02.28.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:55 pm by Jenny
I realize that many college co-eds resort to uh, shall we say, creative means to pay for their educations, but I must admit I was a bit stunned when I heard that a European high school was actually making it easier for students to learn the ropes of pole dancing, in case they needed to put their skills to use in the future.
Am I the only one who equates pole dancing with strip clubs?
Apparently administrators at South Devon College in the United Kingdom don't see the relation. In their eyes pole dancing is merely a source of fitness. At least that's what they used to think. Pole dancing, which is taught at dozens of dance schools around the world is a good source of exercise. However, when a voluptuous female demonstrated her skills during South Devon College's Be Healthy Week activities, she wasn't the only one sweating at the end of the performance.
The busty dancer was trying to show students how invigorating a good pole dance routine can be, but she ended up turning a few more heads than anticipated... and not in a good way. The curvy female's first demonstration was held in an open area of the school and drew a huge crowd of students ranging in age from 14 to 19. Those students ended up getting an eyeful of the dancer twisting, turning, bending and demonstrating other semi-erotic contortions. Needless to say, when she returned the next day for a second demonstration, she was asked to move her show into the more private sports hall.
According to reports, the change of venue didn't sit well with the dancer, who complained that the move enhanced the negative stereotyping that plagues, the art of pole dancing. The dancer was reportedly irate that school administrators didn't see the value of her demonstration. Her goal, she maintains, is to teach kids that there are other ways to burn calories and gain flexibility other than running, swimming and playing soccer.
Meanwhile, school administrators say they stand by their decision, which was based more on the fact that students had been disruptive in class following the dancer's demo. Apparently, many of the pupils recorded the pole dancer on their mobile devices and were too busy swapping pictures and videos to pay attention to teachers.
Do you consider pole dancing a legitimate fitness option?
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02.26.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:05 pm by Jenny
Forget about those fancy elliptical machines that supposedly place less stress on your knees, if you want a high-intensity, calorie-burning exercise, then find the nearest flight of stairs.
Stairs are everywhere, but most fitness lovers tend to pass them by in favor of high-tech gym equipment. But, why? Stairs don't cost a dime to use and provide a workout that returns maximum value in minimum time.
Studies show stair climbing gives you more bang for your buck because of the vertical component still, fitness experts say the exercise doesn't have a big following. Perhaps, it's because most exercisers don't realize the benefits that can be attained by 30 minutes of stair climbing. According to fitness experts, compared to jogging or cycling at a moderate pace without much of an incline, stair climbing burns more calories in the same amount of time.
Fitness experts maintain that walking up stairs at a moderate intensity burns 5 calories a minute for a 120-pound person, 7 for a 150-pound person, and 9 for a 180-pound person. Meanwhile, running stairs multiplies the caloric burn and the cardiovascular benefit.
This fact is not lost on the participants of New York's annual Empire State Building Run-Up race. Earlier this month 320 competitors raced up 86 floors and 1,576 stairs. The winner took two steps at a time and reached the observation deck finish line in 10 minutes and 7 seconds.
New York's race is just one of several stair climbing events held in the world's tallest skyscrapers. Towers from Taipei, Taiwan, to Milan, open their stairwells for races each year. The most popular stair climbing races in the United States include Chicago's "Hustle up the Hancock" and Las Vegas' "Scale the Strat." Denver, Des Moines, Omaha and Philadelphia also host smaller versions of these vertical races.
Do you climb stairs as part of your exercise regime?
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Posted in Uncategorized at 2:27 am by Jenny
Most people complain of bulging bellies and buttocks, but there are just as many individuals who are self conscious about back fat. Unfortunately, like its stubborn counterparts, there isn't one specific exercise that will make it go away.
According to fitness experts, when it comes to storing fat, our bodies dictate where it accumulates. Even more disheartening is the fact that there is no way to spot reduce these fatty areas. Basically, banishing back fat can only be accomplished by combining cardiovascular exec rise with a healthy diet, and strength training.
An effective fitness regime includes fat burning exercises, a diet that contains less than 2,000 calories and consistent weight training. Simply put, you need to eat less and exercise more to promote overall weight loss. Doing so will help eliminate back bulge.
Another way to accelerate weight loss is to incorporate interval training into your exercise regimen. Interval training is a great way to spice up your fitness routine and safely increase your intensity at the same time. To get started with interval training simply increase the pace of your workouts to an intensity that you can only maintain for one minute. Then, slow down for three to five minutes, and repeat four to five more times.
In addition to aerobic activity, you'll need to add strength training exercises that target back muscles to eliminate unsightly bulge. Weight training will tone your back muscles and minimize flab. Another option is to participate in Yoga and Pilates, both of which strengthen core muscles, while burning calories.
Interestingly, studies show that back fat is not nearly as bad for you as belly bulge. According to fitness experts, fatty tissue on the back area is much less concerning than fat in the abdominal region, which puts you at a greater risk for diabetes and heart disease.
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02.25.09
Posted in Brain Injury News at 1:06 pm by Jenny
Below is an article written by Jennipher Dickens, the Communications Director for the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, and quotes members of the Foundation's National Advisory Board. The article discusses young veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injuries and the concerns many on the Foundation's National Advisory Board have expressed. The article states how we must address young veterans with developing brains suffering from traumatic brain injuries and distinguish them from veterans with developed brains who also happen to be in completely different life stages. I urge everyone to read the article below:
OUR MOST-VULNERABLE VETERANS NEED SUPPORT
By Jennipher Dickens
After Vietnam, a vet being "shell-shocked" was the common diagnosis. With today's Iraq and Afghanistan wars, it is traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Unfortunately, the heroes who choose to serve our country have a high risk of sustaining a TBI while defending it. Last September, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledged for the first time that a significant number of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans were in fact suffering from brain injuries.
Numbers released at that time showed that of the veterans who had been screened, 20 percent showed symptoms of a brain injury. Blast injuries - caused by explosions such as those from car bombs - have been common among U.S. soldiers throughout the Middle East since the fighting began in 2003.
"Traumatic brain injuries are often insidious but always devastating. Those few among us who wear the cloth of the nation deserve our thanks and admiration, to be sure, but they also deserve the best care we can provide," Retired U.S Army Colonel and Medal of Honor recipient, Jack H. Jacobs said.
What most people don't realize is the vast difference between TBIs sustained by older soldiers as compared to younger ones - and in the Iraq/Afghanistan war, far more younger soldiers are being killed and seriously injured than their older counterparts.
Dr. Ron Savage, President of the North American Brain Injury Society, explained, "Too many people lump all veterans with TBI into the same category, but the truth is an 18-year-old veteran who sustained a TBI from a blast injury has much more in common with an 18-year-old who was injured in a car accident than with a 40-year-old fellow vet also injured in that same blast."
Brain injuries sustained by those less than 25 years of age are considered Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injuries (PTBIs), a form of Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury (PABI), according to experts in the field of neurology.
"Young adults are included due to the fact that their brains are still developing, as indicated by biological measures such as brain metabolism and myelination as well as neurocognitive measures like executive functions or inhibitions, and social measures such as the beginnings of independence, transition to adult privileges and responsibilities," noted Dr. Christopher Giza, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Mattel Children's Hospital.
Both Savage and Giza, along with more than 50 other top medical professionals from across the country, make up the National Advisory Board of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help children and young adults with PABIs.
Blast injuries in veterans are known to cause deficits in memory, attention and decision-making and often occur in conjunction with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse.
These issues in younger veterans with PTBI can cause problems in quite different areas as compared to adults with TBI.
"The 19-year-old veteran with PTBI faces a different set of challenges upon attempting to reintegrate into the community following an injury than does a 35-year old," stated Dr. Shari Wade of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Wade continued, "While a 35-year-old might return home to a stable family system with good supports in place, the 19-year-old may be coming home to live alone - these developmental considerations must be taken into account when constructing treatment and reintegration plans for young veterans."
All veterans with TBIs - even seemingly "mild" ones - face challenges reintegrating into their communities after returning from war post-injury.
Dr. Roberta DePompei, Professor and Chairman in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Akron, noted, "People don't understand the difference in people with TBIs from before their injury as compared to after, and this may be even more magnified with veterans. You have a group of young people returning from war, speaking and acting very differently than they were before they left, and people simply attribute it to things they saw - whereas in many cases it is actually because they have sustained a brain injury."
Veterans with TBI, particularly younger ones, also face additional challenges in reintegrating into school or work upon being discharged after returning home.
"Most colleges, universities and vocational training systems are generally not set up to support military-trained TBI vets," stated Dr. Ann Glang, Research Scientist at Oregon Center for Applied Science and Senior Fellow at the Teaching Research Institute.
"Who will be the PTBI-vet's advocate in the school system?" questioned Dr. Bonnie Todis, Associate Research Professor at the Teaching Research Institute. She continued, "This is something that desperately needs to be addressed, given the number of young brain-injured veterans now returning home."
Additionally, it was noted that current Veteran Administration (VA) out-patient facilities are not set up for the special care those veterans with PTBI require.
"There is a lack of services within the VA that target veterans with PTBI. This is a huge population constituting over half of veterans with brain injury, and there is nothing to distinguish one from the other despite that the younger and older groups clearly have different needs on multiple levels," stated Dr. Drew Davis, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children's Hospital of Alabama.
Dr. Gerard Gioia, Director of the Pediatric Neuropsychology Program at Children's National Medical Center and George Washington University, expressed concern over whether veterans were being adequately screened for brain injuries upon being released from service.
"Many people have been pushing for better screenings of veterans after returning from Iraq, but there are worries that it is not being done properly, and we need to make sure this is done and done correctly and thoroughly to ensure these heroes are receiving the best possible medical care," Gioia noted.
Dr. David Mooney, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, remarked, "We must not leave our youngest veterans' injuries unaddressed on the battlefield but instead maintain them as part of the family of TBI survivors who must band together, while still acknowledging their unique needs."
"This must be addressed in a comprehensive, integrative fashion with the rest of the TBI community, and we must also make sure the efforts to do so are evidence-based," stated Dr. Wayne Gordon, Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Sarah Jane Brain Project founder Patrick Donohue wants to make sure that is exactly the case. He brought the above-quoted doctors and their colleagues to New York City in January to draft the 62-page National PABI Plan, which creates the proper continuum of care for children and young adults suffering from PABI including these young veterans suffering from TBI. Donohue provided the first draft of the National PABI Plan to President Barack Obama's administration on January 20, 2009.
"It is our responsibility as Americans to make sure those who fight for our freedom are taken care of, which is why it is important for veterans with PTBI to receive the best possible care," he stated.
To read the National PABI Plan in full or to learn more about the Sarah Jane Brain Project, visit www.TheBrainProject.org.
Jennipher Dickens is the Communications Director for The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 4:08 am by Jenny
You know your fitness regime needs tweaking when people constantly ask you when your baby is due... and you're not pregnant.
Right, Kate Moss?
The fashionista, who became famous for being super skinny, is... well... not super skinny anymore. But, she's not pregnant either. People just think she is because she gained some weight (gasp!) and stopped exercising.
For the first time ever the 35-year-old catwalk queen is wearing a bra because, as Moss puts it, she has recently "grown breasts." The super model also reveals that the rest of her extra pounds "went to the right places." Consequently, she says she won't be resuming her exercise routine anytime soon. Moss' reason: She just launched a new lingerie collection and she thinks her new breasts will go a long way to help promote it.
So when Moss gains weight, it goes straight to her breasts, and when the rest of us pack on the pounds it goes straight to our hips, thighs and butt? What gives?
For the record, according to fitness experts and other medical experts, it is virtually impossible to gain weight in a specific body part. While fat does accumulate in certain regions of the body, it's not realistic to think that eating 50 chocolate bars a day is going to result in a bigger bust line and smaller waist.
Whether Moss chooses to admit it or not, doctors say, her lack of exercise and increased caloric intake has likely added bulk to her hips and waist as well as her breasts.
Translation: Don't follow Kate Moss' diet and fitness regime to gain bigger breasts.
Oh, and don't follow Mischa Barton's either.
The actress is making news again regarding her skinny stature.
Various news publications have questioned whether the 23-year-old is getting enough to eat and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
To quell critics Barton recently posted an online message to fans that reads:
"Just so you guys know I'm happier and healthier than ever. I still love my Pilates and yoga, and have cut back on fatty foods a bit. My time in India and Paris really just helped me lose a little bit of weight but there's nothing drastic going on!"
She ends by offering advice to her female fans: "Just be happy and secure with yourself and don't let other people's perceptions of you dictate the way you live your life."
What do you think about Moss and Barton? I don't consider them role models for proper diet and fitness. Do you?
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