Tag: skills

  • Is the Gym a Welcoming Environment?

    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…

  • Creative Slow Cooker Meals

    Creative Slow Cooker Meals

    If you have a crock pot or slow cooker, you probably already know it makes a great stew, but you can get a little more creative, too. Keep some single-serving containers on hand, and you can freeze most of the recipe for an easy sack lunch or quick dinner option anytime. The photo above is…

  • Getting More Out of Gym Machines

    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…

  • Should I Join a Gym?

    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…

  • Are You a Binge Eater?

    Are You a Binge Eater?

    Nia Shanks has a nice post about the skills and mindset that helped her emerge from a diet–binge cycle. She emphasizes getting away from the cues that appear in “lose weight fast” pitches — like rigid, unsustainable rules and a laser focus on fat loss — in favor of thinking about positive actions you can…

  • Tips for Better Sleep

    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…

  • Discovery and success

    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…

  • Does Your Pet “Help” You Exercise?

    Does Your Pet “Help” You Exercise?

    my cat thinks he’s my workout buddy but he’s actually killing me See the rest at illustratedkate.

  • Should I Do a 30-day Challenge?

    Should I Do a 30-day Challenge?

    There are lots of 30-day challenges floating around online, urging people to focus on their abs, “get a beach body,” or practice a skill like planking or bodyweight squats. Are they a good idea? In favor of a 30-day challenge: — Relatively brief, improving likelihood of success — A decent chunk of time, promoting a…