Diet and Fitness

HowStuffWorks offers guidance for developing an exercise routine that will help you get in shape and stay healthy. Learn about diet and fitness and get tips from professional trainers.

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We've always heard taking 10,000 steps daily is the key to a healthy lifestyle. So how many miles is in 10,000 steps anyway?

By Mitch Ryan

If you're always falling short of that arbitrary 10,000-step daily goal, we have good news. Your health can benefit just as much if you hit fewer steps, too.

By Lindsay Bottoms

The winner of the Tour de France has to eat constantly to generate enough energy to complete all 21 stages of the grueling race. But just how many calories will the winner burn in the end?

By John Eric Goff

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Sitting on your butt all day can do a number on your health. Calisthenics, which is resistance training using your body weight, is a great way to stay in shape.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

During this time of social distancing and isolation, many hot yoga aficionados are craving the heat of the hot yoga studio, but our experts say you can create that heat at home.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Staying fit is more important now than ever. Regular exercise decreases tension, and elevates and stabilize moods — all things we need at times like this. So how do we stay fit from home?

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Your friends might be talking up this way of eating and have you curious as to whether it may work for you. We talk to the experts to find out, as well as give you our personal experience.

By Alia Hoyt

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The rumor mill says that if a person were to intentionally swallow a tapeworm their excess pounds would simply melt away. But what's the truth about the 'tapeworm diet'?

By Ed Grabianowski & Alia Hoyt

Hypertrophy is just a super-science-y way to say you're building muscle. And there are lots of ways to do it.

By John Donovan

The ubiquitous and beautiful Sanskrit word has meaning beyond the mat.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Pushups are a great upper-body exercise that people often do wrong. So what's the right way to perform a pushup and what are some variations?

By Alia Hoyt

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The keto diet is high in fat and low in carbs — ideal for quick weight loss, but not necessarily for keeping it off.

By Shaun Chavis

They're probably the bane of your middle school memories. So why do we still subject kids to these humiliating physical fitness tests?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Lots of people believe that a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar a day helps to speed weight loss. But what does science say?

By Dave Roos

A quick workout before or between flights would be a nice way to get energized, especially if there was a gym conveniently located at your terminal. So why aren't there more gyms inside U.S. airports?

By John Donovan

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Workout trends are changing, as younger people are less into the gender divide of classes for women and weightlifting for men.

By Alia Hoyt

There are nude bike rides, naked yoga sessions and even the occasional bare-it-all Crossfit sesh. Would our bodies be more efficient without clothes getting in the way?

By Laurie L. Dove

Take the stairs instead of the elevator on your way to the office, and you might not need that morning cup of joe for energy. (You'll probably still want it, though.)

By Shelley Danzy

The U.N. has proclaimed June 21, 2021, the International Day of Yoga. With that in mind, we look at how emotions can get the best of you when you're in corpse pose.

By Julia Layton

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Links between inactivity and heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer are still solid though.

By Julia Layton

Don't quit! You can accomplish your workout resolutions by taking some simple steps psychologists recommend.

By Michelle Adelman

It seems intuitive: Getting ripped at the gym increases your strength, right? Some researchers are challenging the link between muscle size and muscle strength.

By Kate Kershner

Your expanding waistline might not just be due to what you eat. A lot of factors may determine what numbers pop up on your scale, from hormones to diseases to the meds you're taking.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

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If you've been in a gym for a while, chances are you've spied yoga and Pilates enthusiasts walking around sporting lean bodies and holding rolled-up mats. But the two routines are quite different.

By Alia Hoyt

Have you ever wondered what CrossFit is exactly and what this workout entails? Read on to learn and the pros and cons of the CrossFit workout.

By Jennifer Wolfe