The Checkup: Why It’s Really, Really Good for You to Exercise Outdoors

• Who else is loving this weather?! I, for one, put yesterday’s sunshine to good use by spending a few hours hiking in the Wissahickon. And today, after reading this great piece from the New York Times about all the awesome benefits of outdoor exercise, I’m feeling even better about how I spent my Sunday. Thanks to wind drag and other natural forms of resistance, runners and cyclists who hit the roads this weekend likely expended more energy (read: burned more calories) than their gym-bound counterparts. And since sweating outdoors is a heckuva lot more more fun than sweating indoors, those of us who got some fresh air probably kept at it for longer periods than those who stayed inside—which means we burned more calories in that sense, too. The good news is, if you didn’t find time to get outdoors over the weekend, we’ve got 50-degree days in store all week long, so you’ve got plenty of opportunities to log some outside time. For some guidance on where to go, check out our favorite outdoor running spots here.

• Listen up, ladies. If you spend more hours in heels than flats, Popsugar has a workout for you—the high-heels workout, designed to strengthen and stretch the muscles your favorite Louboutin’s put to the test. Check it out here.

• Do food allergies inhibit kids’ growth? Maybe, according to a new study. It found that kids with two or more food allergies are significantly smaller than kids without allergies. “This could be due to the fact that the treatment for food allergies is strict avoidance of foods that trigger a reaction, the researchers said.” Read more at HealthDay.

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