March 24, 2008

March 24, 2008

THE HEALTHY SKEPTIC

Aromatherapy is in your head, not your nose

The product: For better or worse, strong smells tend to grab our attention. The air hanging over a bakery can make us hungry, and the atmosphere around a locker room can make us question our dedication to fitness. The typical nose can discern about 10,000 different scents; clearly, we're wired to sniff our way through life.

March 24, 2008

GEAR

Flying on a 5-incher

Five inches. In the mountain-biking world, where the probability of enjoying a breathtaking descent is often measured by the distance your bike's wheels can compress, or "travel," when they hit a big rock, 5 inches of travel is way better than 3 or 4. Although 5 inches typically came on heavy, slow-climbing, 33-pound bikes, advances in suspension design and tubing fabrication have brought big travel to nimble, sub-30-pounders.

March 24, 2008

GOOD FORM

An exercise that'll work several muscle groups

Spice up your weight-training routine by working various muscle groups with a single exercise, like this one. Just remember to move slowly so that you don't rely on momentum to move your arms through the full range of motion.