In a study by the American Journal of Public Health, teens were found to respond more positively to information regarding the amount of exercise that would be required to burn off calories after consuming soda, than to calorie information alone. According to researchers, teens that were made aware of how the calories translate to exercise exhibited the greatest degree of awareness in choosing what to consume.

In the study signs were posted near beverage coolers in stores throughout West Baltimore posting facts about soda, such as the number of calories that were contained in the beverages, or the fact that one bottle of soda contains between 10% and 12% of your daily recommended caloric intake. Interestingly, teens who read a sign stating that consuming one bottle of soda would require at least 50 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise to burn off the calories were shown to be even less likely to opt for calorie-heavy soda when choosing a beverage.

By equating the calorie count to actual time spent exercising, it puts things in a clearer perspective, showing that consuming just one soda could deter someone from reaching his or her fitness goals. According to the study, all three signs were shown to be effective in reducing the number of teens who chose to consume sugary soda, but the most effective was the one that addressed the exercise factor. Around 40% of the teens who read signs stating the calorie content and daily percentage passed up soda, while 50% of those who read the sign about jogging resisted choosing soda.

“In general, people are very bad at estimating the amount of calories in food they consume,” said Sara Bleich, study researcher and assistant professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “If we give them easy ways of examining it… I think we can be effective in reducing calories in purchases.”

In the study, an average of 93 drinks were purchased daily in each store. After introducing the signs about caloric intake, soda sales and other sugary beverages dipped slightly, while daily purchases of water doubled. These numbers could be significant, considering that most American teens consume at least 300 empty calories every day without thinking. These extra calories translate directly to the growing obesity epidemic in this country, which is responsible for a wide variety of health problems in children, teens and adults.

“It was a very interesting study,” said Julie Greenstein, who is the deputy director of health promotion policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “I think most Americans would be floored to learn it takes 50 minutes to burn off one 20-ounce bottle of soda, basically a nutritionally worthless beverage.”

This is one reason the study focused on beverages, Bleich shared. Since there is a mandate for transparent calorie counts among larger restaurant chains slated for 2012, it is essential to determine prior to then how best to convey this information to the general public in a way that makes sense.

Sources: Diet and Nutrition at MSNBC, KidsHealth.org

Athletes have been taking ice baths – known as cryotherapy – for many years as a way to prevent muscle soreness after a hard workout, but we don’t really know very much about the side effects of this common practice. Now, a new study by researchers at the Cochrane Library, which is an organization that evaluates medical research, shows that although it could reduce muscle pain and soreness, little is known about how long a person should stay submerged, or how much the practice can actually relieve pain.

Despite the commonality of using cryotherapy to prevent and reduce muscle pain after intense exercising, there has been little formal research done on the topic. In fact, many of the studies that have been done only evaluated a small number of athletes, offering up a data pool that was not large enough to draw any significant conclusions about the usefulness of ice baths in relieving muscle pain.

“It’s a typical intervention in sports medicine in the elite arena and the professional arena and it gradually started to filter down,” stated Chris Bleakley, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

The idea behind cryotherapy is that immersion in cold water reduces tissue damage and helps athletes feel better overall after periods of intense exercise.

The researchers evaluated existing data that contained information about 366 people who had taken part in 17 different studies on cryotherapy after participating in sports such as cycling, running, and resistance training. They discovered that, in addition to evaluating a small number of athletes, the majority of studies were poorly designed. Participants were asked to immerse themselves in a cold-water bath at temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit after exercising, and to stay submerged for between 5 and 24 minutes.

Although the results indicate that the baths did relieve muscle soreness in between 15 and 20 percent of participants over the following four days, Bleakley says it is important to realize that these results were only found to reduce soreness, not improve muscle strength, stating, “It’s purely a subjective feeling of less soreness.”

The review did reveal that there was also a decrease in tissue damage among participants who underwent cryotherapy after working out, which indicates that it is effective in helping athletes improve their recovery time.

“It tends to be effective, at least compared to other means that are used,” stated Professor Ty Hopkins from the Department of Exercise Sciences at Brigham Young University, who is a specialist in the field of sports medicine and a lead author on the study. “Maybe not in terms of a specifically strong sense, but at least in the way that’s meaningful.”

Hopkins also points out that for anyone who is hypersensitive to cold, this is not an advisable form of therapy for muscle soreness, as it could cause a skin or other type of allergic reaction. In addition, it is important to point out that further research is needed to determine the potential side effects of cryotherapy, and also that the ideal temperature and length of time for submersion has yet to be determined.

The first-ever scientific study of its kind was conducted recently on the popular PX90 weight loss and fitness program by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) with the help of the University of Wisconsin’s La Crosse program. The study was led by John Porcari, Ph.D. and Joel Woldy, M.S., who are both researchers with the University’s Exercise and Health Program and aimed to determine the true energy cost and exercise intensity of the PX90 program.

The concept of “muscle confusion” is at the heart of the PX90 program, which was created by trainer Tony Horton. In more scientific terms, this is known as “daily undulating periodization,” which is a fancy way of saying that you are changing up workouts so often that the body does not have time to adapt and become used to the exercise. Since this means the body is always operating at sub-optimal efficiency, it will burn more fat and build muscle more quickly. Although very popular among participants, until now PX90 had never been studied scientifically, leaving only anecdotal evidence regarding its effectiveness.

PX90 has sold more than 3 million copies by November of last year, with numbers undoubtedly reaching well beyond that as we approach 2012. Stars like Sheryl Crow, Billy Idol and Bruce Springsteen have backed the program, which bills itself as “The Ultimate 90-Day Home Fitness Bootcamp.”

For the study, researchers recruited 16 athletes, choosing healthy subjects between the ages of 19 and 26 who exercise regularly and had previous experience with either PX90 or a comparable circuit-style weight training and aerobic program. First, they established a baseline of fitness by performing tests to determine the maximum heart rate and VO2max for all subjects. Next, the participants were asked to complete up to three practice sessions of each of the PX90 workouts the study examined, which included Cardio X, Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Legs & Back and Plyometrics.

After the subjects had become familiar with the workouts, testing began. Participants were asked to participate to the best of their abilities through all phases of the testing process, while researchers monitored their heart rates, perceived exertion (RPE) and the predicted VO2 that was exerted during the session.

“The basis of muscle confusion is to keep the body from becoming too efficient at performing individual and sets of exercises,” said Alice Burron, MS Exercise Physiology, ACE National Spokesperson and ACE Personal Trainer. “This type of inefficiency burns more calories because the muscles haven’t yet adapted to the new workload. Overall, more calories are burned, and as a percentage, then, more calories are burned from fat. That is if a proper caloric intake is maintained in tandem with the workout.”

The study results are clear, with male subjects burning between 441 and 699 kcals per workout and female subjects burning between 302 and 544 kcals per workout. These results prove that PX90 is an effective weight loss and fitness tool that researchers believe “meets or exceeds established fitness industry standards for losing weight and improving cardiorespiratory fitness.”

Sources: American Council On Exercise, SELF Magazine

Do you find yourself avoiding exercise because it’s boring? Don’t worry you’re not alone, we all do it, but exercise doesn’t HAVE to be boring… there are plenty of fun things you can do that get you the exercise you need but more importantly enjoy doing it. Here are a few…

1. Play basketball

I find that if I try running on a treadmill I’m totally bored within three minutes and I just stare at the timer wanting it to be over. If I play basketball, football, soccer or whatever I can run for hours and hours and not really even care where the time goes.

Why? Because I’m distracted and instead of staring at the clock and wondering why it seems to be ticking so slowly I’m trying to shoot the ball or stop someone else from scoring on me. Don’t like team sports? Try hiking, swimming or jogging around a nice area. You’ll get lots of exercise with none of the boredom.

2. Chasing your kids around the yard / park

If your kids are like mine they do everything at 100 mph, so try bringing them to a safe park and letting them “loose”. By the time you chase them around, play games with them and get all of their energy out you will also get all of YOUR energy out too. Trust me you won’t be watching the clock wishing the time would go faster, you’ll be trying to keep up!

3. Mowing the lawn

Ok, I didn’t say all of these would be fun right? Mowing the lawn is a great source of exercise, and I’m not talking to all of you who have a riding mower and drink soda or beer while mowing. Get a nice push mower and get out there and push it around. My lawn seems to take forever to mow and it’s a much better work out than any treadmill could ever deliver for me.

4. Helping a friend move

Ever help a friend move to a new house or apartment? I can guarantee you will be way more exhausted than any weight lifting session or cardio workout. Moving boxes and furniture up stairs and in and out of a moving fan is really hard work so you’ll get tons of exercise and your friend will appreciate it.

5. Play with your dog

Playing catch with your dog doesn’t really sound like a good workout I admit but most dogs do anything but run after the ball or Frisbee and bring it back… they take it and run because they want you to chase them. Don’t want to play catch? Take them for a walk instead. I had a friend once say that if your dog is fat, then YOU don’t get enough exercise. Totally true!

The whole point of this post was to make you think. Exercise does NOT have to be boring… you can get exercise just about anywhere whether you live in the city or country, whether you’re a man or a woman…whatever. Exercise can be fun, but you have to use your imagination first!

If you are serious about weight training you have to train at least five to six days every week and to do this you will want to buy a machine to fit your needs. The perfect workout routine includes a wide range of exercises that involves using a variety of exercise equipment. It is crucial that you reduce your commute to the gym to stay at the top of your exercise routine

Even though there are more gyms around today than there were five years ago and their hours are perfectly suited for every lifestyle, it still can be an inconvenience taking the time to go to the gym especially if your gym is not close to you. The best answer is to have weight training equipment you can use right in your home.

There are thousands of weight training and exercise machines available on the market today. Equipment such as bikes, weights, running and rowing machines are great to have in your home however, unless you have a large basement, you don’t have the room. What you need is a multi purpose exercise machine that takes the place of all this exercise equipment.

The Bowflex is the one piece of exercise equipment that is specifically built for this purpose. The Bowflex machine is extremely versatile and you are able to do any type of exercise that is part of your exercise routine. Having exercise equipment at home saves you time and money by not having to pay a membership fee to a gym or taking the time to travel there. All you need is right in your home. Bowflex machines can be expensive however when you think about having the ease and convenience in your home and that a Bowflex machine is several machines in one, it’s well worth the investment. Shop around for the best deal you can find on an exercise machine online.

The exercise machines that are on the market today are safer and stronger than the older models. However, if a new machine doesn’t fit your budget and you are considering an older model, be sure to check that all the necessary repairs were made to the machine to ensure it is safe to use.

If you are serious about your fitness routine and enjoy working out as much as possible every day then having a good exercise machine is something you need to consider. Remember, you are not just purchasing a piece of exercise equipment, and even if you just buy a cheap machine, you are still making an investment in maintaining optimum health and fitness.

We have had a lot of readers ask us lately how to buy a good treadmill. Buying a good treadmill can be a difficult task especially if you are not exactly sure what you are looking for. If you have not considered exactly what it is you want in a treadmill you could end up with the wrong kind.

Before going out and buying a treadmill on impulse there are a few things you should consider. First, think about how often you expect to use a treadmill. Also consider your weight and height as some treadmills are bigger and stronger than others and are designed for heavy duty use. So if you are going to use one quite heavily then this is the type you should buy.

Many people buy treadmills from a catalog or magazine. These treadmills are great but are usually quite expensive. The best way to buy a good cheap treadmill is to go to a store that specializes in exercise equipment. This gives you the opportunity to try out several treadmills to better decide which one feels the nicest and suits your needs. The staff that works at fitness stores or sports departments are usually knowledgeable about the equipment and can guide you to the one that will be best for you. Treadmills can be quite expensive so it is something you want to be sure you are going to use for a long time. Do some research on treadmills before going out shopping for one. This way you are informed as to what to look for.

There are many different types of treadmills that are on the market today. Each one works differently according to what it is intended for. Always check out the motor on any treadmill. Motors on some treadmills have 1.5 continuous duty horsepower that can wear out easily if it is used heavily. Look for a treadmill that has adjustable speeds and a ramp that is easily adjustable. These are the types of treadmills that are great if you plan to give them a heavy duty workout.

Do some research on the Internet on how to buy a good treadmill. There is a wide variety out there, each one built for a different need. There are treadmills for long distance runners that have accessories to judge their speed and distance. Some treadmills are built for lightweight use such as daily jogging or brisk walking. Treadmills can be very plain only offering an adjustable ramp while others have all the accessories possible such as digital readouts and screens that show a background as you are running.

When you are ready to buy a good treadmill, make sure you find the best one for you, not just the cheapest treadmill you can buy. If you’ve done your homework you can be sure that you’ll definitely find the right treadmill for you.