An ongoing feud between a long-distance runner and officials in Portsmouth, N.H., has wound up in court, where a judge has ruled to ban him from the city. Runner Craig O’Brien, 48, said police harassed him for his daily exercise routine after he began running in downtown Portsmouth. Police say “he interrupts vehicular traffic” and they have the right to take “appropriate action.” Read the tale in a Boston Globe story posted on the Boston.com, “For jogger, no more crossing the line.”

Slacklining. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

Slacklining, which has participants making their way along a flat strip of nylon stretched between trees just above the ground, has been widely popular in Europe and among climbers. Now the exercise is spreading outside in the U.S. via college campuses, parks and youth camps.

“It’s like tai chi on a tightrope,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Read more about the latest fitness craze in an L.A. Times article, “Looking to achieve balance? Try slacklining.”

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TA contraction start

By MARC J. FONDINO, DC
Davidson Chiropractic

During my six years of treating patients I would have to say the number one presenting problem I see in my office is low back pain.

Statistics indicate low back pain is the second most common reason people seek medical care (aside from the common cold), and eight out of ten of us will experience lower back pain at some point in our lives, Read the full story

SOURCE: Snap Fitness

Here are some tips for keeping yourself motivated in your workout routine.

1. Vary your routine every so often to prevent boredom and provide enhanced benefits by working different muscle fibers within the same broad muscle groups. Try different exercises; try doing more reps and lighter weights one day; more weight and less reps another day, etc.

Read the full story

ADVERTISEMENT. Snap Fitness is a DavidsonNews.net advertiser.

SOURCE: Snap Fitness
Your muscular strength affects nearly everything you do on a daily basis. That’s why strength training is an essential part of a well-rounded fitness program, especially during the summer. Strength training not only tightens and tones, helps strengthens your bones, prevents muscle loss and injury, but there are significant weight-loss benefits.

A regular cardio routine will help you increase your heart rate, and that in turn will burn calories. But that’s only half the equation when it comes to managing your weight. Not only is strength training essential in helping you to look trimmer and shapelier, but the added muscle helps you burn more calories – even after your workout is done.

For dieters, this type of exercise is even more important. When you lose weight, up to a quarter of the loss may come from muscle, which can slow your metabolism. Strength training helps you rebuild any muscle you lost by dieting – or keep you from losing it in the first place. Consider a few other facts:

• Muscle is your body’s primary calorie burner – it’s more metabolically active. At rest, each pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories a day, while a pound of fat burns only 2 calories. One study showed that strength training increases the number of calories the body burns at rest by as much as 7 percent a day.
• Adults over the age of 30 lose an average of 1 percent of their strength per year. But increases in strength can occur at any age.
• As you lose muscle through aging or inactivity, your metabolism slows. It starts an unhealthy cycle – you gain fat, become more sedentary, lose more muscle and gain more fat. Strength training helps you reverse the cycle!

Learn more about starting a fitness plan at www.snapfitness.com.

ADVERTISEMENT: Snap Fitness is a DavidsonNews.net advertiser.

SOURCE: Snap Fitness

1. Vary your routine every so often to prevent boredom and provide enhanced benefits by working different muscle fibers within the same broad muscle groups. Try different exercises; try doing more Read the full story

ADVERTISEMENT – Snap Fitness is a DavidsonNews.net advertiser.

Shop wisely for a gym membership

Snap Fitness press release

Given the tough economy, you’re probably are looking for ways to trim unnecessary expenses and save money wherever possible. The real challenge is finding ways to cut costs without cutting quality of life.

Take your health, for example. A recent survey by Money magazine shows that about half of all consumers are unwilling to part with their gym membership despite the uncertain economy. But even if fitness is a staple in your life, there are ways to save or get more value without compromising the quality of the workout experience.

Here are some tips from Amie Cennamo, owner of Snap Fitness 24-7 in Davidson:

Ask about freeze and cancellation policies

“Some gyms advertise a great enrollment offer but don’t tell you about the long-term contract that goes with it,” said Cennamo. “Ask the salesperson if you can pay month-to-month, if you are able to freeze your membership and how much notice you need to give in order to cancel your membership. Otherwise, you might find yourself paying a lot more money over a long period of time.” Snap Fitness offers the option of paying as you go, allows you to freeze up to three months per calendar year and requires 30 days’ cancellation notice.

How will the club will help you reach your fitness goals?

“Anyone can open a gym, buy some equipment and sell you a membership, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting your money’s worth or able to achieve noticeable improvement in your health,” said Cennamo. “At our club, we offer new members a free $100 Fitness Assessment with a personal trainer to test your strength, endurance and flexibility, and give you a sense of the types of workouts you should do to improve. We also include a free session to show how to use the equipment and put you on a workout plan. It’s just another way we give our members more for their money.”

Ask about free services that may come with membership
Cennamo recommends looking for add-ons that “coach” you towards better results. Snap Fitness, for example, offers members a host of online tools for little to no cost, including meal planning, workout tracking and health and wellness coaching.

“We know times are tough but that doesn’t mean you should have to sacrifice your health,” said Cennamo. “Avoid paying for amenities you don’t need. Make a list of what’s really important for you in a health club and let that list be your guide. Look for the club that can give you everything you need and nothing you don’t.”

Right now for a limited time, Snap Fitness is offering a special 50% discount on its enrollment fee ($49.50 value): for more information about Snap Fitness or to arrange a tour, call 704-895-7474 or visit www.snapfitness.com/davidsonnc.

Spring into health: Your first step toward health awareness

Davidson College press release

Davidson College students in the Pre-Medical Health Professionals (PMHP) group invite members of the community to a Health Fair on Sunday, April 26.

The event will run from 3-6 p.m. at the Ada Jenkins Community Center, located at 212 Gamble Street. It will feature eight stations geared toward educating participants about a healthy lifestyle. Stations include instructions on proper hand washing, healthy eating habits, how to avoid spreading germs, and the benefits of exercise. There will also be information about alternative medicine, holistic practices and stress-relief.

Entertainment will be provided by Davidson College’s a cappella group, The Generals, and by the college’s Shades of Brown step team. There will also be a moon bounce for children.

Davidson’s PMHP group is dedicated to raising health awareness within the community. For more information call Janell Dyitt at 484-354-0664.

Following is an excerpt from Brenda Barger’s Around Davidson column, April 2, 2009.

Jeff Heal

Finding a coupon for a free consultation and training session at one of DavidsonNews.net‘s advertisers made your correspondent lace up her Sauconys for a one-hour appointment at “Fitness Together” located in Davidson Commons adjacent to PostNet. What a delightful hour to find out that geriatric muscles still had a little life left in them and furthermore to get to meet owner, Jeff Heal.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Jeff graduated from East Stroudsburg University where he ran hurdles, 4×4 relays and Read the full story

The Wall Street Journal reports this week that a growing number of people are joining what are being called “brain gyms.” These are small businesses that typically offer brain-teaser programs that are supposed to help keep your mind in shape as you age. The Journal reports that “the scientific jury is still out” on whether these help, but it’s not stopping people from joining. Read the article, “The Latest in Mental Health: Working Out at the Brain Gym”

More health and fitness links

Below we catch up on some reading from Cognitive Daily, a pyschology blog written by Dave and Greta Munger of Davidson. Their daily posts offer an easy-to-read look at the latest research and trends in the psychology world. You can read them daily at http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/ Read the full story

National Institutes of Health press release

Women who maintain a healthy weight and who have lower perceived stress may be less likely to have chromosome changes associated with aging than obese and stressed women, according to a pilot study that was part of the Sister Study. The long-term Sister Study is looking at the environmental and genetic characteristics of women whose sisters had breast cancer to identify factors associated with developing breast cancer. This early pilot used baseline questionnaires and samples provided by participants when they joined the Sister Study.

Two recent papers published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention show that factors such as obesity and perceived stress may accelerate the aging process.

“Together these two studies reinforce the need to start a healthy lifestyle early and maintain it,” said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers who published these papers are from the NIEHS which sponsors the Sister Study.

Read more on the National Institutes of Health website, CLICK HERE>

Scientists study possible cure for peanut allergies: small doses

Researchers at Duke University and Arkansas Children’s Hospital have found a potential breakthrough in the search for treating children with peanut allergies: Giving children small but increasing daily doses of peanuts. The study of the potential treatment is still in the early stages. READ MORE>