4 Reasons to Add an Exercise Ball to Your Home Gym


Updated 05/22/12 2:00 PM · Posted by · 0 comments

Ways to Use an Exercise Ball

The exercise ball may occupy a lot of room in your home gym, but it's one versatile piece of equipment. Find out how to get the most out of your exercise ball below. A healthier seat: Ditch your normal seat on the couch and sit on an exercise ball instead. Using a ball to sit helps correct your posture, tones your abs, and encourages you to stretch, all of which sounds a lot better than the Read more

5 Tricks to Get the Most Out of Your Outdoor Run


Updated 05/03/12 4:15 AM · Posted by · 0 comments

Tips For Outdoor Running

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to celebrity trainer Jay Cardiello for some help! The weather is getting nice and you may have been bitten by the "run bug." To make the transition from indoor runs to the great outdoors seamless and safe, I compiled a list of my top five tricks to get the most out of your outdoor run. Whether you Read more

Running Tip: Strengthen Quads With Wall Squats


Updated 06/28/11 8:58 AM · Posted by FitSugar · 14 comments

Strengthen Quads and Avoid Runner's Knee With Wall Squats

If you're a runner and you want to increase your speed, build your endurance, and have the ability to tackle hills with a breeze, you need to have strong quads. Strengthening your thighs can also prevent injuries such as runner's knee. This common injury, which often happens to new runners, is tied to a combination of weak quads and tight hamstrings and calves. Wall squats (also called wall sits) Read more

Improve Your Running With Squats


Updated 02/28/12 12:25 PM · Posted by · 0 comments

Why Runners Should Do Squats

Don't skip out on strength training just because you think running is the ultimate form of exercise. Building a little muscle should be part of every runner's cross-training fitness routine. Squats, a classic lower-body move, is great for runners for these four reasons. Prevent knee injuries: Knee pain is one of the most common injuries runners face. Aside from wearing supportive sneakers and Read more

Strength Training No-Nos: What Not to Do When in Squats


Updated 12/13/11 12:05 PM · Posted by · 0 comments

Mistakes When Squatting

No matter your fitness passion, from snowboarding to CrossFit, you likely do squats in your sweat sessions — they're a fitness staple. Sometimes, the more simple the move, the more careless we become when doing it, and before you know it you have sloppy squats. Here are four common mistakes that plague the standard squat. Next time you head to the gym, take a little time to get back to basics Read more

The Gym-Free Interval Workout


Updated 09/16/11 4:25 AM · Posted by · 0 comments

Gym-Free Interval Workout

We are pumped to share one of favorite stories from Health.com here on FitSugar. From the editors at Health.com No time to rush to the gym for your daily workout? We've got you covered. From fab abs to thighs of steel, these easy to try-at-home exercises will have you looking and feeling great. This fun, 20-minute, equipment-free interval workout was created exclusively for Health by Crunch Read more

At YogaWorks, It's Not All About the Mat


Updated 07/26/11 12:46 PM · Posted by · 1 comment

YogaWorks Review: SculptWorks, BarWorks, DanceWorks Classes

Always a sucker for a deal, it was a free week pass that brought me out to review YogaWorks, a chain of yoga studios located throughout California and New York. While the amount (and types) of yoga classes that the San Francisco location offers is remarkable, I found myself coming back for three of its non-yoga offerings — DanceWorks, BarWorks, and SculptWorks. In these classes, I learned to Read more

Beyond the Plank: More Ways to Work Your Core


Updated 07/06/11 6:45 AM · Posted by · 0 comments

Ways to Work Your Core While Standing

Planks are great for working your core, but it's important to challenge your center while upright too. Standing core work is functional fitness that more closely mimics moves we do everyday. While we all might not kick a soccer ball halfway down the field on a daily basis like USA goal keeper Hope Solo (pictured here); everyday we do many things standing that require our abs and back to work in Read more

Superset Your Workouts to Save Time, but Add Intensity


Updated 07/20/11 10:14 AM · Posted by · 12 comments

Supersets Add Intensity and Save Time During Workouts

After missing a session with my Crunch trainer last week — c'mon, it was a hectic week! — I poked his brain on how to maximize my workouts when I'm short on time. One word: supersets. While I was unfamiliar with the term, I had already experienced the concept of supersets in a few of our training sessions. During supersets, you pair up two different sets of exercises, one right after the Read more

Common Running Injuries and How to Avoid Them


Updated 06/30/11 8:05 AM · Posted by · 6 comments

Exercises to Prevent Common Running Injuries

Even with the longer days of the Summer months, I sometimes feel like there is so much training to do and so little time to pack it in. Upping your mileage certainly brings increased stamina, so you can "bring it" at your races, but it can also mean increased injury risk. Overuse injuries are the bane of any runner's well-laid training plans. And that is where some prehab comes into play. You can Read more