Health & Fitness

Untitled Document Tim Butler used to run in high school and college, but he says it’s nothing compared to what he’s been up to for the past 13 years. “If I ran two miles, it seemed like a long way,” Butler says. “Now I’ve run probably 20 half-marathons and even ran the Chicago Marathon once.” […]

Untitled Document Got a fitness problem? Sometimes … you’ve got to stretch yourself. The most common injuries are sorted into two categories: chronic and traumatic. Chronic injuries occur thanks to repetitive movements, a tennis swing, for instance. Traumatic injuries happen, quite obviously, because of a more sudden occurrence, like taking a hard hit on the […]

Untitled Document This year, keep your workout promise With the new year comes the promise of starting, then sticking with fitness routines. Make a difference in 2008 and hire a professional who can help you stay on track, scientifically speaking. “When a fitness expert conveys goals to an exerciser, his or her vision can increase […]

Untitled Document Dr. Glennon Paul has worked with Springfield asthma patients for 33 years, but even he admits that he doesn’t have all the answers. Asthma, a respiratory condition in which the airway constricts, becomes inflamed, or fills with excessive amounts of mucus, strikes people of different ages and for different reasons — and, as […]

Untitled Document First, let’s clear up a common misconception: Old age doesn’t cause Alzheimer’s disease. Rather, the risk of Alzheimer’s, a progressive and fatal disease that kills cells in the brain, increases with age, particularly in people older than 60 years. Medical experts also estimate that approximately a half-million 30-, 40-, and 50-year olds have Alzheimer’s […]

Untitled Document Let’s backtrack to Jan. 1, 2007. You swore you’d stick to your diet and finally rid yourself of that layer of fat that has come between you and your two-piece for years. Well, guess what: Bikini season has passed. The beach crowds are skimpy, but your waistline is still massive. According to Web […]

Untitled Document Don’t assume you have to sweat Older, frail people can get a free “gym pass” and still benefit from activities that are not as taxing as physical fitness, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Low-level activities, such as playing cards and shopping, can provide the life-lengthening benefits as exercise, […]

Untitled Document You’ve heard it all before: Mix fun with your fitness, the minutes will just fly by, and before you know it you’ll be 10 pounds lighter. The reality is a bit of a different story. Having fun while you work out is more than simply mounting a TV in front of your treadmill […]

Untitled Document Erinn Tanner’s yoga class begins with pupils on brightly colored foam mats, lying flat on their backs, arms at their sides (think starfish washed ashore) in a position called savasana, or the corpse pose (not corpse in a morbid sense, Tanner says, but rather as a shedding of the old self, a clearing […]