Category Archives: Health

How to Get a Decent Workout in While You’re Waiting at an Airport

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As a freelance writer, I travel a lot for work—which leaves me with a packed schedule that gives me little time to take a class or hit the hotel gym. When I'm not sleeping, most of my downtime is spent at the airport. Instead of continuing to do nothing before boarding, during layovers, or while I’m waiting for my bags, I decided to figure out creative ways to squeeze in workouts on the go.

RELATED: The Best Fitness Vacations to Take in 2018

It was definitely weird at first. I’m that kind of person who races to the back of the class because I get self-conscious when people watch me sweat, so you can imagine why the airport wouldn’t be my go-to place for a full-on fitness routine. But I eventually had to get over myself because I’d go months at a time traveling weekly.

To come up with a workout plan of my own that made sense for me at the airport, I naturally looked to Instagram for help. My two favorite finds were fitness star Kaisa Keranen’s easy-to-follow workouts right at the terminal and mega yogi Caitlin Turner’s inspiring moves before her flight. 

For more ideas, I reached out to Pure Barre master trainer and studio owner Sami Sweeny along with Peter Lee Thomas (Halle Berry's trainer). Here, they share their tips and tricks to bring you to that next level of health before takeoff. 

RELATED: The Healthiest Things to Eat at the Airport

Take advantage of seating areas

“Sitting at an airport can be a pain, [so] make the most of your surroundings by incorporating chairs and benches into your workout,” Thomas tells Health. “I like to do reverse crunches on whatever I was sitting on and several sets of pushups.”

Sweeny is on the same page. “There are countless bodyweight, equipment-free movements you can do while waiting for your flight,” she tells Health. “Go for 30-second tricep dips with your hands on a chair to one-minute wall sits with calf raises."

And if you're waiting at a lonely gate without many people around to potentially disturb, consider pulling a Sia Cooper from Diaryofafitmommy.com and stealing her pre-flight lower-body moves, above.

Do lunges on the moving walkway

The people mover that makes it easy to traverse miles of airport terminal space can also be an effective substitute for a track or treadmill. Witness Keranen doing high-knee exercise on the moving walk below. Just make sure you don’t run into anybody.

Lay out a yoga mat on the terminal floor

Nothing zaps stress and revives your energy like yoga, so feel free to go to an empty space and unroll a mat. (If you're mat-less, lay out a coat or jacket on the floor—or do what I'm doing below at the airport in Richmond, Virginia and work it in a waiting area chair.)

The Yoga Poses app makes things easy with video tutorials of 250 poses along with modified positions for beginners, so you won’t feel like you’re totally in the dark when taking on a rather complicated practice alone.

Asana Rebel is another alternative that transforms the yoga experience into something more active, and it’s guaranteed to work up a big sweat. There are also quick mini sessions on the app if you don’t have much time to spare.

Scout out an airport yoga studio

If DIY yoga isn't your thing, check to see if the airport you're stuck in has an airport yoga studio. According to Yoga Journal, an increasing number of airports internationally and in the U.S. are offering designated areas for yoga, including airports in San Francisco, Miami, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Heathrow in London.

Yoga on the Fly, a company that offers travel-friendly yoga and meditation gear in airports, has opened up a private studio with classes at the Denver airport and has plans to launch other in-airport spaces this year.

RELATED: Travel Yoga: 14 Tips for Doing Yoga on the Go

Put these in your carry-on

Though it’s best to not add any more items into your suitcase, Sweeny and Thomas both agree resistance bands are fitness gear worth having. “They’re versatile, lightweight, portable, and great for strength training and stretching,” Sweeny says. “You can use the resistance bands in place of weights for the upper and lower body, and even core work.”

So break them out in an empty area near the gate or in a yoga room, if the airport you're heading to has one. It’s basically an easy way to make your workouts more challenging. With a resistance band, you’ll be able to do everything from bicep curls to tricep extensions. “For the lower body, you simply need to place the band around your thighs and perform squats, lunges, or plyometric movements,” Sweeny adds.

10 Simple Ways to Actually Enjoy Running

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Though he’s now a pro trail runner—a two-time national champion, in fact—David Roche didn’t naturally love the sport. “I will always remember my first run when I went out the door, got 200 yards, and had to stop because I was so winded,” he says. “I was sore for three days afterward.”

The more he ran, the easier—and more fun—it felt. Eventually, he quit his job as an attorney to run, coach a team called Some Work, All Play, and write a forthcoming book (with his co-coach and wife Megan) called The Happy Runner Project.

“You don’t have to run—but if you’re going to run, it should be joyful,” Roche says. And even if you don’t plan to leave corporate life for the trails, you can still reap running’s emotional and physical rewards, he believes. “Definitely, anyone can enjoy it, and anyone can improve by massive amounts.” Here’s how to do both.

Slow down

Most new runners start off at a sprint and quickly flame out, much the way Roche did. Now, he knows better. “If it hurts, you’re going too hard,” he says. Your body needs time to both develop aerobic fitness and adapt to the impact and repetitive motions running involves.

When you first start out, alternate easy running and walking—say, a minute of each. Each week, adjust your intervals (running more, walking less) until you’re steadily jogging. Even then, don’t judge yourself on pace; instead, run by effort, and keep things relaxed. “Listen to your body,” he says.

Then, pick up the pace

That said, steady slogging can quickly grow monotonous. Once you’ve logged a few continuous runs, try adding in bursts of speed—20 to 30 seconds of faster running followed by at least a minute of slower running. Or, find a hill and run up it quickly, then slowly jog back down. Start with two to four bursts or hills, then build up week by week. Besides making time pass more quickly, these short, hard efforts boost your heart rate and help reduce your injury risk.

RELATED: How to Start Running Without Getting Hurt, According to Pros

Turn on some tunes

Music can literally move you. In a small study in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, runners clocked a speedier 5K with less effort when listening to either calm or upbeat melodies. Pro runner and coach Kaitlin Gregg Goodman (find her online at Running Joyfully) chooses different songs for different purposes: “relaxed if you’re trying to chill out on an easy day, a pump-up playlist for hard workouts,” she says.

Podcasts work too, and often come in workout-friendly 30- to 45-minute episodes (one of Roche’s favorites is NPR’s How I Built This). Note: If you’re running outside, consider using just one earbud to stay aware of your surroundings.

Grab a buddy

Running friends make the miles fly by, Roche says. And there’s no better way to multitask than catching up while you get your miles in. Can’t find a pal who’s game to stride with you? Search online or head to your local running store to seek out group runs; they often leave from stores, bars, and gyms. You might meet a brand-new friend who’s just your pace.

Focus your mind

Though training partners and music may serve as welcome distractions, actually tuning in to what you’re doing can also help you enjoy it more, notes Mackenzie L. Havey, a Minneapolis runner and coach and author of Mindful Running. “Research shows that mindful athletes tend to exhibit greater optimism, higher self-confidence, and less anxiety,” she says.

To start, spend the first few steps of your run doing a full scan of your body, mind, and the world around you, she recommends. Notice the feeling of your feet hitting the ground, the sound of birds chirping, the top three thoughts in your head. If you notice your mind wander—and you will—gently bring it back to the present moment. “You'll find that fully immersing yourself in the run by focusing on your environment, body, and mind boosts enjoyment, even on the days you're feeling less than inspired to work out,” she says.

RELATED: 5 Running Mistakes Beginners Always Make

Reframe your self-talk

Paying bills, feeding your kids, booking doctor’s visits—there’s plenty in life you have to do. Running, on the other hand, is a conscious choice you’re making to improve your health, fitness, and well-being. “I really like to say that it’s an opportunity, not an obligation,” Gregg Goodman says. Revel in the chance to test your limits, zap stress, and escape the day-to-day pressure of a busy life.

Bottle the beauty

When the going gets tough, focus on the splendor all around you. “It could be the way the leaves have fallen on the path or passing a child learning to ride a bike, or—my favorite—dog spotting,” says Chris Mosier, a four-time member of Team USA in duathlon and triathlon and a coach in Chicago. He always advises his athletes to keep an eye out for inspiring sights along their routes.

Extend those positive vibes by writing down the things you’re grateful for on the run (say, how fresh your legs felt or how fortunate you are to live near a running path) on slips of paper. Fold them up and put them in a used water bottle, Havey recommends. Pull them out when you’re lacking motivation—and over time, you’ll likely find yourself more tuned in to a sense of gratitude from the moment you lace up your running shoes.

RELATED: 11 Rules of Running Buddy Etiquette

Rethink your route

Gregg Goodman often notices runners retracing the exact same routes day in and day out. “I’ll put in their log: Your assignment for today is an exploration run,” she says. Bypassing your well-trod boulevard and seeking out a new sidewalk, path, or park adds an element of excitement to your routine. Another option is a destination run, a point-to-point course that ends up somewhere fun like a coffee shop or bookstore. Just take your phone and use a ride-sharing app to catch a lift home.

Time travel

On days when you can’t quite convince yourself that you like running, remind yourself of how good you’ll feel when you’re finished. “After the morning run, I’m going to be happier, I’ll be more productive, and my husband says I’m a better spouse,” Gregg Goodman says. “It’s like having coffee—we’re all much better people after coffee.”

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Make it meaningful

Give your running purpose by setting a specific target, like completing a 5K or improving upon last year’s time. Reflecting on how much that goal means to you can help you appreciate every step in the process, Gregg Goodman says.

You can also dedicate your miles to a loved one who can no longer run, raise money for a charity, or pace a friend in an event that’s meaningful to him or her. “Sometimes running can feel like a pretty selfish endeavor,” Gregg Goodman says. “Making it bigger than yourself can bring that joy back.”

5 Simple Things You Can Do on a Plane to Avoid a Stiff Neck, Sore Back, and Dead Butt

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While summer travel often means plenty of fun and excitement, being stuck in 22B for hours on end can also trigger a slew of aches and pains (from a tight neck to a dead butt). According to Leah Dugas, a Tier X coach at Equinox Beverly Hills, the muscular woes of air travel all tend to boil down to one thing: a lack of movement. But fortunately, there are a few simple stretches you can do at 36,000 feet to help ease and prevent discomfort, so you can enjoy every second of your vacay to the fullest.

If you have a stiff neck or upper back

Slouch with your back rounded forward from take off to touchdown, and you’re going to feel it later, says Dugas. If you don't use the full range of motion in your joints, you will lose it. “This even happens temporarily when sitting for long periods of time, and results in stiffness,” says Dugas.

To maintain your full range of motion, every 30 to 60 minutes, look over each shoulder three to five times; look up and down three to five times; and tilt your head left to right three to five times. Roll your head in circles three to five times in each direction as well.

For your upper back, from a seated position, side-bend at your rib cage and reach your hands overhead—as long as your seat mates aren't too close. If they are, cross your arms and grab onto opposite shoulders. This keeps the thoracic spine mobile, and its attaching muscles active, Dugas explains. 

RELATED: How to Get a Decent Workout in While You’re Waiting at an Airport

If you have an achy lower back

Your low back isn’t meant to be loaded in a seated position for several hours running. “Sitting is not a position found in nature. We're meant to squat,” Dugas says.

“Sitting up tall without the back support from a chair, or sitting on an exercise ball can keep the core more active while sitting,” she adds. Crammed plane seats, on the other hand, can render the core inactivate. Over time, putting your spine and the surrounding muscles under stress without core support can result in lower back pain.

Sidestep the problem by setting alarms on your phone at least every hour to get up and walk around. The key to preventing the pain is simply not loading your back for so long, Dugas says. Walking around unloads your spin, reactivating your trunk stabilizers. “When you sit down you’ll have increased core activation from moving,” she notes. But this activation wanes over time—hence the need to repeat every hour!

RELATED: How To Use a Foam Roller To Roll Out Your Back

If you have tight hips

A seated position leaves your hip flexors locked in a flexed, shortened position, increasing muscle tension, Dugas explains.

Standing up in the aisle, clasping your hands together, and grabbing onto one knee while pulling it tight to your chest, keeping the bottom leg extended straight can help. Hold the position for three seconds or so, and alternate legs. “This moves the hips through full flexion and extension to maintain range of motion,” Dugas explains.

If you have a sore booty

Coined ‘dead butt syndrome,’ an achy rear is actually a dysfunction of the gluteus medius muscle, says Dugas. Sitting on your behind for too long can render the glutes inactive, causing pain as other muscles compensate for the loss. “The body is giving you a sign that it's unhappy or irritated by what you've been doing (in this case, sitting) and it wants you to change something,” explains Dugas.

Get your glutes to fire by standing in the aisle on one leg and hinging forward to reach your fingertips toward your standing knee or ankle, keeping your spine straight, suggests Dugas. (Your non-standing leg should extend behind you. Imagine you are doing a single-leg deadlift without weight.) Alternate legs.

Similarly to how you activate your core by simply walking, your glutes will be more active when you sit after this move. But you know the deal: repetition is key!

RELATED: 6 Pre-Flight Stretches to Do in Your Hotel Room to Help Prevent Blood Clots

To keep blood from pooling in your legs

You’ve likely heard of the slightly increased risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)—a blood clot that develops usually in the legs and can travel up the body to areas like the lungs—while flying. While the risk is low, making a few strides up and down the aisle every 60 minutes or so can slash it even more. Walking is one of the best ways to encourage blood flow and circulations all over the body, says Dugas. 

Pinned in the window seat next to a sleeper, and can't get up as often as you'd like? Pack a mini trigger point ball in your carry-on (like this one or this one) to roll out your feet, helping promote blood and lymph circulation.

The Full-Body Strength Move That Helped Blake Lively Lose 61 Lbs. After Giving Birth

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The blonde beauty recently revealed that heading back to the gym after giving birth to her second baby helped her shed 61 pounds. One move she relied on: the Single-Arm Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift. “With this movement, you’re balancing on one leg, causing your hip to have to stabilize, as well as working the back, glutes, hamstrings, and core,” says Lively’s trainer, Don Saladino, owner of Drive 495 in New York City.

Stand tall with feet together and a dumbbell or kettlebell in right hand at thigh and left arm out to side for balance. Hinge at hips, lowering torso until almost parallel to floor as you lift right leg behind you, toes facing down. The weight should travel straight down in front of right leg. Return to start and repeat. Aim for 2–3 sets of 8–10 reps per leg, three times a week.

Here’s What You Should Do If You See a Bear—Whether You’re on the Trail or in Your Backyard

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The following advice is excerpted from LOOK BIG: And Other Tips for Surviving Animal Encounters of All Kinds ($15, amazon.com).

It’s awe inspiring, if terrifying, to see bears in the wild. It’s also rather jarring to watch them crawl up the carpeted stairs of a ski condo while a guy hiding in the closet films it on his phone, then posts it on YouTube.

There are countless home videos like these online of bears where they shouldn’t be: climbing over a car windshield while a baby screams in the backseat; throwing a pool party in Connecticut, which was cute, in a NIMBY kind of way. There was also a recent incident at Lake Tahoe, not online, unfortunately: a tray of pot brownies, just out of the oven, left cooling on the windowsill while everyone went out for a walk. When the people returned, they found that the bear, like Goldilocks, had eaten them all up.

Encounters with black bears are on the rise, says Ann Bryant, director of the Lake Tahoe–based BEAR League. “Twenty years ago, we’d get five calls a day; now we get two hundred,” she says: there are more tourists, more locals living among the bears—­then leaving windows open, food out, trashcans filled—­and never learning how to properly live with them.

“Fifty percent of the time, we coach idiots,” says Bryant. Like the dad who smeared peanut butter on his toddler’s nose, then waited for a bear to lick it off (photo op, he’d explained) or the dude who left a cookie trail leading from his backyard to his couch because he thought it’d be fun to, you know, film a bear eating cookies while watching TV.

Please don’t feed the bears! When they get too used to humans, they become a danger to themselves and us.

RELATED: 50 Day Hikes You Must Add to Your Bucket List

What to do if you see a bear

In a heavily human place like Tahoe or Whistler, if a black bear is on your turf (deck, driveway, campground), it’s simple, says Bryant. Be inhospitable. Clap, stomp, pound the window, yell. It’ll flee. Squirt guns, beach balls, small stones (thrown at its butt) help scare it off, too. “Black bears are big chickens,” she promises.

However, if you see a black bear or grizzly in the wild, on its own turf, it’s more complicated. Be respectful, a good guest. The number-one rule, according to Dan LeGrandeur of Alberta-­based Bear Scare: Stay calm (uh, okay). Don’t scream or turn your back. DO NOT RUN; it will chase you (bears can motor up to 35 mph). Give it space. Say hello, out loud, in your most soothing yoga teacher voice—­“Hi, bear. I’m human. Get the hell out of here, please,” while slooowly backing away in the direction from which you came.

It’s not about whether a bear is black or brown (and black bears can be brown, by the way), but how a bear is behaving, says LeGrandeur. “Read its signals.”

It’s either scared and asking you to go away (defensive) or wants to kill you and eat you (predatory). No pressure, but you need to figure that out fast.

Defensive bear behavior: Ears back, paws swatting, jaw clacking, huffing. Black bear cubs may climb a tree.

Your behavior: Retreat gradually while turned sideways and avoiding eye contact. Appear as unthreatening as you know you are.

Predatory bear behavior: Ears forward, head up, staring at you, quietly stalking.

Your behavior: Look big. Lock eyes. Shout. Throw stuff. Be intimidating; let it know who’s, supposedly, boss.

There’s a good chance the bear will leave. If it doesn’t and charges? “%#@&.” If it’s defensive—­most are—it’s bluffing. Probably. “At that point, it’s a hope and a prayer,” admits LeGrandeur.

“Every muscle in your body is telling you otherwise, but DO NOT RUN.” Instead, stand your ground and bust out the bear spray—­98% of people who use it (properly) are unscathed. Comforting.

RELATED: The 50 Best Bike Rides in America, State by State

If a bear lays its paws on you . . .

Mama black bear or mama grizzly defending her cubs: Play dead.

Male black bear: Fight back, usually.

Male grizzly: It depends. Is the bear defensive? Play dead. Predatory? Fight for your life.

Reprinted from LOOK BIG: And Other Tips for Surviving Animal Encounters of All Kinds Copyright © 2018 by Rachel Levin. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

I Suffered a Debilitating Head Injury in the Boston Marathon Bombing. One Year Later, I Completed the Race

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Like many Bostonians, Lynn Julian Crisci looked forward to the Boston Marathon every year. She wasn’t a runner. Far from it. Ever since 2006, when she slipped on an electrical cord during a performance with her band and was knocked unconscious from the blow to her head, she’d been suffering from symptoms of a severe concussion. She’d been bedridden for a time, due to the fatigue and dizziness, then eventually pushed herself, through hours of therapy, to get around by wheelchair, then walk with a cane.

By April 15, the day of the 2013 marathon, she was finally walking without a cane, taking acting classes and feeling healthy. “Things were looking up,” she recalls. “I thought the worst of it was behind me.”

The morning of the race, she and her partner staked out prime real estate at a sidewalk café table near the finish line, where they sat for hours, enjoying the celebratory fray. Then, at 2:50 in the afternoon, there was a percussive noise, then another. Two backpacks filled with explosives had detonated, leaving three spectators dead and 260 injured. The café where Lynn was sitting was less than a half-block from the first explosion.

Lynn remembers feeling frozen, until her service dog got her attention by scratching her face. As Lynn tried to navigate through the crowd holding the panicked dog against her chest, both of her shoulders became partially dislocated. The sounds of chaos around her were muffled, as if her head was being held underwater. By the time she and her partner made it home, she was nauseated and dizzy. “I hadn’t hit my head, but I had all the symptoms of a head injury,” she says.

The injury landed her back in bed. “It was depressing and dispiriting. I’d made so much progress. The last thing I needed was another setback.”

Several months later, Lynn received word that the Boston Marathon was offering free marathon bibs to those who were injured at the event. She broke down in tears. “Having watched so many of my fellow survivors progress forward in their healing, I was extremely frustrated," she says.

RELATED: I Lost My Leg in the Boston Marathon Bombing—and Then Trained to Run the Race

But it also made her think. Over the past seven years, she had put in hours of grueling work at physical therapy. “I’d gone from being bedridden to walking again. Why couldn’t I run a marathon?”

So instead of rejecting the race bib, she took it as a challenge and began her training in December 2013. “At first, I could barely walk a mile on the treadmill’s slowest speed and had to hang onto the rails for support,” she says. But every day she did what she could, and by late February, she was able to jog 10 miles.

“It was painful and exhausting, but by then I was determined to do it,” she says. “After the bombing, I was struggling with extreme anxiety and running calmed me down. It made me feel functional instead of disabled. It changed my mind as much as my body.”

On April 21, 2014, Lynn completed the Boston Marathon. It was six and a half hours of agony, but the payoff was worth it.

“No therapy in the world could have bolstered my self-esteem and self-confidence like finishing the marathon did,” she says. “I still struggle with health problems. But I exercise almost every day, and I don’t see it as a chore. After what I’ve been through, keeping my body strong and fit feels like a privilege. I have learned the hard way that everything in our lives is a privilege."