FitSugar

Feel the Burn? Shake It Out!

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:00:41 PST

I hit a wall last year. I was working out a lot and eating well, but my body wasn't progressing. Whether it was doing that last pull-up, biking that last mile, or adding heavier weights to my routine, my muscles just gave up on me. This year as part of the Get Fit For 2010 challenge, I made it my goal to increase my strength and endurance.

To accomplish my goal I've been doing a lot of interval training, and it's definitely paying off. Still, it's not unusual to feel a slight burning sensation in my muscles during my workout and have them give up on me. Instead of stopping my workout like I did in the past, I take a small break and get on it again.

To see how I've overcome the burn,

You Asked: What Causes the Workout Burn?

FitSugar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:00:32 PST

Dear Fit,
I've been on a strength training kick this month, and have even worked with a trainer to learn proper technique and new exercises. Instead of thinking about how my legs were burning while doing lunges, and how much I wanted to stand up, I embraced the burn and started wondering about what causes that feeling. So tell me Fit, what makes my muscles feel like they're about to ignite, and does it mean I'm working them too hard?
- My Legs are on Fire

"Feel the burn!" I can't tell you how many times I've heard those words from either a group fitness instructor, fitness video, or a personal trainer. That burning sensation is how many people gauge their workouts - if they don't feel the burn, then they don't feel like they got in a good workout. To find out what that burn means, what causes it, and if there are any risks, keep reading

The Skinny on Lactic Acid

FitSugar — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:00:00 PST

When I was a young runner, lactic acid was blamed for the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that interfered with my ability to climb onto the school bus with ease the day following a hard practice. Since then, we have learned that post-exercise pain is caused by micro tears created when we tax our muscles, and the former scapegoat, lactic acid, doesn't hang out in muscles after a workout. Lactic acid actually fuels our cells when we push ourselves during high intensity workouts. It is hydrogen ions, a by-product of burning lactic acid as fuel, which creates the heavy legged sensation, burning sensation that accompanies running hard and fast.

You will come across the term "lactate threshold" when reading intense training manuals. This threshold is when the lactic acid begins to accumulate in the blood. And when you push yourself to work past that threshold, you train your body to better deal with the biological by product of using lactic acid as fuel. Increasing your lactate threshold helps you run faster for longer and is considered a good performance predictor for endurance events. Training to increase this threshold involves tempo runs and interval training with long steady paced runs. So now that you know how to increase your lactate threshold, will you?

Source

Eat Yogurt - It's Good For Your Mouth

FitSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:00:00 PST

If you eat yogurt, you'll be happy to know that Japanese research found that it may be keeping your mouth healthy. Eating yogurt and other foods that contain lactic acid such as wheat beer, kefir, and some cottage cheeses are associated with better periodontal health. When adults have periodontal disease, this chronic bacterial infection causes receding gums and tooth loss. Aside from brushing, flossing, and regular cleanings, effective ways to deal with this are limited, so this is great news.

This study found that those who consumed 55 grams or more of yogurt a day, or some other lactic-acid drink, had a significantly lower occurrence of periodontal disease. (That's equal to less than half a 6-ounce container of yogurt). More research needs to be done, because the benefits may have something to do with the lactobacillus bacteria found in yogurt and other lactic-acid foods. Since signs of periodontal disease can show up in your 30s, so it's good to start thinking about ways to prevent it now.

Source

5 Ways to Tell If Your Beauty Products Are Vegetarian

Miriam Lacey — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:23:00 PDT

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, and while most of us have a pretty easy time knowing when food is vegetarian or not, things are a little different when it comes to beauty. So how do you know if a product you're using qualifies? Check out a few quick tips to help you sleuth it out when you keep reading.

Are Sore Muscles a Sign of a Good Workout?

Shape — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:29:57 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

If your New Year's resolution to get in shape stalled out fast, you might be panicking right about now since bikini season is right around the bend. Making up for lost time with an aggressive workout routine will likely leave you sore, but begging for more once you see your thighs trim down and take form.

That burn you feel 24 to 48 hours after an intense workout is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and it's enough to make you want to put down the Kettlebell and pick up a cocktail. But press on! We talked to fitness and nutrition expert Harley Pasternak, M.Sc., author of The 5-Factor World Diet, and trainer to celebrities like Lady Gaga, Megan Fox, and Halle Berry, about why (some) pain is good.

"The idea behind resistance training is that you're basically tearing something and creating a micro trauma in the muscle," Pasternak says. "When the muscle recovers, it's going to recover stronger and denser than it was before." So that soreness you feel the day after an upper-body workout-when you're hauling groceries into your car and you can hardly lift your arms-is good.

See Harley's tips for reducing DOMS after the break!

Harley Pasternak Explains When Sore Muscles Are a Good Thing

Shape — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:11:21 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

That burn you feel 24 to 48 hours after an intense workout is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and it's enough to make you want to put down the Kettlebell and pick up a cocktail. But press on! We talked to fitness and nutrition expert Harley Pasternak, M.Sc., author of The 5-Factor World Diet, and trainer to celebrities like Lady Gaga, Megan Fox, and Halle Berry, about why (some) pain is good.

"The idea behind resistance training is that you're basically tearing something and creating a micro trauma in the muscle," Pasternak says. "When the muscle recovers, it's going to recover stronger and denser than it was before." So that soreness you feel the day after an upper-body workout - when you're hauling groceries into your car and you can hardly lift your arms - is good.

Just make sure what you're suffering from is DOMS and not an injury. "A good way to tell the difference is if the pain is bilateral," Pasternak says. Having one very sore shoulder after you've worked both shoulders could spell injury.

If you feel normal soreness in a muscle, ligament, or tendon, it's DOMS and you can continue working out around it, Pasternak says. In the case of arms and shoulders, you can work your quads, abs, or glutes and then move back to your upper body in a few days.

Now learn how to avoid post-workout pain with more tips from Harley.

10 Beauty Secrets From Across the Globe

Miriam Lacey — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:22:49 PDT

Over the millennia, isolated human populations found various ways to keep their hair, nails, and skin in good shape using simple ingredients from the environments around them. Now, with increasing globalization, we have access to a whole world's worth of accumulated beauty knowledge. Keep reading to check out these 10 cool recipes and secret ingredients from spots around the globe.

5 Cheap, Easy Ways to Reduce Redness

Miriam Lacey — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:42:10 PDT

Summer heat can mean lots of skin redness, whether from open capillaries near the skin's surface, sunburns, or heat rash. But if you're having a ruddy old time of it, there are lots of ways to calm your skin down and tone things down. So if you're tired of turning into a splotchy, lobster-like mess, just keep reading.

10 Workout Secrets (From Experts Who Learned the Hard Way!)

Self — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 05:12:19 PDT

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

Nobody is perfect. And neither are our workouts. From the fitness hangover solution to what not to wear at the gym and how to avoid being "that" girl at the gym, 10 fitness pros (and me) give us their "I wish I'd known sooner" secrets for having a better, more effective and enjoyable workout. So you don't have to learn the hard way!

Brynn Jinnett, Founder of the Refine Method
I was working out in a hotel gym and a man was trying to perform some strange acrobatics that involved a kettle bell and a wobble board. A guy walked by and said "KISS, man!" Keep it simple, Stupid. Eat clean, work out hard. Rinse, repeat.

Kristin McGee, Yoga and Fitness Expert
I usually never wear makeup if I work out at the gym, especially first thing in the morning, but I had my makeup on for a meeting at one of the gyms I teach at and stayed to do the moving stairs after for a quick session. I jumped off and ran to teach my next private yoga client and realized she kept staring at me funny the whole way through. After our private, I used her restroom and noticed I had total raccoon eyes! My mascara had run all down below my eyelids and I looked horrible! I told my makeup artist friend about this and here's the tip he gave me, "To avoid make up meltdown mascara under the eye, rub a little Vaseline under your eyes when you go for a run or do a heavy workout then use a q-tip to gently glide it off and reapply some concealer and you're good to go." It totally works and I realize many women have to sneak in their workouts midday or after work and this does the trick.