Gear: Resistance cord workouts

Home workout products made of resistance cords, including stretchy rubber tubing and retractable nylon cables, usually don't get much...

Beauty might be a matter of dietary makeup

Please don't take this wrong. You look absolutely fine the way you are. It's just that ... well, with a little work, you might look even...

Try This: Go ahead and jump

Michael "Frosti" Zernow likes to vault, flip and catapult his way from A to B. The Santa Monica-based professional parkour athlete and...

Sounding the sugar alarms

Worried about trans fat or salt? That's a little old-school. If you want to stay current on dietary villains, you'll want to start...

Gadget: Gruve helps mine every little calorie burn

When it comes to weight control, exercise doesn't matter. Non-exercise is what counts.

Five Questions: Sean Astin

Actor Sean Astin — a.k.a. Samwise Gamgee in "The Lord of the Rings" — trekked across much of Middle-earth wearing hairy...

Weight loss study: Fads not as helpful as exercising, eating less

Nearly two-thirds of Americans who are obese try to lose weight, and about 40% of them actually succeed. How did they do it? The old-...

A look at new camping and hiking gear

With summertime weather hitting lots of the country in late winter this year, overnight backpacking trips can now conveniently move to April...

Superfruit, or just a plain old Clark Kent fruit?

It's expensive! It's exotic! It's superfruit!

Shilajit is unproven yet touted as a panacea for many ills

It has a smoky, bitter taste, a deeply unpleasant odor and bears a close resemblance to black gobs of tar. Pricey tar, mind you: 10 grams (a...

Five Questions: Neurologist Charles H. Adler on the yips

The golf course is in pristine condition, there's nary a breeze, and you're about to sink a birdie on the 18th green. But just as the putter...

Green coffee beans show potential for losing weight

When roasted at 475 degrees, coffee beans are sometimes described as rich and full-bodied. But for the full-bodied person who is not so...

Five Questions: Dr. Walter Willett on red meat

Dr. Walter Willett is the chair of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. He's also a cow's best friend.

Raise a glass of wine to resveratrol

Drinkers the world over have been thrilled by the notion that resveratrol, a chemical found in red wine, might be some kind of anti-aging...

This week: Science serves up the perfect snack

Some of our favorite foods are having a very good week — in the usual medical journals and at the San Diego gathering of the...

In Your Face Fitness: Run the L.A. Marathon in less than four hours? Oh, yes he did.

It's March 18, the day of the Honda L.A. Marathon, and I'm about to do something foolish. Again.

Sugar seeks sweet revenge against competition from corn

They are the two bad boys of the American diet, linked to a variety of ailments including obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

Gear: Bike options for commuters

Gasoline is more than $4 a gallon, and you know what that means: A lot more people than just college professors and DUI offenders are...

Natural foods: Eating up the trends

Remember chia pets? Rinsing your hair with beer? Food that's just food — no soy protein isolate, xanthan gum, red dye No. 40 or...

Try This! An off-the-wall workout

Most of us traverse the environment by walking. Not Michael "Frosti" Zernow — he prefers to vault, flip and catapult his way from A to...

In-Your-Face Fitness: Humbled by Los Angeles Marathon training

For a recreational runner, there's no rite of passage as masochistic as running a marathon. We ache for the battle scars: chafing,...

Walking can offset the tendency to become obese

So you have fat genes, huh? OK, but your genes aren’t your destiny. A new study shows that people who are genetically prone to obesity...

Athletes get down and dirty in obstacle mud runs

Her lips were blue. Her teeth were chattering. Her legs had become dysfunctional logs that could barely walk, much less run.

Bonding over 12.5 miles and 12,000 volts

I've done all kinds of crazy events, from 10-day Eco-Challenges to 100-mile runs at 12,000 feet in the Himalayas, but none was as fun as...

Try this exercise: The ladder drill

Sick of the sweaty, fluorescent-lit, loud-music gym scene? Don't want to cough up dough for memberships you'll never be able to cancel short...

Gear: Runners can get a leg up with handy devices

Runners need to take care of themselves. Danger lurks on every run: blisters, dehydration, drivers who can't see you. Survive those long...

To the mat no longer

Yoga, which is known for good things like enlightenment and healing, is suddenly under attack from several quarters.

In-Your-Face Fitness: Keeping your lower back pain-free

On a recent ski trip, my best friend handed me a flask of cinnamon schnapps. He called it "courage in 100-proof form," and I needed it. I...

Good Form: Building a strong core

We rely on strong core muscles to stabilize the spine and help prevent injuries during everyday activities and sports. This exercise...

Seeking the right recipe for food labels

You can give people all sorts of useful information, but that doesn't mean they'll use it.