Energy Express from Creators Syndicate

Fitness Gear 2008: It's New. Is It For You? for 07/22/2008

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I skipped the July 17-18 Health & Fitness Business Convention held in Denver this year. Actually, I skip it every year. But I do like to see what's new and noteworthy in the ever-changing world of fitness gear, so I asked for their 2008 New Product Showcase.

Drum roll, please:

The Thorotread. This new kind of exercise machine may look like your standard treadmill, but really i ...

Updated: Tue Jul 22, 2008

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Fryers Beware: That Sunscreen Is a Smokescreen for 07/29/2008

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Have you been keeping up? Sunscreens are a scam. Not only is that long list of unpronounceable ingredients not protecting you from the so called "harmful rays of the sun," they're actually harming you. It's kind of shocking to learn that rates of skin cancers aren't going down in sunscreen-soaked America, they are going UP … and up … at the highly undesirable rate of 3 percent per yea ...

Updated: Tue Jul 29, 2008

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Take This Test! Then Take Your Vacation. for 08/05/2008

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Self-examination is a tried and true learning tool. If you want to learn new behaviors that push you down the path toward healthier, happier living, take this simple test I've conjured up on a hot sunny day. It's summer! Let's have fun:

Instructions. Read each question out loud. Then still your mind for a few moments, and contemplate your answer, using logic, short and long term memory, ...

Updated: Tue Aug 05, 2008

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Find Your Inner Olympian, And Let The Games Begin for 08/12/2008

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I've never been an Olympic athlete. The closest I came was the summer I got a Dorothy Hamill haircut. That's over, but I still love to watch the Summer Olympics, and I'll bet you do, too.

What an amazing display of human energy! The strength and sassiness of the gymnasts, the explosive power of the runners and jumpers, the flexible-as-a-fish spines of the swimmers … and hey, let's not fo ...

Updated: Tue Aug 12, 2008

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Race Walking! Wiggle Your Way to a Great Workout for 08/19/2008

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Every time there's a Summer Olympics, the weird-but-wonderful sport of race walking gets a big bump. The more people see it, the more people laugh when they see it, and more people start doing it. Bravo! Race walking is a super way to step up your own walking routine. So what if it looks a little goofy? Wear a hat.

I flipped for race walking right after the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, Ko ...

Updated: Tue Aug 19, 2008

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Finally! A Pole You Can Believe In for 08/26/2008

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I was waiting in the ticket line for "Brideshead Revisited" the other day — making time to see great movies is part of a healthy lifestyle — when I spotted evidence of a wonderful fitness trend I want to encourage: regular people, out walking, in city streets, using hiking poles.

In this case it was a man and woman — mid-40's, casually dressed, L.L. Beanish &m ...

Updated: Tue Aug 26, 2008

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Unconventional Thinking Leads To a Healthier Nation for 09/02/2008

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Disclosure: There's been a whopping setback in my 2008 commitment to less TV, more fitness and fresh air. First, the Olympics. Now, the Democratic and Republican conventions. Soon, the campaign debates. I try to multitask and monitor the news channels while pedaling my recumbent bike, but that's awkward when we have guests.

Following presidential politics is part of a healthy lifestyle, ...

Updated: Tue Sep 02, 2008

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Back To School 101: Master The ABC's of Change for 09/09/2008

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The path to a healthier, happier lifestyle is a crooked one. That's because positive change — walking more, eating smarter, and taking the stairs instead of the escalator — is rarely a linear event. Very often it's one step forward, two steps back and an energizing leap ahead when the time is right.

In September, the time is right. September is national Back-to-School month, ...

Updated: Tue Sep 09, 2008

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Love Tennis? Hate Tennis Elbow? The Ball's In Your Court for 09/16/2008

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The U.S. Open is over, but our love of tennis goes on. Sadly, so does the curse of tennis elbow, a form of tendonitis (the medical term is epicondylitis), one of the most common and painful injuries among tennis players. It's also the most talked about, with cures and remedies ranging from copper bracelets to cortisone shots, with acupuncture and tiger balm somewhere in between.

What can ...

Updated: Tue Sep 16, 2008

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Massage Is a Hand's Down Winner When It Comes To Less Pain, More Pep for 09/23/2008

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I love a good massage. I even love a bad massage. I know there are people who can't stand being touched, and I respect that. But I also think they're nuts.

Sixty minutes is never enough. Moderation in all things … except massage. I'm a glutton for glute work. I swoon when the buffed guy with the ponytail gets to my feet and buries his thumbs deep into my sole. And isn't it one of the gre ...

Updated: Tue Sep 23, 2008

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Don't Panic, Stay Calm: Health Is on The Way for 09/30/2008

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I've been writing this healthy lifestyle column since 1976. You do the math. Fortunately, I still can, and it adds up to a big number, one I celebrate every September, the month "Energy Express" first got started in my hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune.

Sadly, that great newspaper is living on fumes now, but the growing legions of healthy lifestylers are thriving: We're livin ...

Updated: Tue Sep 30, 2008

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Self-Care 101: The Hits and Myths of a Healthy Lifestyle for 10/07/2008

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Here's a question: How do you know what you know about the basic rules of good health?

If two minutes pass and you're still scratching your head, you probably have some gaps in your understanding of fitness, wellness, digestion and longevity. Perhaps you were in shop class. That's fine. But it's time to catch up.

On the bumpy road to a healthier, happier lifestyle, intellectual la ...

Updated: Tue Oct 07, 2008

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It Is Time To Go Shopping: Hire a Personal Trainer for 10/14/2008

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I know times are tough, my friends, and sometimes, when the going gets tough, you really ought to go shopping . . . for a personal trainer.

"Inward calm cannot be maintained unless physical strength is constantly and intelligently replenished," said Buddha, the philosopher-king of mind-body fitness.

As your most personal trainer — A.C.E. certified around the time t ...

Updated: Tue Oct 14, 2008

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Body Awareness 101: Take Your Mind To The Gym for 10/21/2008

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

For many of us, just showing up at the gym gets you a gold star. You took the time, and you made your workout part of your busy day, bravo. But really, just showing up isn't enough. To get the best results, and have your best time, you need to cultivate body awareness: knowing where your body is in space, and how to use your breath to link mind and body. You can't do that if you're spacing out, ...

Updated: Tue Oct 21, 2008

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The Shift Age: Electing To Live a Healthier Happier Life for 10/28/2008

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

There's been so much talk lately about who is anti-America and who is pro-America, I feel it is un-American not to speak up as the 2008 U.S. election campaign winds down and the final vote is taken.

In a time of turmoil, a new president is being chosen to lead our country. Is the sky falling, or are the heavens opening? I suppose it depends on your point of view. So does living a healthi ...

Updated: Tue Oct 28, 2008

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Stay Calm and Aware: Flower Power for Emotional Times for 11/05/2008

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

You just never know what's going to work when it comes to dealing with post-election emotional overload. Some folks will strive for balance with a run in the park or an hour of gardening, a hot bath or a cold martini. And for growing numbers of active people who believe in natural medicine, it's a spray up your nose.

Rescue Remedy — a benign blend of five flower essences that you d ...

Updated: Wed Nov 05, 2008

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He's Not Black, He's Green! America's Healthy Lifestylers Get Their First Prez! for 11/11/2008

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Where were you Election Night? We all watched as the world shifted to a new politics, a new culture, a new hypo-allergenic puppy we will now all share. Barack wanted to Bring Us Together, and now he has in some global way that still feels transformational and sweet to a wide, diverse, peace-loving, still celebrating world. And how about those gracious words from good soldier John McCain and a w ...

Updated: Tue Nov 11, 2008

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Let's Talk Turkey! How To Make This Your Change Thanksgiving for 11/18/2008

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

My tail feathers get all twisted when I read that the average American gains 40 pounds between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Eve. OK, the statistic's more like 7 pounds. But even that's depressing — enough extra poundage to make your jeans feel like a blood pressure cuff or plummet you once again into the downward spiral of dieting hell.

Take heart. It doesn't have to be that way ...

Updated: Tue Nov 18, 2008

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Is Medication Downturn a Healthy Sign of What's Up? for 11/25/2008

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

So here's a recent headline to consider, gently lifted from the front page of the New York Times: "In Sour Economy, Some Scale Back on Medication."

Stephanie Sauls reported, "For the first time in at least a decade, the nation's consumers are trying to get by on fewer prescription drugs."

One 76-year-old woman mentioned in the story stopped taking her Provigil ...

Updated: Tue Nov 25, 2008

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En/X Email Bag: From Noisy Knees To Jiggly Underarms, Your Questions Get Answers! for 12/02/2008

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

As your most personal trainer, I'm happy to address all healthy lifestyle concerns. These days, your questions come in mostly via email, but there's nothing like the charm of a handwritten piece of reader mail, delivered to my postal box, punctuated willy-nilly, often written on prison-issue stationery.

Dear Marilynn, Mrs. Preston, Hey, Coach: What does it mean when my knees crackle? ...

Updated: Tue Dec 02, 2008

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