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Today marks an important milestone for me and the fact that I'm here writing this blog entry on this dreary afternoon is the proof. On December 27th, 2003 I was diagnosed with tacchycardia-induced cardiomyopathy which caused severe damage to the left side of my heart and a 35% loss of cardiac function. On that day, the odds of me being here to tell this story stood at less than 50/50. So... it's time for a little history. I've never been in really good shape. In even my high-school days when I played baseball and ran track, I would often cross...

As late as 2007 Biden said that the man who was involved in the fatal crash that killed his wife and daughter was a “guy who allegedly … drank his lunch”… This drunk driving accusation, though, is simply a Biden creation and every time this claim is uttered it pains the family of the poor, maligned man involved in the tragic accident with Biden’s family…In truth, there was no finding of alcohol being involved in this tragic incident. In fact, some investigators thought at the time that the accident was caused by Biden’s wife pulling out into the intersection not...

Put down that bag of chips, maggot, and give me 50! Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, didn't say those exact words when he issued a shape-up-or-ship-out message to all Marines, but he might as well have. The nation's top Marine has created a rigorous fitness test to gauge combat readiness and has ordered strict enforcement of body-fat standards that he said have become lax in recent years. “Tendencies toward increased weight have become a dangerous trend over the last decade in our American society. But Marines are different,” Conway wrote in an Aug. 8 message. About 100...

I want to lose some weight and have been working-out on an "Elliptical" trainer (I think it is called) for a couple months. I do 3.5 miles in 30 minutes per day, and I work up a good sweat. I burn 300 - 350 calories. My diet is crappy. I eat when I can and when I reduce intake I feel nutrionally starved. I then go for fats and carbs. Thus the following questions to those that are willing to answer: How much do you exercise per day (or week)? What type of diet (eating style, foods, calorie intake) do...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who want to live a long and healthy life might want to take up running. A study published on Monday shows middle-aged members of a runner's club were half as likely to die over a 20-year period as people who did not run. Running reduced the risk not only of heart disease, but of cancer and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, researchers at Stanford University in California found. "At 19 years, 15 percent of runners had died compared with 34 percent of controls," Dr. Eliza Chakravarty and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Any...

Mayo Clinic endocrinologist James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., has continued his research in environment-changing innovations with a six-month study of a real-life office that was re-engineered to increase daily physical activity or NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). The study began in late 2007 and ended in 2008 at SALO, LLC, a Minneapolis-based financial staffing firm. Of the 45 employee volunteers involved in the scientific study, 18 were studied for weight loss and other changes. Re-engineering included: * Removing chairs and traditional desk seating * Introducing walking tracks * Educating and encouraging staff to conduct walking meetings * Replacing traditional phones with mobile...

Women who want to lose weight - and keep it off - need to be exercising for almost an hour, five days a week, according to US experts. The University of Pittsburgh study found the 55-minute regime was the minimum needed to maintain a 10% drop in weight. Only a quarter of the 200 women in the study managed to lose this amount. A UK expert said it was clear that regular moderate exercise was the way to lose weight, and keep it off. Approximately two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese, with some estimates suggesting this...

Scientists have discovered what could be the ultimate workout for couch potatoes: exercise in a pill. In experiments on mice that did no exercise, the chemical compound, known as AICAR, allowed them to run 44% farther on a treadmill than those that did not receive the drug.

Scientists concerned about use of the drugs in athletics. Just in time for the Olympics, scientists say they have discovered drugs that could cause the next athletic doping scandal. In a study published today in the journal Cell1, scientists say they have found the first targeted drugs that boost endurance. They are already working with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to develop tests to expose would-be cheats who use the drugs. The ultimate test of murine endurance.Courtesy of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies The scientists examined the effects of two compounds, called GW1516 and AICAR, on endurance in mice....

Can you enjoy the benefits of exercise without the pain of exertion? The answer may one day be yes — just take a pill that tricks the muscles into thinking they have been working out furiously. Researchers at the Salk Institute report they have found two drugs that do wonders for the athletic endurance of couch potato mice. One drug, known as Aicar, increased the mice’s endurance on a treadmill by 44 percent after just four weeks of treatment.

Obama One of America's "25 Fittest Guys"? No, seriously... Men's Fitness Magazine has just announced that it's May 19 issue will declare Barrack Obama among the 25 most fit men in America. Yes, you read correctly. The Smoking Gutter Ball is more hail than any marathoner, Olympian, professional or college athlete save the other 24 men of extraordinary physical condition. Why? “It takes a certain stamina to endure months of 16-hour days in pursuit of the land’s highest office. Obama is not the first politician dedicated to fitness, but the Illinois senator starts every day with a morning workout, whether...

At just 2ft 9in, Indian muscleman Aditya 'Romeo' Dev is the world's smallest bodybuilder. Pint-sized Romeo is well-known in his hometown of Phagwara, India - for his ability to lift 1.5kg dumbbells - despite his overall 9kg body weight. Every day, crowds flock to the local gym to the see the mini-muscleman in training.

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but a controversial ad found in the February edition of the Boston Magazine is causing quite a stir. "It's unfair and depraved," said C.J. Doyle with the Catholic Action League. The ad is for the Equinox Fitness Club in Back Bay showing nuns drawing a nude man. The ad seems to be working because it's getting attention even though a lot of it is negative. The Boston Archdiocese says the ad is a slam on the Catholic Church. "When you look at it, it's offensive to religious women who...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Dec. 18, 2007 – A master driver assigned here with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Task Force Phantom, became a licensed personal trainer in 2001 and has been helping others achieve a healthy lifestyle ever since. To reach a healthy state, Army Staff Sgt. David Marr said, it is important to understand the aspects of fitness. “Fitness is your body’s ability to withstand use over a long period of time,” the Ithaca, N.Y., native said. “Knowing the different aspects of total fitness will assist you in getting where you want to be.” Cardiovascular enhancement, muscular strength, quality nutrition,...

Lance Armstrong's strength and endurance sometimes seem too extraordinary to be believed. Armstrong, a six-time winner of the Tour de France bicycle race who next month will try for his seventh straight victory, can cover 32 miles in one hour of riding. In contrast, the average cyclist covers 16 miles; a top marathon runner can cover 21 miles on a bike. Armstrong can ride up the mountains in France generating about 500 watts of power for 20 minutes, something a typical 25-year-old could do for only 30 seconds. A professional hockey player might last three minutes - and then throw...

OCALA, Florida (AP) - Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus exercise equipment, died Tuesday. He was 80. Jones had been ill for several days but was kept at home, per his wishes, said his son, William Edgar Jones. He died of natural causes, according to his son, who was by his father's side when he passed, along with a longtime friend and a nurse. "He should be remembered as a man of extreme intelligence, extreme independence and probably one of the most unrecognized and unawarded inventors that ever existed," William Edgar Jones told The Associated Press. His father was particularly...

Shawn Frances Lee (L), owner of Urban Fertility Dancer, teaches a pole dancing class in Las Vegas, Nevada August 9, 2007. Once confined to strip clubs, thin metal poles are popping up in kitchens, bedrooms and exercise studios across the United States with gym fanatics, moms and even grandmothers using them to get fit. (Adam Tanner/Reuters)

A well-built man was forced to take a drugs test in Stockholm recently after a police officer assumed that muscles like his could only have been developed with the help of illegal substances. The female assistant police officer got into a conversation with Tomislav Boduljak and his friend late at night in central Stockholm. According to Boduljak, 27, the police officer was pleasant at first, but changed her attitude when he said he worked out. Saying his muscles were 'abnormal', she said he must have used drugs. "I asked if she didn't think it possible that I work out a...

When Wii hit last fall, one of my coworkers considered canceling his YMCA membership and working out with Wii Sports instead. While some people were working out with Wii and getting good results, I wasn't convinced that Nintendo could replace a good old-fashion gym membership, no matter how much Wii Sports boxing made me sweat. At E3 on Wednesday, Nintendo kicked it up a notch when Mario creator and all-around gaming god Shigeru Miyamoto introduced Wii Fit, the game that "turns the living room into a fitness center for the whole family," Nintendo says, utilizing an innovative new Wii Balance...

know many of you use summer as the time to jump-start your lifestyle change. I thought it would be important for you to hear helpful tips from people who have lost 50-100 pounds. But before you blast through these tips, let me just ask you one thing: Aren't you ready to make the change? Come on, the sun is warming up our bones, and it's time to seize the chance to be healthier. As a result of improving some of your habits, you'll look and feel great. So if you want to go for it, make the decision, and then...