long-related stories
5 outdoor outing essentials
Healthy Habits, Diet & Weight Loss
When I grow up I want to be...
Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Healthy Home, Womens Health, Obesity, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Motivation, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
When I grow up, I want to be just like the adorable and inspiring 85 year old women I saw following along as best as they could in the back of a cardio kickboxing class today. I stood in awe watching them in their elastic waisted linen pants and button-down collared shirts jabbing and crossing with energy.
I thought about the things I do today to increase my health and preserve my athleticism. Will I be able to do the same things those amazing women were doing today while surrounded by others more than half their age? I bust my butt to ensure a long healthy life, but I when I watch things like that....it just seems like a bit of a miracle as well. That's what I'm working for. With all of my being, I want to be just like them.
Men: 5 steps to live a longer life
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
A study which started back in 1981 is now discovering that living a long, healthy life may rely more on other factors than just genes and luck. After all, we've heard from all kinds of centenarians about how to stretch mortality. Everyone has an opinion about how to do it. But after following over 2,000 senior citizens aged 72 (way back twenty years ago), they have found five behaviors to improve men's odds of reaching 90 and beyond.Abstaining from smoking, watching your weight, and controlling blood pressure were among the factors needed. Also included were regular exercise (no surprise there) and avoiding diabetes. As one of the researchers states, the takeaway here is that we do have control over our longevity.
This may be news to some people who believed reaching old age was more reliant on genetic makeup. The study weighed other variables and factors to discover how likely these behaviors would improve (or diminish) the men's chances of living past 90 years of age. Having diabetes, for example, increased the risk of death by 86 percent. Obesity alone increased this mortality rate by over 40 percent. So, in the end we have more control than many people think! Read on for more information if you're curious about the other factors.
The 4 habits that can add 14 years to your life
We all want to live as long and as well as possible, but anymore it seems like that's near impossible with the regular bombardment of unhealthy food choices, sedentary job options, and daily stress levels skyrocketing higher every day. There are all kinds of good habits that are known to help with a longer healthier life (this site is full of them!) but recent research has found 4 specific good habits that have a measurable effect on longevity: altogether they can add as much as 14 years!- Drink moderately
- Exercise
- Quit smoking (or even better never start)
- Eat 5 servings of fruit and veggies daily
Walk this way
Three days of the week: Engage in 30-60 minutes of purposeful walking. Walk the kids to school, walk to the store for milk, or walk with a colleague at work -- call it a meeting and you'll kill two birds with one stone. Break up your walking if you wish -- 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there -- but walk with a mission. Walk as if you're not late but have no time to spare.
Two days of the week: Get moving for 25-45 minutes of high intensity walking. Walk very quickly and tackle some hills while you're at it. Do this walk all at once and not in mini-chunks of time, and be aware of your breathing. Make sure you aren't gasping for air.
One day per week: Take a 90-minute walk. It can be a hike or even a family excursion in a park. Speed isn't important for this one. Just go long.
Fit Beauty: Long haul flights don't have to lead to the dishevelled, jet-lag look
A few weeks ago I arrived in Sydney after a 25 hour journey -- at least 18 of which was spent sandwiched in a plane -- from Canada and arrived tired, jet-lagged and looking pretty rough apparently (a friend I saw that day later told me I looked "like death"). While I realize that it may not be easy to step off an airplane after a long haul flight looking fresh and lovely, I don't think that it's impossible to at least appear somewhat decent. I know that I hope to never arrive in a new place for a holiday looking deathly again!
I suppose it's tough to completely avoid jet lag and the weary, messy look that often results from a long journey, but there are definitely steps you can take that will help you look great as you step onto the gangway. I've been on my fair share of 10-plus hour airplane trips and have found many of the tips listed here can be a big help:
Drink lots and lots and lots of water. I know it's hard to bring any liquids on to a plane with all of the carry-on restrictions these days, but you can usually buy a bottle after going through security. Also make sure to accept any water offered by your flight attendants. It will help you stay hydrated and keep your skin looking good, and also help prevent you from getting bloated.
In a similar vein, avoid alcohol as it will dehydrate you. I know that for many it's not an enjoyable option, but there will be plenty of time for revelry once you've landed.
Move around as much as possible. Not only does this help prevent deep vein thrombosis, which can be deadly, it also keeps you from getting stiff muscles so you can walk tall as you exit the plane.
Invest in some nice face and hand cream, and bring along eye drops and a tooth brush. Moisturizer, along with water, will ensure your skin looks refreshed and the drops will keep you looking bright-eyed despite all of the dry, recirculated air. I assume that the tooth brush is pretty self-explanatory.
Sleep as much as possible. It's not easy for everyone to do sitting at an angle with strangers wedged in on either side, but being well-rested will obviously help you look well-rested, so do your best to catch a few winks.
Sure you may not get to your destination with the great hair, perfect make-up and clean, ironed clothing that you left with, but if you stick to these 5 rules you should at least arrive looking good enough to be included in a few first day of vacation photos.
Have any of you travel fans out there got any tips for the rest of us that you'd like to share?
Help Wanted: Shin splints running the show
Rest is one treatment plan. I don't mean giving up on exercise altogether, but switching to a low-impact program is certainly wise. I could try swimming, biking, walking, and weight training, for example, while my legs heal. I can ice the affected area for 15 to 20-minute intervals, four times per day, for several days. I can elevate my shins above my heart, take an over-the-counter pain reliever, make sure my shoes fit my foot, my stride, and my sport, look into arch supports to disperse stress on my shinbones, strengthen the area with exercises such as toe raises, and then gradually resume running. I can also broaden my running horizons -- which I plan to do starting this week.
A free series is being offered here in town to prep area runners for a local marathon in February. I don't have any big plans to run 26.2 miles anytime soon, but there's no doubt I can learn a thing or two about proper running. So I'm headed to the first seminar on Tuesday. The topic: Core Strengthening, Form Running, and Dynamic Flexibility. I'll be back to report on what I learn. In the meantime, tell me what you do about shin splints. Any words of wisdom about how you prevent or treat this irritating injury?
Get the "Dancing with the Stars" look
Healthy Places, Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Men's Health
I'm watching Dancing with the Stars right now, and for the most part almost all of the contestants have one thing in common. Hot bodies! Now, I'm not usually one to shout 'hot body', but these people look outstanding. Good for them. As an athlete, I watch and think about the days I use to have hours to do nothing but train all day. I loved being so incredibly lean in athletic. Wouldn't it be nice if we were all paid to dance all day? Or swim, kickbox, run all day. Whatever. We'd all have HOT BODIES too!
Well reality doesn't usually allow us 8 hour training days, but we can still get that sexy look without our own show. Attaining a lean muscular physique requires, weight loss and strength training. Got it. We talk about that all the time. Now I'm going to address the other little 'bonus' things they do to look so great for the show.
- Self tanner. Go spray tan somewhere or do it at home. Tanning lotions are safe and give a nice brown color that will enhance the definition of the muscles you already have. *Tanning in the sun or tanning bed is dangerous, and will destroy your skin. Avoid that OK?
- Show off your assets! If you love your arms, go sleeveless. Got great legs? Show em off. These dancers cover and show their favorite parts strategically. You should do the same.
- Wear high heels. They do make your legs look longer, and force your calves into a constant flexed position. Very sexy looking!
- Actually do your hair and makeup. They don't doof around on this one. If you're a girl...go all out girlie! Guys..try gel.
- Fitted shirts and boot cut pants on the men. YUMMY!
Will dancing like the stars give you an equally hot body?
Healthy Aging, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Kids, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Are you in total awe of the gorgeous long lean muscles being flaunted by the stars and dancers appearing on the television show Dancing with the Stars? Me too! I can imagine lots of people around the country are jumping on the dancing bandwagon because of it as well. Is it realistic to think you too will look like them?
Maybe so! It depends on what you're willing to put into it. Keep in mind that this TV gig is the stars new job. So, they are doing it 10 hours a day to prepare. They probably also have a huge load of folks helping them with their food choices etc. But you can do it too.
Just choose up front how high to set your bar. Do you want to dance to lose some pounds and increase your overall stamina, strength and flexibility? If so, then join a class or do your own high kicking routine in the living room a few times a week, and you'll see results within weeks. If you want the same ripped legs and abs that the stars flaunt every Monday night, you're going to have to do quite a bit more.
A life-extending diet is... not eating?
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
Let's face it, most of us like to eat... a lot. Needless to say Halloween doesn't help the temptation with all those sugary sweets either. A radical new way of thinking could leave you weeping for food if the results continue. At the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, a couple of monkeys are the subjects of some provocative new studies which may hold the key to a longer lasting life.The idea here is calorie restriction, or the consumption of 30 percent less calories than normal. Getting all of your vitamins and minerals is part of the deal too, but the results speak for themselves. Two rhesus monkeys are compared as they near the senior citizen mark of laboratory animals. One is losing its hair, lethargic and clearly less active than his companion. The other is thin and spunky, making sounds at visitors while clearly being the healthier one. And he is older.
It's a bold claim: could cutting calories really extend our life? It has been the only non-genetic method to produce these results on a consistent basis. Obviously we won't know until the future if calorie restriction holds the fountain of youth for humans, but you can rest assured that Thanksgiving won't be as fun anymore if the scientists are correct!
