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After not working out for quite some time, I forgot to take a few precautions during my first day running. About a mile and a half into my run, my man-boobs felt quite uncomfortable. Chafing. Nipple burn. Sweat rash. Runner’s rash. Call it what you want.

Runners have to deal with it since it’s quite easy for skin to vigorously rub against your clothing and other parts of your body when running. It’s irritating like hell and for extreme cases, quite painful. Here are some ways you can deal with it:

1. Invest in dry-fit apparel and/or spandex. Spandex (like compression shorts) can act like a “second” skin to protect areas like thighs from rubbing vigorously against looser clothing (running shorts).

2. Apply Vaseline (petroleum jelly) or Body Glide over the area. You can do this even before running to prevent your skin from chafing. Vaseline works too to sooth chafed areas.

3. Apply talcum powder. Chafing is aggravated by excessive sweating. Try to stay dry. Anti-perspirants might make areas more prone to sensitivity though. Use powder instead (talc, corn startch).

4. Keep yourself hydrated. If you’re not hydrated enough, your sweat might contain a higher concentration of salt. Once this accumulates on your skin, you’re more likely to chafe.

Tags: exercise, Fitness, Jogging, Running, Weight Loss

I used to never pay attention that much to gearing up when it comes to athletic activity having had this notion that it’s more with the athlete and not the gear. That’s why I usually just pick the most economical shoes off the rack not until I started developing knee problems did I consider getting expert advice.

That’s when I found out that I’m practically destroying my knees wearing the wrong kind of shoes. People have different foot types and, if you’re jogging and running, you better get one. Foot type determines the way your foot distributes weight in a cycle of a gait (pronation). If you happen to over- or under-pronate (often times easily addressed by the proper shoes), it can damage your feet, knees and legs .

You can check your foot type by a simple wet test. Simply dampen your soles and step on a sheet of paper (see picture). The mark it leaves on the paper can tell you your foot type. As for what they mean.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Athletics, Fitness, Foot Type, Jogging, Running, Shoes, Weight Loss

There’s a point in any fat man’s life when he says enough is enough. That being out of shape sucks and it’s about time there’s something done about it. Due to living a sedentary lifestyle, I’ve reached a grotesque 31 BMI meaning I have to lose around 60 lbs to be fit again. That high of a BMI carries a high risk of heart disease and other obesity-related issues like diabetes.

To lose weight at a better rate, I needed a fat-busting regimen to get rid of unsightly love handles and man-boobs. Here’s an experiment I’m willing to take myself: 30 days of trying to get back into shape through dieting and exercise.

My exercise of choice – jogging. For one, I’m not really a big fan of the gym and not everyone has that much money to spare given this economy. Jogging’s relatively a cheaper way to exercise Besides, I’m no stranger to athletic activity, having played varsity soccer during my younger years. I find jogging quite challenging and even at a slow pace of 4 to 5 mph, I’m bound to burn calories.

So here’s my initial battle plan:
1. Jog 30 minutes a day
2. Consume just 1700 calories a day

Doing the math, I’m supposed to lose 4-5 lbs after a month. Let’s see where this takes me.

Tags: exercise, Fitness, Jogging, Weight Loss

We’re bringing Healthacker back and for this stint, we’ll be focusing on getting back into shape.

Web work has been poplar these days. For us writers/bloggers, we practically spend most of our work hours sitting in front of a computer monitor. Needless to say, there’s little room for physical activity save since it’s mostly the hands and fingers that do most of the physical work.

For those of us who work from home, physical activity is even lessened since there’s no fussing about for the daily commute. That basically means that we’re more susceptible to health risks brought about a sedentary lifestyle such as obesity and cardiovascular problems.

Recent research has revealed that the problems brought about by the lifestyle can be just as dangerous as those caused by smoking. And it’s easy to contract them.

If you are overweight, lack energy, and have difficulty breathing, suffer from chest pains and headaches then you better check with your health professional. Mind you that cardiovascular problems are oftentimes asymptomatic and symptoms only become noticeable when the problem’s already worse.

Doctors often just prescribe lifestyle change if the problems are just starting.

Tags: health, Hypertension, Lifestyle, Risks, Sedentary

The use of chewing tobacco and snuff has risen in the last year in American adolescent boys.

The propensity of using smokeless tobacco is particularly high in rural and farming areas, a report filed on Thursday by a federal agency revealed.

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows a 30% increase of smokeless tobacco usage in boys aged 12 to 17, while the use by adults has generally remained the same.

Use of these

The use of such smokeless tobacco products increases the risk of oral cancer as well as heart disease and stroke. It leads to nicotine addiction just like cigarette smoking.

Tags: smokeless tobacco

If you have dry skin, don’t waste your time and money at the Mac counter, instead just grab some EVOO.

Yes, that’s right, extra virgin olive oil.  It’s affordable, it’s available everywhere and it will certainly calm your dry skin and even take off your makeup with ease.

When it’s time for bed, simply take a swab with a dash of olive oil and coat whatever areas are more dry.  Be sure to always test your skin for allergies on new products, it’s best to test your jawline to make sure the olive oil will not break you out or cause a rash.

If applying just a night isn’t doing the trick, apply the same method in the morning and you will be on your way to a more moisturized you.

Tags: evoo, extra virgin olive oil, natural moisturizers

As grocery store chains across the country try to keep up with the competition by offering free or inexpensive antibiotics, the cost actually might end up being high.

Pharmacies such as Krogers or Publix have been offering free or cheap antibiotics in order to keep up with the Joneses, Wal-Mart specifically.  But will this new marketing scheme encourage misuse and abuse of the medicine?

Five of the large U.S. retailers have apparently received letters from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioning pharmacies that giving away antibiotics will lead to the rise of ore drug-resistant bugs.

Dr. Lauri Hicks of the CDC states, “We were a little alarmed, especially when they suggested they’d be doing it during cold and flu season.”

“We know that antibiotics aren’t effective for cold and flu. We don’t want to perpetuate the idea that they are.”

How are your local pharmacy chains handling this situation?

Tags: antibiotics, kroger, pharmacy, publix, wal-mart

A review of Procter & Gamble’s Intrinsa testosterone patches have found that the patches do not boost a woman’s sex drive after menopause.

Currently Intrinsa is licensed in Europe, though not in the U.S., where regulators voted against appoving the patch for use in 2004.

The editor of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, Ike Iheanacho states, “The published evidence so far is based on highly selected women and only shows small improvements in sexual parameters and large placebo responses.” 

What are you doing to boost your desire after menopause?

Tags: Intrinsa testosterone patches, Procter & Gamble, Women's Health

Over 200 families have tried it.  All you have to do is pay Atlas Sports Genetics $149 and you too can find out if your child will be more apt at running or swimming.

Parents are now able to test their children for their DNA profile in order to see their athletic potential.

Parents Hilary and Aaron Anderson had their daughter Ava to see what her athletic career might hold.  All they had to do is use a home-analysis kit provided by Atlas Sports Genetics and brush the inside of Ava’s cheeks with a swab, seal it up, mail it off and wait for the genetic results.

How do you feel about this method?

Tags: Atlas Sports Genetics, children

As the hours wear down, the worries increase as the search for missing NFL players continues.

Two National Football League players and another man went missing over the weekend when their boat was capsized off the Florida coast.  The odds of survival after two days in the water is minimal, although for their size and health, the ability to fend of hypothermia gives people hope.

The search for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, defensive lineman Corey Smith, 29 and former South Florida player William Bleakley continued Monday after former University of South Florida Nick Schuyler was found alive.

 Coast Guard officials would not speculate on the chances of the other men’s survival. 

Petty Officer Robert Simpson stated, “With all of these men being past, present football players, they do have a much larger physique than a lot of people.”

“So their odds are going to be definitely in their favor.”

Tags: health, hypothermia, missing players, nfl