Cramps throughout the body can, at their least painful, distract you from your workout and at their worst can keep you from finishing a workout. While they are normally associated with vigorous exercise, they are common in every type of exercise because you may be twisting your body or otherwise overexerting yourself. I recently learned that the hard way, after spending a lot more time than I Read more

If you're looking to amp up your fitness routine, you need to get unstable. Performing classic single-leg exercises while standing on a foam pad, like the one pictured above by Aeromat, is simple way to do this. The squishy surface forces your core and legs to work harder, increasing your strength gains and caloric burn. Standing on the soft surface also strengthens your feet and ankles, which Read more

With last week's Boston Marathon kicking off marathon season, there's been a lot of talk about how to tackle long-distance runs and how to recover from an endurance run once it's over. All great advice, but for many of us, a 30- to 40-minute run is all we want to handle. For all you short-distance runners out there, here's a list of things to never do during your workout. Skip the warmup: Even Read more

Competing in a race is already a challenge in itself; add to that a bit of travel, and you've got a new set of factors to consider. To find out how to achieve race-day success when traveling across the country — or world — we went straight to the expert, Thom Gilligan, founder of Marathon Tours, a specialized travel agency for runners that provides travel packages to destination marathons. Read more

This year's Boston Marathon was brutal. The unusually hot weather caused dehydration, heat exhaustion, and in some cases, heat stroke for some of the 2,000 runners. Amid those grueling temps, Kenya's Sharon Cherop emerged as the women's elite champion, who during a press conference shared what led to her victory on such a challenging day. While almost all of us will never finish a marathon with a Read more

If you used to run regularly before there was a little bundle of joy growing inside you, doctors think it's safe to continue with your running routine while pregnant. You should def get the OK from your OB though, and once you do, you may find it helps with some common pregnancy symptoms such as constipation, leg cramps, lower back pain, and fatigue. Yeah, being with child is fun! Running with a Read more

There are many things you shouldn't do before a workout, such as cold stretching (learn more prewrokout no-nos here). To make the most of your actual workout, here are a handful of things to avoid while getting your sweat on. Exercise on an empty stomach: Used as a common weight-loss technique, exercising on an empty stomach can actually prevent weight loss. Without fuel in your system, Read more

You might not be able to swing a professional ergonomic evaluation, but you can make simple changes to your desk environment to sit up a little bit straighter and avoid neck, wrist, and back strains. While ergonomics is about proper seating position, it also includes common habits you might be unaware of, like your line of sight toward a computer screen and how you type. Try out these adjustments Read more

Magnesium is an essential mineral our body needs and is found in our bones, body tissues, and organs. A well-balanced diet will usually provide you with adequate magnesium levels, but if you are prone to headaches, forgetfulness, sore or cramping muscles, stress, or chronic fatigue, a deficiency in magnesium might be what's slowing you down. For ways to get a daily dose of magnesium, read on. Read more

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar! by Diana Kelly, Prevention Need another reason to hate Mondays? Tight postweekend waistbands. Unless you spent the past two days living like a monk, the cocktails, movie snacks, and dinners out can all add up to one thing: belly bloat. "If you wake up bloated on Monday morning, your weekend food choices are Read more