SNEWS best fitness reads from around the web

What did the SNEWS team read this week that other fitness insiders might find interesting? Well, read on to find out.

• Assuming your customers’ lives are as awesome as ours are, they’ll want to extend them a few years. Turns out, according to this Los Angeles Times story, just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day can add up to 3.5 years to a person’s life, no matter a person’s weight. So basically everybody benefits from a longer life expectancy from just a short amount of exercise per day. 

• Another thing fitness insiders have been privy to that is starting to simply blow up in the consumer market is the idea of active working, i.e., working while walking on a treadmill or sitting on a stability ball. Check out this story from a local ABC news affiliate in Cleveland that features an avid cyclist who made his own cycle desk. We’re seeing more and more studies that warn us how we’re all slowly killing ourselves by sitting, so chances are you’ll see more folks walking into your doors looking for active workplace equipment.

• This year is winding down and it’s time to start looking ahead to 2013. CBS News recently recapped what it thinks will be the top fitness trends in 2013, which include a rise in the number of fitness professionals entering the field, a rise in the popularity of strength training and an increased focus on children and obesity. Check out the story for the full comprehensive list.

• Looks like the general public is finally getting privy to what we’ve known for a few trade show seasons now. This Newsday story talks about the rising smart factor in fitness equipment. It seems to marvel at the pure magic of being able to hop on a machine, swipe your user card and be greeted by name and have all your fitness statistics come up and post to social media sites like Facebook in real time.

• The holidays almost always equal overeating, but according to this Washington Post story, more families are beginning to include physical activity as part of their holiday tradition. We know we’ve been doing the annual post-Thanksgiving dinner touch football game (well, some family members can’t seem to stop tackling people – yes, we’re looking at you dad) for about 10 years now, but the activities outlined in the story seem to be more organized. Perhaps getting your store involved with local holiday events like Turkey Trots of Jingle Bell Runs or something like that might get you a few new customers to usher in the New Year’s resolution sales.

• Speaking of holiday eating, check out this Daily Tribune story that follows a family who goes out hiking and does other activities for their together time during the holiday season. The family oftentimes goes for a run or hike before their big, calorie-laden buttery meals to both bond and burn some calories.

• So if you are in a situation where you’re trying to get pregnant, or get your wife pregnant, make sure the man in the situation gets in his regular exercise. Turns out when men train or exercise, not only are they getting faster and stronger but so are their sperm. This Medical Daily story shows that exercise is linked to faster swimming sperm. But don’t overdo it, men, as those who took part in extreme sports had a lower number of slower sperm.

• We are all about new fitness adventures and after reading this story in the New Zealand Herald, we are so ready to sign ourselves up for a trapeze lesson. We enjoyed reading this first-person account of a trapeze lesson by Rachel Grunwell about the thrills and challenges of her first trapeze adventure. 

• It doesn’t matter your political beliefs, we can all agree on a few things: The end of the election and no more political ads are awesome things. We agree with Ellen DeGeneres when she said she’s never been so excited to hear Jaime Lee Curtis talk about Activia again. Though the election is over, we were interested in this Huffington Post story that pitted the President against the governor for one last round: To see how they stacked up against each other when it comes to fitness. Check out the slideshow to see who will get your vote for the fittest politician.

• The new trend in fitness retail is to outfit local schools, apartment complexes and country clubs with their light commercial fitness equipment needs. Check out this Evening Tribune story about the evolution of a decision of a school board in Hornell, N.Y. to implement a new fitness center for its students. The board accepted a bid by Ithaca, N.Y.-based Advantage Sport and Fitness Inc. Perhaps you could use this information to make your pitch to schools in your area.

Have you read anything interesting you’d like to share with us? Maybe we’ll include it next week’s column with a little shout out to you. Send a link to the story with the subject line “SNEWS Reads” to be considered.

–Compiled by Ana Trujillo