FitSugar

Yoga and Regular Stretching Proven to Relieve Back Pain

Leta Shy — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:58:02 PDT

A new study has found that yoga isn't just good for the mind - for chronic back pain sufferers, yoga and stretching can alleviate pain and reduce dependency on pain medication.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, split 228 back pain sufferers into three treatment groups: yoga class, stretching class, or at-home self-care with a back pain book. The yoga group's therapy consisted of weekly 75-minute beginner viniyoga (a style of yoga that focuses on therapeutic and individualized practice) class as well as videos to follow daily. The stretching group was also given videos for daily practice as well as weekly 75-minute stretching classes that focused on stretching major muscle groups and strength training. The self-care group used the book The Back Pain Helpbook.

Find out how the groups fared after the break.

Sit Up Straight! 8 Exercises to Stretch and Strengthen the Shoulders and Back

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 02:17:47 PDT

Sitting at a desk, lifting heavy weights improperly, or neglecting to stretch the shoulders can take a huge toll on posture. Even if you think you're sitting up straight, you may still be slouching your shoulders and upper back. Crunch trainer Tim Rich shows us some key stretches and exercises that you can do to strengthen your back and open up your shoulders.

Improve Your Posture and Relax Your Back With Yoga Twists

FitSugar — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 05:00:00 PST

One of my favorites parts of yoga class is when it's time to twist. Not only do twists make your back feel incredibly good and relaxed, they also help straighten the spine, meaning better posture and improved breathing. But the benefits don't end there - spinal twist poses also help you digest a big dinner and aid in, ahem, moving things along. Here are five poses that'll have you twisting and shouting for joy.

Stretches to Help Your Travel-Weary Back

Leta Shy — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 08:00:50 PST

The holidays can be bad news for the back. From sleeping at the airport to sitting for long periods of time in a car or lugging around all those heavy bags and presents, there are too many ways your back can go from perfectly aligned to aggravatingly achy.

Stretching out your muscles is the perfect combatant to help relieve any back pain your hectic holiday schedule has left you with. So if you've been bad to your back over the holidays, here are some great ways to stretch and stop the pain:

Strike a yoga pose. Simple yoga poses like the Downward Facing Dog will stretch and align your spine, and the Fish Pose will help relieve stiffness in your neck and shoulders.
Start flexing those hips. Weak hip joints lead to overcompensating in our lower back, so add hip-strengthening exercises to your daily stretches to help combat future back pain.
Stretch in bed. Not only will stretching in bed help recharge your body for the day ahead (or help you relax for a good sleep), exercises like the "spinal twist" will target your lower back and help get it realigned.

Running Tip: Stretch and Strengthen Your Back

FitSugar — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 04:00:00 PDT

Life taxes the human back and spine. After working with so many clients with lower and upper back pain, I sometimes wonder why we ever stood up as a species. It is truly important to keep your spine both supple and strong. Here is a great series of yoga poses to increase both flexibility and strength. Just click on the link to learn how to get into each pose.

Standing Forward Bend - You can keep your feet together or have them separated so they're under your hips. Just let your torso and head hang, and you can bend your knees slightly to bring more of the stretch into your lower back.
Take a vinyasa to the ground and come into Cobra. Be sure to keep your shoulders relaxed away from your ears and lift your head as high as you can to lengthen through the spine.

Want to see the other stretches? Then

Now stand on your knees so they're directly under your hips and come into Camel. If you want to take this pose even further, try doing Advanced Camel using an exercise ball. After you're done with this pose, take a counter pose for your lower back by doing Child's pose.
After stretching your back, take a vinyasa to Down Dog and do a Jump Through so you're lying on your back. Bend your knees and come into Half Wheel. After five or more breaths, repeat this pose, or...
Come all the way up into Full Wheel. Work on bringing your hands and feet a little closer towards each other to increase the stretch even more. Then after five to ten breaths, slowly drop onto your back, hug your knees into your chest and rock over your spine from side to side.
Sit up and release your lower back with a Seated Forward Bend.

Fit's Tips: This is a great sequence to do all at once, but ease into it if your back muscles are tight. It may also feel better on your back to do Child's Pose in between each back stretch.

Source

Healthy Dose Link Time: Meet Masala Bhangra's Founder, Sarina Jain

Michele Foley — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:46:29 PDT

Grab a sari and start shaking! The fitness trend you haven't tried - The Daily Beast
Feel like there's a bun in the oven? Ways to banish belly bloat - Fab Fit Fun
When it's a grab-and-go kind of day: the best breakfast bars - Fitness
45-year-old Olympian Dara Torres on staying healthy while aging - Blisstree
How you can beat the breast cancer odds - Prevention
Eight easy moves that strengthen and stretch all at once - Shape
Be inspired by this serene yoga spot - it's like being in the forest! - Houzz
A look back at some of the weirdest fitness products ever made - HuffPost Healthy Living

Barre Workouts are Expensive! Try This At-Home Alternative Instead

Self — Wed, 23 May 2012 04:23:06 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Self here on FitSugar!

Barre classes may make you easy on the eyes, but at $20 or more a pop, they're definitely not easy on the wallet. Rather than take a second job to pay for our latest fitness addiction, we turned to Beverly Hill-based Cardio Barre instructor Stacey Bosworth to get the inside scoop on scoring a long, lean dancer's body in your living room. "This at-home workout is effective because it targets the whole lower body. Cardio Barre is amazing because it is a no-impact workout that allows you to lengthen and strengthen your muscles while burning fat. It will also help increase your flexibility and strength," says Bosworth.

Celebrity devotees, including Dakota Fanning, Neve Campbell, and Heather Morris, can all attest to the fact that Cardio Barre has given them "a lifted tush and leaner, dancer-like legs!" Incorporate these three moves into your regular routine three times a week for maximum results.

Butt Blaster
Come down to the floor on both forearms with your knees bent. Your left hip is directly over your left knee. Your right leg is bent to a 90-degree angle with your foot flexed. Extend your right leg toward the ceiling as if you were pushing the ceiling away from you (see photo above). Bring your right leg down past your left hip and then back up toward the ceiling, keeping your leg parallel to the floor with your kneecap pointing toward the ground and your foot flexed. You are doing a full range of motion, trying to imagine extending your leg all the way through the ceiling.

Keep reading for more barre moves you can do at home!

4 Reasons to Add an Exercise Ball to Your Home Gym

Leta Shy — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:58:44 PDT

The exercise ball may occupy a lot of room in your home gym, but it's one versatile piece of equipment. Find out how to get the most out of your exercise ball below.

A healthier seat: Ditch your normal seat on the couch and sit on an exercise ball instead. Using a ball to sit helps correct your posture, tones your abs, and encourages you to stretch, all of which sounds a lot better than the lower back pain that too much sitting on the couch can cause.

Routine shakeup: Adding an exercise ball to your normal mat routines can shake things up and challenge you. For example, you can plank using an exercise ball at your feet to make holding your pose that much harder, or sit or lay on your exercise ball while you execute arm exercises. Even just practicing your balance by kneeling on the exercise ball can help you tone and whittle. Need some ideas? Try these amazingly effective ab and butt workouts using the exercise ball:

Find out how to do the plank pike and the hamstring curl using an exercise ball with this advanced exercise ball workout video.
Skip boring crunches and do this ball pass ab exercise instead.
Challenge your core and balance with this single-leg squat, done against a wall using an exercise ball.
Lie on the ball and work your arms with this chest press move.

Read on for more reasons to use an exercise ball.

Strike a Yoga Pose: Fierce

FitSugar — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:28:00 PDT

After learning Ashtanga Yoga's Sun Salutation A, it's time to learn the poses in Sun Salutation B. It begins with a pose called Fierce, which may look easy but is a killer move for your thighs and glutes when done correctly. It also strengthens your core and stretches your calves, so it's an essential move for runners and high-heel wearers alike.

Sanskrit Name: Utkatasana
English Translation: Fierce Pose
Also Called: Chair Pose

Stand with your feet together in Mountain Pose. Bend your knees and lower your hips as you raise your arms overhead.
Focus on sitting back into your heels to relieve pressure from your knees and to target the thighs and glutes. Tuck your tailbone in and engage your abs, keeping your spine straight. Roll your shoulder blades back and down away from your ears to release any tension in the neck or upper body, and gaze up toward the ceiling.
Stay like this for five breaths.

Torch Calories and Tone With This Circuit Workout

Susi May — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:40:46 PDT

What's not to love about circuit training? Combining heart-pumping elements of cardio with strength-training moves means you torch calories while toning muscles. It's just so efficient.

Here's a fun yet challenging circuit workout I did recently with my Equinox trainer Lauren. The workout has you performing each exercise for a minute, which means you need to keep a stopwatch handy, but you have the luxury of not needing to count.

Get the details of this circuit after the break.