Running Tip: Strengthen Quads With Wall Squats


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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

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


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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


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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


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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

If You Run You Need to Lift Too


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If You Run You Need to Lift Too

You all know that I believe in a well-balanced workout regimen with both cardio and strength training. I must confess that when I am training for an endurance event, I tend to skimp on the strength training and sometimes due to poor or over scheduling (the kids need to get to swim class or we have run out of milk, bread, and eggs all on the same day) I am forced to skip it all together. Professor Read more

Strengthen Your Ankles For the Chunky Shoes of Fall


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Strengthen Your Ankles For the Chunky Shoes of Fall

I'm loving the sculptural look of this Fall's chunky footwear. But between the soaring heel heights and the substantial platforms, I worry that these styles might cause some nasty falls and possibly twist a few ankles too. While it's always sensible to take a break from your high heels and alternate with some fashionably sensible pairs, I say take some extra precautions and strengthen Read more

Get on the Ball: Single Leg Squats


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Get on the Ball: Single Leg Squats

Squats are so much fun. OK, maybe you don't love squats but you must admit they get the job done. If you have a stronger leg, or a dominant leg, chances are high you are not working your legs evenly and your weak leg is getting short changed. The answer is, of course, single leg squats. Doing them with an exercise ball is a great way to tone your booty, challenge your core as well as your sense Read more