Another in a series of peeks into your exercise options. It was a thing of beauty in an evening otherwise dominated by sweat and missteps. Two women stood facing one another, red vinyl body bags on their left and right. On cue, they began punching the bags with side kicks – left foot/right, left foot/right, left foot/right. After less than a half dozen kicks, they were in synch. Bam! Bam!…

There’s something no-nonsense about a piece of workout equipment that looks like it should be hanging in a medieval dungeon. It involves lots of stretching, a good deal of hanging as well. And your body will certainly feel the effects. Torture? Depends upon your perspective. All that swam through my head as personal trainer Larisa Lotz walked me into one of the side fitness rooms at Seaboard Fitness in downtown…

Yesterday I felt like getting in a good, full-body, no-nonsense workout. So I raked the yard. Raking leaves used to be a Rockwellian pursuit epitomizing fall in America. A time when we rolled up our flannel sleeves, grabbed the Yo-Ho and dedicated ourselves to a Saturday in the yard. For weeks, it seemed a pointless task: Rake a bunch of leaves, a bunch more would fall. But we persevered until…

Why put up with the hassles of traffic and pay $10 — the going rate based on a drive-by survey of Thursday evening’s State Fair preview — for premium parking to this year’s N.C. State Fair, which opens today and runs through Oct. 25, when you can park for free and encounter zero traffic?  And, you get a 2.7-mile (one way) nature hike to boot. Here’s the deal: The deal:…