Working Out Your Christmas Workout
from ABS-CBN News
It's hard to stick with routines during the busy holiday season but there are ways to get your exercise despite the time constraints. Here are some tips and things to keep in mind the next time you're tempted to trade a workout for yet another viewing of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". More

Phelps and ‘Great Haul of China’ Take AP Awards
from AP
The honors just keep on coming for the "Great Haul of China" — Phelps' feat has now been selected as the top sports story of the year by members of The Associated Press. By taking down Mark Spitz's Holy Grail of records with eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, Phelps also was a runaway selection for AP's male athlete of the year. Only Olympic sprinting sensation Usain Bolt (five votes) and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (four) got more than a single vote. Phelps was named on 172 ballots, becoming just the third swimmer to claim the award. More

Dieting May Cut Risk For Gum Disease, Mostly In Males
from Medical News Today
For men, especially older men, dieting may help reduce the risk of gum disease more than for women, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and other institutions. More

MU Swimming Captain Well-traveled
from Columbia Missourian
In nearly 15 years of swimming, Lori Halvorson had never seen anything like it. The MU senior and two-year captain of the women's swimming team had swum in big meets. She had swum against some of the best swimmers in the world. But fireworks when people hit the wall? That was a first. And seeing swimmer after swimmer achieve their childhood dreams? That's something that every meet can't provide. The Olympic Trials, which she had qualified for the summer after her freshman year at MU, were not just a swim meet. They were a spectacle. More

Dara Torres, First U.S. Swimmer to Compete in Five Olympics
from Finding Dulcinea
Dara Torres is arguably the fastest female swimmer in America. She entered her first international swimming competition at age 14, and competed in her first Olympics in 1984, winning a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay. She went on to compete in the 1988, 1992 and 2000 Olympics, medaling each time. Four months after the birth of her daughter Tessa in 2006, she began training again for the Olympics. More

Jaben's Long Road
from Columbia Missourian
When Max Jaben arrived in Spain late one night in July, he was excited to start his last Olympic swimming training camp before representing Israel in Beijing. The next day, his first full day in Spain, he was walking out the door to afternoon practice when a doctor who worked with Israel’s national team called. He had failed a drug test for anabolic steroids. The drug was boldenone, a steroid originally developed for use in horses that is sometimes abused in athletics to build muscle mass. More

Use Weights, Not Aerobics, To Ease Back Pain, Study Suggests
from Science Daily
People who use weight training to ease their lower back pain are better off than those who choose other forms of exercise such as jogging, according to a University of Alberta study. The study, done in conjunction with the University of Regina, showed a 60 percent improvement in pain and function levels for people with chronic backache who took part in a 16-week exercise program of resistance training using dumbbells, barbells and other load-bearing exercise equipment. More