Fitness

Oct 29th, 2020 - Most people don’t think about strengthening their back much. After all, it’s not like you can see it in the mirror. But, just like many other commonly-weak areas of the body, your back gets weaker when you spend a lot of time sitting  — especially the upper portion. “In addition to sitting, many people are more focused on the front,” says Rob DelaCruz , co-founder of Structure Training Systems . “It’s what you see in the mirror, and most everyday tasks are done in the front.” Shortening and tightening of the muscles in the front can cause weakness and imbalances in the back, ... [Read More]

Oct 28th, 2020 - 7 Walking Tips That Transform Your Stroll Into a Sweat-Breaking Workout These easy walking tips will encourage you to get outside more and power walk that pavement, while helping you hit your daily 10,000 steps. Thanks to the rise of fitness apps and virtual classes, a sweat-inducing workout is only a click away. But as nice as it is to feel the burn without having to leave your house, it's just as nice to take a step outside. . . and keep going. Walking is an underrated form of cardio that burns plenty of calories and elevates your heart rate, without taking a huge toll on the body. But you ... [Read More]

Oct 28th, 2020 - Lots of people want strong- looking  shoulders, but if you want to stay active for life, it’s important to make sure your shoulders are functionally strong, too. “It is incredibly common to have imbalances or  weak shoulder muscles ,” says Monica Jones , a certified personal trainer and program director and coach at BASH Boxing . Part of the reason is our lifestyle. “We are constantly moving or holding our arms forward with activities like driving, computer use, cell phone use and side sleeping.” Over time, this can cause some of our shoulder muscles to become tight and others ... [Read More]

Oct 27th, 2020 - 4 Stretches For When You Work Your Abs a Little Too Much I have a love-hate relationship with ab exercises. I know that in performing them I'm strengthening my core, which is beneficial to runners , helps improve my posture, and generally makes me stronger. But as good as I feel in the moment of my ab exercises, I almost always feel it the next day. And as of late, when I decided to toss myself into a core challenge, I started to notice this soreness a little more than normal. "Muscle soreness, for any muscle group, occurs when the muscle experiences microscopic tears in its fibers due to ... [Read More]

Oct 27th, 2020 - Most people know they should have a strong core , but they don’t necessarily know  why . The reason is pretty simple. “Your body, no matter how big your muscles may be, is only as strong as your core,” says Nicole Lombardo , DPT, a physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach. “If you’re unable to brace and stabilize your trunk, your body is at an inevitable risk for overuse or injury.” Often, the signs of a weak core  aren’t noticeable until you get injured. One of the biggest reasons is that people often assume their core is just the  “six-pack” muscles . ... [Read More]

Oct 27th, 2020 - Try These Full-Body Stretches After a Rough Day Climbing When you think of climbing , you may be focused on the strength and muscle building that goes into it. And it's easy to do: Some of the main aspects of climbing require you to lift and hoist your own body weight. But, strength isn't the only thing required of a climber — being agile and limber is just as important. To tackle all that is asked of you when climbing, whether at a gym or outdoors, it's important to start with a solid recovery that stretches the body to aid with recovery and promote agility, flexibility, and endurance. "At ... [Read More]

Oct 27th, 2020 - They’ll seriously challenge your core too. The deadlift is a great exercise to really work the entire back of your body—including your hamstrings , butt, and back. And there are tons of deadlift variations, which makes it easy to choose the right version that works for you. Deadlifts are an example of a compound exercise , which means they use multiple groups at once. As a result, your workout becomes more efficient, since you’re working many muscles with just one exercise. Compare that to an isolation exercise like a bicep curl, where you’re really just focusing on the smaller ... [Read More]

Oct 27th, 2020 - 7 Expert-Approved Exercises That Will Give You Stronger Abs and Improve Your Posture If your body feels out of whack and your neck, shoulders, and back are constantly tight and achy, you probably need to show your muscles some TLC and focus on your posture. When we spend long periods of time seated and on devices such as laptops and cellphones, we begin to adopt poor posture habits, and it's not good for your body. One simple way to start improving your posture is to focus on strengthening your abs. "The core is the foundation of our body," Pamela Geisel , MS, CSCS, an exercise physiologist ... [Read More]

Oct 26th, 2020 - Even though treadmills offer the most effective workouts, there are 10 treadmill walking mistakes to avoid now! This is mostly to prevent body injuries. Having a morning run may not work for you on some days. A treadmill can come in handy for you to use it to do your exercises indoors and still achieve the desired results. There are affordable that you can purchase for all your workout needs. Using a treadmill may seem a walk in the park to many fitness enthusiasts who seem to ignore the 10 treadmill walking mistakes to avoid now ! Without that, you will not gain as you should when using this ... [Read More]

Oct 26th, 2020 - ' s Not Your Feet) When we experience pain in one muscle or group of muscles, we can often trace that discomfort to another part of the body. For instance, hip pain is sometimes caused by knee issues. So when a recent conversation with Dr. Jackie Sutera , DPM and a Vionic Innovation Lab member, and Juliet Kaska , a professional trainer and health/wellness expert, turned to topic of strengthening our feet in order to relieve pain, we were intrigued to learn that both women highly recommend toning your core muscles rather than doing a bunch of toe, foot or ankle exercises . As Kaska explains, ... [Read More]

Oct 25th, 2020 - It’s only three moves. If you’re looking to build serious pushing strength, an at-home chest workout might be just what you need to add to your exercise routine. Chest workouts target your pectoral muscles —both your pectoralis major (a large, fan-shaped muscle that spans across your chest) and your pectoralis minor (the smaller muscle that sits underneath it). Your pec muscles help you perform pressing movements like push-ups and bench presses, and they also play a role in efficient breathing, as SELF previously reported. Working your pec muscles is important for anyone trying to get ... [Read More]

Oct 25th, 2020 - There are several ways in which you can track the success of your workouts that aren’t limited to sweat and body aches. Here are 5 of them. Most people judge their workouts by their body’s response to them. If they’re covered in sweat or their muscles ache, it means that whatever they did was successful and they just burned a bunch of calories. While this tends to be true, the more you start working out and habituating to these routines, the less reliable these factors become. There are plenty of ways of measuring your workout’s success and not all of them are painful or visible. For ... [Read More]