FitSugar

Sugar Shout Out: Get Close With Partnered Yoga Poses

Lindsay Miller — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:55:00 PST

A Celebration of Black Female Athletes

Michele Foley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:03:58 PST

History is marked with talented black athletes who asserted their civil rights and defied segregation to play professionally. To celebrate Black History Month, here is a look at noteworthy black female athletes who have risen to the top and the women who helped pave their way.

6 Ways Vegetarians Can Be Economical

Susi May — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:02:39 PST

6 Ways Vegetarians Can Be Economical Cooking vegetarian is a great way to save some dough and eat healthy. Here are tips to help your wallet while helping your waistline.

Race Up the Empire State Building Is Tonight!

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:00:44 PST

I'm all for jogging up stairs to warm up before a run, and I've even come to love running hills. But running straight up the 86 flights of stairs it takes to get to the top of the Empire State building seems grueling. That's just what the 650 brave souls who are entered in the 35th Annual Empire State Building Run-Up Race are doing tonight.

Keep reading to find out how long it took last year's winners to complete this race.

Partner Yoga Poses For Friends and Lovers

FitSugar — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:44:44 PST

This Valentine's Day, forget the chocolate and flowers. Spend some time together connecting with your favorite person by doing some partner yoga. Move through this eight-posture sequence, and not only will you experience a deep stretch in your muscles, but you'll deepen the connection with your loved one as well.

Source: AcroYoga and Flickr User lmpicard

How to Make Your Favorite Snacks Healthier

Leta Shy — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:34:32 PST

When you're craving a salty, crunchy snack, there are many to choose from - but they're not always healthy. Here's how to make your favorite snacks that much better for you with just a few tweaks.

Popcorn: It's one of the lower-calorie snacks to choose from already, but watch out for toppings - that's where you can get carried away with fat and calories if you're not careful (just look at movie theater popcorn). Air-popped popcorn has the fewest calories - 31 calories per cup - but even using a little bit of oil will only add about 14 calories. Keep calories low by skipping the butter and salt, not to mention the prepackaged popcorn. Instead, use healthier popcorn toppings like extra virgin coconut oil, Indian spices, or "cheesy" nutritional yeast. Read more healthy popcorn topping ideas here.

Nuts: A handful of nuts can keep you satisfied and energized far longer than a carb-filled snack, and not only that, the unsaturated fats in them do you good. But if you want to get the most benefit out of the healthy fats of certain nuts (like walnuts), don't roast them, since their antioxidants may be damaged when baked at a high temperature, as most commercial nuts are. If you don't like the taste of raw nuts, roast your own at 165° Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes.

Read on for ways to healthify more of your favorite snacks.

Tone Your Middle With the Kettlebell Windmill

Susi May — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:27:14 PST

Swinging kettlebells around at the gym makes me feel like a super toughie. But I do love the sassy feeling I get doing slow and controlled windmills, a move I just learned from my Equinox trainer Lauren. Like most kettlebell moves, this is a full-body exercise, but the work is at your waist, toning the obliques and stretching the sides of the torso. The shoulders and arms are worked nicely, too.

If you're a beginner, try this exercise with no weights. Once you feel familiar with the sequence, add one five-pound dumbbell into the mix, holding the weight in the hand that remains held above the head. When you're ready, progress to using a set of four-kilogram (8.8 pounds) kettlebells.

Start toning your love handles now; bikini season is right around the corner.

Which Would You Rather Give Up For a Month - Sex or Exercise?

Michele Foley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:59:58 PST

The annual Bicycling Readers' Choice survey is out, and after reading through it, one statistic stood out to me: 58 percent of female respondents would choose cycling over sex, if they had to give up one or the other for a month. Men were split down the middle, with 50 percent responding that they would choose cycling over sex.

I admit, I am pretty shocked at this statistic - Bicycling's readership are a passionate group of cyclists! It made me wonder, if forced to choose, how many fitness devotees would do the same if they had to pick between exercise or sex for a month. When you think about it, a good amount of the benefits from each activity are identical: stress relief, improved heart health, and better sleep, to name a few.

Tell Us "What Is Your Love End Game?" and Enter to Win the Ultimate Valentine's Date Package!

TresSugar — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:50:18 PST

With Valentine's Day on the horizon, love is in the air. But while February 14 always conjures up images of roses and chocolate, new research suggests that modern relationships are less traditional. Fewer Americans are getting married and those who do are waiting longer. For Valentine's Day, we partnered with AskMen.com and want to ask our readers if and how their ideas of love and goals for their relationships are changing. And we want to see if the attitudes of men and women about their "love end game" are evolving in the same or different ways. So whether your a man or woman, single or taken, fill out our short survey about love and marriage. You'll be entered to win the ultimate Valentine's date package from Limos.com complete with luxury car service, dinner for two, and flowers! Click here for official rules.

Take Our Survey Now!

Healthy Dose Link Time: Belly-Blasting Ab Workout

Susi May — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:43:20 PST

Grab a resistance band and tone up your middle - Fitness
Go ahead and cry! It's good for your health - HuffPost Healthy Living
Tighten up your backside in 15 minutes - Real Simple
Why your doctor's weight is important to your health - Prevention
New strategies for dropping 10 pounds safely - Shape
Add Carmen Electra to the list of celebs who Zumba - Fab Fit Fun
New drinking trend, bone luging, might be beneficial to your health - Blisstree