Strength Training and Becoming Stronger: What is Absolute Strength and Can You Achieve It?
We strength train to become stronger and to develop more muscle mass or at least preserve the muscle we have. Regardless of whether you want muscles that pop, you need your muscles to stay strong. With strength comes functionality! But even with the most consistent training, there are limits to…
Is It Safe to Lift Weights in Running Shoes?
If you run and lift weights, you might be tempted to make your shoes do double duty by running and weight training in them. After all, you spent money on your running shoes, why not get the most out of them? In fact, the average cost of a quality pair…
5 Best Compound Exercises for the Biceps
How strong are your biceps and what are you doing to make them stronger? It’s easy to get into a biceps training rut! One reason this happens is that we focus too much on biceps curls! When you’re trying to build biceps, curls are likely the first exercise that comes…
Vitamin D May Play a Key Role in Muscle Strength in Older People
Vitamin D, as you know, is the sunshine vitamin. It gets this designation because sunlight is the best source of “D,” the vitamin that supports bone and immune health. In fact, exposure to sunlight accounts for 80% of the vitamin D that people accumulate in their bodies. How does sunlight…
Should You Exercise When You’re Tired?
You’ve had a hard day at work, and all you want to do is plop down in a chair and relax, but you have a date with a set of weights! It’s your night to strength train or do a high-intensity workout. You want to do it, but fatigue and…
Beyond Heart Disease: Why Exercise May Lower the Risk of a Variety of Health Problems
It is no secret that exercise lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. In fact, research shows that a single exercise session is beneficial for your heart. Who doesn’t love immediate gratification? In fact, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro found that one session of cardiovascular…
New Research Finds Weight Training Is Healthy for Your Heart
Most people lift weights to increase the size of the muscles they see when they look in the mirror. You might also lift to improve your performance in certain sports or to reduce the loss of muscle mass we all experience with age. Muscle loss is real and being inactive…
How Avocado Could Fight Obesity and Why It Belongs in Your Diet
Is avocado on your shopping list? Maybe it should be! Avocados are a trendy fruit, although most people think they’re a vegetable. Whatever you call it, the avocado’s creamy texture has captured the hearts of Americans and people worldwide. Once called “alligator pears” because of their bumpy outer skin, the…
5 Variations on Jumping Jacks that Will Boost Your Heart Rate Even More
The jumping jack is an exercise familiar to most people. No wonder! It’s an exercise people of all ages do, from grade-schoolers during physical education class to folks in the military. In fact, it was John J. Pershing, a lieutenant in the military who dreamed up the exercise in the…
Nuts May Improve Brain Health & This Nut Offers the Most Benefits
The best crunchy snack isn’t a bag of chips or a package of cookies but a handful of nuts. Why nuts? They’re low in carbs and their high fiber content makes them more filling and satisfying. Contrast that with chips that cause a rapid blood sugar spike and offer little…