“I dare them to find the iPod on me,” Richie Sais told the New York Times in 2007 when he was preparing to run the Marine Corps Marathon. USA Track & Field, the national governing body for distance racing, had just decided to ban athletes from using portable music players in order “to ensure safety and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge.” Rais resolved to hide his iPod shuffle under his shirt. Many fellow runners protested the new rule, which remains in effect today in an amended form: It now applies only to people vying for awards and money.
March marks the end of winter (hurrah!) and the beginning of spring—even if it doesn’t quite feel it yet. (You know, that whole in like a lion, out like a lamb thing?) But when it comes to our food, it’s an interesting month: You’ll find the tail end of winter produce is still available during early March, then later in the month, early spring produce makes its debut. Soon, you’ll be planting your garden and humming around the local farmers’ markets that’ll begin to spring back up on every corner (pun intended!). Until then, add these 10 ready-right-now fruits and veggies to your grocery list. (And, stock on these 10 Winter Vegetables, Fruits, and More to Buy at the Farmers Market—while supplies last.)
Walk into your average sweatbox and it’s a safe bet that you’ll see guys grunting in the free weights area whilst girls hog the cardio machines. It’s partly because they have diverging goals, but it’s also socialization. Hence the advent of pink kettlebells and “broga”: we’re so conditioned to what athletic pursuits are considered suitable for our respective gender that we rarely think to question them.
Research consistently finds that listening to music distracts athletes from their “bodily awareness”. And a recent study found that not just listening, but controlling and creating music in time to one’s pace had an even more profound effect on perceived effort during a workout. Here are seven very good reasons to rock out during your next gym session. More
Lunges are a fantastic compound exercise to target your legs and glutes, but if you rely on the same movement to work your lower body in every workout, you might be hampering the butt-strengthening benefits of the exercise. You can avoid this by mixing in different lunge variations, explains David Juhn, CPT, personal training manager at Life Time Athletic at Sky in NYC.
“The body can adapt to same sequence of exercise over time,” says Juhn. “It’s important to constantly challenge our bodies with different movements.” Changing things up can help avoid fitness plateaus, whether your goal is to gain strength or lose fat.
Plus, many lunge variations incorporate other fitness benefits, including twists that work your core and plyometric jumps that jack up your heart rate. “[Variations] can turn normal mundane workout to dynamic and challenging routines,” says Juhn. Here are seven amazing ones that will make your regular lunge envious.
Stand in front of a box or step, about one foot away.
Step up with your left foot and drive your right knee up towards your chest.
Step your right foot back to the starting position and step your left back into a lunge, lowering your knee toward the ground (make sure your right knee doesn’t go past your right toes).
Step your left leg back onto the step or box to repeat the movement.
Reverse Lunges With Dumbbell Twist
Adding a medium-weight dumbbell to a reverse lunge requires more muscle recruitment, and more energy spent means more calories burned, says Juhn.
Start standing with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell at chest height.
Take a big step back with your left foot and bend your knees to lower into lunge while twisting your torso over your right (front) leg.
Return to standing.
Power Lunges
This variation adds in an abs challenge, and the jump will raise your heart rate for a cardio boost, too.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Lunge back with right foot, bending both knees 90 degrees.
Straighten left leg and jump into the air while driving right knee up in front of body.
Immediately lower right foot back into a lunge.
Front Lunge With Twist
“[This is a] fun way to incorporate abs and balance work while doing a lunge,” says Juhn.
Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and arms at shoulder-height, elbows bent to form a goal post around your head.
Take a big step forward with your right foot and bend your knees to lower into lunge while twisting your torso over your right leg.
Return to standing.
Jumping Lunges
This plyometric exercise uses ~explosive~ power to raise your heart rate and incorporate some extra cardio into your workout.
Starting standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Jump your left leg forward and your right leg back into a lunge, with both knees at 90 degrees.
Jump up and switch your legs in midair so that you land in a lunge with your right leg in front.
Continue jumping back and forth, pausing as little as possible.
Step your left leg diagonally behind your right leg and bend your knees to lower into a lunge.
Push through your right heel to stand, and sweep left leg out to side.
Single-Arm Reverse Lunge And Press
This compound exercise works both your lower and your upper body at the same time, explains Juhn.
Start standing with your feet hip-width apart with your left hand on your hip. Hold the weight at your right shoulder with your right palm facing your body.
Take a big step back with your right foot and bend your knees to lower into lunge. While you step back, straighten your right arm to press the dumbbell overhead.
Return to standing and lower the weight back to your right shoulder.
