Cross training. Well, what is it? The words should give it away to some degree; cross training means that one would partake in different sports while focusing on their main sport in order to improve overall performance. For instance, some runners cross-train by riding their bike or doing laps in a pool once or twice a week.  Cross-training is really important in order to become stronger overall. This is because with cross-training you are able to exercise some muscles that may not typically be used during your typical exercises. By working out muscles that you do not typically use,...

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These days, teens are in worse shape than ever.  Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese.  Obese teens are considerably more likely to die before the age of sixty than teens who are in shape. Obesity is a very dangerous disease, so I am adding my thoughts on how teens should fight obesity.  Also, parents, feel free to use these tips with your kids!

1. Try to get outside for at least one hour every day.  Play a sport, walk around the neighborhood, whatever...  just get off your bottom and start moving around.  Walking around is an exercise in...

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you should exercise for 30 minutes a day, five days a week.  It sounds simple, doesn't it?  However, there are many excuses:

• I don't have time.
• I'm too tired.
• My life is too stressful already.
• I don't have the correct equipment.
• I don't have time to go to the gym.

I'm sure there are more, but these are some of the most common that I've heard.  As with anything in life, we can make excuses and avoid things, or we can analyze our excuses and take action.  So. . .let's analyze! 1. I don't have time. No, you probably...

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You probably have seen the commercials or the newspaper advertisements for those funny looking Sketchers. With their clumsy and clunky appearance I could have guessed that the shoe I saw in the ad belonged to Sketchers, but what they have done now is even funkier than any shoe they have ever produced. They are called Shape Ups. If you have not heard of them before, they are shoes that are designed to promote weight loss, improve posture, tone muscles, and reduce the stress that is on your knees and ankles. They are really some kind of a shoe—they look like your...

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Some people are walkers, some people are joggers, and some people are runners. Others, well, they are speed walkers. I do not know if you have ever seen a person speed walking. I remember the first time I saw a speed walker was on Malcolm in The Middle when Hal was training to be a speed walker. Seeing a speed walker is still a rare occasion for me, but I do know that it is popular amongst some people. There was even a lady (whose daughter ran track at a different high than me but during the same years) from New...

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