Let's Hear it for Rationalization!
By Crabby McSlackerSo yeah, I didn't get around to writing a blog post this week, unless you want to try to count this one. Does it make sense that my turning 57 today somehow prevented me from posting somethingearlier in the week? No, it does not!It also doesn't make sense that the passing of another year should grant me immunity from the effects of eating gratuitous Evil Things, or consuming potent beverages, or generally doing whatever the hell I want.Don't f*ck with me on my birthday.upload fromx-ray delta oneI get spoiled on my birthday, by my most awesome wife, who always makes it special. So special the holiday has ...
Source: Cranky Fitness - June 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Lifetrak Zoom HRV Review
By Crabby McSlacker As a greedy, gadget-obsessed health blogger, I was pretty psyched to get the opportunity to review theLifetrak Zoom HRV Zoom HRV activity tracker. (And, full disclosure: I got to keep it).The Zoom measures a wide variety of activity metrics from your wrist (or ankle, or forearm). What you donot need to use the Zoom: a chest strap!So I've been testing the Zoom out for a couple of weeks in true Crabby McSlacker style: misunderstanding instructions, forgetting to hit "record" to begin or end my workouts, failing to appreciate the nuances, and finding myself too lazy for a comprehensive data comparison with...
Source: Cranky Fitness - May 30, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Time to HIIT it?
photo: theDepartment of DefenseBy Crabby McSlackerIn the last few years, you've probably heard the same unwelcome advice quite a few times: for optimal health, you should be adding some High Intensity Interval Training to your weekly routine.But all too often, nutrition and exercise research gets overhyped and exaggerated. Just let enough time pass, and other studies can come along to soften or even reverse recommendations that all the excited "experts" were so adamant about.In the case of something as odious as High Intensity Interval Training? It makes a lot of sense if you've been waiting to be absolutely sure it has me...
Source: Cranky Fitness - May 22, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Giveaway Winners and a Happy Belated Mother's Day!
By Crabby McSlackerSo first off, thanks to everyone who stopped by to comment on our book giveaway here at the blog, oron Facebook, or even via direct email, an option a few of you chose. I've assigned y'all numbers and am going to fire up the ol'random number generator in a minute. Isn't it exciting when I do this in Real Time?Yeah, so ok, I guess if I don't hit "publish" until the whole post is written, you're not reading this yet, so it's more like Surreal Time, but work with me here.But before I spin the Big Virtual Interweb Roulette Wheel, I just want to acknowledge all the awesome mothers out there, my own and everyo...
Source: Cranky Fitness - May 15, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Why We Overeat and How to Stop: Book Giveaway!
image:clipartfestBy Crabby McSlackerDoes anyone else out there struggle with eating too much, or eating the wrong things, or not feeling sufficiently motivated to exercise?Even those of us with fancy degrees and initials after our names, who've studied this stuff extensively for decades and know exactly what we should be doing... we often screw it up just as badly as anyone else does. We may even be in the "healthy weight" range, yet only manage it with much unnecessary angst, inconsistency, martyrdom, acting out, and ill-tempered griping.So WTF is up with that? Why can't our highly evolved brains save us from self-de...
Source: Cranky Fitness - May 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Mystery Trip!
By Crabby McSlackerSo one might wonder: where the hell did the Crab go? She barely got back to blogging before skipping town yet again, not managing even one meager blog post in the last two weeks. And sorry, this is one of those disjointed rambles accompanied by random photos. Longtime readers may recall this is customary after I come back from a trip having left half my brain cells behind.Anyway, we actually went to a couple of different destinations...These Vagabond Shoes...One of the places where they're always longin' to stray, well it's not all that mysterious, it's New York City. Short visit this time but a bla...
Source: Cranky Fitness - May 1, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Forest Bathing and Awkward Anniversarys
photo: pixabayBy Crabby McSlackerYep, Today Cranky Fitness is 10 years old.Holy crap, right? It's hard to believe. How could such a half-assed enterprise have endured an entire decade?The quick answer is of course: it hasn't. Not really. That's why it's an awkward anniversary. I've taken huge breaks, wandered away, reappeared, disappeared again, and generally gotten shockingly irresponsible about bloggingBut hey... somehow the blog is still here!So you may have questions: what does the blog anniversary have to do with Forest Bathing? What the hellis forest bathing? And will this post contain any gratuitous nudity...
Source: Cranky Fitness - April 15, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
On the Road Again...
By Crabby McSlackerAre you ready for a blog post chock full of healthy travel tips, amusing anecdotes, surprising discoveries, inspiring advice, and breathtaking photos of scenery and wildlife?Oops, sorry! You probably want to type a different URL up there in your search bar. Did you not realize this was Cranky Fitness?As it happens, I've done some decent "on the road" posts before, both of the "holy crap look how pretty this is" variety, as well as the "here's how to exercise at gas stations even if people think you're a psycho" kind. But we've only got a brief layover on this, our eleven thousandth cross-country sc...
Source: Cranky Fitness - April 3, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Exercise Motivation, The Weird Way
image:flikrDo you look forward to a strenuous workout?If so, congratulations! But the rest of what follows may seem like incomprehensible gibberish to you. If you don't need to twist your brain into pretzel-like configurations in order to motivate yourself to exercise: you are free to resume websurfing. Enjoy a few more videos of rhinos cuddling with meekrats, or watch with terrified fascination as the next Trumpian plans for the apocalypse are announced. Google up a tasty gluten-free avocado brownie recipe! Or hell, go out and run a marathon and follow it up with a nice little nap.There all sorts of healthy ways to motiva...
Source: Cranky Fitness - March 28, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
High Heels: WTF, Ladies?
image:maxpixelBy Crabby McSlackerThere are some ways in which I definitely have a girl brain, not a boy brain. But in other ways, I am a dude. I sometimes find my own gender to be an alien species, incomprehensible in its motivations and reasoning and habits. (For a more complete elucidation of my cluelessness about female behavior, I wrote a much longer post years ago aboutWomen and the Quest for Beauty. Like so many ancient Cranky Fitness posts, it lingers undisturbed in the archives, gathering dust and long forgotten, yet it's better than the stuff I write now. Which makes me a little sad. Though not sad ...
Source: Cranky Fitness - March 19, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Your First Colonoscopy! What to Expect
Whee! Time for a Tube Up Your Tuchus!image:wikimedia commonsBy Crabby McSlackerSo, some perspective here: for people with serious illnesses who've been through hardcore, painful, debilitating, invasive medical procedures? A colonoscopy is probably child's play. (Although let's be clear, that's just an expression. If your child actually plays this way? We need to talk).But for most people, there's at least a little trepidation. And for many, if statistics are to be believed, that fear is significant enough to skip the procedure entirely! Well sure, it could save your life and all, but really? Do you have to?There are actual...
Source: Cranky Fitness - March 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Should You Get a Tattoo? The Great Tattoo Experiment
By Crabby McSlackerYou don't generally "experiment" with getting a tattoo. That's what makes getting one such a badass thing to do. Whether you're rational and level-headed when that needle hits your arm, or whether you're insensibly infatuated with a new romantic partner, drunk off your ass, bitter about some undeserved setback, or just feeling full of life and tired of being so "sensible" all the time, it doesn't matter: you just signed up for a lifelong commitment. (Or an expensive and painful removal process).Holy crap, right? That's why I've always admired the courage of people with tattoos. Like the fabulously unapol...
Source: Cranky Fitness - March 5, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Is Winter Actually the BEST Time to Train Outdoors?
Guest Post by Lisa Green with Intro by Crabby McSlackerYou see the happy face of the winter exerciser pictured above? That's your first clue Crabby McSlacker didn't write this post. She is a cowardlysnowbird who flees to warmer climates when it gets cold. And she figured a winter picture of her exercising while holding a pina colada on a beach lined with palm trees might not be all that motivating to people in more northerly climates. (Though hell, with this winter's weird weather, you too may be donning your swimsuits and reaching for tropical cocktails).But guess what? It turns out outdoor cold-weather exercising co...
Source: Cranky Fitness - February 26, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
The Snowbird Lifestyle: Healthy Anti-Aging Solution or Horrifying Misadventure?
photo:wikimediaBy Crabby McSlackerSo what's a snowbird? (Besides, apparently, a ski resort in Utah?)I'll offer one definition of a snowbird:a species of silver-crested North American, usually of advancing years, that migrates annually for the winter from colder northern climates to warmer southern ones. Best known for upsetting local ecosystems and annoying year-round inhabitants.Regular readers may be aware that my wife (aka "The Lobster") and I are a couple of those dreaded snowbirds. Yet: we are not all that old. Nor, we hope, are we all that annoying.And it's not just us: Snowbirds seem to be getting younger. Maybe it'...
Source: Cranky Fitness - February 20, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Pono Board Review (and Discount)
By Crabby McSlacker What exactly is a Pono Board? Do you surf on it? Fling it? Predict the future by letting ancient Hawaiian spirits telepathically move aqua-colored balls around on its sleek wooden surface until your destiny is revealed?Nope, it's none of these things. A Pono Board is a kinder, gentlerbalance board that can be used to add a bit of instability to various exercises in a way that is mercifully unlikely to send you sprawling on your face in an ignominious heap of kluzitude.Ta da!According to The Pono People, it was designed to feel like a beach workout, actively engaging the core, but not too difficult.But t...
Source: Cranky Fitness - February 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
