How Steep Was My Valley: Waipi’o, HI
Great aerobic exercise. Spectacular views. Free sun and Vitamin D. 5 hours. 6.5 miles. 4,000' up and down. 2,500+ calories gone. Cost of admission: nothing. Trail food: $3.
Living Room Olympics: Luge Training
Sounds like something slow and lazy. You lie on your back on a strange sled. But then you slide around an icy track at 90 mph. You don't just lay there. You have to steer the thing. With your calf muscles. Really. Time to strengthen and stretch your calves, huh? C'mon, stand up.
The Walk That Ate Amsterdam
Walk alongside or float along Amsterdam's more than 60 miles of canals. Follow my footsteps for a brisk seven-mile tour; burn about 900 calories in three hours. Or do it the Dutch Way: make a few relaxed stops along the Way to eat and drink.
Living Room Olympics: Figures Skating
Ever see an Olympic figure skater who didn't have a great figure? A tight little butt, flat abs, total flexibility and great balance? Of course not. So what does it take to get into those tight little costumes? Might be this all-in-one exercise that strengthens and stretches everything.
Killer couches. Murderous desk chairs.
Can't blame them. Sure, they might be really comfortable. Inviting. But it's not their fault. It's you. The sitter. Sitting for hours at a time reduces your metabolic rate and makes you a more likely candidate for obesity and diabetes. Here's an easy solution to the problem.
Happy New Year on The Great Wall
This Year of the Fire Horse is your lucky year. Your second chance to make a healthy New Year Resolution to Be Better Outdoors. I can't think of a Better Way to celebrate the Chinese New Year than a Great Hike on the Great Wall. Even if it's just a great daydream while you take the sidewalk.
Presidential Fitness: Fuggeddaboutit
Let's observe Presidents Day by considering Presidential fitness: the health benefits of a good night's sleep. Like achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. And thinking clearly: being able to distinguish between facts and “noise". Let's look at the research.
Love Handles
Want to lose them for Valentine's Day? Great! That'll be next Valentine's Day. Because Better Cheaper Slower is The Slow Fix. Because there are no quick fixes that actually work. If you plan to be around next year at this time, click and think about this. Because if you started last Valentine's Day, you might have lost the handles by now.
Living Room Olympics: Skating. In place.
Let the games begin. The good news: you're too late to qualify for the team. So let's skate in place. Your place. No skates. No ice. No mittens. But almost all the exercise benefits of real skating. In front of the TV. While you watch the Olympians skate around ovals.
Warm Winter Hiking. Cactus included.
I knew the Coronado National Forest was full of them. I just didn't know they looked like cartoons. Here they are. Thousands of them. For miles. Walk this whole 16-mile trail outside Tucson, Arizona. 5 or 6 great hours. More than 2,000 calories burned. The temperature: in the high 60s F. About the same as Phoenix, 100 miles away. A little too warm for football. Ya think?