4 Ways to Get Rid of Back Fat

You use your back muscles in almost everything you do–are you giving them enough attention? Building and maintaining strong back muscles can help relieve and prevent back pain, improve posture, and help you get that toned silhouette that looks fantastic in a sundress. We’ve covered shoulders and arms, now it’s time to get “back” into shape.

1. Plank-to-Row. Get into a pushup position with a weight in each hand (pick a dumbbell that fits your fitness level). Next, place all of your weight on your left arm, picking up your right arm to your side, holding the dumbbell. Keep your abs engaged the entire time, and make sure your hips are squared to the ground. Go for 10-12 reps before repeating on the other side. As you get stronger you can use heavier weights.

2. Inverted Modified Row. You’ll need a secure bar that you can hang under from. With your feet on the ground, knees at 90 degrees and back straight, as shown. Keeping your core tight, pull up with your arms to lift your chest to the bar, hold for 2, then lower back to start. Aim for 3 sets of 10-12 reps. As you get stronger, you can try to walk your feet out into a straight line in front of you.

3. Reverse Fly. Try these with a small weight of 2-5 pounds (whichever is most comfortable.) Sit on the edge of a chair (or exercise ball if you have one available) and lean forward from your waist, keeping your back straight. Your arms should be relaxed, palms facing each other, holding the weights. Next, raise your arms up and out until your weights are at shoulder height. Return to start and do 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

4. Pull Ups. Hands down, this is the greatest exercise to strengthen your upper back. Because it’s so challenging, I recommend using a band to assist you. Take a circle resistance band and loop it around the top of your pull up bar, and wrap it around your feet, as shown in the picture. Pull yourself up, hold for 2 seconds, then slowly lower yourself back down. Do as many reps as possible. If you can only do one or two that’s fine, just increase by one every week and you’re on your way.

Bonus tip: If you’re just starting out and don’t have weights available, full water bottles or cans can be a substitute. The important thing is to get moving!

10 Themed Races to Make Getting In Shape Fun

Fun runs to make racing enjoyable

Exercise doesn’t have to be boring – at least that’s the theory behind the plethora of fun runs popping up across the country. Attracting runners with light-hearted themes, many of these promise participants a good time with a good dose of exercise. So whether you prefer being chased by zombies or dancing away a 5k, here are 10 runs to get you off the couch and back in shape.


Run For Your Lives

Started by two Walking Dead fans, Run For Your Lives is a 5,000 meter course featur- ing obstacles, mud and–yes–zombies. Runners start the race with a flag football belt and three flags, and over the length of the run, zombies attempt to snatch the flags and deplete runners’“health.”The end of the race promises one of two medals – one for survivors and another for those who became infected. The race takes place in “infected” states across the U.S. with another course set in Canada this year.


The Color Run

The Color Run, which bills itself as “the happiest 5k on the planet,” splatters runners with different hues at each kilometer mark to make the course as colorful, and fun, as possible. Runners start the race with white shirts and race through clouds of colored powder along the way. Since it’s not as competitive as more traditional races, it tends to attract people looking for a fun time over a fast finish. “You just have to be able to go and accomplish it and have some fun,” says Janet Hamilton, an exercise physiologist with Running Strong.


5k Foam Festival

More than just a mud run, foam is scattered along this course, filling bounce houses and slathered on slides. “I think the biggest thing is for people to realize that these events need to be fun,” Hamilton says. And without any means of timing participants, the “race aspect” is eliminated, leaving participants free to simply enjoy the foam and mud, according to 5k Foam Fest spokeswoman Kara Vincent.


LivingSocial's 5k Dance Party

“With the emergence of electronic dance music and the popularity of 5ks, we thought it was time to take a fun and interactive glow-in-the-dark run on a nationwide tour,” says LivingSocial spokeswoman Elizabeth Hebda. Runners or dancers in this 5k need only wear black at the starting line – glowsticks and music will be provided. Waiting at the end of the course is a dance party for all participants, and tickets are available for spectators at specified locations.


Hero Rush

Hero Rush provides a four-mile course for runners who want to live out their childhood dream of being a firefighter. The race, which was created by firefighters and features firefighter-inspired obstacles – from sliding down poles to performing CPR on dummies – benefits charities like the National Firefighters Endowment.




Warrior Dash

This race boasts a course littered with 12 obstacles that force runners over fire, under logs and through mud – with the promise of a fuzzy Viking hat at the finish. Fuzzy hats aside, Hamilton cautions participants in races like these to take safety seriously. “There’s certainly some value to be had from being competitive and pushing yourself, but ultimately you’re doing this for the adventure and for the fun, and keep that in perspective,” she says


National Park Half Marathon

The inaugural race for this series took place in March outside Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah. Other races planned for this year are near Rocky Mountain National Park and Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which spans the border between Utah and Arizona. A Grand Canyon race is scheduled for 2014. These 13.1-mile runs are “cup-free,” and runners should come with their own hydration systems or use one of the provided hydration pouches.


Superhero Half Marathon

Ever wanted to run with Superman or Wonder Woman? Here’s your chance. This half-marathon race starts in Morris, N.J., and lets runners dress the part of their favorite superhero. And with a relay option, super teams are welcome as well – something that can make races like this more attractive. “I think a lot of it is just kind of the social aspect of you and your buddies going out and doing something that you never thought in your wildest dreams you could do,” Hamilton says.


runDisney Series

Runners can jog alongside their favorite animated characters at Disneyland and Disney World. The events include a variety of distances, from the diaper dash – a short crawling race for toddlers younger than a year old – at Disneyland, to a 5k family run in both parks, to the Disney World full marathon.





Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series

For the music junkie with an endorphin addiction, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series delivers. The race features a different band every mile, to help “celebrate the run and not just the finish,” according to the race’s website. Celebrating doesn’t end with the run, however – the finish line promises a post-race concert. And with a variety of distances and locations across the U.S. and internationally, getting into the marathon groove could be easier than ever.

The Best and Worst Fast-Food Gulps. Part 1

Stopping by the food court for a cool drink? We've decoded the best and worst fast-food refreshers.

Drive-thru drinks
Stopping by the food court for a cool drink? Check the menu or the vendor's website to see what's in a drink before you buy it—that innocent-looking plastic cup may blow your daily calorie budget. We ranked these picks, from awesome to awful.

Smoothie King
What: Smoothie King The Hulk Strawberry 20 oz.
Calories: 964
Fat: 32 grams

Starbucks
What: Starbucks Unsweetened Black Shaken iced tea lemonade 16 oz.
Calories: 45
Fat: 0 grams

Jamba Juice
What: Jamba Juice Orange Carrot Karma smoothie 16 oz.
Calories: 180
Fat: 0.5 grams

Orange Julius
What: Orange Julius Tripleberry Light smoothie 16 oz.
Calories: 210
Fat: 0 grams

Dairy Queen
What: Dairy Queen Mocha MooLatte 16 oz.
Calories: 690
Fat: 27 grams

13 Healthy Foods That Can Make You Fat

Some so­-called smart eats are just junk food in disguise. Cut back on them and your thighs will thank you.
Chips, gooey desserts, anything that starts with fried — you know to fight off these calorie cows with a stick. What's tricky is that some foods with famously healthy reputations are actually worse for your weight than the snacks in vending machines and drive-throughs. We fill you in on what they are and why they keep you from hitting that golden number on the scale.

Sushi Rolls
The veggies and seaweed wrap are low-cal, but a lot of the most popular rolls are slathered with cream cheese or mayo (e.g., in that spicy sauce that comes on many options), and the seafood inside may be tempura-battered. Thanks to those ingredients, a standard roll can clock in at 500 to 600 calories. Also, soy sauce is loaded with sodium. It won't make you gain weight, but it'll cause you to retain water, so your jeans will feel (and look) tighter.

Dried Fruit
Cup for cup, dried fruit has five to eight times more calories than the fresh kind because it has been dehydrated and is much denser. Fresh grapes, for example, have 60 calories per cup, while raisins have 460. And many brands add sugar, amping up the calorie count even more.

Granola
Since it's loaded with good-for-you nuts and oats, it's too bad that they add oil to make it crisp and tons of sugar for more yumminess. One bowl racks up around 500 calories. Other cereals with the same nutrients but less oil and sugar pack half that.

Bran Muffins
Whether it's plain bran or mixed with apples or bananas, the fiber fills you up, sure, but considering all the sugar and butter it delivers, a bran muffin is basically just a round slice of cake. One weighs in at about 20 grams of fat, 420 calories, and 34 grams of sugar.

Half-and-Half
You put so little into your coffee, it seems like a harmless way to get calcium — especially when compared to full-fat cream. But a few spoonfuls per cup of joe two or three times a day quickly turns into 200 or more calories plus the same amount of fat as a big pat of butter!

Wraps
No matter what you put in it, the average wrap is a major offender. If you roll it out, it can be 1 foot across — seriously — and pack up to 300 calories. Since the surface area is way bigger than two slices of bread, you coat it with a lot more mayo or dressing than you would a sub or sandwich.

Bottled Teas
Most store-bought brands are souped up with sugar or honey, which are crazy-caloric sweeteners. Oh, and one bottle can contain two or more servings, bringing the calorie count to almost 200 — similar to a bottle of soda.

Rice Cakes
These light snacks are fat-free and low in calories, but they're also completely lacking in fiber or protein — ingredients that experts say actually curb hunger. That means downing two or three won't do anything but add more calories to your daily total and leave you craving something with substance. And limit the flavored kinds — they don't satisfy you more and they tend to have lots of sugar or sodium.

Veggie Burgers
Sure, skipping beef in lieu of a meat-free patty may save you a little fat and cholesterol. But depending on the brand and what you put on it, you could easily end up housing more than 1,000 calories. The cheese that often binds the veggies together and the huge size of the burgers are anything but diet-friendly. Add a bun and some ketchup and you might as well have had the quarter-pounder.

Juice
Reaching your recommended daily fruit-serving goal by getting it in liquid form might be the reason you can't fit into last year's LBD. A 16-ounce bottle of OJ or apple juice has 55 grams of carbohydrates, the equivalent of five slices of bread. And most of that is sugar — a whopping 12 spoonfuls of it.

Diet Microwave Meals
The lean ready-to-eat dishes tend to be high in sodium — since the manufacturers can't rely on calorie-rich fat to make the stuff taste good, they resort to salt. As a result, scarfing them will make you retain water, especially in your arms and legs, leaving you puffy.

Salads
There's nothing better for you or your waist than naked veggies, but the shredded cheese, candied nuts, croutons, and globs of dressing often make salads as caloric as an oversize dish of pasta. And nutritionists are quick to point out that innocent-sounding vinaigrettes, though not as fattening as ranches, can be almost as high-cal.

Tofu
Order this health food at a restaurant and what you'll most likely get is a plateful of sodium, calories, saturated fat, and even sugar. Tofu itself isn't the issue — the problem is that the white stuff is so bland, it's often served doused in decadent sauces then deep-fried to give it flavor and texture, making it a diet disaster.