Staying motivated

I am 7 weeks post partum and have been exercising and trying to eat well (i.e. less sweets!) for 5 weeks.  While I think I’m getting toner, the numbers on the scale aren’t budging.  I know the weight will fall off around 6-9 months, as it has with my last two kids, but it’s summer [...]

35 years of walking to work!

My Dad was just honored at his job for having been there for 35 years.  While that’s impressive, what really makes me proud is that he’s also been walking to that job for 32 of those 35 years.  Being the scientist that he is, I asked him to run some numbers for fun and here [...]

Bike to work!

I’m so proud of my husband.  Two years ago, around Earth Day 2008, he bought a bike and started biking to work.  We live about 7 miles from his job and at first, the ride was challenging, but now it’s much easier for him.  When the weather is good, he bikes 4 days/week (he works [...]

How exercise affects the brain

Here is an interesting article from the New York Times entitled “Phys Ed: Why Exercise Makes you Less Anxious.”  A few interesting tid-bits to motivate you to work out more in 2010:

Exercise stimulates the formation of new brain cells.
New brain cells may not express the same genes in response to stress as older brain cells [...]

Weight loss tips

I know many people trying to shed some extra weight so I thought I’d post my favorite weight loss tips.  I have used many of them over the years with great success.  Good luck to everyone!

Drink a full glass of water before every meal.  This will ensure that the food you consume is from true [...]

The power of example

When I was a little girl, my father walked to work.  We lived between one and two miles from his office, which happened to be up a pretty sizable hill.  Every day–snow, rain, or shine–my father hiked up that hill to his job.  He also worked out in addition to this, taking classes at the [...]

Exercise in a pill

It seems too good to be true but maybe we don’t have to actually exercise anymore to get the benefits of exercise.  A drug called AICAR, or acadesine, is in late-stage trials for prevention of problems that may occur during heart surgery.  But it’s also been found to improve the cells of slow-twitch muscle fibers–the [...]

How to start lifting

I recently wrote about why you should start lifting weights regularly. Now I’m going to help you figure out how. Don’t worry–I’m completely qualified. I have a B.S. in Sports Medicine (a.k.a. Kinesiology) and in 2004, became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (basically the step above personal trainer). I’ve also [...]

Why I love to lift weights

I was reading Women’s Health magazine at the gym a couple weeks ago when I ran across a statistic–only 17.5% of women lift weights two or more times a week. Less than 1 in 5! What a shame. I absolutely love lifting weights and I think it’s one of the best exercises [...]

Pilates

I’ve been taking a pilates class at my gym off and on for over a year now.  I love it!  It’s relaxing and challenging all at once.  I never was a big fan of yoga because I found it a bit boring (plus I’m just not that flexible).  But in pilates, you are moving rather [...]