Here’s a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week.
5 Simple Tricks to Keep Motivated When You Work Out Alone
If you’re having trouble staying motivated for your workout routine, consider trying some of the tips mentioned here. I actually do most of the tips here, even the one about joining the Nerd Fitness community, except I don’t do the one about giving myself rewards. Maybe I should try that too.
10 Things First-Time Marathoners Should Know
It’s getting closer to marathon season so I bet a lot of you are getting excited. If you’ve never run a marathon before, there are some basic tips here you should probably know. I doubt I’ll ever run a marathon myself. I feel like I’d go crazy out of boredom. Endurance cardio just isn’t my thing. Unless “Zombies, Run” can come up with a 12+ hour mission. That would be awesome!
I had three favorite tips from this article; going to the salad bar at the store to pick up pre-cut veggies for stir-fry, throwing salt in ice water to make it colder faster in order cool beer quickly, and boiling water before turning it into ice cubes to prevent cloudiness in your drinks. There are 18 other really cool tips here too.
Ask Well: Coaxing Parents to Take Better Care of Themselves
I can’t say that I got a lot of helpful info out of this one but I really liked the tip on creating a mix of songs from when your parents were 12-17 years old. The music I grew up with always gets me motivated in the gym, so I’m sure that could help your parents get pumped too.
Make Your Own Homemade Pain Relieving Cream
For some strange reason I’ve never tried a pain relieving cream before. Do they work? Would you use it on sore muscles? If you do use a pain relief cream and you want the comfort of knowing exactly what’s in it, consider making your own. There are two recipes here, one difficult and one super-easy. I would go with the super-easy one 😉
Seven Reasons Most Hotel Gyms Fail
I never travel and I’ve only stayed in a hotel once in my life so I have no experience with hotel gyms, but based on this article, it sounds like there are some real dumps out there.
Heavy backpacks may damage nerves, muscles and skeleton, study suggests
I remember the pain that I would get in my back and shoulders lugging around my backpack when I was in college. A backpack gets pretty damn heavy when you have to carry around several text books, a laptop computer, notebooks and whatever else students need. I also had the joys of experiencing this pain again this past summer when my fiance packed way more than what we needed when we went hiking.
I make pancakes every weekend and I hate to admit on this blog that I use a crappy sugar-filled store bought syrup. I’ve been thinking more about finding healthier options and I think I’ve found one. This sounds tasty and it looks really easy to make.
How to Properly Warm Up Before You Work Out
I think the proper warm-up routine for you depends entirely on the type of workout you’re doing, and if you’re doing a HIIT workout or something cardio-based, this is probably a good one to start with.
Programs like this are always fun and with a name like that, it’s certainly enticing, isn’t it? If you’re a beginner to lifting, a program like this is useless, but if you’re already in great shape and need to do some spot work on your chest, give this one a try.
6 Biggest Exercise Mistakes Nearly Everyone Makes
Yup, everyone makes these mistakes, and hopefully they learn to realize that they aren’t doing their body any good by educating themselves. I like to think that most people learn over time through experience and reading educational materials. That’s what I like to think. I have no idea if it’s true.
The No-BS 7 Step Beginner’s Guide To Building Muscle
Here’s an excellent guide for anyone who wants to get started on building muscle by lifting heavy weights. There are some good tips on getting motivated, determining caloric needs and there’s a great routine too.
Neck Exercises for Desk Workers
I work at a computer all day and I suffer from many neck aches and pains. I’m definitely going to start doing these exercises. I already know a few of these from doing P90X 😉