Despite its grace and beauty, ballet is tough — physically and mentally demanding.
So don’t be deceived by the pretty-sounding “plié” and “relevé.” These exercises will make your leg muscles burn. In this video, the last of three, Lindsay Schultz demonstrates two combinations to tone your lower body. Schultz is founder of Ballet Body Sculpt fitness classes in Glen Rock.
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The summer issue of Vegetarian Times. The cover photo is of a broccoli salad dish that is part of a 7-day cleanse. The cleanse has the participant drink blueberry, avocado and beet smoothies every day for breakfast. It’s supposed to promote mindful and healthy eating. Sounds delish.
Then, when I got the most recent issue of Vegetarian Times in the mail, it included a 7-ingredient cleanse, which included a smoothie and a few vegan dishes to rotate throughout the week. The cleanse helps you focus on eating healthy, antioxidant-rich food, while avoiding sugar, gluten, processed foods, animal products, caffeine and alcohol. The website also has a 7-day total life detox.
Sonnewald’s in Spring Grove has an entire supplement section studded with cleansing and detoxing aids, including teas, powders, pills and laxatives.
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According to a recent study by Johns Hopkins, overweight and obese patients are more likely than normal-weight patients to ‘doctor shop,’ which often leads to unnecessary emergency room visits. (Reuters — Lucas Jackson)
Overweight and obese patients are significantly more likely than normal-weight patients to repeatedly switch primary care doctors, a practice that disrupts continuity of care and leads to more emergency room visits, according to a study by Johns Hopkins Medicine, published online in the journal Obesity.
Dr. Kimberly A. Gudzune, who led the research, said “doctor shopping” among overweight patients might be a result of negative experiences with the health care system, whether that be off-putting comments by office staff, unwanted weight-loss advice by providers, or medical equipment and office furniture that doesn’t accommodate their bodies.
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This week we made a drastic jump from lovely springtime temperatures to drenched in sweat crazy kill me now hot. It’s supposed to go back down to normal this weekend, but I know this is just the beginning of another hot summer. These are some of the hardest runs for me.
As the sweatiest girl I know, I’ve gotten used to returning from a run soaked head to toe. They say it takes about two weeks for your body to acclimate to hot weather. So when the weather fluxuates like this there is no acclimation happening. The humidity makes me feel like I can’t get a full breath, I cling to any shade I can find, I feel drained, and I sweat buckets.
Because I’m so disgusting I try to be really careful about making sure I hydrate. I’ve got 3 different vessels to carry water on my runs, depending on how far I’m going and if there’s anywhere to fill up along the way.
All my hydration options. DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS – KATE PENN
In this week’s Foot Power column, M.C. Besecker writes about the various hats he’s worn when it comes to the Bob Potts Marathon, which is scheduled for Sunday on the York County Heritage Rail Trail. This time, he’ll experience it as a father and a fan:
The fifth annual running of the Bob Potts Marathon, the only marathon in York County, starts at 6 a.m. Sunday, and is officially sold out. The race starts near the York College track, and the majority of the run takes place on the York County Heritage Rail Trail. It is mostly flat, which makes it fast, and popular among runners trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
OK, that is the business end of the column. Now for the personal part.
I ran this race in 2009 and thoroughly enjoyed it, but that is not what I am focusing on today. I have also covered it from a journalist standpoint for five years, but that’s not important today, either.
No, this time around, everything is different. For the first time, I will be there in a role as a father and a fan all rolled into one.
My son, Tyler, a junior at Dallastown Area High School, has trained for this race ever since the fall, when he completed his first half-marathon. It has been a long six months, and a lot different for me watching him rather than doing it myself.
In fact, as humbling as this is to write, he has totally left me in the dust. I have been there for support and advice, but have not joined him on many of his training runs. Tyler is doing this on his own.
Read more about the race and how Tyler has prepared for it in this week’s Foot Power column.
Be sure to check out the Foot Power calendar for more local racing events.
Sometimes I need a reminder or a push to stick with my health plan.
OK. Maybe I need more of a slap in the face. Either way, sometimes it’s difficult to stay motivated at the gym or while eating bean sprouts.
I want to be like…
WOOHOO! I’m fitness instructor Denise Austin about to run for a good cause! (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
When in reality, I’m more like…
Maybe I’ll just relax for a few more minutes. (AP Photo/Dena Potter)
Here’s a few links that remind us to get out of that chair and back into a healthy lifestyle:
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The Farmers Market in Hershey aims to improve access to locally grown food and promote healthy living. (Photo courtesy Farmers Market in Hershey)
Partnering with Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, the wellness-themed market provides access to fresh, local produce and products, as well as free health screenings, family entertainment and education. According to its website, most products are naturally and organically produced within a 25-mile radius of the market.
Faculty at Penn State College of Medicine founded the market because they recognized a need for greater access to healthy, locally grown foods, according to a news release. Since, the market has become a weekly gathering of local farmers, producers, artisans, musicians and health care professionals who aim to promote healthy living.
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If you decide to get into badminton, don’t buy cheapo rackets. The shuttlecock will get stuck in the webbing.
First in a mini-series about overlooked and underappreciated ways to exercise:
Badminton is an awesome game.
One summer when we were kids, my brother and I for some reason got captivated by Wimbledon. I can’t remember who was playing or who won (mid-‘70s), but it inspired in us a desire to play tennis. The problem was that we didn’t have tennis rackets or a tennis court within walking or biking distance.
What we did have, though, was a badminton set.
It was a bad badminton set. The net was all twisted and tangled, with those spider-webby dust bunnies that breed in garages weaved throughout. The rackets were all bent and limp — and the tape wrapping on the handles had decayed into sticky goo that rubbed off on your fingers.
But we set it up in the backyard and spent hours bashing birdies back and forth. Of course, we were insanely competitive with one another, so we started playing games, keeping score, keeping track of how many games we each had won. We were pretty evenly matched.
Then we went totally nuts and created a tournament called Wimp-ledon (knowing nothing of the sport’s history but figuring badminton was a wimpy second cousin to tennis). We enlisted friends and neighbors, drew up brackets and spent a whole Saturday playing in what turned into a party atmosphere. I won the first tournament. My brother won the next one. And it became regular part of our summers. Now, when our families get together, we still play tournaments.
Most people think of badminton as a game you play half-heartedly at picnics. Go out and plink the birdie around, beer in hand, missing more than hitting, having a few laughs. That’s fine. But it can also be good exercise if you ratchet up the intensity and take it a little more seriously.
It is, after all, an Olympic sport! (Though last year it kind of embarrassed itself with the women’s teams trying to lose to get better bracket draws).
My younger son and I love to play on summer evenings. If there’s not too much wind (the mortal enemy of badminton) we string a net across the driveway and volley or play games – sweating up a storm.
You should try it! It’s way more fun than plodding along on a treadmill.
Hanover Hospital’s Health eCooking recipe for Watermelon Bunch has 136 calories per serving and fewer grams of sugar than seasonal sugary drinks. (Submitted)
A glass of store-bought lemonade can include 27 grams of sugar — more sugar than the American Heart Association recommends per day — according to a news release from Hanover Hospital.
Public health organizations and experts have been encouraging people to cut back on sugary beverages because they provide no nutritional value and lead to weight gain. Many site sugary drinks as a contributor to the obesity epidemic. Although water and unsweetened teas are the best choice, if you’re thirsting for a sweeter beverage, opt for lighter.
In June, Hanover Hospital will release a collection of healthier drink recipes on the Health eCooking section of its website. The beverages are healthier versions of traditional favorites.
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Photos taken by Bethany Fehlinger
When I picked the dishes for “50 States, 50 Vegan Dishes,” I didn’t realize at first that I chose so many cakes and baked goods.
Now, as I am re-assessing my diet, the dreaded sweet treats are at every turn. So, when my weekly Runner’s World nutrition email popped into my inbox, a new, healthy recipe fell into my lap. It fit perfectly within my “50 Dishes” parameters — Hummingbird Muffins.
Let’s take a step back: Hummingbird Cake was first submitted by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina in the February 1978 issue of “Southern Living.” It called for 2 cups of sugar in the cake, 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of “salad oil” and a cream cheese frosting that added even more butter and sugar. Even the updated “lightened” version isn’t so light. The pecans make it even more southern, as they are grown in the South.
So, why is it named “hummingbird”? There isn’t a definitive answer, but some theories include the idea that eating the cake makes you hum with happiness; it is sugary rich, just like the nectar hummingbirds love to feast on; people love this cake so much they hover over it, just like hummingbirds do to their food; and/or the cake originated in Jamaica where the national bird is a breed of hummingbird.
Let’s get back to the food. A rich and sugary cake won’t fit in my diet, so the hummingbird muffins seemed promising. I will say that this original recipe also calls for way too much sugar, but I didn’t want to experiment too much on my first try. I think that less sugar can be added to the honey, and the brown sugar taken out of the crumble topping.
I also took out the eggs to veganize the dish, as the bananas and applesauce already in the recipe are usual substitutions for eggs in vegan baked goods. I think the eggs are added by Runner’s World for added protein, but are totally not needed. There are a few other things I veganized, using Nutiva hemp protein powder and Earth Balance; and I used Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour and old-fashioned oats.
This isn’t a “true” vegan muffin, as it contains more than a 1/3 of a cup of honey. There is the great honey debate, but I personally eat it if it is local (yeah, York Central Market!) and it helps my persistent seasonal allergies.
These muffins certainly pack in the protein, so give these a try after your next workout.
In 2011, the York Daily Record Sunday News produced a special report on obesity in York County. Check out the award-winning series here.
York City officials are are challenging residents to lose a total of 5,000 pounds by September 2013. Click here to sign up for the initiative.
