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  Many people think of it as purely a lat exercise, but when performed correctly, it trains your entire back as well as your arms, shoulders, forearms, and abs.  As you’d expect, this makes the pull-up quite difficult, which is why completing your first is a major early milestone in your fitness journey.  The pull-up is also considered one of the best tests of upper body strength by everyone from your high school gym teacher to military drill instructors. Simply put, the ability to do a set of pull-ups with proper form is a badge of honor even among other...

With spring in full swing and summer right around the corner, beach weather is nearly upon us. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has kept so many of us indoors for the past year, slowly but surely dissipates, making a safe trip to the beach not only appealing but imminent. If your fitness routine has taken a bit of a backseat with gyms closed and working out at home often difficult, you might be less-than-enthused about the state of your body. Shedding that “quarantine 15” will be hard work, but with the right mindset and exercises, you can rebuild your regimen in...

One of the biggest challenges in shopping is finding clothes that flatter your body shape. We all know that weight fluctuations can make our faces look very different, but the fundamental bone structure that determines body shape will not change. There are five basic categories of women’s body shapes, give and take some variations. Just like color preferences and personal style, most of us are combinations of these archetypes. But, by recognizing and paying attention to your dominant shape, you can greatly improve your chances of choosing the clothing items that will flatter your figure and enhance your natural shape...

s. There is no chore too boring, no job too big, and no task too great for folks who rely on their packs to get them through the day, and they will stop at nothing for any improvement, for any enhancement or any advantage. This is all entirely reasonable, as the backpack is essential for any outdoor activity more demanding than a pleasurable stroll across the prairie. Accordingly, everybody has heard the same, old, tired advice by now on reducing weight, packing properly and choosing the right bag in the first place. It is time to step your game up...

Fitness vs. Fatness (Part 2) Last week, we commenced a survey of the early years of animation’s love affair with the budding fad of exercise and fitness programs, mostly promoting the healthy values of such endeavors, despite several of its participating characters coming out of such experiences as a total wreck. By the mid 1930’s, a counter-side began to rise in several animation quarters, resulting in a short flurry of several cartoons finding their humor in onscreen exhibitions of the results of massive calorie ingestion and voracious appetites. This week’s fare will thus present the flip-side of the immortal question,...