Fitness Reads: Controversial CrossFitter gives birth to healthy baby boy, plus the secret to healthy food choices

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

• When it comes to women’s health, there are 13 facts all women should know, according to this story. Some we already were aware of, like exercising when pregnant is a good thing for both mama and baby, but others came as a surprise.

• The Sports and Fitness Industries Association found that inactivity could cost our industry revenue and add to the burden of an already strained healthcare system. This CNN story didn’t help us feel like more people being insured is going to make them healthier. Turns out that when people have insurance, they don’t take care of their health as well as those who don’t have such great insurance. Dr. Sanjay Gupta said people should focus on getting fit and eating healthy to reduce healthcare costs.

• We know yoga is great for flexibility and cross training, but what effect does it have on our genes? One Harvard Medical School study recently launched to find that out. The study group was split into three — the first is doing Kundalini yoga, the second is meditating and the third is listening to stress education audio books.

• We admit. We have slipped a little in the healthy eating department. Perhaps it was the turkey and stuffing that has did us in. So what can we do to get back on track? Stop eating junk food, according to this Competitor story. That might be drastic but if it’s too much of change at first, the author recommends making out simple swaps or even just reducing the amount of junk food you eat per week. Or perhaps we could eat like a fitness model eats. According to this story it’s all fish, egg whites and protein shakes.

• We’ve been toying with the idea of giving up coffee. It’s not pretty for our teeth, and if we’re being honest, our breath. Turns out we can give up coffee and still get the benefits of a cup, according to this story. All it takes is 30 seconds of exercise to perk up our brains when we’re in need of a boost.

• We are tempted to try CrossFit, but still haven’t made a final decision. We found this Shape story that discusses the reasons CrossFit could be good for runners. When we only run, we only train our muscles to do that one movement but CrossFit incorporates a multitude of functional movements that makes people stronger runners.

• Remember that pregnant CrossFitter that folks were bad-mouthing a few months ago? She recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy, according to this story. The baby was two weeks overdue, but mama said she’s feeling great and can’t believe she just had a baby. It must be all the weight lifting, she said.

• It’s that time when we’re doing all our Christmas shopping. If you’re still looking for a little guidance this story might come in handy. It has gift recommendations for the fitness enthusiast in your life. A couple of cool ones on the list are Honey Stinger Energy Chews and Jawbone Up.

• In Moscow, Russia people are busting out doing squats for a free ride on the subway. Apparently it’s to promote the spirit of the Olympics. That inspired Men’s Health to put together its own list of 10 fitness rules that should be enacted. The rules include having to do push-ups or having to push a cab for two blocks if you were planning to take a ride less than 10 blocks.
• So the next time we have writer’s block, we’re going to head out for a jog because according to this story exercise increases creative thinking. But there’s a catch: It only increases creative thinking for people who exercise regularly, but can take away creative energy from people who don’t exercise regularly.

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