2008-2016 data from privately insured… read on >