Posts Comments

You are here: Home / Archives for Admin3

Hottest Exercise Trends of 2012

September 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Every year or so, a new exercise fad comes along that has everyone rushing to the gym. It’s a very healthy occurrence—since working out can become tedious after a while, it is important for people find a reason to be reenergized about staying in shape. As we’ve progressed through aerobics, yoga, Pilates, Tae-Bo, hot yoga, and the numerous other exercise trends, only a few have stayed around through the decades.

If you feel out of the loop as you review the current list of classes at your local gym, here’s a description of what’s hot in working out for 2012:

  • Body Flow—A workout that combines yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates for a workout that builds muscle and increases flexibility and balance.
  • Zumba—This Columbian dance fitness routine has been all the rage in gyms for the past couple of years. Classes combine dances like salsa and merengue to help participants lose weight while having fun.
  • BodyCombat—Incorporating various forms of martial arts, including karate, boxing, taekwondo, and Tai Chi, this class uses music and moves to create an intense workout that is as challenging as it is fun.
  • Boot Camp—This type of training has been popular in gyms for several years. An instructor runs participants through a series of exercises, encouraging participants to work in teams and be competitive. These classes can be held in gyms or at parks and were initially inspired by the military style of training but have in some ways evolved to focus more on teamwork and competition.
  • Body Pump—A workout class that remains popular year after year, many devotees change gyms to continue to participate. The class puts weightlifting to music, with participants lifting barbells and doing step aerobics.

Most gyms will allow members to try each one to find the right fit for them. Each year offers new possibilities when it comes to fitness, it’s just a matter of finding the one that motivates you to get fit and stay fit.

Filed Under: Health and Beauty Tagged With:

A Gathering of Experts Explains Why Laughter Really Is Good For You

July 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We’ve all heard the adage: “Laughter is the best medicine.” But, now scientists have discovered that it’s true. Laughing is one of the most fun ways to protect a person’s heart, to lower blood pressure and to boost the immune system. And although children laugh on average about 400 times a day, adults on average tend to only laugh about 17 times a day. Today, A Gathering of Experts is going to explain why it might not be a bad idea to put Ace Ventura: Pet Detective into the DVD player.

I’ve heard that laughing burns calories. Is that true?

Yes, it is true. If a person laughs for 15 minutes a day he or she can burn 40 calories. It may not sound like a lot, but laughing can help a person burn off some of the calories that they take in throughout the day. And look at it this way, the more a person laughs the more calories they burn. It’s a win/win.

What are some of the other health benefits of laughter?

Research has found that 15 minutes of laughter a day is as important for your heart as 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week. And it’s more fun, too. Laughter helps boost the immune system because it produces T-cells – which makes a person less susceptible to colds. It also helps relieve depression, because it releases endorphins.

It sounds like laughter mimics exercise.

Laughter does mimic exercise because of the health benefits, endorphins and calorie burning potential. In fact, laughing 100 times gives a person the same work out as 10 minutes on a rowing machine or an exercise bike.  Also, laughing helps lower blood pressure and it has the effect of deep breathing – much like yoga. The body is  expelling more air from the lungs than it’s taking in, which makes it a cleansing process.

Filed Under: Health and Beauty Tagged With: , ,

Tricks to Maintain Your Waist Line When Eating Out

June 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s been a long day at work, and dinner out at a restaurant sounds much more tempting than cooking. However, eating out and healthy eating rarely go hand-in-hand. What to do? A Gathering of Experts will help you navigate some of the hidden pitfalls of eating out – even in high-end restaurants.

Whether you are on a diet or just don’t want to gain weight while on vacation, eating healthy and well at a restaurant is simply common sense. This can be addressed by managing portion control. One way to do that is to snack first on something like an apple with peanut butter or hummus and vegetables. In other words, don’t go into a restaurant with a growling stomach. And portion control doesn’t just mean self-moderation before appetizers – it also applies to “on the side.” Many chefs report that customers use more dressing than they would have received on the salad initially. Be smart and dip your lettuce into the dressing and don’t pour it on the salad.

Also, what you might think of traditionally as “healthy food” isn’t necessarily that at all. For instance, sushi will often be served in a jumbo portion and come deep-fried. Also, sushi sometimes contains mayonnaise  – which is something that’s decidedly not healthy.

Avoiding side dishes altogether is also a great way to keep the calories off. Many sides are cheese based or fried, so when ordering food plan the meal around a good protein and simple vegetables. Stay away from anything with too many add-on ingredients.

It’s also a good idea to utilize the professionals. Servers memorize the specials and can help restaurant goers find an entree, either on the menu or on the special list that will fit their individual needs. Many people don’t ask too many questions out of fear of being labeled a “problem customer.” But, when in doubt ask an expert – and servers are the most knowledgeable people to ask.

Finally, check out restaurant menus online. That will help determine if it’s nutritionally the right fit. If your restaurant of choice doesn’t have a full-fledged website with a menu, utilize sites like Yelp.com for additional information. It’s possible to eat well and not consume an entire day’s worth of calories in one sitting.

Filed Under: Health and Beauty, Lifestyle, Personal Tagged With: ,

A Gathering of Experts Discusses Positive Changes in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity

June 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Recently, Disney made the startling announcement that advertisers on all of their media outlets would have to adhere to a new set of stringent health guidelines. The new guidelines will force advertisers to limit the overall calories, fat, salt and sugar in what they advertise in programs geared toward children. A Gathering of Experts believes that what made that announcement so shocking is that sugary sweets have been intrinsically linked to children’s programming – especially Saturday morning cartoons – for years. But Disney went even further during an event with First Lady Michelle Obama. They also announced that they are revamping the food that will be served at their theme parks.

While Disney’s announcement was bold, it turns out that Ted Turner’s Cartoon Network started blazing the trail for them back in 2007. No Cartoon Network character is allowed to be in advertisements that endorse high fat or high sugar foods, including beverages. While the Cartoon Network started their program against childhood obesity quietly a few years ago, they haven’t gone as far as Disney in clamping down on advertisements. However, they have been proactive with their programming by developing shows like “Rescuing Recess” and “Move It Movement,” which encourage children to exercise.

A Gathering of Experts believes that these initiatives will go a long way in helping fight the epidemic of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity rates have grown nearly thirty percent since 1980, and they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. With more and more physical education classes being downsized – or canceled outright – due to school budget problems, children are much less active than they used to be.

But, the problem isn’t just lack of exercise. Schools across the country have adopted extremely fattening and high sugar meals that have contributed to the crisis. Pizza is considered a vegetable in  school food programs across the country, according to USDA standards – along with french fries. And it’s not just the food that schools serve, it’s the foods that they advertise that is part of the problem as well. Because of budget shortfalls, many schools across the country have started making money by having paid advertisements around the halls for sugary drinks and snacks.

However, because of initiatives by the Cartoon Network and Disney, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, childhood obesity is sparking conversations about the causes and potential solutions to the crisis. Hopefully in a few years there will be changes in place to make sure that childhood obesity is a thing of the past.

Filed Under: Health and Beauty, Personal Tagged With: , ,

Travel Tips For People Who Don’t Like to Travel

May 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Sure it would be amazing to see that Mediterranean island on your bucket list, or motor the wine country of California – but sometimes traveling can seem daunting. Is airline travel really as nerve wracking as it seems? How can a person drive across country and avoid rush-hour gridlock in cities? What about trains? Do they stop at the best destinations? A Gathering of Experts affirms that traveling can be a once-in-a-lifetime-event – in the best way possible.

Q: Everything in the news about airline travel seems to be a nightmare. Is it really as terrible as it sounds?

A Gathering of Experts: According to the Bureau of Transportation, over 1.73 million passengers fly per day in the United States. So, although anecdotally flying is cumbersome – it’s actually still incredibly safe and efficient.

Q: The old joke used to be that airline food was terrible, and now it seems like the trend is not to offer any food at all. Is that accurate?

A Gathering of Experts: For a while airlines really did cut back on meals. But now the opposite is happening – at least on longer domestic flights. Many airlines have been working with restaurateurs to create dishes that can withstand the challenges of flight to serve passengers excellent fare, either as a meal or for ala carte dishes.

Q: What about driving across the country? How can a traveler manage not to get stuck in massive gridlock in large cities?

A Gathering of Experts: The best way for a car trip to go smoothly is to really plan out the travel route. Either get off the interstate and stop for a meal and a quick sightseeing tour, or choose a secondary scenic route. If that’s not possible because of the specific metropolitan area, break the trip up into areas of interest, and leave in the morning at a leisurely pace so as not to fight with commuter traffic.

Q: What about trains? Are they efficient and do they go through the best destinations?

A Gathering of Experts: For many people, the preferred method of travel is by train. Trains will take passengers through city hubs, and can cost less than flying or driving. Also, many trains have sleeper cars, which is handy for long trips. And when traveling with a group, train travel is by far the most social way to get from place to place.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Travel Tagged With:
«Previous Page