Tracey Middlekauff » health

My Pain, Your Gain

tmiddlekauff — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:08:09 +0000

My Pain, Your Gain

Urbanite #52 October 08

By: Tracey Middlekauff

Old school workout: Kevin Campbell hits the heavy bag during a session with a private boxing coach.

(photo by Gail Burton)

Everyone who has tried and failed to stick with an exercise program is familiar with The Moment of Unbearable Boredom.

It washes over you while you’re on the elliptical machine, the treadmill, the stationary bike—any piece of equipment that spins very quickly without going anywhere. In between thumbing through the gym’s wrinkled copy of Self, you find yourself checking the clock every thirty seconds. Has it really only been five minutes?

And then it hits you: There is no way you are going to keep this routine up for another month, let alone for the rest of your life.

It’s not all in your head. Your rut is real, and it can affect your body as well as your brain. Doing the same thing over and over can lead to repetitive stress injuries, and if you never challenge your muscles to do new things, you’ll likely plateau, stop seeing results, and grow discouraged. But if you mix it up (known in the fitness biz as cross training), you’re much more likely to stay interested, stick with a program, maybe even—gasp—have a good time.

In order to escape the endless grind of the Stairmaster, I went out in search of a fitness routine that would be less, well, routine. Something novel. Intense. Possibly strange. Most importantly, I looked for—and found—workouts that engaged my mind at least as much as they challenged (and sometimes punished) my body.

The Audacity of Hoop

Hooping Class

Hoop dreams: Noelle Powers and Owen Smith display their hoopidexterity.

(photo by Gail Burton)

Trance-y trip-hop music fills the air. A handful of adults, myself included, sway our hips rhythmically back and forth, back and forth, trying to keep our hoops aloft around our waists. The instructor, Noelle Powers, reminds us to change directions from time to time, both to balance out our bodies and so that we can become “hoopidextrous.”

If your idea of the hula hoop begins and ends with the flimsy plastic Wham-O version from the 1950s, you’re in for a surprise. For one thing, the modern exercise hoop is bigger and heavier than its kid cousin. The hoop itself dates back to ancient Egypt; then, it was made of dried grapevines. Some Native American cultures practice a sacred hoop dance, which in part symbolizes the endless circle of life. The “hula” part signifies an act of cultural appropriation to modern hoopers and as such is strictly verboten. (If you must, use “hoola.”)

Thanks in part to the current popularity of hooping in the jam-band and rave scenes, the modern hooper tends to be something of a laid-back hippie type: Think peace, love, and understanding, by way of Burning Man. Hooping is the perfect antidote to a modern, frenzied, results-driven type-A workout. It’s more like playing than exercising—getting in shape just, like, happens.

“Sure, it’s a great exercise for your body,” Powers says. “But it’s also great for your brain.” Because the hoop is touching the left and right sides of the body in quick succession, both hemispheres of the brain are being activated in a unique way. This bilateral stimulation, Powers believes, is a great stress reducer. Hooping can also be “therapeutic, spiritual, and meditative,” she says.

In class, we don’t just learn how to keep the hoops twirling around our hips. We learn to move in a circle, to twirl the hoops on our arms and necks, and how to move the hoop up and down our bodies. It’s all in the speed: Powers demonstrates that, if you slow down, the hoop will slide below your hips; increase your speed and the hoop rises. When I try this, the hoop slides all the way down, not to be coaxed back up. “It was not what I had anticipated,” first-timer Brian Fitzek confesses afterward. “Before, I had a hard time imagining hooping for an hour, but I came to realize there is much more one can do with hoops.”

Once we have the basics down, Powers, who comes from a dance background, encourages us to cut loose and express ourselves to the music. “Take your own style into the hoop,” she says. After hooping for an hour, my style is to stand in one place and try to keep the thing aloft. But even with my technical limitations, I can begin to feel hooping’s rhythmic, hypnotic quality—there is definitely something soothing in keeping the big wheel turning.

There are ongoing hooping classes at Studio Edge in Mount Washington (1425 Clarkview Rd., Suite 500; 410-296-4955; www.thestudioedge.com) and the Stadium Place YMCA (900 E. 33rd St.; 410-889-9622; www.ymaryland.org). Visit www.hoopingpowers.com for schedules.

Sir Yes Sir!

Charm City Fitness Boot Camp

Drill now: Jodi Naasz leads her recruits through boot camp.

(photo by Gail Burton)

In a gadget- and gear-obsessed world, boot camp is a refreshing return to bare-bones exercise—an old-school beatdown, if you will. Since April 2007, Charm City Fitness has been offering twice-weekly one-hour boot camp classes in Patterson Park. No fancy machines or plasma TVs. It’s just you and your willpower. Which you are going to need: The program was designed by Chris Gonzalez, a personal trainer at Charm City Fitness and an ex-Marine.

My teacher, Charm City co-owner Jodi Naasz, is impossibly fit, but not in an intimidating, unachievable way. Neither a scary Lou Gossett Jr.-style drill sergeant nor an insufferable cheerleader type, Naasz manages to be simultaneously motivational and sarcastic: “If you need to stop, stop,” she tells us during class. “I’m not going to laugh at you. … Well, maybe on the inside.”

Boot Camp sessions are coed, but my class is an all-girl army. Things get going gently enough, with a brief jog around the Pulaski Monument and back to our starting position by the tennis courts, where we warm up with some calf, quad, and bicep stretches. Then it’s down to business. We take off running around the park doing “Indian sprints”—the class forms a line, with each participant running next to a partner. Naasz sets the pace (it’s fast), and when she shouts, “Go!” the last in line sprints to the front. Again. And again. And again. Never a fast runner, I experience a bit of high-school-track-team anxiety that I will be left behind at the back of the pack. I’m a sweaty, gasping mess, but I keep up.

This is followed by calisthenics, sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts, squats … and more Indian sprints. Naasz plants us in the full August sun to do push-ups. But it isn’t until I find myself with burning legs, trying to bunny-hop up a flight of stairs for the second time, that the full meaning of “boot camp” starts to sink in.

Despite all the physical punishment, what could be a grueling endurance test is actually kind of lighthearted, thanks in large part to Naasz’s upbeat attitude and unbridled enthusiasm. “I love being fit and exercising, but I understand that most people don’t share my enthusiasm,” she says. “My goal is to make fitness less intimidating and more enjoyable for my clients.”

And her clients definitely catch the spirit. Alison Jones liked what she saw in boot camp so much that she reenlisted for a second round. “What sets boot camp apart is that I don’t get bored,” she says. “I tend to lose focus in my usual routines.”

Charm City Fitness: 3039 Eastern Ave.; 410-327-8783; www.citysweat.com

Street Fighter

Krav Maga

Lethal weapon: Dewi Smith toughs it out in a Krav Maga punching drill. The self-defense classes are designed to simulate the adrenaline rush of real combat.

(photo by Gail Burton)

“It took me years to realize you can kick someone in the groin even when they’re bending over.”

Not exactly the kind of thing you want to hear from your instructor at the average group exercise class. But at Krav Maga Maryland in Owings Mills, fitness is the byproduct, not the goal. Learning practical, real world self-defense skills is the number-one priority here, and the real world angle is no joke: Krav Maga teaches techniques to defend against all manner of attacks, including those from assailants armed with knives and guns. The system was devised by the Israeli military and is now part of the required training for Baltimore County police officers.

Krav Maga is not a martial art in the traditional sense. “It’s not aesthetic,” says lead instructor and director of operations Jeff Mount. “It’s purely functional, and the one goal is self-defense.”

It’s true: In one class, I learn how to get out of two chokeholds and a headlock. At first, grabbing my partner’s face in order to wriggle free of his grip feels downright impolite, but after a few tries it begins to seem disturbingly natural. The hour-long class is punctuated by fast, intense, exhausting drills: sprinting, jumping with the knees to the chest, kicking, punching, and then kicking some more. All of this is designed to wear you out and train you to be, as Mount says, “explosive.”

“You must feel physically, emotionally, and mentally what it’s like to be in a fight,” he says. “In that situation, your adrenaline and your fear will make you feel like this.” Once you reach the point of exhaustion, it’s time to go at it again.

There’s an almost joyous bloodthirstiness to all this, but the vibe is not macho; women make up about 30 to 40 percent of the student body. Erika Kilchenstein, a student at Towson University, loves Krav Maga so much that she participates in a sparring session despite broken toes. (No, she didn’t break them in class.) The injury doesn’t seem to stop her from kicking, wrestling, or hanging upside down from the heavy bag while her gloved classmate punches her in the stomach and ribs.

“You don’t even know you’re exercising!” she enthuses afterwards. “I’ll take class for three hours at a time because it’s so interesting.”

Krav Maga in Owings Mills: 11299 Owings Mills Blvd., Suite 113; 410-356-0707; www.kravmd.com. Visit the website for other area locations.

Ladies Only

Pole Dancing and Exotic Chair Class

Pole position: Amy Solis flips for the “stripper workout” at Xpose Fitness.

(photo by Gail Burton)

Candace Schaeck, owner and instructor at Xpose Fitness in Towson, is leading a room full of women of very different shapes and sizes in something called an exotic chair class. “Keep on those toes, pretty ladies!” she exhorts. “Doesn’t it feel goooood? Oooh!” About half of the students wear sky-high stripper heels or go-go boots, while the other half—myself included—sport more modest white gym socks.

Nothing particularly salacious is actually going on here. While there are some hip grinds and pelvic thrusts in the routine, exotic chair class is essentially an incredibly vigorous core workout combining elements of Pilates and yoga. The main deviations from a standard exercise class are the incorporation of a chair, which is occasionally straddled and referred to as your “victim,” and the spinning disco ball, which helps set the mood.

The self-proclaimed mission of the Xpose Fitness chain is to help women feel fit, sexy, and empowered. No men are allowed past the lobby, and there’s definitely a chummy clubbiness among the women here—and an almost feverish devotion to the system.

“It’s totally non-judgmental,” says florist Sharon Gordon, who has been an adherent for two years. At 50, she is rocking a pair of black knee-high, lace-up go-go boots and a tiny black skort. “It’s changed my confidence and my body image for the better. This group of women has become like a family.”

Of course, the most iconic element of the so-called “stripper workout” is pole dancing, the other class offered at Xpose. The pole studio consists of ten brass poles, a wall of mirrors, and another disco ball. Jamie Fleming, a student at Towson University, calls it “vertical ballet.” In her pink skort and silver glitter disco boots, she demonstrates a seemingly impossible contortion called “the Gemini,” followed by an inversion in which she holds onto the pole with her legs, eventually ending up in a handstand with her legs in a straddle. She’s been taking lessons for six months and claims that her first time she was “totally uncoordinated.” Now she makes it look easy.

I quickly discover that there’s nothing easy about it. Working the pole—the spins, the dips, and the more advanced inversions—requires a lot of core and upper-body strength. To help build that strength, Schaeck instructs us to jump up, grab the pole, and hold on for dear life. My shaking biceps can’t “It’s totally non-judgmental,” says florist Sharon Gordon, who has been an adherent for two years. At 50, she is rocking a pair of black knee-high, lace-up go-go boots and a tiny black skort. “It’s changed my confidence and my body image for the better. This group of women has become like a family.”

I’m also having a bit of trouble letting go when it comes to the more, er, expressive moves. Crawling around like a cat and hoisting my leg around a metal pole feel more awkward than sexy. Then again, it could be my gym socks and sweatpants. No one else seems to be encumbered by self-consciousness, after all.

“It gives you a new respect for women who do it for a living!” Gordon says.

“This is it for me,” Fleming adds. “I just can’t do elliptical bullshit.”

Xpose Fitness: 1700 Joan Ave., Towson; 410-661-1301; www.xposefitness.com. Visit website for other area locations.

The Sweet Science

Private Boxing Lessons

It’s a hit: Trainer Jim Meyer puts client Kevin Campbell (pictured) through a punching drill.

(photo by Gail Burton)

If you take private boxing lessons from personal trainer and coach Jim Meyer, you’re not going to get some watered-down cardio-aerobics version. He’s got too much respect for the sport for that. He will put you through the same paces, drills, and exercises he teaches to the pros he trains. That doesn’t mean you’re going to have to get in the ring and fight, but you will get an intense workout that requires your full physical and mental participation.

Meyer started boxing when he was 8 in a program at the Middle River Boys Club. He had Olympic aspirations, which were dashed when he tore up his knee in a motorcycle accident, ending his amateur career with a 42-2-0 record. He worked as a personal trainer for several years before he started teaching his favorite sport to his non-boxer clients. “From the very start I wanted to teach real boxing and nothing else,” Meyer says. “I knew the workout got results, and learning the science was fun. I’m happy to say I’ve created a lot of boxing fans from people who were never interested in the sport.”

My lesson begins with two two-minute rounds of jump rope, to build endurance and to develop hand-eye coordination. Then it’s on to major core work combined with plyometrics—explosive movements that help develop a powerful punch. In one exercise, I lie flat on my back while Meyer repeatedly drops a medicine ball towards my head from above, which I must catch and throw back up to him. My arms are already shaking, and I haven’t even boxed yet.

Then comes the fun stuff: the actual punching drills. Meyer wraps my hands and helps me into my gloves—I feel, briefly, like a real fighter. Then I realize how little I actually know. First I must learn the proper stance. Then, Meyer teaches me the six basic numbered punches—left jab is one, right cross is two, left and right hooks are three and six, left and right uppercuts are five and four. It sounds simple until he starts calling out combinations for me to land on the focus mitts (special padded leather gloves that serve as targets).

Meyer gives me a whirlwind tour through skills that ordinarily would be developed over weeks—punching the heavy bag, the reflex bag, and the life-size dummy that Meyer calls “Bob.” The reflex bag gives me the most trouble. I flail at it, trying desperately to land a glove on the bobbing and weaving bag. In the few times I manage to connect with a left jab, my timing is all wrong and my punch feels weak as a kitten’s.

I have better luck later in my session working on the focus mitts. For a brief time, during a fast (for me) punching combination, I get to taste the addictive quality of getting in the zone. My gloves make a satisfying “thwack” as they land on the mitt’s sweet spot. I’m not thinking, I’m reacting; I am one with my gloves. Of course, the moment I notice this, the spell is broken and I almost put my face into a focus mitt. “You started thinking,” Meyer says, sagely. An hour of my life has never passed so quickly.

Meyer says he always likes to mix things up to make sure his clients stay motivated. That’s what keeps Anne Santoni Rouse coming back for more. “He is always challenging me,” Rouse says. Once, Meyer wrapped a rubber strength-training band around her waist, stretched it out, and made her pull him up and down the gym. “I was probably saying some interesting words that day,” she laughs.

The next day, I wake up feeling as if a truck ran over my forearms and obliques. And I want to do it again. In fact, I feel as if I could do this exact workout every day and never get tired of it. Mission accomplished.

Baynesville Boxing and Fitness: 8630 Loch Raven Blvd., Towson; 410-698-5032; www.marylandfitnesstrainer.com.

—Freelance writer Tracey Middlekauff lives in Homeland. This is her first story for Urbanite.

Workout Makeover

Still not satisfied? Here are some more ideas to help liven up your fitness routine.

Get in touch with your inner goddess with some belly dancing lessons. For a list of area instructors, visit www.baltimorebellydance.com.

Capoeira is a martial art developed by slaves in Brazil in which fighting masquerades as dancing. (See Urbanite, January ’07). Visit the website of the International Capoeira Angola Foundation’s Baltimore chapter for class information and locations: www.baltimorecapoeira.org.

There’s a reason that ballet dancers have such long, lean muscles. Become the prima ballerina or danseur you know you were meant to be with adult ballet classes at Baltimore Ballet (www.baltimoreballet.org).

When you were a kid, you called it having fun, not exercise. Bring that joy back and go rollerskating with friends or family at Putty Hill Skateland (8019 Belair Rd.; 410-661-7778).

If Marie Osmond can do it, you can too. Learn swing dancing at the Avalon Movement Studio in Catonsville (www.avalondance.com).

Perfectly Delicious

buskerdog — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:16:24 +0000

Beauty Myths Busted

buskerdog — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:54:12 +0000

Beauty Myths – Busted!

Get the facts on looking fabulous.

by Tracey Middlekauff Posted: Tue., Sep. 25, 2007 , 4:21 pm EDT

Don’t be bamboozled by beauty myths. We’ve set the record straight on some common misconceptions concerning your face, body and hair. Read on to learn the real deal.

Myth: Chocolate, sweets, and fried foods cause acne.
Fact: Don’t blame that last slice of pizza for your pimple; blame your genes and pesky hormones instead. Hormonal fluctuations brought on by your period, menopause or even stress can spark increased sebum (oil) production, leading to bacterial growth that can cause a “plug” in your pores. Result: a pimple. Those food cravings you get around your period or when you’re stressed are probably what are behind this myth — eat greasy food, touch your face, plug your pores and presto! You’ve got a blemish. To fight acne, Diane Madfes, MD, a New York dermatologist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology, recommends cleansers with salicylic or glycolic acid and topical creams with vitamin A or retinol. Got sensitive skin? Look for products that contain lactic acid.

Myth: Drinking lots of water will “plump up” your fine lines and wrinkles.

Fact: Dr. Madfes calls this one a “partial myth.” The skin on your face does need to get moisture, both internally, from the fluids you drink, and externally, from your moisturizer. But you don’t have to gulp down H20 exclusively — it turns out, things like juice and tea will also get the job done. While drinking liquids won’t eliminate those fine lines and wrinkles, drinking enough to keep your skin well hydrated — about six to eight glasses per day — will allow it to regenerate and look its healthy best. And in a pinch, you can always apply a topical cream to temporarily plump up those fine lines.

Myth: The higher the SPF in your sunscreen, the better.
Fact: A higher SPF number is not necessarily better. The most important thing is that your sunscreen is broad-spectrum, meaning it protects against both the UVA (aging) and UVB (burning) rays of the sun. If you reapply often, a broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen is just as effective as an SPF 50 one; the 50 might just buy you an extra 20 minutes in the sun.

Myth: You can repair a split end.
Fact: While certain products can temporarily “seal” split ends, the only way to get rid of them is to cut them off like a freeloading boyfriend. To prevent (or at least delay) them, try to cut back on the heat abuse from flat irons, curling irons and hair dryers.

Myth: For shiny hair, brush it 100 times each night.
Fact: It may have worked for Marcia Brady, but it’s not going to work for you. Brushing can pull out hair that wasn’t ready to fall out, and it can weaken or even break individual strands. For shiny hair, you’re much better off using a good conditioner and shine serum. And never brush your hair when it’s wet — always use a wide-tooth comb.

Myth: If you have cellulite, you must be overweight.
Fact: Anybody can get cellulite, regardless of weight. That dreaded dimpled look is actually caused by tiny fibrous bands under the skin, which pull down around pockets of fat. It can get worse as you age, because the collagen in your skin loosens, but the fibrous bands don’t. Exercising to increase muscle and reduce fat can help, but there’s no permanent, easy solution. According to Dr. Madfes, firming creams such as Clarins Total Body Lift (link) can temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite by causing constriction in the skin — good to know if you really want to don that miniskirt and paint the town red!

Myth: Cocoa butter prevents stretch marks.
Fact: Actually, anything from baby oil to hand lotion will work. It’s not the cocoa butter, it’s the massaging and gentle stretching action when you smooth in the cream that preps your skin to stretch without leaving telltale “marks” behind. If you already have stretch marks, Dr. Madfes suggests prescription retinoid creams — but you can’t use these while you’re pregnant.

Myth: Green tea boosts your metabolism.
Fact: Despite all the hype over green tea — which does have many health benefits — there’s still no magic weight-loss bullet. Recent studies have indicated that roughly six to 11 cups of green tea per day may increase the rate at which you burn calories after a meal, but that’s not the same as raising your metabolism. According to Suzanne Farrell, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, the only proven way to do that is to exercise, build muscle and eat throughout the day. As for green tea supplements? Farrell doesn’t recommend them: “You’re just being a guinea pig,” she says.

Fitness For The Summer Season

buskerdog — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:52:58 +0000

Fitness for the Summer Season

Cool sports for hot days.

Tracey Middlekauff

Summer’s here and the time is right for getting out of doors and into shape. “Exercise has to be fun — not just work,” says Grace De Simone, national fitness expert for Gold’s Gym. First, prepare your body. “You want to be in shape to perform at your best and lower your risk of injury,” De Simone says. So get into the habit of exercising and stretching to make sure your body is up for a new physical activity. Read on to find the sport that’s perfect for you.

Serve It Up on the Sand
Want a great set of gams? Think Gabrielle Reese and beach volleyball. Thanks to the lateral movements and quick bursts of speed, this cardio-intensive sport also delivers a serious core muscle workout to sculpt your quads, calves and glutes. “Beach volleyball is a combination of strength and quickness,” says Danalee Bragado, a pro-level coach and owner of the Aloha Ball Club in California. Run on the beach to get your “sand legs” and do circuit weight training. Then get a ball; many beaches already have nets set up. Look online for a beach volleyball club in your area.
Calories burned per hour: 480

Make Some Waves

“It’s much more fun to be skiing than to be in a gym,” says Lisa St. John, former world champion and competition director for USA Waterski. Not to mention that water-skiing looks really, really cool. Locate a qualified instructor near you through USA Water Ski. Lessons will last around half an hour; expect to stay up on the water for eight or nine minutes at a stretch. “It’s very physically demanding,” says St. John. “It uses every muscle group, and it’s cardio-intensive.” De Simone recommends prepping by doing wall sits — lean your upper back against the wall and slide down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. For more intensity, hold a medicine ball out in front of you.
Calories burned per hour: 360

Rule the Court
All you need for the civilized sport of badminton is a net, a couple of rackets, a shuttlecock (also known as a birdie) and a partner. “Badminton is much easier to start playing than tennis, so you can have more fun early on,” says Martin McGrogan, women’s badminton coach at Irvine Valley Community College in California. You set the aerobic intensity — anything from slow volleying to a lightning-fast exchange. Along with the cardio benefits, De Simone says badminton will help “stimulate your ability to react quickly.” Check out the Web site usabadminton.org to find local classes.
Calories burned per hour: 300

Take the Plunge
Quit lounging poolside — dive in and swim! “It doesn’t matter how ugly or beautiful your stroke is; you’ll get a cardiovascular workout,” says Kay Smiley, specialty consultant for aquatics and scuba for YMCA of the USA. “And if you do perfect your stroke, you’ll get the breathing down better.” Anyone can sign up for swim lessons at the Y or visit the community pool. (Just make sure the instructor is also certified as a lifeguard.) Start with three 20-minute sessions weekly, adding two to four lengths each time, says Smiley. Swimming is great for overall tone and, depending on the stroke, will also work your lats, pecs and/or delts.
Calories burned per hour: 360 to 660, depending on stroke and pace

Power Up With Paddling
Water, a lovely view and a canoe all add up to a great workout where you control the intensity. “Start with nice, calm, protected water,” suggests John Edwards, executive director of the United States Canoe Association (USCA). “Shallow water is good because you can stand up if you tip over.” You can find an instructor who is familiar with proper safety procedure through the USCA or the American Canoe Association. Even at a leisurely pace, canoeing will work your lats, upper body, shoulders and core muscles, according to De Simone. The downside? If you get serious, you’re going to have to buy a boat — which can run anywhere from $500 to $3,000 — and outfit your vehicle to tow the thing.
Calories burned per hour: 300 to 420, depending on intensity

Hit a Homer
Joining an amateur softball team is a great way to make friends. But ask yourself: “Am I competitive, or do I just want to have a good time and hang out?” says Glenn Moore, women’s softball coach at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Then honestly assess your fitness level to choose the right league. On the field, the squatted and semi-squatted fielding positions are great for the hamstrings, quads and core abdominals. (Note that you’ll want to strengthen your back to avoid injury.) For the serious softballer, Moore recommends water activities to get you in prime condition, such as a water aerobics class or (with supervision) moving laterally in fielding positions in neck-deep water.
Calories burned per hour: 300

Get a Green Thumb
Believe it or not, gardening not only helps you get in touch with Mother Nature — it helps you stay fit, too. All that digging, weed-pulling, squatting and reaching will burn a bunch of calories! But be careful not to hurt yourself, especially your back, warns De Simone. To build strength, do some Pilates plank exercises. (Click here for an example.) Other suggestions to get into good shape to garden: upper-body twists, wall push-ups and squats. Remember to do a series of stretches before and after gardening and to protect your knees with a kneeling pad.
Calories burned per hour: 300

Enjoy Some High-Flying Fun
Time to test that endurance with Ultimate Frisbee! Most fast-paced games last between 70 to 90 minutes and work the legs, core muscles and arms. Think of it as “a combination of football and soccer in terms of field space, passing, scoring and running,” says Michael Degnan, spokesperson for the Ultimate Players Association, the sport’s national governing body. Many cities offer summer leagues captained by seasoned players, and Degnan says beginners are always welcome; it may boost your social life as well as your body! “Ultimate Frisbee is a great way to meet people,” Degnan says. “Everybody is happy to be there.”
Calories burned per hour: 480 to 600

Too Old For Peer Pressure?

buskerdog — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:28:35 +0000

Bridal Bootcamp

buskerdog — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:22:52 +0000

The Six Hottest New Workouts

buskerdog — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:31:08 +0000

The Six Hottest New Workouts

Tired of the same old?
Jump-start your fitness
regimen with these sizzling routines.

by Tracey Middlekauff


Denise Weighs In
	Here’s something to sneak into your smoothies: deep red, purple or blue foods (think blueberries, cherries, strawberries or raspberries). They contain phytonutrients called anthocyanins, which have been linked to lower heart disease and cancer risk.

Yesterday’s Moves: Yoga Today’s Routine: Disco Yoga If you’d rather take a nap than do one more Downward Dog, maybe you need a healthy dose of the Bee Gees when you strike a pose. With Disco Yoga at Crunch Fitness, “Participants hit poses and hold them, like John Travolta in ‘Saturday Night Fever,’” says Donna Cyrus, director of Crunch National Group Fitness. You’ll get all the benefits of a regular hatha yoga class — core strengthening, flexibility and balance — plus more of a cardio element, because Disco Yoga moves quickly between poses, says Cyrus. The extra oomph will help you burn between 200 and 400 calories an hour. Yesterday’s Moves: Step Aerobics Today’s Routine: Circus Acrobatics All that stepping up got you down? Defy gravity with circus acrobatics. You’ll learn to fly through the air while simultaneously working all the major muscle groups. Repeatedly climbing up to the platform and kicking off works the shoulders and thighs, and after six months on the trapeze “women develop beautiful arms and lats,” says Jonathon Conant, founder of Trapeze School New York. Unlike the muscles you develop at a gym, Conant says, working against gravity gives you a natural musculature. More muscle means you’ll burn calories more efficiently, too: up to 221 an hour. “Moving your total body mass rhythmically can also make it a real cardio challenge,” adds exercise physiologist Michele S. Olson, Ph.D. Yesterday’s Moves: Boot Camp Today’s Routine: Dodgeball 101 Dump the drill sergeant: It turns out you can do interval training without the barking orders. Dodgeball at Crunch is just like you remember it from childhood, only now nobody is going to throw the ball at your head. After a 20-minute warm-up, participants play four 10-minute, high-intensity rounds. If you get “out,” you’re sent to the corner to do push-ups or sit-ups. “There are huge cardio benefits,” says Dr. Olson. “Plus the breaks help reenergize you so you can work harder.” Cyrus says dodgeball particularly targets the thighs, upper body and abs; and thanks to all that jumping and reaching, you can burn up to a whopping 500 calories in this action-packed hour.

Yesterday’s Moves: Kickboxing? Today’s Routine: Stage Combat or Body Combat? You’ll pick up real fight choreography in a stage combat class, challenging your brain as well as body. Broadsword fighting (using a hefty curved weapon) starts after a three-week safety phase, says John Ficarra, a certified fight instructor and owner of New York’s Combat Incorporated. (Visit www.safd.org to find local instructors.) “You’ll immediately feel it in your forearms and legs,” he says. “As you get more advanced, you change levels and use your core to twist.” Or try Body Combat at Gold’s Gym, in which you learn choreographed fight routines put to high-energy music. “You’ll see significant results in your cardio capacity and muscle tone,” says Lori Lowell, national group fitness director for Gold’s Gym International. Expect to work off 450 to 600 calories per hour. Yesterday’s Moves: Jump Rope? Today’s Program: Hula Hoop? Drop that jump rope: The hula hoop has made a comeback! Actually, today’s exercise hoops are bigger and heavier than your old one, which makes it easier to keep them continuously spinning. It’s a great low-impact aerobic workout, plus you can get creative and twirl the hoop around your arm. “Isolating different muscle groups for a high number of reps mimics weight training,” says Olson. Just remember to switch directions so you get an even workout! Visit hooping.org for more info. Or check out Bally’s Total Fitness, which offers cardio-intense hoop workouts using specially constructed Heavy Hoops (www.heavyhoops.com). You can burn approximately 600 calories an hour. Yesterday’s Moves: Walking? Today’s Routine: Qigong Walking? Adding qigong — sets of simple, repetitive movements designed to promote healthy energy flow — makes walking more of a total body workout with its swinging arm and torso movements, says Olson. A very popular form is called Fragrance qigong, which consists of three sets of five movements each. The key is to keep your walking rhythm smooth and relaxed, never straighten your arms, and repeat each motion 36 to 45 times, according to New York tai chi and qigong instructor Tzyann Hsu. Get a taste of what it’s all about by trying the following: Bring hands together at waist level with fingers softly touching; gently swing arms left to right. Then, with hands still together, swing them vertically so that your fingers point up toward your chin, and then down toward the floor, just below waist level. Next, separate your hands; let your arms swing down naturally and then up to just below chin level, with your palms facing each other, forming a reverse V shape. Modifying your walking effort this way will help you work off 264 calories an hour. Find out more at the Qigong Association of America (www.qi.org). .

Lead Poisoning

buskerdog — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:12:10 +0000

Lead Poisoning

16 April 01

by Tracey Middlekauff

Over the years, Cordell Cleare had complained about the state of
her apartment in central Harlem, and city inspectors had cited her
landlord for over 40 violations. The presence of lead paint, however,
was not one of them.

Then, in 1994, a pediatrician found that Cleare’s son, not yet two
at the time, had been poisoned by lead.

When a child is found to have levels of lead in his blood in excess
of 20 micrograms per deciliter, the
target=new>Department of Health gets involved. It ordered Cleare’s landlord
to remove the lead paint from her apartment.

Cleare says that her landlord picked “10 random guys” to work on
her apartment; they followed no safety procedures. “They were burning
paint off the walls with flames,” she says. To make matters worse,
Cleare had not been directed to a lead “safe house” for the time the
work was being performed. Her son was re-poisoned. Cleare called the
Department of Housing Preservation and Development, who told her to
call the Department of Environmental Protection. Finally, after two
years, HPD performed the work that should have been done immediately.

Tragically, it took a “painfully long time,” Cleare says, to get
the level of lead in her son’s blood back to normal. He lost his ability
to speak, which he eventually regained through therapy. Now eight,
her son has had to overcome many challenges, Cleare says, and still
gets speech therapy and other support to help with the learning disability
she is convinced was caused by the lead poisoning. Her son is now
performing at his grade level, and she remains hopeful that things
will work out. “I believe my child will eventually be functional without
help.”

A PREVENTABLE ILLNESS

Lead poisoning is widely recognized as one of the most serious childhood
health problems in New York City, and one that is preventable. Found
in about 30,000 New York children, it can cause serious problems such
as mental retardation, neurological damage, and developmental disorders.
If detected early enough, and if the lead contaminant is properly
removed from the environment in which the child lives, the problem
is fully treatable. However, it is not as easy as: test, remove (the
lead), and treat. Along every step in the process, dealing with lead
is a hotly-contested political issue.

Activists call for strict regulations covering testing for lead and
removing it. They insist that landlords should be held strictly liable.
Their opponents say that the demands are financially unrealistic and
draconian. Both see right on their side; neither seems willing to
compromise.

The primary cause of lead poisoning in children comes from lead dust
and paint from peeling or deteriorated lead paint. New York City banned
the use of interior lead paint in the 1960s; the federal government
banned lead paint altogether in 1978. While lead paint can be found
in dwellings in any neighborhood–wealthy to low-income–lead poisoning
is primarily a problem in low income neighborhoods, where apartment
buildings have not been well-maintained, and lead paint has been allowed
to peel and crack due to lack of proper maintenance. While not confined
to any one geographical area, activists have located what they call
a lead belt, which runs through Red Hook, Fort Greene and Bedford-Stuyvesant
in Brooklyn, and Jamaica in Queens.

Carol Hill, co-chair of the New
York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning, explains, “Apartments
that are well-kept, where the paint is not disturbed, do not have
a problem. But when less affluent people move in, generally speaking,
the landlords do not care as much.” Hill explains that any breach
or crack in paint that may contain lead poses a threat, and lead dust
is even more dangerous. “Paint has to go through the stomach,” she
says, “dust goes right to the lungs.”

Hill believes the best ways to prevent lead poisoning is to educate
people in any community about the risks of lead paint, and to make
sure that testing is wide-spread and frequent. There are measures
to lessen the impact if a child is exposed to lead, such as what she
calls nutritional intervention: While a well-balanced diet does not
make high levels of lead absolutely safe or desirable, a diet rich
in iron, calcium, and vitamin C can help prevent a child’s body from
absorbing lead. A law enacted in New York City in 1992 mandates testing
every year for children ages one and two, and every year until age
six for at-risk children. But Hill advocates testing every six months
for at-risk children. That way, she says, if a child does contract
lead poisoning, they will not have it that long before something is
done.

Even something as seemingly simple as childhood testing is not without
controversy. This month, the New
York Public Interest Research Group sued the State Health Department,
claiming that officials have refused to release their statistics on
the number of New York children who have been tested for lead poisoning.
The watchdog group feels that not enough children have been tested,
and they are therefore not receiving the
proper care.

Controversy aside, when a child is tested, levels under 10 mcg/dcl
are considered safe by the Centers for Disease Control. A level of
10 is considered to be the beginning of lead poisoning, but it is
not until the level of lead concentration in a child’s blood reaches
20 that the New York City Department of Health is required to take
action when a child under six is involved. When he was just under
five years old, in 1993, Carol Hill’s grandson was diagnosed with
a level of 49. Luckily, an emergency repair team from HPD came in
a timely fashion and covered the walls with dry wall and plasterboard
while Hill and her grandson stayed in a safe house. He suffered no
long-term effects.

But unfortunately, things do not always go as smoothly as they did
for Hill, and just what laws and regulations should govern lead abatement
is the subject of much controversy.

LAW AFTER LAW

Until 1999, lead abatement (removal) was covered by Local Law 1.
At just half a page, the law was not specific in its proscriptions,
and various regulations were imposed to expedite and clarify it. According
to Matthew Chachére, an attorney for the Coalition to End Lead
Poisoning, there were often problems enforcing the law. “Roughly 40
percent of lead paint violations were still on the books a year later,”
he says. Chachere says that these violations were supposed to be fixed
within 24 hours. “The city was ordered to have time frames, and was
held in contempt over and over.”

Ostensibly with the purpose of consolidating, clarifying, and codifying
lead paint regulations and abatement, the City Council passed Local
Law 38 by a 36-15 vote in June of 1999, replacing all other legislation
dealing with lead.

Lead poisoning activists were incensed. Local Law 38, they charged,
was nothing more than a “landlord protection bill, ” one which would
decrease landlord responsibility in dealing with lead paint hazards.
Supporters of the bill maintained that it was a practical way to serve
the public interest.

In October of last year, Justice Louis York struck down the new law,
ruling in favor of the Coalition, who had brought the lawsuit against
the city. Justice York ruled that the city did not properly address
the bill’s environmental impact before voting on it. The city has
since appealed this decision; a ruling will probably be made early
next month. Chachere feels that there is almost no chance the decision
will be overturned. He says that those who are in favor of Local Law
38 “try to make it sound like something new, when it curtailed prior
responsibilities. … It eradicates lead dust as a hazard even though
all experts agree that lead dust is dangerous.”

Frank Ricci, the director of government affairs with the Rent
Stabilization Association, sees things differently. He believes
that most critics of Local Law 38 are trial lawyers who are afraid
that, under this new law, they would have has a much higher burden
of proof when bringing cases against landlords. “Under 38, the lawyers
would have to prove that the child got poisoned in the apartment,”
Ricci explains. “Some advocates are very sincere, but trial lawyers
are often masquerading in sheep’s clothing. That’s as plain a truth
as you’re going to get.”

Andrew Goldberg, an attorney for NYPIRG, feels the new law was deeply
flawed for a number of reasons. First of all, he says the new law
would only have addressed lead-poisoned children under the age of
six, when “Health Department records show that ten percent of lead
poisoned children are over the age of six.”

Even more disturbing, according to Goldberg, is that the new law
did not address lead dust as a potential hazard. The law also failed
to require a clearance test–a dust wipe test–to determine if a once-contaminated
area is free of lead dust. “This testing is the gold standard,” Goldberg
says. “It is the only way of knowing if an area is safe.” Instead,
the new law contained provisions for a limited clearance test, to
be done only if work was done on windows or doors.

Finally, Goldberg explains that who actually performs the lead abatement
is an
target=new>extremely important issue. The work must be done by trained workers,
he says, because “they know how not to poison themselves, how not
to contaminate the apartment further, and how not to contaminate their
own family.” Local Law 38 did not contain a provision that the work
be performed by trained workers. “The landlord lobby knows that clearance
testing and trained workers is a one-two punch,” Goldberg believes.

But Ricci feels that claims such as Goldberg’s are not grounded in
fact. He says that 99 percent of lead dust is tracked into an apartment
from outside due to its presence in soil from years of using leaded
gasoline. The dust-wipe test that advocates like Goldberg call for
simply “doesn’t correspond to the condition of the apartment,” according
to Ricci.

Ricci also says that lead abatement would still require trained experts,
but that Local Law 38 calls for specific cleaning procedures, which
could be done by the landlord, that constitute preventive maintenance.
He points out that the city, HPD, and owners’ groups have been running
training courses for landlords and supers.

Councilman Archie Spigner (D-Queens) strongly supported Local Law
38, and says he “would rather bet on a horse race” than guess whether
Judge York’s decision will be overturned. As for the critics of 38,
he says “people are entitled to their opinions.” He says he believes
Local Law 38 would “safeguard the health of children without placing
a fiscal burden on housing that is already on shaky fiscal ground.”

Spigner defends Local Law 38’s various specific provisions, which
he says were passed “after exhaustive testimony.” But he also feels
that legislation alone is not enough: “I think education is as important
as legislation … one without the other will never do the job.”

NOW WHAT?

What do activists advocate in lieu of Local Law 38? Carol Hill feels
the city needs “something kinder than Local Law 1, but more strict
than 38.”

Matthew Chachere believes that one good alternative was Intro 205,
which was written a few years ago by Councilman Stanley Michels (D,
Manhattan). “People will say that Local Law 1 is over-the-top,” he
admits. “But 205 says to take the appropriate action on a case-by
case basis.” NYPIRG is currently drafting a new proposal to cover
lead issues. Goldberg believes that it is important to have a strong
mandatory enforcement program, health-based standards, and liability;
in other words, if a landlord is negligent in his duties, he should
be liable.

Frank Ricci, however, doesn’t see any possibility of compromise.
He says, “They will never be happy. Thirty-eight was the compromise.”

But some important issues have not been covered by legislation. For
example, residents of buildings with fewer than three apartments have
no protection or recourse until a child is actually lead poisoned.
And some feel that small-time landlords should be offered monetary
compensation as an incentive to do the right thing. One solution,
according to Andrew Goldberg, is to offer tax breaks to landlords
who do building upgrades and repairs. This would help encourage landlords
who may not otherwise be able to afford it to maintain their buildings
properly.

The (relatively) good news is that, according to Goldberg, given
the age of New York City housing, the prevalence rate of lead poisoning
is lower than in many other cities. This, he says, is a credit to
the programs that have existed. “New York City is not the worst place
in the world,” he says, “but still we are talking about thousands
of children a year.”

To Cordell Cleare, even one lead-poisoned child is too many. Her
son deals with the results of his lead poisoning every day. That is
what led her to the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning,
which she now co-chairs. Her activism has been ignited, in fact; she
also serves as Council member Bill Perkins’ director of constituent
services. She believes that lead poisoning has a ripple effect. “It
costs us all around,” she says. “Housing, education, medicine. I feel
fortunate that I got in touch with a good group. But there are people
for whom it never worked out.”

###

Boost or Bust? How Energy Drinks Really Affect Your Body

buskerdog — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:06:32 +0000

What’s So Funny?

buskerdog — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 22:36:32 +0000