Fitness

If optimal fitness is your goal, there’s no getting around your diet. That’s right, fitness is not all about designing the ideal workout plan, as your diet can easily make or break an otherwise excellent regimen.

Knowing which foods and specific nutrients deliver the most bang for your buck in terms of supporting your fitness goals can go a long way.

First and foremost, however, keep in mind that while pre-packaged processed foods may be convenient, cooking from scratch using…

Should you work out when you feel like you’re coming down with a cold? According to the research, this may in fact be a good idea.

At the very least, it is unlikely to do you any harm unless you exercise too vigorously..

In one such study, participants were infected with a cold virus and then divided into two groups: an exercise group or a non-exercise group…

Brazilian researchers have revealed a simple test that may help predict your longevity in the next six or so years: how well you can sit and rise from the floor.

The test is different from the long-used “chair test,” which physicians sometimes use to gauge an elderly person’s lower body strength by how well they can stand up from sitting in a chair…

The most recent research shows that relatively short bursts of intense exercise—even if done only a total of a few minutes each week—can deliver many of the health and fitness benefits you get from doing hours of conventional exercise.

By doing just three minutes of High Intensity Training (HIT) a week for four weeks, you could see significant changes in important health indices.

At some research centers, participants were able to improve their insulin sensitivity an average of 24 percent with as little as three minutes of HIT per week…

Mounting evidence continues to show that exercise may be a key component in successful cancer prevention and treatment. Studies have also found that it can help keep cancer from recurring, so it’s really a triple-win.

Yet not surprisingly few oncologists ever tell their patients to engage in exercise beyond their simple daily, normal activities, and many cancer patients are reluctant to exercise, or even discuss it with their oncologist. Hopefully, you will not be one of them…

If you are like most people, when you think of reducing your risk of cancer, exercise probably isn’t at the top of your list. However, there is compelling evidence that exercise can not only help slash your risk of cancer, but can also help cancer patients get well sooner, and help prevent cancer recurrence.

Research has also shown it may help minimize the side effects of conventional cancer treatment…

Can exercise help boost your cognitive faculties? Researchers increasingly say the answer is a resounding yes. Recent research reveals that exercise promotes a process now known as neurogenesis, i.e. your brain’s ability to adapt and grow new brain cells, regardless of your age…

If you’re looking to shrink and tone your belly, there’s a better way to do it than trying to do crunches. In fact, research has shown that doing abdominal exercises alone—even when performed five days a week for six weeks—has no effect at all on subcutaneous fat stores and abdominal circumferencei.

In an op-ed piece for Forbes Magazine, Jennifer Cohen suggests using strategies that burn up cortisol instead…

Many find that their abdominal area is particularly difficult to firm and tone and contrary to popular belief, solely doing standard sit ups is not likely to be of much help. Learning effective methods for shrinking your waistline is worth the effort however, as the benefits extend far beyond mere aesthetics.

Abdominal fat actually produces inflammatory molecules, and high inflammation levels in your body can trigger a wide range of systemic diseases linked with metabolic syndrome. This is why carrying extra weight…

If you’re already off to a good start on a healthy fitness plan, and you’re looking for ways to take it to the next level, then you might want to consider a form of fasting called Scheduled Eating, or intermittent fasting.

In essence this fitness-enhancing strategy looks at the timing of meals, as well as when NOT to eat. This isn’t one of those fad plans, where you eat just one or two things for several days in a row…