Fitness Reads: Can the excuses and take it outside; plus, lunges rule

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

• With calorie-laden holiday foods on the way, some people are looking to get healthy before the chub has a chance. Check out this Health article on easy swaps to make to cut 500 calories from your diet. Swaps include avoiding eating in front of the television and limiting salad toppings.

• A good way to supplement your fitness routine is to take it outside every now and then — maybe buy a nice pair of hiking boots and head for the hills. If your customers have an endless list of excuses as to why they can’t do so, show them this story that provides a logical response to every possible excuse or problem. Even super-fit celebrities like Kate Hudson say hiking is one of their go-to fitness activities.

• Turns out choosing to walk everywhere is a hot fitness trend, according to this Women’s Health Magazine article. It stems from the recent interest in the habits of Paleolithic folks. The article is pretty interesting, outlining the reasons why men and women of the Stone Age were generally badass. Though living in motion might not be feasible in today’s office lifestyle, the story said it could be sufficient to aim to walk five miles throughout the course of the day.

• In tough times, there are days when exercising is the last thing you want to do. Everybody, everywhere is facing some sort of struggle and selling exercise as the magical formula to help your customers look at struggle in a positive light can help you boost your bottom line. The crux of the issue is this: Exercise is awesome, and this article outlines the 13 hidden reasons why. Some of them include that it boosts your mood, self-confidence and memory.

• A weird thing happened the other day. We suited up, drove to the gym and felt a little embarrassed for some reason. Maybe it was our old workout outfit or our unruly bangs, but that feeling was there. We admit we’re not the defined, chiseled gods and goddesses who roam around 24-Hour Fitness like it’s their natural habitat. Check out this Everyday Health story that talks about why people get embarrassed to work out and to avoid the feeling. One of the suggestions was to “Think outside the gym.” We immediately thought of replacing our home ellipticals.

• Say what you will about his politics, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is an icon in the iron-pumping community. Check out this Muscle and Fitness spread on all things Arnold, from movies to workouts to meal plans and fitness tips. Maybe you or your customers could use this to become as crazy muscular (or maybe just toned) as the Terminator.

• When a person transforms their body, it’s not just a motivational experience for themselves, but also for the people who helped them along the way. This Fit Bottomed Girls blog post talks about a woman who observed others transforming their bodies in a boot camp course led by her husband.

• We’re not sure if there are folks out there who DON’T want to boost their metabolism. If there are, and you’re one of them, you might want to skip this article about the elusive metabolism boost and how you can fire it up. First on the list, of course, is to build more muscle, which is more efficient and burns more calories just being.

• Lunges. We hate them. But they’re responsible for some very important functions in our running lives. But are all lunges created equal? Personal trainers give their opinion in this Ace Fitness article. The story pits all the classic styles against one another from the reverse lunge lowdown to the forward lunge lowdown. The conclusion, however, is a doozy. Read the article to find out.

• When you read this new blog called HealthSlacker you can’t judge. There’s an obesity epidemic in this country and it’s serious. Quite frankly the fitness industry is really intimidating to people who are just starting out. On Twitter we’re always reading Tweets like this one: “I hate working out and I hate fitness.” So this HealthSlacker blog provides cheats and tips for people who just aren’t into it at first. We know from personal experience that just because you’re not into it at first, does not mean you won’t get hooked on it later.

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