Category: Exercise
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Is It Possible To Build Muscle Doing Cardio?
Yes, of course. People who row, swim, run, and bike routinely build and maintain muscle as they practice. Competitors may also do heavy strength training with barbells and other equipment, but as long you’re eating nutritiously, a wide range of physical activities will contribute to the muscle mass needed for health, for balance and coordination,…
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Just Plain Good for You
As winter gives way to spring in the northern latitudes, taking some exercise outside gets a little more appealing. Some people are out there training up, but whatever pace interests you, outdoor exercise is good for both the body and the mind. Image: Cartoon by Leo Cullum, published in the New Yorker
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What Is the Perfect Bicycle?
Meet Denny. Designed in Seattle (where Denny is a name with lots of history), this bike was selected from 5 proposed designs and will be produced in a partnership with Fuji Bikes. The goal was to design the perfect bike for convenient use in cities. Bike innovation has been fairly quiet for a while —…
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Yard Workout
It’s spring in the Northern hemisphere, and that means getting back out in the yard to clear, trim, plant, and weed. Do you have raised beds for vegetables? It’s a great plan if you have the space. Gardening and yard work can be demanding, with lots of position changes and plenty of muscle groups involved…
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Is the Gym a Welcoming Environment?
Ask a regular lifter, “Is the gym a welcoming place?” and they may wax poetic about the support and acceptance they find there. Ask a person whose last experience with gym was PE class — which they hated with a passion — and you’ll get a very different answer. The reality contains a little of…
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Getting More Out of Gym Machines
Gym cardio machines are never perfect simulations of their outdoor equivalents, and their design considerations can affect your workout. Here are a few tips for using them well: — Engage your core muscles consistently to improve your movement and protect your back — Treadmills and stair climbers don’t give you much of a workout if…
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Should I Join a Gym?
This may seem like a newbie question, but it spans experience from “just starting” to “planning to compete.” Whether to join a gym is about psychology and interests more than exercise ability. In favor of joining a gym: Gyms are expensive, and if you aren’t looking for instruction, specialized equipment, or a place to pursue…
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Tips for Better Sleep
Good health is a chair with three legs: good nutrition, regular activity, and restful sleep. The more even the legs, the more stable we are. Most of us do much better at one or another of the three. Some people even sacrifice sleep to make sure they work out during the week, a pattern that…
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Discovery and success
jitenshasw shares her process of discovery and success — see the rest at her tumblr. No quick fixes here — just a willingness to ask herself tough questions and actively decide how she wanted to eat and move — and a journey that established the (different) way she wanted to live. This kind of change…