It’s safe to crunch again.

Not too long ago, a good number of well-meaning, but misguided people stirred up enough fear around crunches that many people were scared to do them and were encouraged to do planks instead—and now the new world record for a static plank that is more than eight hours. That’s not a typo.

The functional training cable machine is an incredibly versatile piece of equipment because the adjustable cable pulley allows the user to move in a variety of directions with resistance. Unfortunately, it’s often used for only a few exercises: triceps press-downs, chest flyes and some variation of standing or kneeling crunches. That means most people aren’t even coming close to utilizing the cable machine to it’s fullest potential.

 Flexibility is an important component of health-related fitness, but flexibility training is often neglected, even among regular exercisers. Flexibility describes the ability of a joint and surrounding muscles to move through a specific range of motion with ease and without pain. Lifting weights promotes lean muscle mass, and aerobic exercise such as running improves the function of the heart and lungs, but what can flexibility training do for you? Here are a few of the benefits:

• Improved efficiency in completing activities of daily living such as bending, reaching, squatting and stepping over things
• Better posture
• Reduced risk of injury (especially those related to sport and physical activity)

Eat fiber and protein-filled meals. Check.

Drink green tea; add ginger, capsaicin and other anti-inflammatory and metabolism-enhancing spices to meals. Check.

Drink plenty of water. Check.

Get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. Check.

Incorporate interval training into workouts. Check.

Strength train. Check.

Make an effort to move more (take stairs instead of the elevator, walk to the water cooler, etc.) throughout the day. Check.

These lifestyle habits help keep the body’s metabolism at top speed, but it is also important to ensure that the foods you’re consuming aren’t having the opposite effect. Poor dietary choices can affect hormones, inflammation and gut bacteria, all of which can negatively impact your metabolism and cause fat gain.

Losing weight can be so frustrating. Why is it that one diet works well for your friend, but not for you? There’s no one-size-fits-all diet, because all bodies are different. Hormonal imbalances, amidst other factors like genetics, correlate to how and where you gain weight. Creating nutrition and exercise programs to balance your hormones, in addition to getting adequate quality sleep and managing stress levels, is proving to be a much more effective way to lose weight.

While most people can be classified into one of four body types—apple, pear, hourglass and box (or carrot)—the predominant two body types are apple and pear. The location and type of body fat in these two body types are driven by specific hormones and have numerous health implications.

Your jeans feel tighter, your doctor’s scoldings are becoming increasingly stern and your self-image has slowly retired to the basement. Your role as a mother, daughter, employee, boss and more has siphoned your time and energy away from your own health. As a result, your imbalances of stress/recovery, eating/exercise and yourself/others has manifested in an unwanted layer of body fat.

An analysis of large population medical-assessment data comparing body mass index and percentage of body fat suggests the average American female now has about 40% body fat. Female body-fat percentages over about 30% start to carry with them increased risks for morbidity and mortality.

Negative emotions tied to accumulating excess body weight and fat make women easy prey for gurus, gadgets and gimmicks promising “overnight” results with little-to-no effort. While some find short-term success with these diet and exercise fads, most are unable to sustain the novelty of the “hot” new trend in their life. Body fat and frustration repeatedly return with a vengeance.

While the recommended interventions for fat loss for both men and women are fairly similar, it’s important to understand a few unique aspects of female physiology and how to overcome the commonly accepted mistruths and misunderstandings associated with fat loss and women.

No gym? No problem! A hectic travel schedule or no access to a gym are not sound reasons for neglecting your workout. After all, you can get in a strength-training workout just about anywhere at anytime. If you have 20 to 30 minutes and the physical ability to move, you can get in a workout.

This is a great time of year to take your workouts outside. And sure, it’s pretty easy to target the lower-body with activities like running, biking, squats, lunges and plyometrics, but you’ll have to be a little creative to make sure you target the upper body and core as well.  

The following upper-body and core body-weight workouts can be done anywhere—the only equipment you need is a bench. But even if you don’t have a bench, don’t worry—there are alternatives provided below.

Webster’s dictionary defines “stress” as “a state of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium.”In other words, when things aren’t simple and predictable, the body’s physiological and psychological systems sound the alarm. This alarm places both your body and brain on alert for whatever might come. We associate this state with uneasiness, fear and general discomfort. Your heart and mind races and you’re forced to think and act in unfamiliar ways to overcome challenges.

For decades, research has suggested that frequent exposure to stress is inherently bad, increasing one’s likelihood for morbidity and mortality.As a society, we’re willing to go to great lengths to avoid this unpleasantness.We turn to medication, meditation and long vacations to try to dampen our natural stress “alarm” to uncertainty and change.Despite these large-scale attempts to “avoid stress,” it’s estimated that workplace stress costs companies between $200 and $300 billion per year. We’re running, but apparently we can’t hide from this life-consuming monster.

Whether it’s a new year or you’re looking to get back to an exercise program, beginning can be a challenging prospect. Your mind may remember the movements of your past fitness regimens, but your body’s muscles and joints may have lost the strength and flexibility that it takes to complete those workouts. If you experience deep muscle soreness or an injury, you may abandon your efforts after just a few days. That’s why it’s so important to ease back into exercise so you can avoid these pitfalls and stick with it for the long haul. Here’s a workout that will help you get back on the right track.

But first, some good news: If you are new to exercise or you’ve been on an extended break, you will experience pretty significant gains—and at a rapid pace—at the start of your new program. The key to your success is proper progression and intensity.

As registered dietitians, one of our most important goals is to help people to get more nutrients from food to help them achieve optimal health. We encourage our clients to stay away from processed snacks, sugary sweets, hydrogenated fats and other foods that do more harm than good. Yet even when they do their best to follow these guidelines, many people still purchase snack foods they perceive to be healthy (but really aren’t). You can avoid this common pitfall by making these four popular snacks at home, which are not only more nutritious, but also a lot more economical.