10/01/07 Let the post-diet era begin

• Is permanent, significant weight loss really possible? If you’re talking merely10 to 20 pounds -– and nobody knows the actual figure –- you probably can diet and exercise your way to a svelter self and stay there, provided you stick with your weight control program rigorously. Forever.

08/06/07 Fitness plays a key role in battling cancer

• So. You get the worst news of your life: Cancer.You dutifully sign on for chemo, surgery, radiation. You also vow to eat better. More fruits and veggies, less saturated fat –- all that good stuff should tip the odds in your favor, right? There’s actually surprisingly little evidence that such dietary changes prolong survival -- except perhaps for colon cancer.

04/16/07 Heart attack at 43, Boston Marathon at 56

11/27/06 Physical therapy arrives, popularity surges for varied reasons

• So there I was, the quintessential battered athlete, standing in a silly, little “johnnie” so physical therapist Susan Lattanzi could put me through my paces. I had arrived on her doorstep at Mount Auburn Physical Therapy Associates in Watertown because my right shoulder was killing me. I had just joined a swim team and suddenly increased my weekly yardage substantially. By the time I saw Lattanzi, I couldn’t swim 15 minutes without my shoulder screeching in protest.

04/17/06 Runners Who Don't Train Well Can Have Marathon of Miseries

• Today, as an estimated 20,000 runners begin their mad dash from Hopkinton to Boston, Dr. Wood, a cardiologist, four-time marathoner and co-director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Women’s Cardiovascular Health Center, will be setting up shop in the corner of the medical tent at the finish line.

01/23/06 The Competitive Edge? It's a Zen Thing

• In a few weeks, millions of us will be glued to our TV sets, watching the best athletes in the world ski, skate and slide their way into Olympic history in Turin, Italy. We will certainly be dazzled, as always, by the sheer physical skill of these folks who have pushed their bodies so hard for so many hours a day, year after year

04/19/05 Water and Safety

• In the sparkling sunshine yesterday, runners at the finish line of the Boston Marathon said they had taken very much to heart the new warnings about drinking too much water during a race. ''I was conscious of not taking huge amounts of water," said Ian Bloomfield, 52, of England, who pronounced himself ''quite pleased" with his time of 2 hours 45 minutes. ''I was very aware of hyponatremia," the potentially fatal result of overhydration. 

01/25/05   A Commitment to Exercise  

• This column is for everyone who hates to exercise, or would like to exercise, sort of, but really, truly, deeply believes they don’t have enough time or just can’t do it. First, if you’re in this category, take heart: You’re not alone. Two-thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese, according to government figures, and more than half do not get enough physical activity – and that’s according to the old, wimpier guidelines.

06/29/04 Scientific Support For Yoga Is Slim

• I have been standing on my head, off and on, for about 35 years now,  as well as sitting cross-legged breathing through one nostril at a time, and -- my favorite -- lying flat on my back, utterly relaxed, in the so-called "corpse pose."

05/18/04-1 Exercising Your Right to Live Longer (Part 1)

• It can be rather bewildering, frankly. We all know by now -- duh -- that we're supposed to exercise. But how? By lifting weights? Or running? How much? A short walk from the parking lot to the office, or miles and miles a day? How often? Once a week on Saturday mornings, if someone else can watch the kids, or every day? How hard? Til we're a breathless, sweaty mess or just pleasantly glowy? And most of all, in our crazy, overscheduled-lives, when?

05/18/04-2 If I Were the Diet and Exercise Czarina (Part 2)

• What this fat, out of shape country needs is a Diet and Exercise Czarina. I hereby volunteer. First, let’s get two philosophical things straight. Eating too much and exercising too little is obviously a matter of individual responsibility. Nobody’s force-feeding us, or tying us down so we can’t exercise.

04/13/04 - The 2-hour Marathon

• Hardly anyone thought it was possible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes – until Roger Bannister did it in 1954. Within 3 years, nine other men had done it, too.

08/26/03 - Joy of Fitness

• There we stood in our color-coded bathing caps, 1336 women -- nervous, excited and all lined up in “waves” on a recent summer Sunday morning on the shores of (I kid you not) Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Webster, MA.

06/18/02 - When Drinking Too Much Water Means Disaster

• Kelly Hall, 34, was in fantastic shape, routinely biking 100 to 200 miles a week in preparation for last year’s AIDS Ride from Boston to New York. Usually, she trained with other riders, who made it a point to take food and hydration breaks.  But one day last June, Hall, a strategic planner at Partners Community Health Care in Needham, decided to ride alone, despite the 95 degree heat.

06/04/02 - SOME Sun is Good For You

• Remember how good it used to feel, hanging out in the sun, letting your face acquire that nice, ruddy glow? Then came all those depressing public health messages telling us that the sun was dangerous, that we should feel guilty about even the slightest tan

06/19/01 - Make Sure That Personal Trainer Is Fully Trained

• Marybeth Turner, a 35-year old Lexington mom with two young kids, has great legs. And arms. And abs. And strength. And balance. And endurance. Perhaps not surprisingly, she also has a personal trainer.

04/24/01- A `Cure' For Osteoporosis May Be Near

• Scientists normally shy away from words like “cure” or “breakthrough,” but those superlatives – and others ­– are bursting these days from the lips of researchers who say they are on the verge of what could be a revolution in the treatment of osteoporosis.

01/02/01 - Exercise Holds Key To Fountain Of Youth

• Johnny Kelley, perhaps Boston’s most impressive marathoner ever,  is 93 now. But he’s still running.

01/11/99 - Fat and fit? It's possible but not ideal

• Susan Magocsi, a vivacious 50-year-old Milton psychologist, loves to exercise. She's training for a walking marathon in Alaska in June. She lifts weights. She does yoga and ballet. In fact, by a number of measures -- such as low cholesterol and blood pressure -- she's admirably fit.

07/13/98 - Stretching your fitness routine

• Twenty years ago, the gurus at the American College of Sports Medicine told us to get off our duffs and get those lungs and hearts pumping. Eight years ago, they told us to pump iron, too. Now, they've added a third cornerstone to their fitness guidelines -- get flexible.

01/01/96 - Exercise appears to boost immune system - to a point

• You head out the door, virtue personified, for the first run, or at least brisk walk, of the year. You know -- who doesn't by now? -- that regular exercise is great for your heart, your muscles, your mental health.