Now is the time of year that all Columbusonians, including myself, have been dreaming about for many long, dreary, winter months. We haven’t seen the combination of warm temperatures and sunny skies since October, and…
You Can’t Run From Pain
A lot of people start running to lose weight or get in shape. While it’s a great way to lose weight quickly and tone up for swimsuit season, our bodies need to be fit to run….
Fuel to Perform
Participating in endurance sports requires more than just overall fitness. Whether you’re training for a marathon, triathlon or anything that will require your body to work for an extended period of time, it’s crucial to…
From Farm to Dessert
Your local farmer’s market is the perfect place to get all the fresh ingredients for your meals during the spring and summer in Columbus. Though everyone may associate these havens of freshness with greens and…
Food Fight: Oiled Up!
I would venture a guess that cooking oil is a staple in pretty much every kitchen across the country. Oil is used to sauté, grease, roast, fry and bake. It’s used in breads, salad dressings,…
Weekday Preppers
When asked for my top healthy- living tip, my answer is almost always “Food prep!” I’m a firm believer that investing a little bit of time on the weekend or a day off can go…
Juicing In and Out
On one hand, I hate beets. Loathe them entirely. Like, if beets were the last food on the planet I would probably starve to death fairly quickly. But on the other hand, I am a…
Food with Fins
Something fishy is going on here … and it probably means you’re buying and eating your fish all wrong. Prices increase, mercury poisoning and the threat of overcooking … this can make even the experienced…
Back to the Future of food
Where does your food come from? No, not the grocery store – those sprinklers in the produce aisle aren’t for growing vegetables. Where does it originate? This wasn’t a very difficult question 70 years ago….
FIT Challenge FACEOFF
The married Pickerington couple’s trips to the grocery store sometimes trend toward exercises in indulgence, but it’s different this time around. The overall wellness of their young family is on the line, perhaps even their…
Faces of Fitness: Larissa Holley
Larissa Holley, 22, decided to change her lifestyle, in part because it was hindering her health. “I thought I wasn’t going to have a future — I thought I was going to college for a…
Faces of Fitness: Bryan Young
Bryan Young, 25, never really thought to do anything about his weight. He was always a big guy — a former high school power lifter. Cheeseburgers and chocolate were two of Young’s favorite indulgences —…
Working The Beat
Salad-slinger by day, beat-maker by night, Clifford Lefevre’s journey spans back to his early-20s, when his weight-loss began. But it wasn’t until he traveled to music festival South by Southwest with his band two years…
Globe Jogger
I often find the best way to get to know a new city is to shun the guided tours, skip public transportation and venture out on foot. There’s really nothing quite like walking aimlessly through…
Trailblazers
Central Ohio isn’t typically known for trail running. Most people who enjoy racing through nature’s obstacles travel some distance in order to get their fix. The Rocks and Roots Trail Runners Association, a non-profit organization…
Tri For Versatility
No one grows up competing in triathlons. Most people participate in one of the three components — running, swimming, biking — and migrate to the sport in adulthood. The learning curve is intense, which can…
Trail Tails: Jeffery Park
It’s the time of year that runners and bikers alike have been dreaming about for months – the time when you can finally shed those gloves, hats and leggings and revel in shorts, tees and…
Yoga in the Water
Yoga is fine, but I believe that, long before any given guru found his mountain, the soothing energy and meditative focus associated with fishing led more than a few early anglers on their paths to…
Ready To Rec?
The clock on the wall might appear to be ticking slower. Your legs are heavy, and now the treadmill is dragging you more than anything else. Even sliding back and forth on the elliptical feels…
The Ascent
Columbia Crest, the snowy white tip of Mount Rainier, juts 14,410 feet into the Pacific Northwest sky. A stretch of icy bridges and deep crevasses protect the peak, and below that, an outcropping of ugly…
An Inner Strength
Breathe. It’s a simple and universally understood concept but not something we consciously think about. Yet sometimes it is just what we need to shift our energy and help us better focus. Kundalini brings a…
Baby Got Back
Sir Mix-A-Lot may have said it best, but as a reminder, runners need glutes! Gone are the days of having a flat butt and thinking it can perform to the standards you need, as well…
DESK-ERCISE
Sitting at a desk all day can be detrimental to your health, and a lack of movement can result in overall loss of muscle tone, increasing the chance of forming a pancake butt. (Urban Dictionary:…
Train Like A Snake
So you want to tone up, and you drag yourself to the gym every day to achieve your “summer bod.” Well guess what, that bathing-suit-ready appearance requires more than you might think. One thing some…
Couples Physical Therapy
Sport and exercise psychology research tells us that we perform better when in direct competition with others versus competing alone against a common benchmark, i.e. you’ll run faster next to another runner than you will…
Build Your Own Boot Camp
There’s a good chance you’re still thawing out from the horrendous winter that plagued us, or at the very least, re-learning what it’s like to run on concrete again. After digging out your training shoes,…
Blurred Lines
When you do the same workouts week to week, things can get old very quickly. Though part of finding your groove is about creating a routine, there is an art and science to learning how…
Jumping over the Moon: Goodnight Cowtown
When I was in high school, I fell asleep while driving. Three times. The worst incident left me stuck on a median with two blown tires after narrowly dodging a light pole. Sleep is very…
Is it worth a shot?
The flu virus is a smart one. Doctors around the world monitor it constantly, tracking its progress, mutations and forms of attack. Vaccines are developed to neutralize the threat, but some strains slip through the…
Vice City
A few Columbus residents share their inspirational stories of struggle, triumph and how they put a stop to unhealthy choices. Jill Browning projected the image of a perfect life—trophy wife, aerobics queen—but behind closed doors…
Sticking with it
New Year’s Resolutions—our golden plans to make each year greater than the last. We are going to exercise, eat better or make better relationship decisions. We are determined not to make the same mistakes we…
Pinpricks and Pain
Sticking sharp objects into a person usually creates a flight response, but for those who don’t mind a little pinprick, acupuncture often enhances their life by relieving some of their pain rather than adding to…
How Health Should Be
Nobody is impugning the miraculous works of modern medicine. In fact, what would we do without antibiotics that help fight serious infections? But, as it turns out, not every stomachache needs Pepto-Bismol, and you don’t…
Are You Smarter than a Food Label?
Deception is all around us in the fitness world. Diet pills promise you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight. Exercise DVDs claim you’ll lose inches upon inches working out just 20 minutes…
Healthy Sweet Tooth: Five without Five
So perhaps you exercise regularly, you enjoy alcohol in moderation (sometimes), and you eat fairly healthy most days of the week. Sounds like you’ve been doing a great job on the path to a healthy…
Passing The Bar
Meal-replacement bars have almost become their own food group entirely. It seems nearly every celebrity or professional athlete first creates his or her own perfume or shoe line then gets down and dirty in the…
Supplemental Waste
Gummy, pill, or chewable, big or small—they’ve got it all. Are you a woman over the age of 50? Take this vitamin to strengthen your bones! Loosing your memory? Swallow this supplement and gain elephant-like…
FATS: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
One of the biggest myths in the nutrition world is the crazy idea that fat is what’s making us fat. The truth is, when you choose the right types, fats can be a wonderful part…
FIT FOOD
Truly living a healthy lifestyle just got a little easier for Columbus residents. With nutrition being such an important, and sometimes underrated, aspect of fitness, local entrepreneurs Eric Hayes and Channing Centeno founded Fit Food…
BLD (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Craving Mexican food, but don’t want all the heavy cheese and other fatty ingredients from a restaurant or fast-food destination? Here are three great recipes, one each for breakfast, lunch and dinner, that combine Mexican…