FitSugar

Speak Up: What's Your Favorite Way to Exercise?

FitSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:00:00 PDT

Exercise comes in all shapes and forms but it's the fun stuff that keeps us going in the end. For me, my favorite form of exercise is riding my bike. Sure running is good, swimming is relaxing, and I even like hitting the gym, but riding my bike is truly fun. Not only am I brought back to my days as a kid, but I love being outdoors and exploring new areas while burning calories. I know that bike riding is a favorite among many, but not all, so what is your favorite way to exercise? Speak up and share which exercise you actually look forward to doing. Hopefully, everyone's answers will inspire us all to find the joy in exercise.

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What is your FAVORITE exercise?

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 08:30:00 PST

We all have exercises we do every time we workout - what is yours?

Fit Philosophy: Ginnifer Goodwin

Michele Foley — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:02:27 PDT

Happy birthday, Ginnifer Goodwin! The Once Upon a Time star turns 34 today, and to celebrate we're taking a look at how Ginnifer stays active and fit in her daily life.

Always on the go: Ginnifer often credits living in health-conscious LA for her active lifestyle. Whether she's going to Ballet Body or The Bar Method, her workouts gravitate toward leotards, the barre, and pliés. She also turns everyday excursions into an excuse to power walk, "I'll speed-walk a couple of miles, get a cup of coffee, speed-walk back. It’s so easy. Just break a sweat for 30 minutes and you’re fine."

It's a lifestyle not a diet: An outspoken fan of Weight Watchers, she credits the diet program for helping her maintain a healthy weight in realistic ways. She told People, "It takes time because you lose the weight slowly . . . You don't have to go through that horrible yo-yo cycle of binging." Even when counting points, Ginnifer can indulge in treats like her favorite dark chocolate or a pasta dinner. Ginnifer maintains a sense of balance when it comes to eating, so she never has to feel deprived.

Health is more than just weight loss: For Ginnifer, being healthy means being confident, feeling less stressed, and maintaining a well-rounded perspective in her life. She told Health, "Healthy is beautiful. Because what comes with health is a clear mind and a high spirit. When I’m not healthy, I can’t think straight, and I’m unhappy. I’ll realize that I’m an emotional mess, and it’s because I’m dehydrated. Or I’m cold and cranky, and it’s because I’m not exercising and my circulation is poor."

From the Fit Community: The Best Cardio Machine For Your Body

Fit Community — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:53:42 PDT

Which cardio machine is right for you? FitSugar reader JessicaSmithTV asks an expert for the answers. She shared what she found in our 10 Pounds Down! community group.

The stair master, the stationary bike, and the elliptical - we all have our favorite cardio machine at the gym, but which one is the best one for your body? We asked Dr. Yoav Suprun, DPT, a McKenzie physical therapist at Canyon Ranch in Miami Beach to weigh in on the pros and cons of some of your favorite gym staples.

The Stationary Bike
Pros: Low impact, easy on the joints, offers a wide range of intensity options
Cons: The riding position can bring on back pain, or aggravate sciatica for some. “We flex our spine all day and sit for hours - why sit for a cardio session?” asks Dr. Suprun.

The Elliptical
Pros: Low impact, upright position of the body, also easy on the joints and offers a wide range of intensity options
Cons: If you have a small structure or small frame, using an elliptical with handles would be pulling your body out of alignment. “People suffer from holding the handles as it pulls on the lower back and neck once the handle is moved forward,” explains Dr. Suprun.

Keep reading for more pros and cons of your favorite cardio machines.

How Not to Destroy Your Marriage

The Good Men Project — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:30:42 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Today, Mark Tyrrell offers eight relationship tools to make your marriage work.

"All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble." - Raymond Hull

So how do you make your marriage work? Or do you just blindly hope it'll take care of itself?

Think of a hot, successful date with someone you’re attracted to. You have fun, great conversation and more sexual chemistry than a warehouse full of pheromones. You don’t have to “work at” the date because it’s self sustaining. It runs as smoothly as the gliding hand of a classical guitar maestro and you can’t wait for another rendition.

Teenage Dating in a Twilight-Hunger Games World

But marriage, or any long term relationship; well that’s a whole other caboodle.

If we’re not careful, marriage can deteriorate into little more than a torturous assault course; littered with routine boredoms, frustrations and resentments. Couple all that with external pressures and sometimes marriage feels not worth the effort. But there are major benefits to being hitched or committed, other than just a beneficial tax regime.

Healthy marriage; healthy people.

Being happily married bestows heaps of health benefits. You might be forgiven for thinking that if you’re married you don’t live longer it just seems like it but, no, a good marriage really can help you clock up more years (1) and married people are happier (2) even though they don’t always look it from the outside.

But when marriage doesn’t work it can feel being manacled to a maniac, marooned with a misogynist or nailed to a nag. And I don’t care what the studies say, that’s not healthy. You may hear couples say stuff like: “We are making our marriage work!” but how do we do this?

Making it work.

We pay lip service to “working on the marriage” but what is the work we need to do? Marriage vows such as “to love and to cherish” and “forsaking all others, for better or for worse” don’t really tell us how to make it work, although they give us a clue.

Fortunately a ton of research has been done on what to do and not do to make your marriage, or any intimate relationship work. Follow the guidelines here to become “good at marriage."

Tip one: Be romantic but keep it real.

We are all (force?) fed romance in movies and novels. The handsome man gets the beautiful woman. But what I wonder is what happens after our romantic couple ride off into the sunset together? What do they do exactly? Bicker? Moan at one another? Start to ignore each other?

After all that romance, our beautiful couple is bound to have massive expectations of their life together. But when rose tinted expectations clash with day to reality, watch out!

Romance is vital in any relationship. Always seeing the best in your partner helps to keep things intimate and love should be expressed. But if you have been raised on Mills and Boon Romance novels or feel-good movies, then your own romantic expectations can work against the sustainability of your long term relationship.

When day to day life fails to live up to the giddy, heady lust-filled days of the pre-settled down romance people can become angry, even blame one another: “This wasn’t what I signed up for." They find it hard to take the rough with the smooth because they never really figured there would be any rough.

Expectations not diluted with at least a dash of realism can be a royal road to relationship ruin. Your partner may be an angel, but they have feet of clay. You must learn to love those feet or at least accept them a bit!

Get the rest after the jump!

Get Ready For Your Summer Hike With These Exercises

Leta Shy — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:24:26 PDT

Memorial Day is approaching, and we've got warm weather on the brain, but it's not just about getting in shape for the beach. Hiking is a great cardio and muscle-building workout - and you can burn 180 calories in just 30 minutes. Hiking trails vary in difficulty, yet no matter where you go it's a common sight: once-enthusiastic hikers having to stop halfway through, too exhausted and out of shape to finish the trail.

When you're on the trails, don't quit before you want to - if you're looking forward to a hike this season, start with these exercises.

Endurance: Spend some time working on your endurance before a long hike, and it'll all be worth it once you reach the hilltop. Increase the incline the next time your walk, jog, or run on the treadmill, and spend some time on a slower-paced, longer run during the week. Read more on how to increase your endurance here.
Core: Carrying a backpack while making your way up an incline requires engaged, strong abs; strengthen your core with these seven ab workouts.
Lower body: Strong legs make for impressive ascents, so go ahead, do some more squats (and then some). Here's a list of our favorite lower leg exercises to strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, and quads.

From the Community: Tank Top Arm Workout

Fit Community — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:45:02 PDT

Reader FitFabCities has a tank top workout for you to do at home - all you need is a pair of weights! She shared it with us in our FitSugar Community.

With Spring here and Summer around the corner, what could be better than a printable workout designed specifically to help you get tank top arms? I love this season's sleeveless tops and maxi dresses, but after a long Winter of sweaters and long-sleeve blouses, my arms could use a little toning. (Truth be told, I'm pretty self-conscious about my upper arms so I love exercises that focus on shaping my shoulders and triceps.) Add this workout into your regular cardio routine or some lower body strength work (like the Perfect 10 Lean Legs Workout). All you need is a pair of dumbbells and you'll be sporting fabulous toned arms in your favorite outfit this Spring and Summer!

Happy Workout!

You can get the printable version with exercise descriptions and tips here.

Share your own workouts, find a new one, or just get inspired in our FitSugar Community!

First Look! Zara Masters the Art of Boy-Meets-Girl Dressing For May

Hannah Weil — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:20:47 PDT

With both cool-girl appeal and the prettiest white lace and crochet, Zara's May collection might best be characterized as an exercise in perfect boy-meets-girl dressing. The retailer artfully delivers the best of both worlds: the most feminine and sophisticated kind of separates, like a little lace waistcoat or a ladies-who-lunch tweed jacket, then a slouchy pair of tomboy-fit studded jeans and a menswear-style striped button-down. Zara's Woman collection offers up polished floral prints and silky tropical button-downs, while the TRF line veers into more casual territory with open-weave knits, distressed boyfriend jeans, and tribal-embellished tanks and t-shirts. Read on for our favorite pieces and styling tips, then click through to get a glimpse of every look.

If you're looking to get in on the jumpsuit trend, we love the effortless vibe of this version - perfect for dressing up and down all Summer.
This open-weave knit would be an ideal piece to layer up on a beachy vacation or throw on with your favorite Summer cutoffs.
Try out a statement skirt like this one and balance out the high-impact details with a menswear-inspired button-up.

5 Lessons Learned From A Course in Weight Loss

Lizzie Fuhr — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:06:18 PDT

At the heart of her mission, best-selling author and speaker Marianne Williamson urges people to choose love over fear - and get very self-aware in the process. Marianne's book A Course in Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons For Surrounding Your Weight Forever looks at the deep connection between spirituality and weight loss, while providing concrete exercises to complement the journey in order to say goodbye to unwanted weight forever.

If you've grappled with issues of worthiness, weight loss, or compulsive eating, I urge you to pick up this book for some fresh perspective. While every page of this book offers new insight and advice, if you're interested in a taste of what A Course in Weight Loss has to offer, here are five quotes that really moved me.

"When you're eating excessively, you're expressing fear." Marianne urges her readers to look deep within themselves and see places where they are expressing love and where they are expressing fear. If you're a compulsive overeater, chances are you're trying to satisfy some urge unrelated to the food in front of you. Whether it's a lack of meaningful purpose, low self-esteem, or another difficult circumstance, Marianne wants her readers to make the connection between an unhealthy relationship with fearful thoughts and food.
"The Not-Thin You is not your enemy; she is an unintegrated part of yourself." This point definitely struck a chord with me. So often we look at our extra pounds as our direct adversary, but Marianne tells us to shift our perspective. Only when we love and accept our bodies for what they - all their imperfections included- can we find a healthy way to let go of extra unwanted weight and keep it off.
"It all begins with a beautiful napkin." In one of my favorite lessons in A Course in Weight Loss, Marianne talks about starting a love affair with food. Simply buying a beautiful napkin for yourself can help build new healthy rituals around mealtime. Marianne also believes that quick eating along with disposable napkins and plates are out of the question. By creating new mindful, beautiful rituals around mealtime, you'll be able to let go of negative patterns from the past.

For two more lessons learned from A Course in Weight Loss, keep on reading.

3 Easy Moves to Tone Your Butt

Zelana Montminy — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:02:39 PDT

Famous for helping Heidi Klum bounce back post baby, David Kirsch also helps keep the backsides of the Victoria's Secret Angels in check. Since he authored the unambiguously titled Butt Book, we asked David to share his favorite butt-toning moves with us. Check out this video to learn three exercises that will tone your derrière without overworking your quads.