Exercising With a Group Can Take Your Workouts Up a Notch Whether it’s a group fitness class at the gym or a run in the park with some friends, here are some of the specific benefits you can glean from working out in a group. Increase your commitment to a fitness routine: “Working out with a crowd carries a plethora of intertwined benefits that include enhancing consistency, duration, motivation, conversation and inspiration,” says Dian Griesel, Ph.D., co-author of TurboCharged and president of public relations firm DGI. “Workouts with others improve consistency because they involve a commitment. ‘No shows’ and cancellations get noticed by others and positive peer pressure can help curtail the urges to skip a workout … or quit.” One study found that 95 percent of those who started a weight-loss program with friends completed the program, compared to a 76 percent completion rate for those who tackled the program alone. The friend group was … [Read more...] about The health benefits of working out with a crowd
Working out but gaining weight
Texas teen hospitalized with life-threatening illness after working out too hard
Many people experience muscle pain and soreness after an intense workout, but one teen's recent gym session landed him in the hospital with a life-threatening condition. Seventeen-year-old Jared Shamburger got a new gym membership to work out with his family. He said he wanted to "catch up" with his dad and brother who had been lifting weights for years. But after an intense 90-minute arm workout, he experienced soreness and swelling that wouldn't go away. "It was super-duper sore," Shamburger said to KTRK. "Everything hurt. It hurt to the touch. It was swollen." Shamburger's mom was worried and began to search his symptoms online. "The mama bear in me kind of took over and I called the pediatrician and said, 'I really think my son has rhabdo,'" she told the station. It turned out she was right. Shamburger was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis -- commonly known as rhabdo -- a condition characterized by the breakdown of muscle tissue that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents … [Read more...] about Texas teen hospitalized with life-threatening illness after working out too hard
‘DWTS’ Pro Jenna Johnson Says She Gained Weight On A Vegetarian Diet
Getty ImagesKelsey McNeal via Getty Images Dancing With The Stars' dance pro Jenna Johnson says that it took trying "literally everything" in order to find the right healthy diet for her. "I ended up gaining a bunch of weight on a vegetarian diet," Jenna tells WomensHealthMag.com. "I was so low in my iron and protein intake. Once I incorporated protein back into my diet, I started slimming down." Advertisement - Continue Reading Below The ballroom dancer—who is paired with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon on the current season of DWTS—adds that her relationship with food has changed dramatically over the years. "I was scared of food and had a terrible relationship with it. I would cut something out and then binge on it." She says that she used to be "obsessed" with sugar, too. Courtesy of Christine MacLeod / Jenna Johnson "Looking at food as fuel has been a game changer for me," Jenna says—and the attitude shift has helped her find an eating plan that … [Read more...] about ‘DWTS’ Pro Jenna Johnson Says She Gained Weight On A Vegetarian Diet
Why I Hate Using Fitness Apps To Work Out
For a long time, I was a weight room purist. I had one simple rule when I hit the gym: No phones allowed. Just a pen and paper to log my workout, me, and the weights. I kept up this routine long into the iPhone Age, taking my lift as the one chance a day I had to power down my device and disconnect. But we live in a different world now, ruled by apps and controlled by notifications, and I conceded and welcomed my own into my routine, along with everyone else. I walk into the gym and people have their eyes glued to the screen, using apps to guide their workouts, post their progress, and just waste time in between sets. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Smartphones are definitely a great tool for fitness fans looking to improve their workouts. Just one small device gives you a built-in timer, a place to log your progress, an endless repository for videos and photos to review technique and form, and more. But even with all those useful features, we can miss out on the gains we're … [Read more...] about Why I Hate Using Fitness Apps To Work Out
Is This the Real Reason You Always Gain Weight In the Winter?
There’s a reason why weight loss becomes buzzy in January: you’re probably feeling the side effects of one too many holiday parties creep up on you. But the number on the scale may be influenced by several factors, including how much time you spend outside. In fact, a lack of sunlight may cause your body to hold onto more fat during the colder months, according to a new study from the University of Alberta in Canada.Initially, the team of researchers set out to try and engineer fat cells that could produce insulin as a treatment for type 1 diabetes. But in the process, they had to do several types of control experiments, which involved exposing the cells to different colors of light.What they found was a bit of an accident: fat cells — the kind that sit right beneath your skin — shrink up after being exposed to blue light. “We did these experiments, and we consistently saw a small, measurable response in fat cells,” explains study author Peter Light, … [Read more...] about Is This the Real Reason You Always Gain Weight In the Winter?