We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Fitness Magazine here on FitSugar! When you see Madonna on a talk show this week promoting her new album, MDNA (out now!), or during one of the stops on her world tour, which kicks off on May 29, you’ll be checking out moves choreographed by former Broadway dancer Nicole Winhoffer . She appeared in shows like Wicked and 42 nd Street , among others, before joining the Material Girl for her Sticky and Sweet Tour in 2009. Winhoffer, who is also a personal trainer, now works in the gym with Madonna six days a week to ensure that she’s ready for her grueling performances. We caught up with Winhoffer to take a peek behind the scenes and to learn more about how everyone can train just like the amazing 53-year-old pop star! If our readers could steal one trick from your work with Madonna, what would that be? Body awareness. They must engage their mind while performing their exercises. Time and time again, I see people reading papers or watching TV while they work out. This might bring about injury, and if the mind is not connected to the body, you can’t exert the proper amounts of energy needed to gain the desired results. You were in Indianapolis to help Madonna prepare for the Super Bowl and are now gearing up to go on tour with her. How do you prepare for each performance? Right before the show, we warm up in her dressing room. We complete active hamstring stretch sequences as well as other stretches, ensure joint mobility by performing jumps on the ground and on trampolines, and do ab work . As a result, her body is connected, warm, and ready for the performance. People are still buzzing about her amazing halftime show performance. How do you get your body ready for something like that? We increased our cardio for stamina – her show was the most physical 12 minutes I have ever experienced! Due to her high heels, we made sure her core was strong to support the stress placed on her lower back. We practiced several movements and routines from her performance within the workout so once she was on stage, her muscle memory kicked in. Read on to get more tips on how Madonna stays in shape . More from Fitness Magazine: The Love-Your-Legs Workout Your Guide to Spring Clean Your Life Run a Half Marathon in 10 Weeks: Beginner Training Plan

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A smoking habit is so hard to break that it doesn’t seem possible that a series of simple encouraging text messages could help in any significant way. But a study of wannabe quitters published by the Lancet suggests that those messages act like a little electronic Jiminy Cricket , doubling the quit rate compared to people who received texts unrelated to quitting. Of 2,911 smokers randomly assigned to the no-smoking texts, 10.7% were abstinent six months out. Only 4.9% of the 2,881 smokers getting texts unrelated to quitting did so. People got five text messages daily for the first five weeks and then three per week for the next six months, the study says. Other studies have also found a positive effect from text messages, but the authors (led by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) say this is the first to actually verify whether people had quit by testing saliva for a byproduct of nicotine called cotinine. The texts worked equally well among older and younger people, and among people of different socioeconomic groups. The mystery is why they worked, the authors write. One hypothesis, that the no-smoking texts encourage people to use smoking-cessation services at greater rates, wasn’t borne out, for example. And the messages weren’t anything that you couldn’t get from other stop-smoking programs; they helped prepare people for quitting, and after the quit date, offered tips for reducing cravings or getting back on track after a lapse. However it works, text messages are pretty easy to scale up and are likely to be very cost-effective because they’re so inexpensive. As the authors of a comment published alongside the article write, mobile phones are also widely available in the developing countries where smoking rates are particularly high . Readers, do you think text messages could help you quit?

Uncle Sam wants YOU to be prepared for a zombie apocalypse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, known best for stamping out health threats like Ebola and E. coli, is now advising people how to prepare for a zombie invasion . A blog post by Assistant Surgeon General Ali Khan instructs readers to stock up on food and water, not to mention first aid supplies (“Although you’re a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use these supplies to treat basic cuts and lacerations that you might get during a tornado or hurricane,” the agency says). And figure out “where you would go and who you would call if zombies started appearing outside your door step,” the CDC’s post says. Okay, the agency really is just looking for a clever way to get people to heed its advice on how to prepare for emergencies such as hurricanes  — which on its own, let’s face it, is rather dry. The tactic seems to be working: the site announcing the new zombie preparedness plan crashed today and even a cached version is down. Or as one Facebook fan put it, “There are so many people on the site now it’s crashed! The zombie attack has begun!” Were zombies to attack, the CDC says for its part it would be prepared: “If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak,” the agency reports. “CDC would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation. This assistance might include consultation, lab testing and analysis, patient management and care, tracking of contacts, and infection control (including isolation and quarantine).” Zombie preparedness is the brainchild, so to speak, of communications staff who noticed that traffic took off when zombies were mentioned during one of its Twitter sessions on Japan and radiation, says Dave Daigle, a CDC spokesperson who led the new campaign. The CDC in fact does have a history with zombies — at least on TV. Its fictional headquarters were blown to smithereens in an episode of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” after a group of survivors tried to take refuge. Many people we informally polled are giving the zombie campaign a thumbs-up. “Way to stay topical, CDC! This would have been pirates back in the ’00s,” writes one. “I am glad they chose zombies as a theme and not vampires,” says another, who is clearly not on Team Edward. But some found the CDC’s advice lacking. “Their suggestion for a zombie apocalypse preparedness kit is sorely lacking: Where’s the sawed-off shotgun?” asks Gawker.

Running can take a toll on your feet, but I have found a simple prehab (you know, avoid the injury before it happens) exercise to keep your dogs strong so you can stay on the road. Amy Yoder Begley, training partner of my fave runner Kara Goucher , shared her healthy running secrets with Runner’s World . In her arsenal of preventative tricks: the toe scrunch. This simple exercise strengthens the foot and shin muscles helping to keep overuse injuries like plantar fasciitis at bay. I have been doing 25 a day on each foot as part of my morning ritual, whether it is a running day or not; it takes under a minute to do. My feet have never felt better, especially after long runs. To see toe scrunch in action, keep reading.

Check out this recipe for oatmeal yogurt scones from FitSugar reader actorsdiet , she shared it in the Healthy Recipe community group . Instant oatmeal and yogurt create this moist, not-too-sweet, incredibly hearty, and delicious treat. See the recipe when you read more. Oatmeal Yogurt Scone The Actor’s Diet Food Blog www.theactorsdiet.com Ingredients * 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt * 3 TB liquid egg whites * 1/4 cup coconut manna (coconut butter) * 1 cup instant oatmeal * 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour * 1 tsp baking soda * 1 tsp ground cinnamon * 1/4 tsp salt Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the yogurt, egg whites, and coconut butter until blended. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix with your hands until a sticky dough is formed. Make nine balls, flattening with your palms to form patties and place on a greased cookie sheet (I used a silicone mat ). Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Print recipe with images | without images We love when you share your healthy dishes and desserts, so head over to the Healthy Recipe Group and post your fave recipe with an original photo. It could be featured here on FitSugar’s homepage.