Health & Fitness

Women have a lot of misconceptions about strength training. While more are lifting weights, many are reluctant to set foot in the weight room. One of the biggest fears is that they will bulk up and turn into the Incredible Hulk. “One-third of all women have this preconceived notion that weights will make you big,” […]

Trembling, I sat in my car outside a pharmacy. I struggled internally over whether to go inside. I walked in, picked up an item, set it on the counter and waited impatiently for the clerk to come around. The item: a candy bar. I am a sugar addict. Numerous studies have shown that sugar affects […]

Quitting smoking and losing weight consistently top New Year’s resolutions lists. In an effort to stop smoking, a growing number of smokers are turning to electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, to help them quit once and for all. Although e-cigarettes are not currently regulated, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is weighing regulations in a market […]

Remember the joy of pedaling and moving under your own power when you were a kid? The same joy can be had during the week, and not just weekends. While most of us think of the bicycle as recreation or sporting equipment, there are some who ride to and from work, or conduct errands while […]

From left, Springfield Jazzercise instructors Sue Davstok, owner Lisa Schaefer, Tiffani Saunders and Ashlyn Hood PHOTO AMY SPIES Like almost everyone else I know, I have long struggled against my sofa’s seductiveness as well as my upbringing of bedtime snacks.  But the thought of facing down an army of cold, grey ellipticals sucks the life […]

Spinzone Instructors Kristi Mitchell and Emily Barnardes PHOTO COURTESY SPINZONE If you are like me, dear reader, you have the urge to eschew all white food and start a new fitness regime every year around Jan. 1. A few weeks later I’m plagued by inevitable backsliding, potato roots growing deep into the sofa. But last […]

Tracy Green, left, and Clarke Steigerwald stand in ‘Julie’s Suite,’ named in honor of a late stroke survivor, at Dream Suitezzz in Springfield. The mattress and bedding store is operated by the Lincolnland Stroke Support Network. PHOTO BY LAUREN P. DUNCAN When members of the Lincolnland Stroke Support Network brainstormed fundraising methods, they decided on […]

Here’s a simple step that you can take to get your goals back on track if you’ve found that they’ve been slipping recently. 1. Start over. Get up. Continue. People find that being “allowed” to start over is an amazing concept that saves them a lot of stress and heartache. But they want guidance, a […]

Lou Murphy has lived with fitness buffs her whole life. Her son, LaVearal Maxeiner, who is a fitness trainer, had encouraged her for years to start a fitness routine, and her late husband, Dave Murphy, was a college track athlete and Olympic hopeful. Despite the urging from the men in her life, Lou had always […]

Move. It’s one of the simplest things that humans innately do on a day-to-day basis. So how come more than 70 percent of Americans are sedentary? We were made to be constantly moving, but there are many distractions that keep us from doing this. TV, video games, Facebook, cars and fast food joints have all […]