Saturday, May 15, 2010

World Cup fitness news - around the globe with fitness coverage of the World Cup teams


Saturday, May 15th, 2010
So much great fitness news being reported around the World Cup.  Whether it's about preparing for the altitude, wondering whether Wayne Rooney will be ready, or questioning the readiness of Nigeria's team, here are some of the stories of note: Lagerback gambles on talent and fitness -...
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Ageless Pilates: The Secret to Moving Comfortably, Easily and Pain Free for the Rest of Your Life

Author Christine Binnendyk (no, that's not a typo, it's her name) author of  Ageless Pilates, The Secret to Moving Comfortably, Easily and Pain-Free for the Rest of Your Life wrote and offered me a review copy of the book.

Although I like the idea of a gentler pilates workout, and the "look inside" feature on Amazon looked appealing, I just don't have the time to do a proper book review right now, but I told her if she wanted to send me an excerpt, I'd publish it.  Which she did, and which I did.  If the book sounds appealing to you too, see the article, "Try the Pregnant Cat for a kinder, gentler abdominal workout." 

I tried the Pregnant Cat, and it may be easy, but it's not a sissy move.  I'm trying to figure out how to do it on the Power Plate machine without it rattling my teeth to the bone.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Dr. Oz presents seven lists of things you need to know: his Ultimate Countdown.

America's most popular,  populist-style television MD is about to put it all out there for you:

On Thursday’s episode (5/13/2010), The Dr. Oz Show counted down the things you need to know:
  • 7 red flags your body is aging too fast
  • 6 worst meals in America
  • 5 cures from around the world
  • 4 libido booster super foods
  • 3 things to give you more energy
  • 2 alternative treatments
  • 1 supplement Dr Oz wants you to take

7 Red Flags Your Body is Aging Too Fast

1. Ring Finger Length - If your ring finger is longer than your index finger, it could be a red flag for women that they are more likely to develop osteoarthritis.
2. Bra Size - Women who are a size D or larger by age 20 are one and a half times more likely than someone with smaller breasts to develop diabetes.
3. Back of Your Knees Hurt When Coughing/Sneezing - If the back of your knees hurt during coughing or sneezing, it could indicate that you have deep vein thrombosis.
4. Jean Size - Adults who have larger abdomens in their 40’s are up to 3 and a half times more likely to develop dementia in their 70’s.
5. Balance - Poor balance can be a sign of cerebellum deterioration and instability (falling is a common cause of death for the elderly).
6. Dry Mouth – Dry mouth causes gum and tooth decay which puts you at risk for heart disease.
7. Crease on Earlobe – A linear earlobe crease is a sign of a potential heart attack. A loss of elastic fibers causes crease and hardening of arteries.

6 Worst Meals in America

1. Breakfast Sandwich (Eggs, sausage and cheese, wrapped in a giant pancake. Plus butter, syrup, ketchup) - 973 mg of cholesterol
2. Chicken Burrito and Chips - Nearly 1,700 Calories.
3. Fish Encrusted in Parmesan Cheese with Side of Spicy Rice – 3,300 mg of sodium.
4. Pepperoni and Meatball Pizza - Full pizza approximately 953 grams of fat.
5. Pasta with Breaded Shrimp – 196 Grams of Carbs.
6. Ice Cream with Mix-Ins (candy, brownie, sprinkles, sauce) – 1,344 Grams of Sugar.

5 Cures From Around The World (the first four of these are available here in San Jose at Down To Earth Nutrition, 545-C Meridian, San Jose between Parkmoor and San Carlos).

1. Bitter Melon ( Japan ) - Used for regulating blood sugar in diabetics.
2. Noni ( Polynesia ) – Used to treat respiratory conditions as it lowers inflammation.
3. Cordyceps ( Tibet , China ) - Shown to fight cancer by shrinking tumor sizes (particularly with lung or skin cancers).
4. Elderberry ( Austria ) – Powerful immune booster for cold and flu.
5. Durian ( Malaysia ) – Used as a fever reducer.

4 Libido Booster Super Foods

1. Ginger
2. Halibut
3. Pumpkin Seeds
4. Asparagus

3 Things To Give You More Energy

1. Use an astringent
2. Try one minute of exercise
3. Increase Magnesium Intake

2 Alternative Treatments

1. Equine Assisted Therapy – Used to treat anxiety, depression, and even Autism.
2. Honeybee Therapy – Patients purposely get stung because venom has enzymes that can help reduce pain, especially for arthritis.

1 Supplement Dr. Oz Wants You To Take

1. Vitamin D – Recommended daily does is 1,000 mg/day.

Friday, May 7, 2010

This week's notes from my Power Plate workout

Three articles caught my fancy this week about Power Plate -

Health and Fitness magazine had an article about a Power Plate cellulite-busting routine, which as much as anything just shows how accepted the Power Plate is in the UK as part of the fitness landscape.  I still have some reservations about anything as a cellulite busting routine, short of building up sexy muscles that eventually replace the unsexy flab.  But, sure,  I'm doing the cellulite buster as part of my overall Power Plate workout.  Y'know, we're all suckers for that.  Me included.

ELLE UK  Editor Carrie Gorman wrote about her first Power Plate workout at Harrods (the tony London department store) in a blog post, once more showing the brand-name awareness in UK.  She starts her post, saying, "I have smugly dismissed Power Plate in the past as the lazy girl’s exercise of choice." and describes the 30 minutes and how she barely broke a sweat.  Then she ends her post with, "But the next day, my body ached from the - I won’t say “work” - experience. If this works, I’m telling everyone!”"  I'll be curious to follow along and see how her results come along. 
UPDATE:  It's not worth a separate post, but being that I'm pretty much on the same track as Carrie Gorman, I thought it was interesting that on May 14 (two weeks after her first post that I quoted above, she wrote this: Four sessions down and I’m hooked. The Power Plate class is over before it’s even begun, meaning that I no longer have to chose between having an evening and going to the gym. Here I can do both."  My workout is nowhere near as grueling as hers (read her post for the workout) but I love that the PowerPlate is a quick workout. 

Here in the US, Women on the Web picked up on Power Plate as an Obsession of the Week, and Jane Buckingham told her readers  ...[it] could be the best thing to happen to fitness since spandex....It’s the most efficient and effective exercise I’ve found since not exercising (which frankly, wasn’t working so well). 

On the personal front, my friend Lakshmi's arm & shoulder "froze" on her at work and I invited her over for 10 minutes on the Power Plate, which restored circulation and gave her back range of motion in her arm.   The day before she'd had to leave work and go home and it took Advil and several hours to diminish the pain. Her pain came back today, of course.  

As for me, three times a week I'm doing an overall 25 minute workout.  On another three days I'm doing a 15 minute stretch and massage routine.  Last week after visiting 31 artists studios (it was Silicon Valley Open Studio weekend), I came home and plopped my weary feet on the machine and did an"ahhh, this is nice."

The fact that Power Plate is so unknown here in Silicon Valley still amazes me.  There was a Power Plate listed for sale on Craigslist from someone in Palo Alto. Bought in 2003, and "like new. hardly ever used."  No wonder.  Even being very motivated, it's not so much fun to be the only one using a cool exercise routine.   

More about my Power Plate experience: week one; set up