Exploding Fitness Myths

Getting Americans off the couch and onto their feet could save an estimated 200,000 lives a year, says the surgeon general. Yet most of us are either sedentary or only minimally active. Confusion may keep many couch potatoes from getting into shape. People still ask questions like: How often should I exercise? (The more, the better, but at least 30 minutes nearly every day.) Does it have to be 30 minutes straight? (No, shorter bouts are fine.) Do I need to go to the gym? (No, walking, dancing, lawn mowing, and gardening are fine, if they're intense enough.) Still, in a world where infomercials, magazines, videos, and friends may give conflicting advice, misunderstanding abounds. To read more click here.

A Complete Guide to Keeping Your Metabolism Strong and Healthy

Learn everything you need to know to keep your metabolism in check.

Every cell in your body requires energy to function―whether it’s delivering nutrients to your brain, pumping oxygen from your lungs to your muscles during a long power walk, or producing infection-fighting white blood cells deep in your bone marrow. Metabolism is the name for the system by which the body converts the calories in food to energy (blood sugar) to perform these and many other functions.

Many factors contribute to your metabolism, including heredity. You’re born with an internal speedometer that regulates your base metabolic rate (BMR), the pace at which your body uses energy when you’re at rest. BMR accounts for approximately 60 percent of the total energy an average person expends in a day. (The rest is used in digestion, exercise, and non-exercise activities―showering, chopping vegetables, or fidgeting.) “We are not sure what makes people different in terms of metabolism; the genes determining that have yet to be identified, but it’s being explored,” says Gary Miller, PhD, associate professor of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Read more

26 Boston Marathon Tips

1. Eat things that you’ve eaten many times before your long runs. Don’t introduce foreign foods now; you may pay for it on the race course.
2. Take that piece of banana offered and chomp on that sports bar handed out at mile 6.
3. Marathon's are mental. Think you can and you will
   
4. Pace yourself correctly
5. Take into account the weather, the course terrain and how you feel.
6. Be careful with power gels and energy replacement products, make sure that you have experimented with them previously
   
7. Mentally divide the race into sections, this will help you to have something to focus on, other than the finish line 26.2 miles away.
   
8. It's okay to walk every few miles. This will give your legs an opportunity to recharge
   
9. Gradually cool down after the marathon, to help with the stiffness
10. Don't waste energy trying to weave your way through the crowd of runners in front of you.
    
11. No NEW shoes -- wear shoes that are already broken in
12. Same thing goes for socks -- race day is NOT the time to be experimenting
13. Don't go to the first toilets you come to, unless you really need to.
    
14. Bring a throw-a-way clothes in the of event of cool temperatures prior to the race. Don't worry the BAA donates them to charity.
    
15. Don't forget sunscreen, even though its cloudy you can still get a nasty sunburn. Did I just channel your mother?
16. Be sure to stretch and do a dynamic warm up at the starting lines, you'll have plenty of time after the bus drops you off and before the start of the race
    
17. Drink a combination of sports drink and water
18. Have dry clothes available at the finish line
    
19. Eat a post race snack, you'll need to reload your carb storage
    
20. Write your name on your shirt in big letters, that way the crowd can call your name to give you support
21. Layout your clothing and gear the night before, no need to hunt around for it, in the AM. You'll have enough on your mind.
    
22. Take a poncho or a large plastic garbage bag and cut a hole in it for your head in case race day morning is wet. We all know too well the weather in Boston is unpredictable.
    
23. Bring a snack and a drink to the race start area, this way you can avoid the 1st, first aid station which tends to get really crowded.
24. Pinning your gel packets to your shorts waistband, then flip them inside so they don't flop around. In Boston they don't hand out GU until mile 17 and if you can't wait until then you'll need to supply your own.
25. Take the time to visit the massage folks afterward, again anything to help with the stiffness
    
26. Savor the moment! You trained hard and deserved to bask in the glory of your accomplishments! Good luck!
    
    

Quick Breakfast Ideas

Almond-Butter-and-Raisin Sandwich
Prep time: 1 minute

• 2 Tbsp almond butter
• 2 Kashi waffles
• 1 Tbsp raisins
  

Spread the almond butter on the waffles. Sprinkle the raisins over one waffle and top with the other.
For more quick breakfast ideas click here.