Fitness Reads: Is CrossFit for you? Can an elliptical save the day?

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

• Since the New Year starts next week, let’s kick it off with some positivity, shall we? We’re always reading negative things in the news but this story reports the top five best pieces of news that aren’t being widely reported. The tidbits include that teens are less likely to smoke and drink today than they were seven years ago. Plus, people are getting more tolerant and literacy is at an all-time high.

• So the cookies and cakes and treats from the holidays got you feeling dumpy? Have you been wondering what this CrossFit thing is all about, but don’t want to set foot in a box yet? Check out this story that guides you through 10 CrossFit workouts to try at home to see if you could get into it.

• But is CrossFit really for you? This Lululemon blog post goes into the way you can determine whether the popular workout will work for you. If you’re somebody who travels a lot and doesn’t like to work out on machines, then it could be the sport for you. 

• Forget climbing ropes, apparently climbing ladders are the wave of the future. Jacob’s Ladder was on to something, but the new kid on the block, Fitwall, seems to be making a splash outside of San Diego, Calif. with its ladder-based workouts. This Men’s Fitness story reports that the gym, which is set to expand in 2014, uses a 3-by-7-foot wall with steps and hand rungs for people to climb, jump on, push and pull. We’re intrigued.

• Perhaps running less isn’t better when you’ve just stuffed your face with your sister’s notoriously delicious biscochitos (the cookie sent straight from the heavens), but there are certain times when running fewer miles is a must. According to this Runner’s World story, focusing on the quality of miles versus the quantity can help runners reach their goal times.

• We’ve gotten through all of the holidays thus far with one more to go. Residual stress might still be getting you down. Get that yoga mat and get your practice on. This story pinpoints the top 10 reasons to practice yoga this holiday season, which include keeping calories in check and get a jump on your New Year’s resolutions.

• Turns out one of the best workouts for an injured runner is on an elliptical, according to this story. When runners get injured they want to keep up all that cardiovascular conditioning they’ve worked so hard for, so this story give them a few training options to do on an elliptical to help keep them in top shape. 

• There are a few interesting shifts in fitness trends for 2014, according to this story. Instead of apps that track your food and calories, there are apps to tell you what foods to eat. Instead of personal trainers, there are online programs that give you personalized workouts. Instead of fitness gaming, there are virtual-reality workouts.

• Not only can regular exercise help keep away diseases like diabetes, it can also preserve your hearing. According to this story, exercise can reduce hearing loss by 15 percent. The story recaps a 20-year study that showed women with a body-mass index of more than 40 were 25 percent more likely to have bad hearing, and those with larger waistlines were more likely to go deaf.

• Gamers get a bad name as couch potatoes, but a new gaming platform might change their rep. Blue Gogi, a new active gaming platform from the folks who created Guitar Hero, focuses on the physical aspect of the games being played and rewards gamers on their bursts of performance on exercise equipment like treadmills. Check out the story. 

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