FitSugar

Do You Consider Raking Leaves Exercise?

FitSugar — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 03:45:00 PDT

I have a very large oak tree in my front yard, and it's dropping leaves by the bushel. While raking and bagging leaves is a bit strenuous, I have never really considered the activity exercise.

But when I calculated the calories burned for 30 minutes of gardening versus 30 minutes of walking at a 20 minute a mile pace, gardening wins by 50 calories. I know when I rake, I also do lost of squats while bagging the leaves. So I am starting to reconsider my position on raking, what about you . . .

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P.L.O.W. – Celebrating the Coming of Fall

FitSugar — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 03:00:00 PDT

Although I'm sad that summer weather is waving us goodbye, autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. I love apple and pumpkin picking, jumping in piles of leaves with my girls, going on hikes to see the foliage, cool runs outdoors and bike rides in the park. This weather inspires me to get out and see nature.

Check out this playlist celebrating this wonderful season. Listen while you walk and these songs are sure to inspire the sense of coziness that autumn brings. To see it

"Leaves That are Green" - Simon & Garfunkel, 2:41
"California Dreamin' (All the Leaves are Brown)" - The Mamas & The Papas, 2:41
"Moondance" - Van Morrison, 4:36
"Harvest Moon" - Neil Young, 5:05
"October" - U2, 2:23
"Autumn Leaves" - Tony Bennett, 1:58
"Scattered Leaves" - The Be Good Tanyas, 4:46
"Forever Autumn" - The Moody Blues, 4:37
"Early Autumn" - Ella Fitzgerald, 3:16
"Evidence of Autumn" - Genesis, 5:22
"Autumn in New York" - Billie Holiday, 3:44
"Changes" - Davie Bowie, 3:35
"The Circle Game" - Joni Mitchell, 4:55
"October Road" - James Taylor, 3:56

Total P.L.O.W. – 53:35

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Fall Workout: Rake Some Leaves

FitSugar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:30:00 PDT

If you have a yard and a tree, chances are high you will be spending some quality time this fall with a rake and your front lawn.

Raking leaves is not only necessary for keeping your grass alive, but the dried leaves are great to use as aeration in your compost pile or bin. As if that's not enough, it's also a great way to get some fresh air and exercise.

An hour of raking leaves burns about 290 calories. This is awesome, but it's tough work your muscles aren't used to doing. That means you can end up being completely sore the next day, in places you never knew existed. Since your body is not used to doing this type of motion, you could even risk throwing out your back.

Want to hear some tips for preventing strained muscles and next day soreness? Then

To prevent sore arms and an aching lower back the next day, be sure to stretch your arms, shoulders, hamstrings, and back before and after grabbing a rake. Wide Squat will stretch your hips and lower back, and Gate will stretch the sides of your body and your hamstrings. You can even use the rake to help you stretch. Do a Wide-Legged Forward Bend, and instead of holding your feet, hold onto a rake behind you. This will give the backs of your legs, lower back, and shoulders a killer stretch.
While you're raking, make sure to switch which arm is dominating so you work the muscles on both sides of your body equally. Switch sides often to prevent overworking a certain group of muscles.
Also be conscious every time you lean over to pick up piles of leaves to put in the brown bags. Use your very best squatting technique and bend your knees, don't round your back. This will seriously reduce the strain on your lower back while working out your legs. Try to bend at the knees to reduce the strain on your lower back.
There's nothing wrong with taking breaks often. Use your breaks to drink water and stretch your muscles.
Don't do too much. No one said you had to rake all 3 acres of your lawn in one day. Break it up over a few days, or better yet, get a friend to help.
After an afternoon of raking, take a nice hot shower or bath to loosen up your muscles. You can even do these shower stretches in the water. They feel amazing when your muscles are all warmed up.

Tom Cruise on His Beautiful, Creative Wife and Growing Up Without His Dad Around

Allie Merriam — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:33:00 PDT

Tom Cruise chatted with Playboy about his new movie Rock of Ages, but the conversation between the actor and interviewer Michael Fleming got quite personal. No stranger to promoting movies, Tom is happy to discuss his career and ambitions, but rarely talks about his childhood. However, in Playboy, Tom gave a great deal of insight about growing up with his mom and sisters, but not his dad. Tom also spoke about the tough career time he went through in 2005 after PR-unwise interviews on the Today show and Oprah. Tom additionally had nothing but kind words to say about his wife Katie Holmes and their family. Here are highlights:

On loving Katie: "She is an extraordinary person, and if you spent five minutes with her, you'd see it. Everything she does, she does with this beautiful creativity. When she becomes interested in something, she doesn't talk about it, she does it. One week I said to her, 'You've been up in the middle of the night. Is everything okay?' She smiled and then threw this thing on my desk and said, 'I wrote this script.' She wanted to try it, and she did. She wanted to try designing clothes, and now her line is wonderful and, to me, an example of how she just creates beautiful things in her life. She has a voice and warmth as an artist, as a mother. She's funny and charming, and when she walks into the room, I just feel better. I’m a romantic. I like doing things like creating romantic dinners, and she enjoys that. I don't know what to say - I'm just happy, and I have been since the moment I met her. What we have is very special."
On growing up without his dad around: "It wasn't a big conflict when I was growing up; that's just the way it was. I don't look back and feel bad. I know some people do, but it's not a burden I carry through life. It's more like, OK, this happened. That's how he behaved, that's how he did things. He tried, but it just was who he was. Traveling has given me a broader understanding of people, and I've always been interested in the similarities we have and why people make certain choices in life. I got an introduction to that as a young child, but it never felt like a weight I carried on my shoulders."
On how he looks so young: "I honestly have no idea. [laughs] I work. I'm always with family. I train, go without sleep. I just go hard."

To read more about what Tom says on having the same values as when he was a child, not caring about bad press, and his tough times in 2005, just read more

6 Ways to Beautifully Silky Platinum Hair Like Christina Aguilera's

Jaime Richards — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:29:00 PDT

There's nothing subtle about platinum hair à la Christina Aguilera. But on last night's The Voice, the singer debuted a more toned-down version of bold blond than what we're used to seeing her wear. "I loved the color and silhouette of Christina's Roland Mouret dress so much," says celebrity hairstylist Mark Townsend, who created the subtly waved look. "It was such a great fashion moment with a touch of sexiness, so I wanted her hair to have the same feeling," he adds.

There are a few key things to keep in mind before hitting the peroxide bottle, however. "Very light and platinum hair does require more attention and care than darker hair does," Townsend explains. To see his advice for getting flaxen strands as touchably soft as Christina's, along with steps for getting her exact style, just keep reading.

5 Awesome Hair Tips From Twitter

Jaime Richards — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:04:00 PDT

Twitter isn't just a place to share your witty opinions or discuss last night's must-watch TV show. It also happens to be the perfect forum for industry experts to divulge their best beauty tips. Within the site's 140-character limit per tweet, there's a whole wealth of information. See five of our favorite Twitter-rific hair tips below.

From @ASOS: "Best hair tip of the night? [Celebrity stylist] Adam Reed suggests using a blusher brush to add bright eye shadow to your hair - fab color that washes out easily."
From @RitaHazan: "Always have multicolor highlights but they should all be in the same color family and work together in the same tone."
From @Philip_Kingsley: "Finer hair types get oiler faster. If you have fine hair, look for products that contain more cleansers and lighter proteins."
From @KiehlsNYC‬: "A tip to avoid helmet hair? @brianboye [Men's Health fashion and grooming director] says leave the styling products for after your ride."
From @PlumStudiosBurl: "To loosen natural curls, take a wide-toothed comb and rake some mousse through dry hair."

Try Lea Michele's Old-Hollywood-Meets-New Waves

Jaime Richards — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:31:13 PST

Lea Michele should be the poster girl for gorgeous, flowing hair because when it comes to silky strands, the actress never skips a beat. "It was all about modern glamour for Lea's look at the New Year's Eve premiere," explained Dove celebrity stylist Mark Townsend, who created the actress's look last night. "Her Valentino dress reminded me of old Hollywood, so we wanted to play off that with a young, modern version." For a step-by-step breakdown on how Townsend achieved Lea's captivating coiffure, just keep reading.

Celebrate Daylight Saving: Calories Burned in an Hour of Exercise

Jenny Sugar — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 04:07:00 PDT

It's that time of year again, when we "fall back," and turn our clocks back one hour. I love adding 60 minutes to my Sunday, so make the most of it - don't just go about your day as usual. My advice is to wake up in the morning when you normally would and spend your freebie hour working out. Gone is your excuse about not having enough time to exercise. Check out how many calories you'll burn sweating it out for an hour.

Cardio kickboxing class: 597 calories*
Cycling at a moderate pace (14 to 15.9 mph): 540 calories
Elliptical: 486 calories
Hiking: 387 calories
Mowing the lawn: 243 calories
Raking leaves: 216 calories
Pilates: 144 calories
Running at a 10-minute-per-mile pace (6 mph): 540 calories
Soccer: 378 calories
Spin class: 413 calories
Strength training (vigorous): 359 calories
Swimming: 594 calories
Walking at a 15-minute-per-mile pace (4 mph): 243 calories
Yoga class (fast-paced): 403 calories

Don't forget to change your clocks before you go to bed tonight. Daylight saving time officially ends at 2 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. Enjoy your hour!

*All calculations are based on a 130-pound woman.

Wall Play Mounts Offer Vertical Storage Space and Double as Art

Elka Karl — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:04:36 PDT

I'm always leaving my gardening tools in random spots - leaned against the trees, tucked onto a bench, or abandoned in an actual garden bed. I know, not cool. Even though we have a gardening shed, it's rarely used for actual tool storage.

I have a sneaking suspicion that if I invested in a few of these Flora Grubb Wall Ornaments ($9 each), I'd get organized in a flash. Easy to mount and absolutely eye catching, they serve as wall art that functions as hangers for anything from your gardening hat to your rake or pitchfork. Available in gold, lime, orange, and red, you can easily coordinate them with the color of your home or even your garden's primary or contrasting colors. Keep reading to take a closer look!

NFL Players Need Personal Finance Help, Too

Emily Co — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:32:06 PST

Although NFL players have salaries that range from a minimum of $325,000 to $25.5 million and beyond, they desperately need financial tips, because a lot of them are living paycheck to paycheck. The NFL players are currently in negotiations for their salary, so in the spirit of the Friday deadline, in which the bargaining must come to an agreement, the NLF Players Association issued a 64-page personal finance manual, USA Today reports. The advice includes everything from the practical "save 25 percent of your salary" to the absurd. Here are some of the funny ones:

Socialize "with a purpose." For example, it's OK to spend when you're networking to prep yourself for life after football.
Never "pay friends to perform work that you can easily do." Seriously, it's not that hard to reply your own emails or text girls.
When you're hitting up the clubs, make sure to "leave the club with your wallet and budget intact." Being drunk is not an excuse for popping too many Cristal bottles or misplacing your Louis Vuitton wallet.
When pals and family ask you for money, reply "no" or "not now." Just because you are raking in the dough doesn't mean you have to become the Bank of America for your entire family.