We don’t require heavy weight to stimulate muscle growth—it just makes the process faster and more efficient. Light weights tend to produce the biggest gains in beginners, those recovering from injury, or when working smaller muscle groups. For example, doing leg presses with one pound would take a long time to build quad strength, but using one-pound weights for shoulder work can absolutely make a difference.

Chronic pain can be draining, and when you're dealing with it, it can feel like it will never end. The good news is that research continues to uncover simple tools that may help reduce chronic pain. Even better, many of these strategies cost nothing and carry very little risk. If you’re living with chronic pain, these techniques may be worth trying.

You’ve probably heard that you should lift with your legs, not your back, when picking up something heavy. Believe it or not, the research is actually mixed on how much that truly matters.

I’m officially getting old. I can tell because more conversations than I’d like to admit now involve fiber and cholesterol.

Eleven years ago, we built a multi-colored igloo in the front yard. I had spent two years collecting half-gallon containers to freeze colored water.

Have you ever looked back at a picture of yourself from a few years ago and thought, “I looked good.” But you know that at the time you thought you weren’t good enough.

Sometimes when we have been stressed for a prolonged period of time it can start to feel normal and we forget that we have tools to relieve stress that are available anytime we need them.

When was the last time you laughed while exercising? When was the last time you were excited to get up and move?

I saw an image of frozen hair styled like a Dr. Seuss character. After following a trail of links I discovered the Crazy Frozen Hair Contest in Whitehorse, Canada.

A documentary called the Eagle Huntress inspired me to go to Mongolia.

“Namibia,” the flight attendant said when I asked her where the most beautiful place she’d ever been was.  I

I don’t like Star Wars (un-American, I know).  But I love someone who loves Star Wars.  So I found myself on the Disney Star Wars Galactic Space Cruiser.

After a recent knee surgery, I learned a few things I wished I’d known beforehand. Here are some of my suggestions to prepare for an upcoming surgery.

All over social media you’ll find people advocating that before a walk or a workout, weshould don a weighted vest to help build muscle faster.

A few people have asked me what I do for exercise on vacation. The answer: it depends.

At the end of August, I had knee surgery that significantly limited my usual activity. Exercise has always been one of my passions and my main form of stress relief, so I needed a new outlet during a particularly stressful time.

We’d probably all exercise more if everyone experienced a runner’s high. Recently, someone suggested to me that maybe the runner’s high is a myth altogether.

We pick February for our Mindful Eating Challenge because it’s the shortest month of the year.  We are not ashamed to admit it.

Years ago I went to a training with Ron Fletcher, famous to those of us who LOVE Pilates.  He was a dancer who taught Pilates into his 90’s and trained under Joe Pilates.