Branching out beyond the adorable-yet-small-thinking tiny tots with their eyes all aglow crowd, Santa Claus made a pit stop at the YMCA this year. In an effort to reach an older and more lucrative crowd, while coal was not on the agenda – although I’m sure the resourceful and charitable Y folk would have found …
Read more “The Strength Training Wars: Pilates vs. Kettlebells”
The sign reads: “Dial 999 for coast guard, police, fire, or ambulance” The term “the bystander effect” was coined after Kitty Genovese, a young New Yorker, was brutally stabbed to death over the course of a half an hour while many bystanders (the original count in 1964 was set at 38 although later police determined …
Some days are easy workout days. Which is fine. I have learned – many times over as I am a remarkably slow learner – that you don’t have to hammer yourself on every workout. Last week was one of those weeks where I had blood-sweat-and-tears workouts on six out of six days. (More on that …
Read more “A Weight Workout To Make a Grown Man Cry. Or Give Birth.”
Today I experienced one of those weird occurrences that have baffled me ever since I seriously got into fitness – call it the Bermuda Triangle of Exercise, if you will. Just like Amelia Earhart – but less heroic and revolutionary and without the rubber helmet (just what exactly was that supposed to protect you from …
Although this elephant probably just lost 10 pounds in 10 seconds. There’s just something about doing handstand push-ups on the weight floor that brings it out in people. Brings what out, you ask? Eye rolls, high fives, stares, giggles… wedgies – trust me, we got it all today! But before we get to our crazy …
Read more “Experiment Results Shocker: I Did Not Lose 10 Pounds In One Month”
Does birth control make you gain weight? The research says no. And that, my friends, is the sound of a million women screaming and throwing things at their monitors. Occasionally I read a piece of research that makes me wonder if the researcher has ever met an actual live human specimen and this is one …
Sweat. Expended energy. Stress relief. Weight loss. Heart health. Friend time. Or alone time. An excuse to wear the ridiculously cute new workout duds from Nike Dance Line. I mean, really, what’s not to love about working out? Well, there is one part of you that doesn’t appreciate your dedication to exercise – and I’m …
Read more “The Bad Side Effect of Exercise That No One Talks About”
Scenario 1: At my oldest son’s swimming lesson recently the teacher, par for the first day, had all the kids line up next to the pool. It became apparent that one little girl, a devout Muslim as indicated by her abaya (a long black robe that covered her to her wrists and ankles) and hijab …
My locker room drama started and ended with the showers. Sixth grade P.E. (“Phy Ed” if you’re from Minnesota) found me at the end of a long line of body-conscious girls wrapped in thin towels, each awaiting her turn to wash off the sweat from dodgeball. Despite the fact that huddling against a wall staring …
Karate surprised me. As you may recall, I informed Sensei Don at the beginning of the Experiment that I was less interested in the mental aspects of Karate and more interested in the killing people. He was kind enough to tell me some things about the more lethal aspects but also gently guided me back …
