Fitness Reads: Ancient form of yoga to cure holiday stress, plus strength for seniors

What did the SNEWS team read this week that other industry insiders might find interesting? Read on to find out!

• Some moments during the holidays it really doesn’t feel like the most wonderful time of the year. It’s stressful, expensive, crowded and there are constant nutritional nightmares surrounding you. But one ancient form of yoga can help cure all that stress, according to this Boston Globe story. Yoga nidra isn’t about exercise, it’s about relaxation and deep meditation. We’re going home tonight and kicking off the weekend with some yoga nidra before next week’s madness begins.

• Functional fitness workouts like CrossFit are on fire. Everybody and their mama seems to have purchased a membership to a box. But this ABC article claims that functional fitness has taken a dysfunctional turn with a rise in the number of overuse injuries. Slow it down, experts quoted in the article said, and watch your form and you won’t get injured as frequently.

• Fitness isn’t just good for your looks. According to this story getting fit leads to being happier, having more sex, having better relationships with friends and romantic partners and makes people more apt to try something new. But, the article added, first a person must have the right motivation to even start a fitness routine. The information was garnered from a Bodybuilding.com study.

• We love to spin. We don’t have a road bike, so cycling outside is not an option, but is it a good workout? This article said it is because it provides some interval training. It does not, however, provide any weight-bearing benefits like strengthening bones, so the author recommends adding some strength training before or after class.

• Oh, exercise plateau, how you vex us. But could it be you’re just in our head? This U.S. News story said that there are signs that your exercise plateau just mental and with a few simple tricks you can get over the hump. If you’re in one, chances are you’re suffering from performance anxiety, perfectionism or egoism.

• We’ve read a few articles that suggest senior citizens reap benefits when they incorporate physical activity into their lives. This article suggests that they’ll get the most out of strength training. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said adults who lift weights at least twice a week to improve walking speed, balance and physical function.

• Losing weight isn’t easy, and you’ll most likely have to give some advice to New Year’s resolutioners who want to do just that. Weight-loss success stories often have the best tips for people because they’re fresh and many overweight or under-fit people can identify with them. This article has a bunch of tips one gal learned on her 80-pound weight-loss journey, including not treating fried chicken as a basic food group.

• It’s been said that passing kidney stones is more painful than childbirth. You can help prevent getting them, though, and exercise it the way to do it. According to this article physically active people cut their chance for getting kidney stones by one-third. Obesity is one of the strongest risk factor for getting kidney stones ,so lowering body-mass index and getting fit could prevent excruciating pain.

• Last week we read a story titled, “Chip Wilson Can Kiss My Fat Yoga Ass: A Lululemon Ambassador Speaks Out,” about how one yoga ambassador stepped away from the company because now ex-chairman of the board Chip Wilson said the company’s clothes weren’t for some women. The author, who’s a proud size 10-12, writes a follow-up, encouraging people to not buy Lululemon because Wilson is still the largest shareholder. She also goes in deeper about Lululemon’s “shadiness” in her second article found here.

• Incorporating yoga into your life is a perfect resolution, this story said, because it makes you feel better. The article goes on to say that yoga is continuing to gain popularity because science is now backing up the claims yogis have been making for so long.

Did you read anything awesome this week? Email us because we want to read it, too!