Tag Archives: Fitness

How I Stay Healthy on Summer Vacations

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.

Vacation is usually a difficult time for those of us who try to be mindful about our weight. We are often tempted to abandon our good eating and fitness habits. Some of us try to come up with ways to have our cake and eat it too. I have a friend that will lose extra weight prior to his trip in an effort to return without extra pounds. Then there are those who obsess over every nibble and wind up putting a damper on their vacation and on those traveling with them.

Not long ago, my husband and I dealt with this issue and decided it was time to bring the sanity back to our vacations while still honoring our commitment to a healthy lifestyle. (more…)

Posted on May 15, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Celebrities Who Love Zumba

Zumba, the Latin dance-inspired cardio class, is more popular than ever. Millions of Zumba DVDs have been sold and classes are filled with people having a blast while they work to burn calories.

Zumba is a great and fun way to work your core, arms and legs, and to burn hundreds of calories a session, all while having fun. It’s no wonder that this craze has also gotten popular in celebrity circles.

Jennifer Lopez

This Latin beauty has dancing in her blood, so it’s a perfectly logical fit that Jennifer Lopez would be drawn to the Latin rhythms of Zumba. Recently she was quoted as saying in an interview with Redbook magazine that “As women, we tend to give away a lot. We take care of a lot of people, and we can’t forget to take care of ourselves. If that means once a week you’re going to go off without the kids or without anybody… get a facial even if your sister thinks that’s selfish, or join a Zumba class, or take a painting class, or whatever, you’ve just got to do it.”

Madonna

The ageless Material Girl has been linked to various fitness and spiritual movements. Another entertainer known for her dance moves, Zumba classes are offered at Madonna’s Hard Candy gyms. (more…)

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Jason

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: The Steady Electronic Beat Mix

When it comes to getting in a good cardio workout, whether it’s on a treadmill or out in the great outdoors, it’s nearly impossible for me to imagine doing it without the inspirational power of music. Besides inspiring me to keep going I get tend to get lost in the songs and forget that I’m actually working out.

While I can be inspired by all kinds of music, sometimes I really enjoy the steady pulse of electronic-based music to keep me in step. Here is a selection of current artists who take a bit from the past and make it their own.

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: A Steady Beat Mix (more…)

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Jason

4 Deadliest Lifestyle Choices

The World Health Organization has just released a report on non-communicable diseases. This includes diabetes, cancer and respiratory and heart diseases. Many of these diseases could be prevented with behavioral changes. While these numbers relate to the whole world, they are still powerful.

Let’s take a look at some lifestyle choices and how they affect life or death situations.

1. Tobacco Use

Smoking or chewing tobacco are one of the deadliest lifestyle choices you can make. Nearly six million people die every year due to tobacco use. Sadly, this also includes second-hand smoke. The report estimates that by 2024 the number will reach 7.5 million – that’s 10 percent of all deaths.

2. Lack of Exercise

The WHO report estimates that 3.2 million people die every year because they don’t get enough physical activity. If you don’t exercise, you increase your chance of dying prematurely by 20 to 30 percent. (more…)

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Jason

Michael Thurmond’s 6 Week Body Makeover Offers Custom Programming for Every Body Type

Who is Michael Thurmond and what is his Six Week Body Makeover all about? The self-proclaimed fat and nerdy kid who ate for emotional reasons grew up quickly to understand the importance of the proper mental state along with exercise and a healthy diet.

Turmond officially started his Six Week Body Makeover plan in San Francisco, California in 1980, so it’s been around for over 30 years.

Once you sign up for the program, your diet and exercise are based on your body type (endomorph, endo-meso, meso-endo and endo-ecto). According to Thurmond’s program, each body type gains and loses weight differently and have different metabolic rates. So, your eating and fitness program are custom fit to your personal needs.

In a quick video by Michael Thurmond on his website, he says his plan helps you lose weight by eating more and exercising less. However, there is a trend of complaints that say the diet is too restrictive. (more…)

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Jason

Workout Playlist of the Week: The Voice

I’m not a big fan of American Idol. If I happen to catch the first few episodes of a season, I enjoy seeing some of the crackpots, but all in all, I just don’t care for the concept of manufacturing pop stars.

But when I heard about this new show called The Voice, the concept intrigued me a bit. Turning your back on the contestants and just going on their voice is at least on the surface interesting enough to make me want to see what it’s all about.

This Tuesday, April 26, The Voice premieres on NBC. There are four celebrity “coaches” on the show, not judges, who will help contestants compete against each other. Here is a workout-worthy mix from the show’s four coaches: (more…)

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Jason

Shake Things Up and Spring Into Action

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.

There is one thing that I fight constantly in my commitment to health and fitness and that is boredom. For me, it isn’t about the tempting foods or the uncooperative running weather. What will always derail my best efforts is finding that my once inspiring routine to has turned dull.

Spring is the perfect time to shake things up. Refresh those healthy recipes and exercise routines.

My first step this week was to surf the Internet for new healthy recipes. Using the same lean meats and power grains that are a staple in my diet, I have now changed out the seasonings or the vegetable pairings and have new dishes to enjoy. I’ve even made my water consumption more exciting. I now keep a water pitcher in the fridge with lemon slices. Every time I hydrate I feel like I’m at a fancy spa. (more…)

Posted on April 24, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Power Foods and Time-Saving Exercises

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 often refer to the process of healthy eating and fitness as a journey, not a destination. For me, the journey began by my need to lose weight after the birth of my son. My goal was not to get healthy or to get fit, it was to solely lose that weight. As the years went by my focus shifted to a healthier, not just slimmer, lifestyle and that is when I became more serious about eating leaner and exercising.

Today I am at yet another stage where I am introducing power foods that serve to fuel my body rather than just feed it. I am also introducing exercises that are more than just about toning, but about supporting my skeleton and protecting my delicate joints.

Here are some of the easy and versatile power foods and exercises I have been indulging in: (more…)

Posted on April 17, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: Record Store Day Mix

Record stores are fast going the way of the dinosaurs. Or are they? Yes, legal and illegal downloads have taken a huge nick out of the music market, but there are mom and pop stores that are still doing well.

It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that there are no more national music stores. And no, Best Buy doesn’t count, especially since the last time I went, it looks like I have as many CDs in my collection as they carry in any given store.

For those smaller stores that are thriving, there is the annual celebration known as Record Store Day. Tomorrow, April 16, 2024 independently-owned record stores team up with artists and their labels to release special limited edition vinyl and CDs as a way for music nuts like myself to show our appreciation for the music stores who are still fighting the good fight. (more…)

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Jason

Quick but Intense Cardio Sessions Best for Your Heart

Health benefits from exercise don’t have to come from long bouts of cardio at the gym or around your local high school track. A new study involving teens in Scotland has found that short bursts of high-intensity exercise is best for cardiovascular health.

In the study, researchers split kids into two groups: one doing high-intensity workouts, the other moderate intensity. The high-intensity group did a series of 20-meter sprints over 30 seconds, and the kids in the moderate-intensity group ran steadily for 20 minutes.

By the end of the allotted time of seven weeks, both groups showed real improvements in cardiovascular fitness. Their blood pressure, insulin resistance and body composition all improved. However, what set the high-intensity group apart was that they got the aforementioned health benefits by only doing 15 percent of the exercise time done by the kids in the moderate-intensity group. (more…)

Posted on April 13, 2024 by Jason

4 New Ways to Get Fit This Spring

So, you say winter got you down and you kind of slacked off on your fitness routine? Well, spring is here. It’s time to reinvigorate your drive to get fit, so why not try something new?

Getting off to a fresh start with an exercise activity that you may have never tried is a great way have fun and be excited about getting back into the game.

Here are four fitness activities that can make exercise more about fun than being an obligation.

1. Spinning Class – If you already do cardio, there’s a good chance that it can be a bit of bore. Maybe you use the treadmill and stare at the back of someone else’s head for a half hour. If you’re going to get your cardio in a gym, why not kick things up a notch and try a spinning class? (more…)

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Jason