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trail-related stories

Back-Country Bikers - Beware of ... Cows?

Fitness

cowWhen biking on a back-country trail, running into the wrong kind of wild life is always a risk. But when a Boulder woman came across a stray cow, her inner alarm bells were silent. She stopped to let it pass.

I mean, after all, it was a cow. Big, sure, but also a doe-eyed grass eater.

But this cow was apparently having a Very Bad Day. Instead of crossing in front of the woman, it knocked her over and stepped on her legs. I can only imagine her surprise. At what point did she go from thinking, "Aw, look at the cute cow?" to "Hmmm, this might be trouble." Luckily, she was unhurt.

Jason Vogel, VP of the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance calls the event, "odd, rare, and random." You can say that again. As for the cow, it disappeared into the woods ... now simply the stuff of legend.

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Cheryl Tiegs Knows Beauty - What Motivated Her to Lose 50 Pounds?

Celebrity Fitzness Report, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment

cheryl tiegsCurious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

As a three-time Sports Illustrated cover model and world famous supermodel, Cheryl Tiegs knows quite a bit about being beautiful. I suppose this makes her a perfect fit for her role as judge on ABC's new reality show True Beauty, which debuts this Monday, January 5 at 10 PM. Instead of really judging the unsuspecting contestants on their physical beauty, though, Cheryl and her cohorts will be removing folks who act really ugly. That should be fun to watch.

In the gallery below, you'll find more about the show and Cheryl's beauty tricks. You just might learn something new about Cheryl Tiegs -- for example, did you know she once gained a good deal of weight? Click below for more!

Celebrity Fitzness Report: Cheryl Tiegs(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Cheryl TiegsCheryl TiegsCheryl TiegsCheryl TiegsCheryl Tiegs

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The KEEN Footwear Winner Has Really Lucky Feet!

Fashion and Beauty, Reviews & Products

keen footwearCongratulations to Robin, our winner of the KEEN Footwear Giveaway. Robin's about to be given a fancy code which gives her the power to order and own any one thing on the KEENFootwear.com website. Oh man -- she is really lucky!

Robin said she'd love the Winterport boots to keep her feet warm and dry while she pulls her daughter through the snow on her sled. Now she's going to get her chance! I, personally, live in Florida and probably won't ever see snow near my home. But I'd love those boots too! Lucky, lucky Robin.

Thanks to everyone who entered this contest, and keep coming back to That's Fit to enter more! We always seem to have a bunch of giveaways going on, and your odds are way better here than they are in Vegas.

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Giveaway - Win Some Cool Shoes From KEEN Footwear

Giveaways, Reviews & Products

keen shoeKEEN Footwear offers some of the coolest most comfortable fashions for everything from long hikes to date nights. KEEN shoes are fun, sporty, and versatile and you may just be able to score yourself a free pair! In fact, if you win the giveaway, you could win anything on the KEEN website. Socks, shoes, purses, laptop bags and backpacks are up for grabs.

Oh ... and entering is ridiculously easy. All you have to do is visit KEENFootwear.com and decide which pair of shoes you like best and then write in this comment section which style you love and what you would want to go do in them.

And just so nobody walks away feeling like a loser, KEEN has offered That's Fit readers a special promo code to get free shipping on anything you purchase. That code is FITFREE and you deserve every penny that you save!

KEEN Footwear Giveaway(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Genoa Peak for WomenWinterport for MenMenlo Park BagTarghee for WomenWear KEEN Shoes Everywhere!

Keep reading for official Giveaway Guidelines ...

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Total Body Training on the Trail

Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Healthy Places, Natural Beauty, Stress Reduction, Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Products and Reviews, Cellulite, Obesity, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Motivation, Alternative & Green Health, Men's Health

Of course going jogging on a trail is a super form of exercise. I specifically like what trails have to offer hips and ankles over a flatter surface. The inconsistency of the trails' surface causes the joints in our lower body to constantly adjust which makes them uniquely beneficial for strengthening hips, knees, and ankles.

Trails are also great for other types of training as well. I think Women's' Health magazine did a super job of taking a few simple items we'd all eventually stumble across while trail running, and turning them into fitness equipment. As your fancy online Fitzness Trainer, these are the types of skills I want you to learn.

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Hiking is for everyone

Fitness

man hiking
Until I adopted my son last summer, I had never really gone hiking. At least not where hiking was the main reason for going out -- I had reluctantly hiked to campgrounds and other destinations, but I'd never hiked strictly for the sake of hiking. I just didn't see the point.

Then, last summer, my son and I discovered a wooded area in a neighboring town. It's right off the main drag, but there are acres and acres of protected woods. The trails are groomed and the inclines are gentle, so it's definitely a playground for the novice hiker.

I thought I was doing it for some quality time with my son. To my great surprise, I found that I enjoyed it for myself. There's something about hiking that is a true escape from your life. Deadlines, bills, dirty dishes, and life's other little stresses just seem so far away when you're surrounded by nature. Even on the easy trails my son and I choose, I still get a great workout.

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Avoiding the poison plants

Diet & Weight Loss

poison ivy
There is a wooded area in a nearby community that's open to the public. Though it's smack-dab in the middle of a city, you really feel like you're escaping to the wilderness there. My son and I like to visit it for day hikes and he also likes to ride his bike on the trails. Though the trails are groomed and maintained for public use, off-trail it's a woods like any other. If you're not careful, you can definitely run across some of the poison plants -- poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. You can avoid the itch by recognizing the plants:
  • Poison ivy. In some areas poison, ivy grows as a vine. In others it's more of a shrub. The identifying trait is it's three-leaf configuration.
  • Poison oak. Poison oak is somewhat similar in appearance to poison ivy, but the leaves are shaped more like an oak tree's. The underside of the leaf is lighter than the top and is covered in hair.
  • Poison sumac. Common in swampy areas, poison sumac is a woody shrub with leaves arranged in pairs and clusters of green berries.

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Find a new running route ANYWHERE

Fitness


I don't know about you, but I tend to find one good running route wherever I live and stick with it. I might have variations on it -- right now I have a four-miler that can easily be made into a six- or a two-miler with little modification -- but if I'm happy with my route, I don't usually go out of my way to find something new.

And that, my friends, is boring. There are a million things to see here! There are wooded areas and the University of Florida and all kinds of gorgeous and interesting neighborhoods, but do I make an effort to run through them? No! And why not? Because I don't know a specific route, so I don't know how far I'll have to run, and I'm a dork who likes to know these things ahead of time.

Now I have no excuse. With Run.com I can plug in my city and find a bunch of cool new running routes, all with mileage listed and a description. In Gainesville, there are 16 routes listed (and I might just have to list my boring old route, too).

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Matthew McConaughey wants you to "go for distance"

Healthy Habits, Womens Health, Cellulite, Obesity, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Motivation, Men's Health

When Matthew McConaughey trains, he doesn't need a watch and he doesn't need any sort of mile marker to tell him when he's done exercising. The boy just goes and goes and goes ... until he's drenched and exhausted. He simply just tries to run as far away from his starting point as he can.

This is his argument for doing so: "The return trip is always easier. Think about it. One, you can anticipate the road you've already traveled. Two, when it's time to eat the hay, the horses get home no matter how tired they are. Third, you're past the hump. You're in. Each step gets you closer to sitting down and relaxing." He says the beauty of all this is that the path can be different every single time.

Matthew McConaughey(click thumbnails to view gallery)

The sports fanGo the distanceTrain with a buddyLive in a trailerThe sports life

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How to: homemade trail mix granola

Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements

Associated Content has a great article on how to make your own lean trail mix with granola that can be used for just about anything. You're probably most familiar with those granola bars which make great snacks. Luckily, it can be used for breakfast, trail mix or just by itself as well. This high-energy combination is baked for a healthy consistency which makes it light enough to take on the go.

So how do you make your own anyway? If you arm yourself with a skillet, some baking sheets, and a plethora of nuts and dried fruits, you will find that it may be a lot easier than you think. Follow the directions carefully and it will give you enough mix to feed ten. Check out the full article here for the list of instructions on how to make your very own trail mix granola.

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