Lace up for the cure, quite literally!

The other day I was surfing the web, checking out may daily dose of People.com. I wasn’t searching for anything in particular, just the latest gossip on celebs. (It’s a guilty pleasure; what can I say?) Anyway, I came upon a story about Shannon Miller, the 1996 Olympic gymnast, who went through cancer treatments for a cyst on her ovary. The story mostly talked about how she struggled with telling her young son about the diagnosis and how he would react to the news.

But, the part of the story that hit me most was the fact that she relied on fitness to help her through her chemo treatments. Most of us know that workouts can help prevent cancer, but during chemo, when your body is weak? Well, I assumed that you wouldn’t be able to work out or have any sort of regular fitness routine, but I was definitely proven wrong.

According to the American Cancer Society, there are currently about 11.7 million people living in the United States who have had some type of cancer. Some of them are cancer-free; others are still battling the disease. So we’re talking about a lot of people who might benefit from starting or continuing a workout routine as they battle the awful disease.

Seeing that it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month to boot, here are some must-know facts on how fitness and cancer coincide and what every cancer patient should know about working out with cancer.

Exciting news! Shape magazine is doing its first ever blogger awards, and we’re in the running for its best blogs for fitness junkies category! Woot woot! And, ya’ll, we are in some good company: The Great Fitness Experiment, Miz Fit Online, Black Girls Run and more!

Right now, voting is going on to determine the best blog. And we thought we’d, rather sheepishly, ask all of our dear FBG readers to vote for us (and your other favorite blogs)! So if you get a chance, won’t you pop by the Shape site and cast your vote? We’d certainly appreciate it, as the overall winner of this whole thing will be featured on the site and possibly be in the magazine. Which means, we’d get the Fit Bottomed message out to even more people. That’s the goal!

Vote for Fit Bottomed Girls as best blog for fitness junkies here! —Jenn

By Lacy J. Hansen, a two-time Boston Marathon finisher, for DietsInReview.com

It isn’t exactly news that smoking is bad for your health. However, the statistic that cigarette smoking is still responsible for more than one thousand American deaths every day is startling. A large portion of smokers do not want to end up as another death toll statistic, but quitting isn’t as easy as they wish it were. Less than five percent of smokers struggle to quit without help. But help may just be a few dumbbells away, as a recent study found that resistance training may be the best way for smokers to finally drop the habit.

Researchers at Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island recently published the findings of a smoking and weight-lifting study. Twenty-five male and female smokers between the ages of 18 and 65 participated; all of whom have smoked at least five cigarettes each day for at least one year. All participants underwent a 15-20 minute counseling session focused on smoking cessation. Participants were also provided with an eight-week supply of nicotine patches.

Then, the participants were divided, at random, in two groups: A weight-lifting group and a control group. The resistance-training group participated in two, 60-minute workouts each week for 12 weeks and involved full-body exercises, gradually increasing intensity every three weeks. The control group did not follow a weight-lifting regimen; they watched a health-and-wellness video twice weekly.

After the 12-week study period, 16 percent of the smokers in the weight-lifting group quit smoking and reduced their body weight and overall body fat. Among the control group, only eight percent quit smoking, and the group increased its body weight and body fat.

While these statistics are far better than those of the daily death rates of smokers, further study on smoking and weight lifting is needed. If these results present to be typical though, this program could do a lot for smoking cessation, not to mention overall health and fitness for Americans. A way to quit smoking that also lowers weight and body fat? Talk about a real breath of fresh air!

It's almost U.S. Open time! Credit: adamisserlis

With the U.S. Open 2011 tournament set to start on Monday, the inner tennis player in me is squealing in delight! (Like louder than Venus Williams when she hits the ball.) If you’re as psyched as I am, here are three ways to tennis it up until the U.S. Open 2011 matches actually start!

3 Ways to Get Ready for the U.S. Open 2011

1. Go play, silly! This might be the most obvious way to get ready for the U.S. Open, but get out there and hit the yellow fuzzy thing around! Don’t have anyone to hit with? No worries! Jump on Juump, an online site that helps people find people to play with and courts to play on, and you’ll be hitting like a U.S. Open player in no time (at least in your head).

2. Take the Bracket Challenge. This year the U.S. Open has a free Bracket Challenge where you get to pick the women’s and men’s winners throughout the tournament. And you thought March Madness was fun…

3. Work out like you’re in the U.S. Open. Pro tennis players don’t just train on the court—they train in the gym. Check out these great tennis-workout moves by Shape magazine to start working out like your favorite U.S. Open tennis player.

On Monday, look for more fun U.S. Open tennis content on the site, including an apparel review! Because, tennis dresses are just too darn cute not to review. —Jenn

Which type of yoga is right for you? Credit: lululemon athletica

Hatha, Vinyasa, Bikram, Kundalini, Iyengar…there are so many freakin’ different types of yoga out there. While we are by no means yoga pros, we have tried just about every type of yoga out there, be it in workout DVDs or in live classes. So to help you decide what type of yoga is right for you, we put together the below guide.

While it doesn’t cover ever single different type of yoga out there, it definitely helps fit just about any need or quirk you’ve got. Simply find the statement that most relates to your personality and lifestyle to find the best type of yoga for you. So what are you waiting for? Read on, future yogis!

Finding the Best Type of Yoga for You

Personality #1: I have an hour or more to dedicate to yoga, and I don’t mind getting really, really sweaty. You need to try Bikram! Bikram yoga classes are done in studios that are heated to a crispy 95 to 105 degrees. Both meditative and focused, Bikram is also physically challenging—and not just because of the heat (although that’s brutal at times). Bikram yoga is a mix of strength, cardio and flexibility. No easy feat!

Personality #2: I’m a beginner and not sure about this yoga stuff. Hatha yoga is a great type of yoga for newbies to try. It’s also the type of yoga you probably know the most about, as it’s the most popular type in the U.S. Through poses accompanied with deep breathing, it’s also great for stress reduction.

Personality #3: I want guns like Madonna (and am already familiar with yoga or am an athlete). Ashtanga yoga it is! This type of yoga is very physically demanding (Madonna doesn’t look like that by accident), and involves synchronized breath with a progressive series of poses and postures (yeah, that craziness you see in photos) that build in intensity. Not for beginners, this is the most athletic form of yoga out there.

Personality #4: I’m recovering from an injury, have super poor flexibility and/or have some wonky pain or issues. Take it easy with Iyengar yoga. This different type of yoga is relaxing, has a slow and controlled pace, and is extra forgiving on beginners or those with physical limitations. Iyengar yoga is also the kind that uses lots of props to make your body more comfortable, including cushions, blankets, straps and blocks.

Personality #5: I’m totally hippity-dippity. If you find yourself a little more on the spiritual, hippity-dippity side, try Kripalu or Kundalini yoga. Both types of yoga are more heady than others and focus on breathing, energy and meditation. Kripalu yoga uses gentle movement as meditation, and Kundalini yoga uses poses to unleash energy. Both may include chanting or loud breathing (for real).

Personality #6: I have exercise A.D.D. and want to try yoga, but don’t want to just lie there. Ah! You’re like me! Try Vinyasa yoga, which pairs breath and movement together for a type of flowing yoga that feels more like a workout than stretching.

Personality #7: I need to chill the heck out. Restorative yoga is your ticket. Nothing more than mediation, deep breathing and lying on your back, restorative yoga is a type of yoga that does just what it promises: it restores you!

I’m a little of No. 5-7, but how about you? What’s your favorite type of yoga? —Jenn 

Walnuts are a "drug?" Really? Credit: steffenz

File this one in ridiculous. The FDA recently issued Diamond Food a warning letter saying, in a nutshell (get it? Ha!), that Diamond walnuts are making health claims akin to drugs, saying that “these products are intended for use in the prevention, mitigation and treatment of disease.” Therefore the company needs to apply for them to be classified as such a drug or remove the claims.

Nutters, right?

While there’s no doubt that walnuts are a superfood (they do everything from helping your brain to your eyesight to your heart to keeping your mood lifted), it really seems like the FDA would be better off spending their time on other more pressing issues than walnuts, which are totally safe for consumption. And, really, if walnuts are now a drug, what natural food isn’t? You might as well as go ahead and classify all the nuts as drugs, along with blueberries, salmon and pretty much every vegetable. Oh, and how about exercise? Regular physical exercise acts like an almost freakin’ magic pill when it comes to cancer, cardiovascular disease and overall wellness.

What do you guys think? Nutso? Not so? Sound off in the comments! —Jenn

Dieting sucks. Credit: malias

You know how we always say that diet is a four-letter word? Well, turns out that’s not just a cute saying. According to new weight-loss research, when you let yourself get too hungry, your brain cells start eating themselves. EATING THEMSELVES! They become like little creepy, hungry cannibals.

The report in the August issue of the journal Cell Metabolism says that when we don’t eat, hunger-inducing neurons in the brain start eating bits of themselves, which—get this—then makes us more hungry. So, in a nutshell, our brain cells go all cannibalistic and then we become so hungry that we feel like eating our own arm (maybe that’s where that expression comes from!). Or an entire cow. Or a tub of ice cream. You know, whatever your vice is.

So what does this new research tell us? Don’t starve yourself. Honor that hunger and nourish your body and your brain with healthy foods every few hours. Your brain is at stake, people! —Jenn

New workout songs, woot! Credit: carolyn.will

I love music. And, for me, music is one of the best parts of working out. Not only does it give me a listening-outlet for my guiltiest of music pleasures, but it gets me moving, making workouts more fun and therefore more effective. (When it’s fun, the time just flies by!) In fact, recent studies have found that music can make workouts feel easier and actually increase endurance by as much as 15 percent. Fifteen percent!

Because even the most exciting workout playlist can get stale every now and again, we thought we’d share a few tracks that are currently playing on our iPods. Sometimes a few new workout song or two is all you need to spice things up and—quite literally—get to jammin’ the next time you get your fitness on!

The Best New Workout Songs: August 2011

1. Super Bass, Nicki Minaj. Yeah, so Nicki Minaj is getting a lot of press today for a wardrobe malfunction on GMA, but we’re really digging her tunes—not the headlines. We loved her on Kanye’s album, and this song is the perfect smooth, steady state song for cardio!

2. I Wanna Go, Britney Spears. You know we’d be listening to Brit-Brit’s new single, right? Flirty, sassy and fun, it’s everything you want a workout (and Britney!) song to be.

3. On the Floor, Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull. Yes, this song has been out for a few months, but it still pumps us up during intervals to go just a little bit harder and a little bit faster!

4. Good Life, OneRepublic. Want to end your workout feeling extra good? Play this OneRepublic track that is guaranteed to leave your sweat-session with a smile on your face and a good feeling in your heart. Corny, but true.

5. Pumped Up Kicks, Foster the People. We couldn’t do just all pop, now could we? This track is upbeat, energizing and makes you want to whistle along. Get pumped up with it!

So, those are the best new workout songs we’ve been jamming to…what have you recently added to your workout playlist? Tell us about it! —Jenn

I know every day can’t be all sunshine and lollipops, but there are a few small things you can do each and every day to set the stage for a good day or even turn a blah-day into a much better one. Not only does having a good day put you in a better mood and make life generally more enjoyable (who doesn’t like that?), but also when you feel good you’re more active! Check out the video below for our top five tips for how to have a good day, starting today! After all, there’s no time like the present…

Can’t see the video? Click here to hear our tips on how to have a good day.

There you go! Our tops five tips on how to have a good day! Do you guys follow any of them? Will you start buying yourself fresh flowers and taking time out to breathe? And did you see our snazzy new intro (A big thanks to Mike for the video help!)? Upgrade, oh-la-la! —Jenn

I had a thing for Rachael Ray back in the day. When she first came on the Food Network she was fun, entertaining and very personable. She seemed, and still seems today, like someone you could sit down and have a fabulous meal with. Episode after episode, she’d show me how to make restaurant-quality “healthful” dishes in 30 minutes or less. After watching her cooking show for about a year, I purchased one of her cookbooks and made a few of the recipes. To quote dear Rach, they were “yum-o!”

Then I became curious. Exactly how many calories were in that seemingly healthy Rachael Ray recipe for Indian Tofu and Spinach over Almond Rice (Rachael Ray: 365: No Repeats, page 156) that I’d made five or six times? After doing the math, I calculated that there were, in fact, more than 1,000 calories in each serving.

Holy flippin’ tofu spinach! Betrayed, I closed my cookbook.

Until now. After some time away from RR (which has been pretty darn tricky with her magazine and talk show everywhere), I’ve decided to give her another go. And, I’ve found that you can easily adapt any recipe that Rach can throw at you—no matter how fried, EVOOed or cheesy it is.

5 Tips to Make Any Rachael Ray Recipe Healthy

1. Don’t follow the serving size. Most of RR’s recipes claim that they serve four, but the portions are beyond enormous, so feel free to cut the recipes in half or be prepared to feed an army. At one point, I made her salsa stoup (Rachael Ray: 365: No Repeats, page 22), and after four days of eating it for lunch and dinner, I still had some left. I still don’t want to eat that damn soup again.