Blog Posts by SHAPE magazine

by Danielle McNally for SHAPE.com

Do this move for perfect postureSpend all day at a desk and your posture can slip in Quasimodo territory. To counteract the slump, strengthen your rhomboids-upper back muscles that run from your spine to your scapula and help move your shoulder blades-with this proven move:

Seated Row (pictured above)
Works Upper back, shoulders, arms

1. Sit on the floor, legs extended in front of you. Wrap a resistance band around your feet and grasp each end, palms facing each other.

2. Bend arms and draw hands towards sides, elbows pointing behind you [shown]. Return to starting position. Do 3 sets of 12 reps.

More on SHAPE:
8 Reasons to Lift Heavier Weights
Trainers Reveal: "The Best Abs Exercises of All Time"
The Ultimate Strength Workout for Runners
What's Your Reason to Be Fit?

by Abigail Libers for SHAPE.com

Have more sex tonight! Getting busy with your guy is an excellent idea-and not just because it's fun (although that's a pretty good reason too). Being sexually active also helps beef up your immunity, fight stress, reduce pain, and strengthen your relationship. But if you're like two-thirds of women, you're taking advantage of this health and happiness boost only once a week at most, according to a survey commissioned by the nonprofit organization HealthyWomen.

The question is, why aren't you getting more action? We asked experts about the excuses they hear most often-and what you can do to heat things up between the sheets.



RELATED: 7 Tips for Your Best Orgasm Ever

1. "I'm exhausted!" "The most frequent complaint in my office is fatigue," says Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University college of physicians and Surgeons. Carving out more time for sleep will obviously help, but so can hitting the gym. "You'll feel more

by Charlotte Andersen for SHAPE.com

These foods are healthy, but come with some weird side effects. Plus, one isn't just weird...it's downright scary!

Cilantro1. Cilantro: Often called the Great Cilantro Divide in culinary circles, people generally either love cilantro or they hate it-as in, they describe the herb as "smelling like death," "eating hand sanitizer," and "gargling with Palmolive." So why does cilantro taste superb to some but soap-like to others? While genetics may play a part-identical twins often rate cilantro the same way-the big difference is how sensitive your nose is, according to Dr. Danielle Reed, a scientist from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

People who love cilantro are apparently able to smell a compound in the fragrant herb that haters cannot. Plus, those repulsed by cilantro can keenly smell the unsaturated aldehydes that give it that soapy scent.


RELATED: 7 Foods a Nutritionist Would Never Eat


Asparagus2. Asparagus: If you smell a funky odor in the

by Cynthia Sass for SHAPE.com

The dangers of excess belly fatYou've probably heard that your belly is the most dangerous place to carry excess fat because of its link to health risks . It's true, and now new research from the Mayo Clinic reveals that being normal weight with excess belly fat is even more risky than simply qualifying as obese. In other words, your waistline matters-a lot.

The study looked at a representative sample of the US population, which included more than 12,000 subjects ages 18 years and older. Through surveys, various facts were collected, including height, weight, waist and hip measurements, socioeconomic status, illnesses, and lab tests. That baseline data was matched to the National Death Index about 14 years later, and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer were excluded from the analysis.

RELATED: 10 Moves for a Flat Stomach

Scientists found that subjects with normal BMIs who were apple shaped (a high waist-to-hip ratio) were more likely to

by Alanna Nuñez for SHAPE.com

RihannaAre you tough enough to serve in the military? To get in fighting shape for summer blockbuster hit Battleship, superstar singer Rihanna had to be! While on set, she worked with a nutritionst, a personal trainer , and former Navy officer Jacqueline Carrizosa in order to realistically portray Petty Officer Cora Raikes. We managed to snag a few minues with Carrizosa, and she gave us the workout moves she used to help whip Rihanna into shape.

Carrizosa wasn't in charge of Rihanna's day-to-day workouts-the singer also had a personal trainer and nutritionist on set-but she did act as a consultant since she's served in the military.

"We did the basics like push-ups, pull-ups, and crunches," she says. "Those moves are good for anyone, even if you don't have a lot of time to get in shape."

RELATED: 9 Celebs Who Got Fit Fighting

But the real move that Carrizosa swears by? Military 8 counts! Also known as the 8 count body builder pushup, this

by Jene Luciani for SHAPE.com

Have your healthy eating habits gone too far?Striving to be a healthy eater seems good for you, especially when you're cutting out things like added sugars and adding more fresh veggies. But some people go to such extremes to clean up their diets that they develop an eating disorder called orthorexia nervosa.

"A person with orthorexia almost obsessively eats only certain foods that they've deemed to be 'healthy' and won't touch anything else," says Jennifer Lombardi, executive director at Summit Eating Disorders, a partner of the Eating Recovery Center in Denver, Colorado. "The initial intention of the person is to become healthier by eating higher-quality and 'purer' foods, but she takes this to extremes, and it spirals out of control, leading to poor health, dangerously low body weight, injury, or illness."

RELATED: The Healthier Way to Try Quick-Fix Weight-Loss Strategies

Unfortunately orthorexia is harder to identify than disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. "One major

by SHAPE Diet Doctor Mike Roussell, phD.

Greek yogurtRaise your hand if you love Greek yogurt! We do, too. But a big question we hear from readers is, which is better--nonfat Greek yogurt or full-fat Greek yogurt? Either version is a good food for weight loss, but with some experts recommending nonfat and others recommending the full-fat version, we know it can be hard to decide which type is right for you.

So we went to SHAPE's diet doctor, Mike Roussell, phD, to get his opinion. Here's what he had to say:

The major difference between full-fat Greek yogurt and fat-free Greek yogurt is the milk used during production: The full-fat version is made with whole milk, while the fat-free is made with skim milk. Nutritionally their fat content makes them very different, and while neither one is bad for you, there are situations when one is going to be a better choice than the other.

RELATED: 10 Healthy Recipes Using Greek Yogurt

First let's look at the nutritional breakdown of 1 cup of Fage's Total

by Jay Cardiello for SHAPE.com

Get fit with fido!Each day I am awoken by my dog, Sofie. She is my energetic, tail-wagging cheerleader who gets me up faster and with more of a jolt than any Starbucks house blend coffee could ever serve. With leash in hand and Sofie literally pulling me out the door, we sprint across the road to our local park. There, we play a serious game of fetch that raises my spirits and leaves us both winded.

Quite often, dogs are our motivators for getting up and at it, and now they are being recognized as our training partners too. Just last year, researchers from Michigan State University reported that dog owners get, on average, 30 more minutes of physical exercise per week than individuals who do not own dogs and that 60 percent of dog owners actually meet the federal recommendations for moderate exercise. Likewise, a study at the University of Missouri illustrated that dogs are better exercise companions than humans. Think about it. I cannot remember the last time