Giving up smoking can be tough. Nicotine is a potent addictive, hence it is hard to quit smoking. Nonetheless, more than half of adult smokers successfully kick the habit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With an earnest desire to stop smoking and persistence, you too can stub the cigarette once and for all.

While some quit smoking without assistance, consulting a doctor or joining a local stop – smoking program can facilitate the transition. Your doctor can recommend nicotine replacement therapy or medication, as well as lifestyle changes to overcome the addiction. Self-care measures help you handle nicotine withdrawal and mental stress experienced when giving up smoking. Kicking the habit is easier on the body when you eat right, get rest, and exercise. Physical activity is particularly beneficial as smokers who exercise are more likely to quit smoking. In a study at the University of Exeter, smokers who had not smoked for the past 15 hours were told to cycle for 10 minutes, and then showed smoking-related images. After their exercise session, smokers were less responsive to the smoking-related visuals and reported decreased cr avings for cigarettes.

A craving can cause change in mood, heart rate, and blood pressure. When you feel the need to light up, go for a bracing walk. This helps resist the craving, eases physical and mental stress, and perks you up. Besides walking, running, swimming, cycling, doing push-ups, and playing a sport are among the varied activities that aid the quitting process. The Mayo clinic suggests 30 minutes of moderate physical activity to get past the craving. Further, staying physically active makes you less susceptible to a smoking relapse.

As smoking boosts metabolism and nicotine tends to suppress appetite, giving up the habit could cause some weight gain. Including some fitness activity in your day can counter this effect. While you cut back on smoking, make time to play a sport that you like or a stimulating session of fun exercise. As a result your metabolic rate increases, you are able to lose weight and keep it off. Thus, you quit smoking for good and stay in shape.

Related articles

• Exercise Away the Urge to Smoke (everydayhealth.com)
• How to Stop Smoking (answers.com)

Trying to change the riding habits of cyclists might be like imposing sanctions for eating ice cream: it just isn’t going to happen.

But, an adjustment to the cyclist’s way of riding, may reduce genital numbness through repositioning the handlebars on that road to health and fitness.

According to a report in the “Journal of Sexual Medicine”, (WebMD)  this specific numbness may be partially brought on by  low handlebars—people in spinning classes often complain of this same situation.

The study included 41 women who rode at least 10 miles weekly with their handlebars lower than their seats.

Ideally, the correct position is to place the hands on top of the bars; the WebMD report noted:

Placing the hands at the top of curved handlebars, instead of at the bottom of the handlebars, can reduce pressure on the genitals, earlier studies have shown.

“Riding in a more upright position takes the pressure off the pelvic area and places it on the sit bones,” says Sarah N. Partin; she led the new research while at Texas A&M’s School of Rural Public Health.

It may be more comfortable—and look cooler—to speed along with handlebars lower than the seat you’re riding on.

Not a real cool thing to do, says Steven Schrader, PhD, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The resultant effect is tantamount to placing up to 40% of body weight “…on the nerves and blood vessels near the perineum.”

Schrader’s earlier research on police cyclists concluded that using a special seat other than the traditional ‘nose’ saddle meant fewer issues for the cyclists with erectile dysfunction and numbness. He recommends recreational riders who want to minimize pressure on their genitals to use the no-nose saddles.

To cycling endurance coach, Gale Bernhardt, the numbness issue is of milder concern; Berhnhardt coached triathlon and cycling teams in two Olympics, noted WebMD:

…Bernhardt…says genital numbness is a far less common complaint than saddle sores and other issues among the women she trains.

Furthermore, she just isn’t convinced that the “elite cyclists” will make such changes in their riding styles…or bike saddles.

As if there weren’t enough reasons to make health and fitness a priority in your life, here’s another one: Your brain will thank you in the future.

According to this article, many experts now believe dementia can be prevented or delayed, even for those with a genetic predisposition. Some Alzheimer’s risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and low physical activity can be reduced or avoided with proper exercise. The article provides 10 ways to boost your brain health, and not surprisingly, the first two items on the list have to do with exercise:

#1. Get moving.

“If you do only one thing to keep your brain young, exercise,” says Art Kramer, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois. Physically active people tend to have higher levels of cognition and memory, and lower rates of dementia. The hippocampus–the region of brain associated with memory–shrinks with age, but research shows that exercise actually helps reverse this process.

#2. Pump some iron.

The University of British Columbia at Vancouver found that older women who participated in a weight-training program for a year performed better on tests of cognitive function than women who did balance and toning exercises instead.

“Resistance training may increase the levels of growth factors in the brain such as IGF1, which nourish and protect nerve cells,” says Teresa Liu-Ambrose, head of the university’s Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory.

Other items on the list include learning something new, interacting with friends, and reducing stress, all of which can all be achieved through exercise. Trying a new sport or activity will challenge your brain as well as your body. Working out with a friend makes exercise more enjoyable and provides accountability when life gets busy and you’re tempted to skip your workout. And time after time, studies have shown that exercise helps reduce stress levels.

So whatever else you do to keep your mind sharp, don’t forget the importance of staying physically active.

Often, taking the steps needed to become more healthy and fit seems overwhelming. There are lots of fads, facts, and myths. Where do you start on your journey to health and fitness?

As with any journey, it just takes a first step. Each one after that becomes a little easier until you suddenly realize you’re well on your way! Here are some useful first steps:

1. Create a personal goal. Is it to get off the couch more often? Walk with friends a few times a week? Prepare for a charity walk or run? All of these are worthy goals. Just make sure that it’s realistic and something YOU want – not what others have told you that you might want!
2. Track your progress. This is a great way to be honest about what you are doing. If you track, you can see if a few days have slipped by since you exercised! But don’t worry, just keep going. Tracking is also an amazing way to see where you started and how far you’ve come toward your goal of health and fitness!
3. Make it social. Find a friend to exercise with. And, with the power of phone apps, you can even exercise with a friend without being on the same schedule. Make it a competition or a game! All activity counts! Did you walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator? That counts. Did you do some raking or vacuuming?  Count that too! 15 mins here, 20 mins there all add up to better health!
4. And don’t forget to reward your progress! This doesn’t necessarily mean going out for ice cream, but how about a new shirt or better workout shoes? Even a gold star where you track your progress can help motivate you to keep going.

If you’re ready to take that first step to health and fitness or just keep on going in a new way, check out this app to help you reach your goals.

You’re looking for a little exercise motivation. Something to inspire you, maybe offer you a reward.

I’m always looking for new ways to take my motivation to the next level and I heard about this new entrant in the fitness motivation space called GymPact.

GymPact promises to pay you to exercise. On the flip side, it will charge you when you don’t. This approach has been working out pretty well for the new company, according to co-founder and CEO Yifan Zhang.

The concept is easy. You sign up and download GymPact’s free iPhone application. Part of the application process includes your credit card information. Then you commit to how many days each week you will work out and what you will pay if you don’t. There is a $5 minimum penalty.

When you check in, GymPact verifies your location. If it is a gym, yoga studio, personal trainer or other appropriate exercise venue, you get credit for a day of exercise. And if your fitness center isn’t among those listed with GymPact, you can add it. They will recognize any legitimate workout facility, other than home or office gym.

GymPact is actually a great compliment to Nexercise, because you can pack on a few bucks while getting the social motivation from your close friends and family. Plus you can get your bonus points from the “Venue Visitor” virtual medal and even get elusive medals like “Spotter” if you remember to check-in with FourSquare as well. I think GymPact should definitely look at leveraging FourSquare somehow.

You’re probably scratching your head wondering how you get paid. That’s easy. You get a portion of the money collected from all the people who did not honor their commitment. Naturally, that means your weekly payments (via PayPal) will vary depending on the amount of money collected and the number of days per week you were successful. Additionally, GymPact collects a portion of each payout for operating expenses.

You’re probably thinking, couldn’t I just cheat and get paid. Sure you could… You could drive by the gym and check in every day and actually NOT work out. But seriously is that worth doing for $2-5 a week?? You’d probably waste more in gas! And let’s not forget remembering to do this will cost you at least $5. They’ve effectively priced their service where it’s really not worth cheating. Once the novelty wears off that you’re not going to get rich off this service, you probably will notice the results of actually going to the gym and thus it will be “worth it”!

If you are a Nexerciser with a GymPact, we’d love to hear your thoughts!

The true value to me will be if they get the payout for 3x a week up to about $25-30 a week. That way it would cover my unused gym membership and maybe I’d go. Right now, I’m sticking mainly to Kettlebells at home, playing with my kids, running (sigh), and walking

Related articles

• GymPact fines lazy users for skipping exercise (digitaltrends.com)
• iPhone App Review: GymPact (examiner.com)
• GymPact – could it be the worst Apple app yet? (hogger15.wordpress.com)

Have you been trying and failing to lose weight? It can be extremely frustrating, especially if it feels like a chore. If you lack exercise motivation or find yourself indulging far more than you should on foods that should be a special treat, you’ve probably been setting yourself up to fail without even realizing it.

The truth is, too many people attempting to lose weight through exercise and dieting look at it as a chore. They feel determined but they don’t enjoy the process. They approach weight loss with the wrong mentality which means that they’ll never be properly motivated. It’s all about staying positive and going about it in a proactive manner while having fun. Losing weight can and should be a positive experience. Here are a few tricks and techniques to help you stay motivated so that you can finally shed those pounds.

Set small goals with rewards. Make sure that these goals are attainable. You know what the ultimate goal is, but reward yourself for meeting the smaller milestones in between. This can really help you stay motivated because you feel like you’re making progress when you celebrate the small achievements. For instance, if you want to lose 20 pounds, treat yourself to something special every time you lose five. This could be a new haircut, a spa treatment or any other thing that tickles your fancy.

Track your progress. Seeing the numbers on the scale drop is a useful visual aid, but it isn’t usually enough. You can find a great fitness app for Android or iPhone devices that can show how far you’ve come. If you ever start to feel like you’re failing, just take a look at a chart or graph showing what you’ve accomplished so far. It’s easy to ignore the progress that you’ve made when the road ahead looks so long. Looking back from time to time is an excellent way to stay motivated.

Make it a group effort. You don’t have to do this alone. Find a weight loss buddy in your circle of friends or recruit a family member. Better yet, organize a weight loss group! You can all support each other and make losing weight a social activity. It will also help you stay on track because there will be someone to talk to when you’re feeling weak. Going to the gym with a group of friends is a lot more fun than going by yourself and you’re less likely to stop working out. Joining an excercise class together is also a great way to have fun losing weight together. Yoga and Zumba are two popular exercise classes offered at many gyms.

Forgive yourself. This is the most important thing to remember if you are trying to lose weight. If you give in and have a treat that you feel like you shouldn’t eat or if you take a day off of exercise, it’s okay. If you’re too hard on yourself or if you set your expectations too high, you’re more likely to give up rather than stay on track. It’s okay to indulge every once in a while and there’s nothing wrong with taking a break. It’s easy to overdo it and your body might need some extra rest. As long as you can stay motivated to continue on and get back on track, don’t beat yourself up over it. Punishing yourself mentally for falling off of the wagon only turns weight loss into a negative thing. Remember that this is a lifestyle change and you want to be healthier. It doesn’t mean that you have to starve yourself or that you can never have your favorite treats again. All things in moderation is key. Figure out what you can live with for the rest of your life and go from there.

Related articles

• Does Weight Watchers Really Work? (answers.com)
• How To Get Past a Weight Loss Plateau!!! (inspired-weightloss.com)

Boulder as seen from foothills (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The city is known for hiking, biking, running and climbing—all outdoor activities in an altitude nearly a mile above sea level. But you don’t need the higher altitude or the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains to mimic a Boulder lifestyle, and thus, a trimmer lifestlye.

Wherever you live, the first glimmer of spring is calling you outdoors. Say goodbye to the musty, sweaty (and sometimes clostorophobic) enclosure of an indoor gym. Let the vitamin D radiate throughout your mind and body. Get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Here are a few tips (from a Boulder local) to take advantage of the spring season sun, while simultaneously burning a few extra calories:

1. Boulderites love their local farmers market for fresh fruit and produce. But you don’t necessarily need a farmer’s market for a healthy meal that mimics the straight-off-the-farm feel. Head to your local grocery store and pick up some seasonal (for better value, and taste) fruits and veggies such as asparagus, broccoli, grapefruit, green onions, kiwi and oranges.

2. Winter, spring, summer or fall you’ll see the town of Boulder filled with bikers and walkers. An easy way to get some physical exercise—without actually thinking of it as exercise—is to leave your car in the garage and rely on your feet (or your bike). Make it a goal today to run your errands by way of walking or biking, in the beautiful outdoors.

3. Boulder residents are known for their healthy mindset. It’s all about the mindset. Some say Boulder gets its thin ranking not because its residents consciously make an effort to lose weight, but because they appreciate the outdoors and naturally tend towards physical activity. The more you tell yourself you need to lose weight, the more your body wants to rebel. Make a goal to forget about weight loss and focus your attention on the beautiful spring weather that’s approaching you this season. If you focus your attention elsewhere, weightloss will be efortless.

A fitness app can be helpful in encouraging and maintaing these fun weight loss tips.

It’s great to have positive reinforcements and incentives for staying in shape. But what if you were facing actual financial penalties for not improving your own health and fitness?

According to this recent article, employees at the Cleveland Clinic are currently facing this very threat: get healthy or pay more–a whopping 21 percent more–for their health insurance. Sounds an awful lot like a “stick” approach, doesn’t it?

Not at all, says the Cleveland Clinic. The company is not actually trying to threaten its workers. Rather, it wants to provide some easily accessible ways for them to get in shape. Just a few examples of their available opportunities include free fitness center memberships, Weight Watchers meetings and yoga classes. Participation in at least one of these options allows employees to pay significantly less toward their health insurance coverage.

Unfortunately, some workers who choose not to participate in any programs will be responsible for paying the higher insurance rates. To many observers, this is a controversial approach. The reality of business, however, means that some employers have to pay higher rates for certain employees, and that they often have no choice but to pass on some of the burden for paying to those employees.

The good news is that this program appears to be successful so far, especially when the workers lead by example and avoid lecturing their co-workers. Instead, they teach them how to set goals and track their progress. Positive incentives seem to be the key to making healthy choices.

Nexercise is another “carrot” approach that can help with tracking workouts. Our fun mobile apps will keep you motivated and reward your efforts. Get started today! Invite your co-workers to join you in a fitness challenge and make working out fun again.

People try to lose weight all the time. But aside from the occasional movie star preparing for a role, it’s not often you hear about someone intentionally trying to put on a lot of weight.

However, that’s exactly what some personal trainers have done recently, in an attempt to better understand what their clients go through on a daily basis and experience how difficult it can be to shed the pounds.

One example is Drew Manning and his Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit project. Beginning in May 2011, he stopped exercising and ate unrestricted calories for six months. He gained over 70 pounds during that time and blogged about his experience. Since November, he’s been tracking his exercise and diet as he spends another six months working his way back into shape.

Another personal trainer, Luke Shook, began his intentional weight gain in December. Like Manning, he consumed extra calories and never worked out. His original goal was to gain 50 pounds in 12 weeks, but after facing some serious health complications in week 10, Shook knew he had to change his plan:

“I started getting bloody noses, getting light-headed and stuff, and ended up getting pretty ill for a couple days. So I spoke with everybody involved and decided I should stop at 40 pounds,” Shook said.

Shook said his blood pressure was also out of control. His doctor measured it at 170/96, which is dangerously high compared with a recommended 120/80. “That was the morning we pulled the plug on everything,” Shook said.

So he’s hitting the gym again, working out four times a week alongside his clients. ”I just want people to know that it’s a science,” Shook said. “Don’t sit there and think you’re helpless because you’ve tried other diets and programs and never had luck. I want them to know that there’s hope.”

Now with more empathy and a better understanding of how tough it can be to lose weight and get in shape, both of these trainers are back on track and ready to help others on their weight loss journey.

Related articles

• Piling on pounds to lose weight (thejc.com)
• Easy Tips On How To Lose Weight (gregkennyfitness.com)

For those times when you lose your inspiration, this article by personal trainer Michael W. Smith offers eight ways to rediscover your fitness motivation.

1. Start Small. Choose a simple goal such as eating more vegetables or attending a boot camp three times a week. Become consistent at one small goal before adding in more.

2. Focus on One Goal Completely. If you try to accomplish too much at once, you can easily become overwhelmed. Start small, work at it, and become unfailing with that goal.

3. Examine Your Motivation. It’s fine to enlist the help of a trainer or friend, but don’t always rely on someone else to motivate you. Use positive self-talk and get yourself moving toward your goals.

4. Be Passionate About it. If you’re not passionate about something, you won’t make the time or effort to do it. Figure out what you truly want and push yourself toward that goal.

5. Commit Publicly. If you keep your goal to yourself, no one will be there to keep you accountable. We all need accountability in our lives so make sure you announce your new goal to your family and friends.

6. Get Excited. Be enthusiastic about your goal. Embrace it, announce it and go after it. When you’re excited, you get others excited for you, and that is even more motivating.

7. Build Anticipation. Once you get other people excited for you, they’ll want to hear your updates. Knowing that your friends and family might ask how boot camp went can provide that extra motivation you need to get there.

8. Print it Out, Post it Up. Type up your goal, print it out, and post it in places where you will see it as you go about your day. Remind yourself constantly what it is you’re after.

When life gets busy, it’s easy to lose sight of your fitness goals. Keep these ideas in mind whenever you feel your exercise motivation lacking, and you’ll be back on track in no time at all.