Aerobics and Fitness Daily

An article in Medical News Today confirms what most of us already women. Women smoke to stay slim.

In fact a study conducted at the University of Michigan says that fear of weight gain is the number one reason why most women do not quit smoking. The study also investigated why women might be smoking in the first place.

Not surprisingly the number one reason was that they heard that it could cause them to lose weight. The study also suggested that a way out of this type of thinking is to remind women about the other adverse effects of smoking on their appearance such as wrinkled skin, yellow teeth and bad breath.

An article published in the Christian Science Monitor by a writer called Gloria Goodale called At Fast Food Joints – Try the Secret Menu made headlines on CBS news because it suggested that there were certain code words you could use in fast food restaurants to get more nutritious foods. 

For instance at California’s In-N-Out Burger all you need to do is drop the phrase “Protein style” and the staff will know that you want the bun dropped from the burger and would like it wrapped in lettuce instead.  This is good to know if you are on a high protein diet like Atkins or trying to stay in the Zone. Apparently asking for a McBruschetta at McDonald’s will get you a burger without the meat and only the tomatoes, onion and the bun.  Asking for a Naked Chicken at Popeye’s will get you the meat but without the coating of breadcrumbs. 

These catch phrases are good to know if you are trying to stick to a high protein or low carb diet or are just a vegetarian.

Therapists have discovered that the movements and stress of exercise can sometimes release pent up emotional anxiety that people didn’t even realize that they had.

“We use our bodies to physically tense up against pain or negative experiences,” says Karol Ward, a therapist in private practice in New York City.

“Then someone is in a movement class doing downward dog and that emotion can come to the surface,” she says.

(Source)

Boot camp workouts are gaining popularity around the country for their blend of an intense time-efficient workout, group camaraderie and effectiveness.

The military-style program — a circuit of drills ranging from running and jumping jacks to push-ups, squats and sit-ups — appeals to people with busy schedules who need to pack a hard workout into a quick hour.

Gyms are increasingly offering the program as boot camp sessions gain national exposure on makeover television shows. Many boot camps in Southern California are taught at parks and beaches by former soldiers.

(CNN)

According to the Washington Post, practicing the most popular form of yoga will yield strength, flexibility, endurance, balance, and flexibility - but not a significant amount of calories.

…women participated in three 55-minute hatha classes a week; the others were barred from any form of intentional exercise. The yoga group showed improvements in strength, endurance, balance and flexibility but burned only 144 calories in a session, similar to the energy consumption of a slow walk.

ACE said in a statement that its study was the first to examine the aerobic potential of hatha yoga. Research published last summer linked regular yoga practice with successful weight control, but those findings were based on subjects’ self-reported behavior — a notoriously unreliable method — and did not consider whether respondents engaged in other exercise.

Some experts contend that yoga can provide an aerobic workout, provided the poses are done quickly, repetitively and linked together.

“The key questions,” he said, “are: What postures did they do? How fast? How long did they hold them? How did they link them together?” Hatha beginners cannot expect significant aerobic benefit, Schumacher said, because it takes time to learn how to do the poses correctly before increasing intensity. In fact, Porcari led a companion study of 15 people that showed that power yoga, in which participants move rapidly through hatha poses, burned about 237 calories in 50 minutes and boosted heart rates to 62 percent of maximum on average — a light aerobic workout.

But, Porcari cautions, the more aerobic the yoga practice, the less benefit practitioners derive in flexibility and relaxation. “By moving quickly through the poses, you will not get the same [muscle and tissue] stretch as you would in slower poses.