Research Found the Quickest, Least Painful Way to Up Your Cardio

What are your most common reasons for missing your workout? Too busy? No money for a gym? No equipment? Too complicated? Too hard? We have good news—and not only do you not need to buy anything from an infomercial, but there's hard science showing it really works. What is this miracle workout? It's as simple as going up stairs.

Doing just a few minutes a day of intense stair-climbing offers many of the same heart-healthy benefits as taking a class at the gym or jogging around the block, according to a new study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. And you don't even need a fancy stair-climber machine—any old staircase will do.

Researchers recruited healthy but sedentary women to run up and down a staircase for short bursts—the first group did three sets of 20-second stair-climbing and a second group ran up and down the stairs for 60 seconds. Including a brief warm-up and cool-down, the women spent less than 10 minutes a day (about 30 minutes per week, total), exercising. Yet even though they worked out very little, they still experienced significant cardiovascular and respiratory improvements, the researchers found. It may sound too good to be true, but there's a lot of science to support this type of short-but-intense training.

The secret? Stair-climbing is a particularly effective form of interval training. High-intensity interval workouts have been a fitness darling for decades, offering a wide variety of health benefits. But previous research has tested interval training on equipment like treadmills or stationary bikes—which is great, if you have them. This new study, however, proves that the ordinary staircase going down to your basement or behind your office is every bit as good, not to mention way cheaper and easier to get to. Finding an hour to go to the gym, change, wait for equipment, exercise, shower, and drive home again is daunting for many people.

But who doesn't have two minutes to take a quick sprint up the stairs in between laundry trips? "Stair-climbing is a form of exercise anyone can do in their own home, after work, or during the lunch hour," said Martin Gibala, Ph.D., lead author and a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University, in a press release. "Interval training offers a convenient way to fit exercise into your life, rather than having to structure your life around exercise."

5 Best Free Apps To Reach New Year's Resolutions: Lose Weight, Increase Happiness And More

By  Abigail Elise

We’re barely into 2015, but many have undoubtedly compiled a list of resolutions that they hope to stick to this year – maybe lose a few pounds, snag a few more hours of sleep or eat a healthier diet. Though some of these may require some good old-fashioned willpower and planning, technology has made some of these tasks significantly easier, and there are a ton of apps that can help people reach their goals in no time. Check out our list below of the best apps to help reach and stick to New Year’s resolutions.

5. Pact

Like a personal trainer, Pact will make sure you don’t skip your daily workouts. Users commit to exercising a certain number of times per week, and if they miss a day money will be subtracted from their credit card or Paypal accounts. Payouts are small, but consistent gym-goers can expect to earn a little extra cash if they don’t skip. Users can also participate in challenges that encourage them to eat more vegetables or keep a food diary, two factors that scientists believe contribute to lasting weight loss.

4. Mint

Those who hope to get their finances on track should download Mint. The personal finance app allows users to place all of their bank accounts, credit card information and student loan data in one place. Users can track where they spend most of their hard-earned cash, and the app will also allow them to set budgets on different categories of spending – clothing, dining out, groceries, etc. Mint will alert has alters if users go over their spending limit. It will also help identify patterns in spending, as well as help users discover what their financial priorities are.

3. Sleepbot

Don’t want to purchase an expensive sleep tracker? Sleepbot is a free app for Android and Apple smartphones that monitors sleep patterns – a virtual sleep journal. Sleepbot even has sound and motion recording that allows users to fully understand what wakes them up at 3 a.m. or why they toss and turn. Forgetful? The app will remind users to set it to sleep mode before they turn in for the night.

2. MyFitnessPal

Not sure how those 12 pounds crept on last year? Studies show that dieters who keep careful record of what they eat are much more likely to lose weight. MyFitnessPal has a wealth of nutritional data for thousands of fresh and packaged foods, including counts for carbohydrates, fat, calories, sugar and protein. If users can’t find a food in the database, they can always add it, along with custom meal plans they often eat. MyFitnessPal can also be linked to a number of other apps and is compatible with fitness bands like the Jawbone UP24.

1.Happier

Who couldn’t do with a little more happiness in their lives? The Happier app is bright and cheery, from its festive orange color to its positive subject matter. The app is highly social – users subscribe and can submit their moments of happiness and gratitude for others to read. Happier also has online courses that users can take to learn a number of useful skills – from how to stress less to basic yoga moves.