Tag Archives: cardio

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: Something Old, Something New

As I get older, I find myself more and more entrenched in my musical ways. I love exploring new music, but I think I love discovering older music even more. It’s either intense nostalgia for a perceived superior past or a slow approaching midlife crisis. Either way, as long as I use that passion for good, who cares, right?

To show that I’m not just turning into an old(ish) fogy, I’d like to put forth a workout mix that blends some of the great music out now and some from yesterday. (more…)

Posted on November 4, 2023 by Jason

Healthy for the Holidays: Your 8 Week Plan to Get Fit

I know you probably don’t want to hear the word “holidays” just yet, but I promise in this context, it will actually reduce your stress.

Most people wait until after the holidays to worry about getting into shape, but with that mind frame, you are more likely to pack on not only the holiday pounds, but quite a few in the weeks leading up to them as well. We all know that the “I’ll take care of it later” mentality leads to “I’ll eat whatever the heck I want up until that point” actions.

This cycle can leave you feeling discouraged and hit your self-esteem pretty hard, making that New Year’s Resolution the same as it was last year. And the year before that…

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could cross that “finally lose the weight” resolution off your list and move on to number two? Be it skydiving or paying off your credit card bill, I guarantee it will be more rewarding in a pair of skinny jeans.

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Posted on September 30, 2023 by Kelly

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: A Cool Fall Music Mix

Fall is at our doorstep. Soon, the leaves will be changing, and of course, falling. That doesn’t mean you have to fall off your exercise routine.

Don’t let the cooler weather and less sun get your cardio in a rut. If you’re bored with your workout routine, now is the perfect time to shake things up and make sure the inclement weather doesn’t get you down. It’s especially important for guys like me to step it up a notch, because football season means more beer and snacks on the weekend.

Here’s a peppy playlist from some of my favorite new indie rock artists, mostly fresh finds for me, and a few that have been around for a while: (more…)

Posted on September 23, 2023 by Jason

Low Impact Exercise Doesn’t Have to Mean a Low Intensity Workout

For most, impact exercise is a good thing. The more force you apply to your bones, the stronger they become. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the population is physically falling apart due to being sedentary, overweight, and all around just plain horrible to ourselves.

To be fair, many have legitimate joint and bone injuries, or are recovering from surgeries that also require them to stick to low and no impact modes of exercises. There is no shame in that. Low or no impact doesn’t have to mean taking it easy- it just means working out differently. You can get just as intense of a workout while still being mindful of your limitations.

Low Impact Cardio

To determine if something is high impact, ask yourself if your feet leave the floor, and how hard they come back in contact with it. Your bones and joints are required to absorb the shock, and the impact of this can be too much for many.

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Posted on September 22, 2023 by Kelly

Inactive Lifestyle Linked Directly to Diabetes

Being a couch potato can lead to diabetes? This isn’t surprising to me and I hope its not to you.

The title for the latest study on diabetes, “Lowering Physical Inactivity impairs Glycemic Control in Healthy Volunteers,” is trying to establish the relationship between an inactive lifestyle and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The obesity epidemic is upon us, both adults and children. This is something we can not ignore. A sedentary lifestyle is one that can lead to weight gain and possibly diabetes, and all the complications that come with it.

The study was conducted by University of Missouri‘s John Thyfault, an assistant professor in MU’s departments of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology and Internal Medicine. He discovered that blood sugar was effected when exercise was reduced or eliminated.

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Posted on August 31, 2023 by Sarah

New Cardio Machine Features Soft Platform for a ‘Beach Running’ Feel

Image via The Independent

Running on the beach is one of my favorite things to do. Unfortunately, I live in the Midwest, so my chances to run on a beach are limited to vacations and work trips to the coast. But a new piece of fitness equipment on the market is hoping to bring that beach-running feel to people in all areas, even those in land-locked parts of the country. Recently launched at the IDEA World Fitness Convention in L.A., the Sproing cardio machine uses bungee resistance and a soft platform to create a running experience that is low-impact.

Unlike a treadmill that has a moving platform, the Sproing has no moving pieces. Instead, you wear a chest strap that it attached to a tethered bungee with resistance and run forward, pulling away from the tethered platform as far as you can. Below your feet is a stationary soft platform. Users have two types of surface options to run on. One is filled with air for an easier workout, and one is filled with special high-density foam for a more intense workout that feels like running on the beach. Although there’s no treadmill belt, the Sproing can measure your movement and steps. With custom built-in sensors, it measures your footsteps and tells you how far you’ve run.

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Posted on August 30, 2023 by Jennipher

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: Go the Extra Mile

If you run at a moderate pace for 30 minutes, you’re probably going to burn in the neighborhood of 400 calories. Remember that the next time you decide on a couple after-work alcoholic drinks or that pie for dessert, which means you need to do an extra cardio session just to get back to even.

Actually scratch that thought, it’s too much of a downer. Just make sure you take the time to consistently get your cardio in and the occasional indulgence will be made up for. Maybe add a few minutes to each workout this week as well! Here’s a fresh workout mix to keep you going this week for those extra few minutes:

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: Go the Extra Mile (more…)

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Jason

How to Keep Motivated to Stay in Shape

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

I am always fascinated by the tools people use to stay motivated and continue on their weight management and fitness programs. Here are a few of my favorites. I hope you find one that works for you!

Five Pound Rule: I get on the scale once a day to monitor my weight. My goal is to stay within five pounds of my ideal and healthy weight. I usually remain the same, but on those off times when stress or overindulging pushes that number up, I don’t panic because if I catch the weight gain earlier enough I won’t have to lose so much down the road. It is easier to lose five pounds than it is 10, 20 or 50!

Do it Before the Sun Sets: Years ago, I decided that living a busy life would no longer be an excuse to ignore my fitness. My rule is that I will not go to bed until I have done at least 30 minutes of exercise. Be it cardio, yoga or strength training, I chant to myself that I will “do it before the sun sets.” Since I know I have no option but to do it, I find myself effortlessly carving out time in the morning so I’m able to get it done before the day gets even busier. (more…)

Posted on August 21, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: MTV Turns 30

MTV turned 30 this week. Thirty years ago, August 1, 1981 to be exact, MTV debuted with The Buggles “Video Killed The Radio Star,” and since then reality TV has long ago killed the video star. Plenty of people have grumbled about the absence of music videos on the most famous music video network, so I won’t go further down that road.

The road I will go down, though, is a nostalgia trip down memory lane. Here are some high energy songs from the golden age of MTV to help with your next workout. They also happen to have all been played on the first day MTV aired: (more…)

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Jason

3 Tips for a Sharper Mind and Sculpted Body

Michael Gonzalez-Wallace is the author of Super Body, Super Brain. You can read more from him at www.superbodysuperbrain.com or pick up his book Super Body, Super Brain.

Use it or lose it.

If we don’t use our muscles, they will wither in atrophy and if we don’t use our brain, our brain will shrink. If the brain is not used, different brain areas will slow down leading to a faster decline in cognitive abilities such as multitasking, learning, memory or movement. A study from Harvard University concluded that lack of brain activity between different areas of the brain means faster aging.

However, what if I told you that is possible to be faster mentally or in better physical shape now than you were 5 or 10 years ago? For the last 10 years, we have being seeing a brilliant phenomena called brain plasticity. Brain plasticity is the brain’s capacity to rewire or regenerate itself, and the key is stimulation. Anytime you stimulate the brain, you are strengthening existing connections and creating new powerful networks. In other words, you are strengthening your brain like a muscle.

According to Dr John Ratey Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University, exercise is the ultimate way to improve brain plasticity. Nice! But plasticity doesn’t only affect our brains- but affects our muscles as well. Muscle fiber plasticity refers to the capacity of our muscles to change shape, form and structure and there is no age limit, you just need to be consistent with a resistance training program.

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Posted on August 4, 2023 by GuestBlogger

The FIRM Express Promises to Get You Thin in 30 Days

Thin in 30 days? Maybe. Doing it in three 20 minute workouts a week? Prove it.

I’m always wary of workout programs that offer more results with less effort. Turns out, in this case, less effort doesn’t mean less exercise, just less of a time commitment, which I can get behind.

The FIRM has been a trusted name in exercise and fitness for years, with workouts designed to empower women to work towards their best bodies and achieve total body fitness in the comfort of their very own home.

The FIRM has introduced a new workout series called The FIRM Express, which takes their successful fitness philosophy and condenses it down into three times weekly 20 minute workouts that promise to get you “thin in 30” days. Like all of the workouts by The FIRM, this program combines effective cardio exercises with weight training to get results faster and help you burn more fat than traditional cardio or weight lifting alone.

This 12 DVD program includes 12 workouts you will use through four different cycles that are specifically sequenced to optimize weight loss. The FIRM Express boasts that you can burn up to nine times more fat with this program than traditional workouts.

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Posted on August 1, 2023 by Kelly