SNEWS best fitness reads from around the web

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

• We’ve been hearing about a back to basics movement since the last recession, and fitness and health are no exceptions. The Paleo Diet has increased in popularity over the past year and now, according to this Sydney Morning Herald story out of Australia, so has caveman fitness. Check out this story on the MovNat movement that seeks to get people eating and exercising like cavemen.

• More and more people are focusing on children’s fitness due to the rising childhood obesity rate. Programs, such as this one out of Marylan’s Columbia Association, seeking to improve the fitness levels of youngsters are on the rise. Check out this Baltimore Sun story about the YouthFit program to which children are referred to by their pediatricians and requires parental participation as well.

• In line with focusing on childhood obesity and health, Ohio passed Senate Bill 210 in 2010, requiring all schools in the state to access all childrens’ physical fitness levels. Check out this News-Herald story discusses how this coming semester report cards will be the first to include how children are faring in terms of physical fitness in addition to academic fitness.

• It’s a good thing that new technology coming out of companies like Nexersys, Powervibe and Life Fitness includes avatars to help people during their workout. According to this MobiHealthNews story, virtual avatars help improve self-perception. The study reviewed in the article suggests that the same motivational effect could take place when people use avatars for working out, though the avatars were modeled after users, not just general instructional avatars. Something to consider, manufacturers.

• We’ve been hearing a lot about high-intensity interval training and the idea of it might scare some people who are afraid of the pain it could cause. Tell your customers who might worry about this to read this Men’s Fitness story that highlights how to do pain-free high-intensity interval training to lose weight.

• Combined bicycle and fitness equipment stores have been gaining steam in recent years, and a new shop has hit the market in Fort Collins, Colo. Recycled Cycles has recently opened a fitness equipment arm of its bicycle shop to serve the community during the slow winter bicycle sales season. The shop has been in business for 34 years and Manager John Lambert thought expanding to pump up business during the winter months would be a good idea. Check out this Coloradoan story about the business and its recent growth.

• Superstorm Sandy did more than just cause destruction. It helped one Forbes author reflect on fitness during her extended stay in Ireland after she had to rebook her canceled flight into Newark. What she discovered in her reflections might be of service to some of your customers. In this story, she suggested three things people should do right now to make fitness a part of their lives forever: Hire a personal trainer (did you see our Qs with Personal Trainer Vince Trujillo?); join a walking club; and plan a healthy vacation.

• There was a time in our lives when we didn’t know how to choose the right shoe for our activity. Our exercise suffered. Our runs hurt our feet and made us feel entirely unmotivated to continue. That was until we got some knowledge similar to what is included in this Daily Herald story on how to help your customers choose the right shoes for their activities. We know you probably don’t sell shoes, unless you’re into making that money from the Cross Fit crowd selling Cross Fit-specific shoes from companies like Inov-8, but this is still good information to help your customers.

• News from the Post Bulletin that watching “The Biggest Loser” turned people off to exercise was completely shocking to us. But I guess it makes sense because trainers like Jillian Michaels seem to torture these poor souls into dropping weight at an unusually fast rate. That doesn’t change the fact, however, that putting equipment on “The Biggest Loser” sparks people’s interest. Products like Jacob’s Ladder and the Water Rower have gained steam in recent years because of their cameo on the weight-loss show.

• We find it hard to believe that men are more likely to get the recommended amount of exercise. This information, published in Infozine, obviously didn’t include the ladies of the SNEWS team. Regardless, if your female customers aren’t as super amazing as we are, tell them there are several benefits for them to get active in 2013, including a reduced risk of breast cancer, prevent bone mass loss and improve posture. But our favorite reason to be active? So at the end of 2013, that headline will be: ‘Women more likely than men to get recommended amount of exercise.”

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

–Compiled by Ana Trujillo