SportsGeezer’s 10 Best Read Stories of 2011

1. Boomer Women On Sex: “We’re Good, Thanks”

Contrary to a common complaint issued by boomer men, women between the ages of 50 and 59 appear to be very happy with the quality and quantity of their sex lives, which yes, are quite active.  The Los Angeles Times reports that a survey of 27,347 women conducted by the Women’s Health Initiative reveals that if older women have a problem with sex, it’s most often because they lack a partner or would like to have more sex, not less. Ouch!  Read more.

2. Five Exercise Machines From Hell

No, all exercise machines are not created equal: some are good for you; some are, well, not so good.  Here, from the editors of Women’s Health magazine, are five exercise machines to avoid.

1. Seated Leg Extention Machine.

2. Seated Shoulder Press Machine.

3. Seated Behind-the-Neck Lat Pull-Down Machine

4. Seated Chest Fly Machine

5. Seated Hip Abductor Machine

3. Run This Way (And You Won’t Get Hurt)

Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run, writes in the New York Times magazine about what he calls “the one best way” to run. What he means, he says, is “not the fastest, necessarily, but the best: an injury-proof, evolution-tested way to place one foot on the ground and pick it up before the other comes down.” That one best way is, unsurprisingly, the technique that McDougall and an increasing number of of exercise physiologists have been touting for a few years now, a barefoot-style–if not barefoot- of running in which the ankle of the forward foot never extends beyond the knee, and the forefoot strikes the ground before the heel. Read more.

4. Where Your Testosterone Went. And Why.

Remember testosterone? It’s still there, just not in the quantity it was when you were in you twenties. Now comes  a study that suggests that the decline of testosterone is a good thing, at least for your family, because the aggression-related hormone appears to take a timely dive when a man has kids.  Read more.

5. Fish Oil Really Does Lube Joints

OK, they were guinea pigs, not humans, but guinea pigs actually have a much greater likelihood of developing osteoarthritis than humans do, unless they eat fish oil. It’s true.  Researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK found that when they fed guinea pigs a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, the animals were 50 percent less likely to suffer from osteoarthritis. Read more.

6. Cyclists Beware: Your Penis Is Bigger Than You Think

The good news, from reproductive physiologist Steven Schrader, is there is as much penis inside the body as outside the body. The bad news is that cyclists put up to 40 percent of their weight on that part of the penis (and its rewarding system of nerves) when they ride a bike with a conventional seat, and that pressure can have some unfortunate consequences when it comes to erections. Read more.

7. The Worst Exercise You Can Do, And What To Do About It

Q. What’s the worst exercise you can do?

A. The same exercise, over and over.

Read more.

8. How To Talk To Your Husband About Sex

In response to readers’ requests, Geezer presents a column published in Woman’s Day, with ten apparently sensible tips on how to talk to your husband about sex. Yes, sex. For men, of course, there is basically one piece of advice: if you talk about it, you might actually do it, so listen up when your wife says there’s something she’d like to talk about. Read more.

9. Heart Disease Predictor: Run A Mile As Fast As You Can

A 55-year-old man who needs 15 minutes to run a mile has a 30 percent lifetime risk of developing heart disease. But a 55-year-old who can run a mile in eight minutes has a lifetime risk of less than 10 percent. Read more.

10. Best and Worst Foods For Losing Weight

What’s the worst thing that someone hoping to slim down can eat?  A new study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Medical School points directly to potato chips. And the best thing? The researchers put yogurt at the top of that list. Read more.