Watch Your Form

Whether its 5-lb free weights or ‘big boy’ barbells, lifting weights on a regular basis will leave you stronger, more toned, and more efficient at burning calories. But when done without good form, weightlifting weighs in as a potentially harmful waste of time.

"Many times you'll go to the gym and see people watching TV instead of focussing on the weights they're lifting, or showing off by lifting weights that are just too heavy. That's a sure-fire recipe for injury," says Toronto-based personal trainer and fitness consultant Jody Armstrong. "To weight train properly you've got to flex your mind, not just your muscle. That means forgetting about what's going on around you, making that mind-body connection, and concentrating on every movement your muscles make with those weights."

Read more...

Secrets Of The Raw Kind

The raw food diet might just be the best thing that’s ever happened to people who hate to cook.

The diet’s followers – including celebrities such as Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and designer Donna Karan – claim that it will make you lose weight, increase your energy level and make your skin glow.

Sounds great – but what does the raw movement really mean? A lifetime of crunching carrots and celery? Not exactly. Followers consume unprocessed, whole-plant-based food, of which at least 75% should be uncooked. Raw foodists nosh on organically grown fresh vegetables and fruits, beans, grains, seeds, nuts, dried fruits, seaweed, and purified water. No-nos on the raw food diet include meat, dairy, baked goods and bread.

Read more...

What's the Deal With Acupuncture?

Although acupuncture is at least two thousand years old, it’s undergoing a glamorous makeover. Acupuncture is enjoying newfound status as the alternative therapy du jour—even making a cameo appearance on Desperate Housewives as a treatment for anxiety and stress.

Published reports suggest that a number of high-profile celebrities have successfully used the artful application of the needle to ease anxiety.

Read more...