12 questions to ask your doctor about bariatric surgery

The decision to have bariatric surgery is not an easy one to make. Weight loss surgery can help you improve your health and attain a higher quality of life, but it isn’t a quick fix, and it is not the right choice for everyone.

10 foods for flatter abs

Got swimsuit season on your mind? There’s still time to burn unwanted fat and get flat abs in time for summer. Get your body beach-ready with these fat-burning foods.

Leafy greens. Nutrient-dense and low in calories, leafy greens should be part of every meal. Fill your plate with veggies and leafy greens first. You’ll be more satisfied with fewer calories than if you fill your plate with carbs first. Juicing fresh vegetables — especially green veggies — is a great way to get all those nutrients in a form that’s a bit easier on your system to digest.

Get the scoop on TRX Suspension Training

TRX Suspension Training uses bodyweight exercises to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability. This kind of training delivers a full-body workout, with exercises that challenge abs, back, shoulders, chest, hips and legs.

The workout requires the use of the TRX Suspension Trainer, a portable training tool that leverages gravity and the user’s bodyweight to complete a variety of exercises. By using your own bodyweight, a TRX workout provides greater performance and functionality than large, expensive exercise machines.

The benefits of exercising with a stability ball

Stability balls are a popular and versatile piece of fitness equipment used in gyms, homes, physical therapy sessions and even the workplace. Also known as exercise balls, Swiss balls, Physio balls, and balance balls, the purpose of the stability ball is to improve balance, muscle tone and core strength.

When exercising for weight loss, choose quality over quantity

It’s been engrained in us to believe that the more we exercise, the more weight we will lose. New research suggests that may not be the case after all. If you are exercising regularly and not losing weight, it may not be because you aren’t exercising enough, but rather because you aren’t doing the right kind of exercise.

How to build rest days into your workout schedule

Rest and recovery days are an important part of any exercise regimen. Weight training and cardio workouts essentially break down muscle and tissues in your body and deplete your energy stores. Taking a rest day helps restore your energy and allows your body the time it needs to heal.

6 tips for a basketball workout

Basketball fans across the country are gearing up for the big college basketball championship tournament. But you don’t have to be a competitive athlete to get out on the court — basketball is a great form of exercise for increasing stamina, strength and hand-eye coordination.

How to prevent back pain without orthotics

A majority of Americans (an estimated 80 percent) will experience debilitating back pain at some point in their lives. For many of those people, their episodes of back pain are repetitive or even constant. Causes of back pain range from genetics to traumatic injuries and lifestyle factors, but for some people, the cause of their back pain is unknown.

How to prevent running injuries

Running injuries are extremely common among runners of all experience levels. Some statistics estimate that as many as 90 percent of runners miss training time due to an injury each year.

Choosing the right basketball shoes

Not all athletic shoes are made the same. The type of shoe you need depends on the activity you plan to do in those shoes. Athletic shoes have different features that are designed for specific movements and playing surfaces. For example, most basketball shoes have a higher ankle to provide ankle support, whereas running shoes have a shorter ankle.