gym

Some experts believe tuning into podcasts that give advice on diet and exercise help people lose weight, but only certain kinds.

Boring health lectures are a good start, but informative and "entertaining" soap-opera-like podcasts stick with you, and offer better results.

I guess it's like those tapes that teach you another language while you sleep. "Miguel buys fish at la pescaria."

A lot has changed since I entered this field 13 years ago. Stability balls hadn't made their way out of physiotherapy clinics, and Crossfit was men who worked out in dresses.

IDEA is one of the largest organizations of fitness professionals in the world, here is the most recent report of fitness programming and equipment trends, gathered from club managers and program directors.

The worst injury I ever witnessed in gym class was during a game of dodgeball. One nerd caught a ricochet off another nerd's skull, thrown by the captain of the football team.

It knocked the jock out of the game. It hurt his pride. He never fully recovered. Nowadays, gym class injuries are more common than ever!

Experts say between 1997 and 2007, the number of physical education-related injuries in kids jumped 150%.

And Paul "PJ" James is not screwing around. He plans to pack on a total of 85 pounds! His "goal" weight is 265. To do it, PJ stopped exercising and started eating deep-fried candy bars and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

But fifty years ago, gyms as we know them today just didn't exist.

So how did we get to where we are today - and what "dos" and "don'ts" can we pick up from the past?

If you're more of a gym person than an outdoor workout type, your only real exposure to the elements fortunately only lasts for the forty-three seconds it takes to walk from your car to the gym entrance. But, there will soon be days when the roads are not plowed, the gym is closed, and taking your routine outside is just plain crazy. It's good to know that even on such crummy days, there are ways to burn some calories without ever leaving the house.