Tabata: Is This Workout Worth the Pain?

Tabata, a long-established exercise regimen is gaining in popularity. Jake Wallis Simons went to try it. (The interval is actually 20 seconds with a 10 second rest between, not 40 seconds with 10 seconds rest as the article seems to imply.)

You’ve got to psyche yourself up,” says Richard Scrivener, 31, an implausibly muscular health, fitness and nutrition instructor at a gym in Islington, north London. “You’ve got to give it all you’ve got, push yourself, hammer it. When I fire up the music and we’re pumped up, and I’m screaming at you, the roof will lift off. There’ll be so much energy. You’ll see, it will be great.”

Oh, reader. The things I do for you. Read more

The Showgirl Booty Workout

A Las Vegas showgirl demonstrates how to improve the size and shape of your booty.

Angel Porrino, star of Absinthe at Caesar's Palace and mom to a 4-year-old, shows host Judy Greer three simple exercises (no gym required!) that have given her a show-stopping backside and keep her in shape for her busy Las Vegas show schedule. Watch video

The Real-Life Fountain of Youth

Joseph Mercola reveals how intermittent fasting and exercise keep your body young.

... Exercise is one of the “golden tickets” to preventing disease and slowing the aging process.

One reason for this is because exercise is one of the most effective ways to regain insulin and leptin sensitivity and reverse insulin and leptin-resistance, which is a key to staying healthy as you get older.

But another reason why exercise is sometimes regarded as a real-life fountain of youth is because, when done intensely, it boosts your body's natural production of human growth hormone (HGH), a synergistic, foundational biochemical that addresses the serious muscle loss and atrophy that typically occurs with aging.

Intermittent fasting has many of the same benefits, including dramatically boosting HGH and optimizing insulin- and leptin sensitivity, which I’ll discuss more toward the end of this article. Read more

Change Your DNA with Just 20 Minutes of Regular Exercise

New research shows that just 20 minutes of regular exercise can dramatically change a person's DNA. However, walking or other gentle exercise won't do it. Intensity is the key.

A series of experiments have revealed that just a few minutes of relatively strenuous exercise can dramatically change a person’s DNA.

The changes are not to the code of life itself, but to its ‘punctuation’. These chemicals activate, silence and crank up genes and their actions.

In the case of muscle, exercise appears to crank up the genes needed to burn fat and sugar and support the body. Read more

As Little as 20 Minutes of Walking Daily Can Help Any Illness

With as little as twenty minutes of walking a day, literally any illness can be helped, says David Brownstein, MD.

Since it is the holiday season, I would like to take a second and wish all my readers a healthy and happy holiday season and new year! Since many of us make new year’s resolutions, let me help you make one – to exercise.

One of the biggest frustrations that I have is trying to convince my patients to participate in some form of daily or semi-daily exercise. Exercise does not have to mean going to a gym and taking a class. Exercise can be as simple as walking for twenty to thirty minutes per day.

What can exercise do for you? Let me rephrase the question; what can’t exercise do for you? Read more

Yoga for Menopause?

Yoga may soothe sleep problems and other symptoms of menopause, according to a new study.

Add this to the list of yoga's health benefits.

A new study shows that doing yoga a couple times a week can help diminish sleep problems and other symptoms of menopause. Read more

Study: 15 Minutes of Daily Exercise Can Add 3 Years to Your Life

The usual exercise prescription is 30 minutes daily, but a new study found that even 15 minutes of daily exercise can add three years to your life.

Don't despair if you can't fit in the recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise. Growing evidence suggests that even half that much can help.

It's still no excuse to slack off. Regular exercise strengthens muscles, reduces the risk of some diseases and promotes mental well-being. The more exercise, the better. Read more

10 Diet and Exercise Myths That Won't Go Away

Have you tried dieting and exercising with very little to show for your efforts? You may be doing it all wrong, says Joseph Mercola.

Popular misconceptions can damage your fitness plans. Yahoo Shine and CNN have collected some of the most pervasive and damaging fitness-related rumors. Here are some of them:

Myth – Strength training will bulk you up

In fact, researchers have found that working out with heavy weights increased exercisers' sleeping metabolic rate (the number of calories burned overnight) by nearly 8 percent. That's enough to lose about 5 pounds in a year right there.

Myth – All calories are equal, so it doesn't matter what you eat

Some foods take more work to eat, and therefore burn more calories while you're digesting them. Eating vegetables and lean cuts of meat can increase your calorie burn by up to 30 percent.

Myth – Eating fat will make you fat

Getting enough of the right kinds of fat in your diet is actually essential for good health. Read more

Is a Chocolate Milkshake the Ideal Post-Workout Recovery Drink?

Cyclists who drank a low-fat chocolate milkshake after exercise rode faster with more power compared to those who had sports drinks, said University of Texas scientists.

After an exhausting session on the treadmill, many athletes reach for an isotonic sports drink or good old-fashioned water.

But two new studies from The University of Texas at Austin show that a chocolate milkshake is the ideal post-workout recovery drink. Read more