I wrote the following story for the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer in Raleigh; it appeared in both newspapers on Sept. 20, 2011. It appears here in expanded form, with links. Check out yesterday’s post for a first-hand account of the CXWORX class. If you don’t like the lineup of group exercise classes at your health club, wait a month or two. Odds are you’ll see some new…

On Saturday’s 6-mile training hike for October 1’s Ultimate Hike, I was asked to clarify the weekly training schedule. “On Monday, it says to cross-train. What would qualify as cross-training?” Something other than hiking that will build your strength, build your cardio, I answered. I ran through a litany of options, from riding a bike, to taking a yoga class to lifting weights. But I missed some obvious ones. Like…

I originally wrote the following story for The Charlotte Observer, where it ran on Tuesday, July 13.  Yesterday, I posted a similar story that ran July 13 in The News & Observer of Raleigh. Back in the spring, Andy Cole would have been happy to just keep up with his 5-year-old and almost 2-year-old at the local playground, let alone squat-lift 285 pounds and run two miles without stopping. The…

I originally wrote the following story for The News & Observer, where it ran on Tuesday, July 13.  Saturday, I’ll post a similar story that ran July 13 in the Charlotte Observer. It helped Josh Handest train for a half marathon. It was even more instrumental in getting him into shape to keep up with his preschool sons. “My 4-year-old likes being picked up and tossed around,” says the 36-year-old…