Poll: Which Season is Your Favorite for Outdoor Exercise?

Fall will be here in just a couple weeks, which means we should be experiencing cooler temperatures very soon! During the hot summer months, many people take their workouts indoors to escape the heat, including myself. With the cooler weather that accompanies the fall season though, it's a great time to get back outside for some of your workouts.
 

Healthy Headlines from Around the Web

Cheap Health Food: Tips To Combat Rising Food Prices from Huffington Post

How to Eat Your Vitamins from Real Simple

Greatist Workout of the Day from Greatist



Transplant Centers Struggle With Donors’ Obesity from The New York Times

I Won't Be a Victim: The Importance of Self-Defense

After living in the state of California all of our lives, five years ago my husband and I decided we were ready for a change, and we moved to Missouri. We have enjoyed the change that we experienced with that move and decided that it was finally time for us to purchase our first home. We purchased our house in mid-July and have been enjoying being homeowners. We honestly couldn’t ask for a better first home as we both love it very much. It feels great, and we both feel quite accomplished that we were able to become homeowners much sooner than we ever thought was possible.

Our new house is located in a neighborhood only a few miles away from the house we were renting. Now, this is generally a safe and quiet neighborhood. However, last week we learned an important lesson, that bad things happen even in "safe and quiet" places.

How to Keep Exercise from Zapping Your Energy

Do you ever hit an energy low during your workouts? If so, there could be a variety of reasons why, but some of those can be an easy fix, such as eating properly, getting enough rest, drinking plenty of water, changing up your workouts, etc.

Whenever I find myself hitting a low during my workouts, I run through a list of things in my head to figure out what may be happening so it doesn't continue to happen for future workouts.  A few things that I do to make sure I have enough energy for my workouts are to make sure I'm well rested, drink plenty of water and make sure I switch up my workouts so I don't get bored.  If I'm not well rested, then I am going to be tired well before my workout, which will not only cause my workout to be less than great, but it can also lead to more fatigue and possible injuries. On the days that I know I didn't sleep well the night before, I either do a short walk as my workout (or something else that is quick and simple) or I skip that day's workout. I would rather go to bed early to help me catch up on my sleep so I will be more rested and less injury prone. If all goes well and am better rested the next day, I am able to put more effort into my workout then.
 

Learn to Love Exercise

Not everyone enjoys exercising, but it doesn't have to be that way. You CAN learn to love exercise! I know some of you may be thinking to yourself that I'm crazy and that there is no way that you will ever learn to love exercise, but it really can happen.

For anyone who knew me before joining SparkPeople and going on my journey to better health, they probably would have told you that I didn't like exercise. Back then they would have been right, but I have changed that mindset. Now I honestly can say that I enjoy exercising. But how did I change my dislike for exercise? Well, what worked for me was trying various exercises and activities until I found what I liked to do. If you find something that you enjoy doing, or at least that you don't mind doing, then you are more likely to start to enjoy exercise and look forward to it. Any time I hear anyone say that they don't like to exercise, I always recommend they try a new exercise or activity. That usually helps them enjoy working out and sometimes even love exercising.

Fun and Active Date Ideas

My husband and I just celebrated our 14th anniversary earlier this week and I thought it was a great time to share some active date ideas with you. While we haven't had a chance to actually celebrate our anniversary just yet, we will be doing something active and fun when we do. We both enjoy a good movie and dinner, but that can be costly not only for our wallets, but our waistline as well.

Healthy Headlines from Around the Web

6 Yoga Poses for a Rock-Solid Core from Shape

Americans need to try harder to eat fruits, vegetables from USA Today

Do These 5 Things to Prevent Workout Injuries from Fit Sugar

6 Ways to Feel Confident in Your Swimsuit from Fit Bottomed Girls

Watch: Blogger Takes on the Haters Who Called Her Fat

Posting anything on the internet can bring a lot of comments and feedback -- some positive and some negative. I wonder though, if it weren't for the anonymity of the internet would the same people that leave negative comments and feedback say the same thing in person? I doubt that they would, so when you get brave people to post blogs and videos, they open themselves up to a lot of scrutiny. Our very own Coach Nicole experienced this several years ago with comments made about her on her YouTube workout videos. I don't know if I could've taken those negative comments as well as Coach Nicole, but I didn't believe one word of the negative comments that were posted.

Poll: Do You Drink Hot Beverages to Cool Off?

On a hot day, most people like to have a cold beverage to help cool down. However, some like to drink hot tea or other hot beverages to help cool down. Yes, you read that right, they drink hot beverages to cool down, but that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Joe Palca from NPR recently looked into this and spoke with neuroscientist, Peter McNaughton, to find out why you might want to drink a hot beverage on a hot day to cool off. The bottom line of what he found is that we have a lot of TRPV1 receptors on our tongue that respond to heat, so when we drink a hot beverage, our brain alerts our body to sweat, therefore cooling the body off.
 

Healthy Headlines from Around the Web

11 All-Natural, Instant Energy Boosters from Fit Sugar

High Fiber Foods: 7 Surprising Sources from Huffington Post

4 Ways Alcohol Hurts Your Fitness Goals from Fit Bottomed Girls


How to Change Fat Bias from Diet Blog

Poll: Should Skinny People Be Banned from the Gym?

Having joined a gym recently just for the fitness classes (which I am still enjoying), I was appalled when I came across an article talking about a gym in Canada saying that they don't allow skinny people to join their gym. While I can understand where the founder of that gym is coming from in regards to creating a friendlier atmosphere for those that are overweight, I believe that there are plenty of people that have feelings like they are not adequate enough to be in the gym, including "skinny" people.  

Poll: Do You Like to Be Active on Vacation?

It's been a while since I've taken a true vacation (I've been taking more staycations -- staying home while taking vacation time), but when I do go on vacation (or even when I take a staycation), I like to stay active. I do spend some time relaxing as well, but I do my best to make sure that I incorporate some form of exercise/activity in my day, which helps me stay on track with my health goals.

When vacationing, I like to do as much walking as I can, so I try to select places to stay that are within walking distance to things that I would like to do or see. That helps to keep me active and saves money by not spending it on gas for the car. If I go to a place that has a lot of outdoor type activities to do, I try to hike and bike too. If I stay at a hotel that has a pool or gym, I also like to take advantage of those as well. One time many years ago, I stayed at a resort in Mexico and participated in a water aerobics class that they offered -- talk about a fun, active and relaxing time!

Beat the Heat During Your Summer Workouts

Summer is almost here, which means the temperature will continue to rise. Some of you may have already experienced some early summer-type heat and are already starting to get acclimated to it. As we change over to summer weather, we need to remember to take precautions when exercising in the heat.

Our bodies do a great job at cooling off in general, but it does take time for them to get acclimated to the heat as the season changes. Depending on your age, current health condition and your activity level, your body can take 2 or more weeks to acclimate to the heat. This is something to keep in mind, especially if you are feeling like your workouts are getting harder during this time of year and/or you have humidity to deal with on top of the heat.

Plan Ahead for Success

Planning ahead is a common key ingredient to a successful story, no matter what the goal may be. Having a plan will not only help you reach your goal(s), but it can help you stay on track with your goal(s) a lot easier. Something that I have experienced and greatly believe in is having a plan, along with having alternative plans for those times of "just in case." Similarly, Coach Nicole has blogged about developing a Plan B, which has helped numerous people, including myself when times get busy or tough. I'm sure many of you have experienced those times when unexpected things come up and catch you completely off guard. When you have a plan, plan B, and maybe even a plan C, you are more likely to stick with your goal(s), which will make you happier in the end and you will have given yourself a perfect recipe for success.