Blog Posts by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

You don't need to wear workout gear to do these moves at your desk.Inspired by the Olympics, award-winning fitness expert Ilyse Baker of FitnessGlo has come up with five easy-to-do exercises that working moms can do right at their desks. The moves help strengthen your arms, shore up your core, and tone your legs, all without leaving your cubicle.

Related: Little tricks that make working out a lot easier

For those of us who still can't figure out how to properly work in a workout, quick hits like these are fantastic. Recent studies indicate that spending your days glued to your desk chair can shave years off your life, linking a sedentary lifestyle to higher risks of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. But 30 minutes worth of exercise each day can make a huge difference -- and that half-hour chunk can be broken up into three 10-minute workouts and still be just as effective, another study shows.

But the best part about these at-your-desk exercises? We can even multitask while doing some of them.

Take a look:



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Jack Ariola Erenberg, 9, died of a rare brain infection caused by a microscopic amoeba. When you're lounging at a local beach or swimming in a freshwater lake, you're hoping to beat the heat, not worrying about getting sick. But parasites and microbes can lurk in the sediment and, when the heat is high and the water levels low, the risk of infection skyrockets. Last week, 9-year-old Jack Ariola Erenberg was swimming in the warm waters of Lily Lake near his home in Stillwater, Minnesota. Days later he was dead, his brain ravaged by primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, an infection caused by a microscopic amoeba.

"It was just a fluke. You can't keep kids off a beach; what the hell are you supposed to do?" his father, Jim Ariola, told the Pioneer Press. "He loved going swimming. He was a great brother, great son."

Related: Summer safety: How to protect your child from drowning

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, is extremely rare -- only 123 cases have been recorded in the United States since 1962, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Aurora Jewell, Mandi Moshay and Kirsten Dees hold up signs outside at a Planned Parenthood in Seattle, Washington. (Photo: Stephen Brashear/Getty)Six months after the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided would stop funding Planned Parenthood -- and then quickly reversed itself after angering people on both sides of the abortion debate -- founder Nancy G. Brinker is stepping down as CEO of the breast cancer charity.

Related: Planned Parenthood decision puts spotlight on Susan G. Komen's politics

She will take on a new role focusing on fundraising, strategy, and company growth once a new CEO is in place, the company said in a statement late Wednesday.

"I was asked by the Board in 2009 to assume the CEO role," Brinker said. "Three years into that role, and 32 years after my promise to my sister to end breast cancer, I want now to focus on Susan G. Komen's global mission and raising resources to bring our promise to women all around the world."

Brinker's departure isn't the only top-level change. President Liz Thompson will be leaving the organization sometime in September to "pursue other opportunities," and board members Brenda

It costs a lot to get those back-to-school items.It seems like every big-name store is having a back-to-school sale right now, and for the 43 percent of parents who put off back-to-school shopping until the last minute, it's tempting to hit up the nearest big-box store and call it done. But some places offer better bargains than others, so in an effort to help you keep your costs down (who really wants to spend $500 or more on supplies and clothing?) Yahoo! Shine did a little digging to find out where the bargains are.

Related: Back-to-school trends for 2012-2013: Stainless steel, glitzy accessories, superheroes, and iPads

Backpacks
Toys r Us has a great deal on backpacks -- buy one character-themed bag for $14.99 to $17.99 and get a free lunch kit. But be warned: a more-expensive bag may save you more money in the long run. Lands End, LL Bean, and Jansport all offer lifetime guarantees on their backpacks, which means that if something rips or wears out they'll replace it for free. (If a bargain backpack tears mid-school year,

Are parents harming kids by focusing on the wrong definition of success?No matter your socioeconomic status, as parents you want your kids to have a better life than you do. But instead of launching a generation of happy young adults who feel driven to succeed, parents who are hyper-focused on doing everything "right" have created a country full of kids who are stressed-out, burned-out, and depressed. According to psychologist and author Madeline Levine, "Our current version of success is a failure."

Related: Stress Alters Kids' Genes, Study Finds

In her new book, "Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success," Levine says that parents are preoccupied with "a narrow and shortsighted vision of success," and that we rely on our kids to "provide status and meaning in our own lives." It's a harmful combination, weighing kids down with serious issues -- "stress, exhaustion, depression, anxiety, poor coping skills, and unhealthy reliance on others for support and direction, and a weak sense of self," Levine says -- when we should be trying to teach

Megumi Morita and Minato Kojima of Japan compete in the the Standard-Tango of the Dance Sports at the Zengcheng Gymnasium during the 16th Asian Games Guangzhou 2010. (Photo: Feng Li/Getty Images) Thanks to TV shows like "Dancing with the Stars" and movies like "Strictly Ballroom," most people think of ballroom dancing as a drama-fueled diversion where women wear swirling skirts or skimpy outfits as they're led around the stage by gorgeous guys. But in addition to grace and finesse, it also requires flexibility, endurance, and physical strength. In fact, there's an entire division of ballroom dancing where the competitors are considered athletes: DanceSport. And it's been recognized by the International Olympic Committee since 1997.

But in spite of the recognition -- it was featured in the closing ceremony at the 2000 games in Syndey, Australia -- DanceSport has yet to be included as a medaled event in the Olympics.

"Dance is a workout in disguise," Louis Van Amstel, a dance coach on "Dancing with the Stars" and the creator of LaBlast dance-based workout system, told Yahoo! Shine in an interview. A three-time world ballroom dancing champion, Van Amstel lifts weights and leads

Summer Sanders is no stranger to celebrity. A champion swimmer with four Olympic medals who has forged a successful career as a TV host and sports commentator, Sanders is used to being in rare company. Still, spending the day with first lady Michelle Obama and sitting with her to cheer for the USA Swim Team on the first day of the 2012 London Olympics was definitely a highlight.

"To walk in with the first lady of the United States was pretty awesome," she told Yahoo!. "It was surreal in a way, because it was such a huge moment for me...I was almost pinching myself that I was walking in with the first lady."

Related: More Olympic coverage at Yahoo! Sports

After spending the day together on July 28, "We went and sat down in our seats, and then it became like a fun session for me, sort of teaching her about swimming," says Sanders, who is also the Olympic swimming analyst for Yahoo! Sports. She introduced the first lady to some of the "Who's Who" of the Olympic swimming world, and then

Why are people so focused on Gabby Douglas' hair?Gabby Douglas is proudly representing her country in the Olympics. She's poised under pressure, performing gravity-defying athletic feats in front of an international audience. She's 16 and the second female African American U.S. gymnast to ever make the team. But instead of lauding her achievements, some people are slamming her for... not getting her hair done.

Related: Raising an Olympian: Gabby Douglas

Photo: Twitter

Seriously? Douglas is an incredible athlete. When you're doing something like this on a 3.9-inch wide wooden beam set four feet above the ground, the last thing you're worrying about is your hair.

Gabby Douglas dominates on the balance beam, Thursday, Aug. 2. (Photo: Getty Images/Streeter Lecka)

Some critics insist that Douglas needs to properly represent the African American community, and how her hair looks is part of that. And yet, most of the negative comments about her hair are coming from other African Americans.
Photo: Twitter
"I find it sad that I have seen more Black women post criticizing comments about Gabby's hair than I have comments of praise about her athleticism or adding