Medical blog » Features

Review: Absolute Fitness for iPhone

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:16:24 +0000

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as a “fitness diary,” which paints a very accurate picture of what the iPhone and iPod touch app delivers. With an extensive database of food types and nutritional items along with a large variety of exercise types and styles, Absolute Fitness will allow you to track you nutritional intake and exercise levels on a day-to-day basis.
While not the easiest application to get around in, Absolute Fitness certainly delivers value in terms of what it can do to assist you in understanding your eating habits and exercise patterns. The food listings include a comprehensive array of standard day-to-day fare as well as esoteric food items such as Agutuk (an Alaskan dish made with Fish, Berries and Seal Oil) and walrus meat. Suspiciously missing are simple items such as my daily Hazelnut Latte from the local coffee house. Luckily, Absolute Fitness allows for custom food and exercise database entries.
For repetitive meal eaters, Absolute Fitness delivers the ability to tag food items as favorites as well as group individual food items into custom meals for easier entry and calculation. Exercise listings are equally diverse and include standard activities such as aerobics, jogging, and darts as well as more unique activities including polo, snowmobiling, and jai alai.
Reporting on your diet and fitness progress features a variety of visual aids for analyzing daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly progress. You can export data via HTML or CSV formats for further analysis as well.
While a bit on the expensive side, Absolute Fitness is well worth its weight if it contributes to a healthier you.
Absolute Fitness is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.x software update.
, an experience design firm in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Mercury, Hornets stars team for youth fitness

admin — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 03:55:38 +0000

Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi and New Orleans Hornets phenom Chris Paul will introduce a nationwide youth fitness initiative at the 2009 All-Star Jam Session and unveil their new “got milk?” ads.
The ads will hit publications in March.
The Get Fit By Finals program from the NBA and the “got milk?” Body By Milk Campaign, challenges teens to make a personal fitness goal and provides a plan to achieve it.
Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese – a stat that’s likely to inflate. The new program aims to prevent future health problems by arming teens with fitness and nutrition tools to help them develop healthy habits for a lifetime.
Get Fit By Finals calls on teens to take a simple steps to improve their physical fitness and nutrition, such as being active for at least 60 minutes a day and drinking three glasses of lowfat or fat free milk in place of sugary beverages.
The semester-long program features an in-school education outreach as well as an interactive online program for teens at www.bodybymilk.com. It includes tips, tools and exclusive videos from NBA and WNBA players, trainers and sports dietitians to help teens achieve their own personal fitness goals. Teens also will be rewarded with cool prizes along the way, including a VIP experience at the Finals 2009.

Fitness guidelines for the average American

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:46:35 +0000

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Sun, Fun & Fitness: Fun and Fit as a Family Returns for the 2009 …

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:57:45 +0000

Driving home just how important this issue is, Schrager is pulling
out all the stops and producing a children’s health seminar, “Beyond
Chicken Nuggets: How to Raise a Healthy Eater,” hosted by Tara
Parker-Pope, the Well columnist for The New York Times. Modeled off
the symposium that took place as part of the inaugural Food Network
New York City Wine & Food Festival, featured seminar guests include
Rachael Ray, founder of the nonprofit Yum-O!, Dr. Arthur Agatston,
author of “The South Beach Diet” and founder of Healthier Options for
Public Schoolchildren, and Jessica Seinfeld, founder and president of
the nonprofit Baby Buggy. Taking place on Saturday, February 21 at
Jungle Island, the symposium is $35 and includes admission to Fun and
Fit as a Family that day.

New year's fitness resolutions

admin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:10:56 +0000

MADISON (MedStar) — A lot of people choose weight loss for their New Year's resolution.
In this Medical Minute, we offer up the top fitness picks for 2009.
The future of fitness is fusion.
  This laid back class fuses yoga and pilates to make yoga-lates.
Trainer Anne Wilkinson said, ”fusion takes a little bit of cardio, a little bit of resistance training, or like in a yoga-lates, a little bit of mind body connection with the stretch and core toning and stretching and puts it together and, and helps to illicit the response that the client needs without them investing three, four, five hours in the gym.”
  When she's not putting a class through its paces, Anne Wilkinson is a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise.
Along with fusion classes, the A.C.E. list of trends to watch in 2009 includes a back to basics approach.
  Wilkinson said, ”let's build that cardiovascular base and that muscle toning or resistance base and the flexibility base. And then from there, let's allow the individual to go out and live their lives to have a fuller or a better experience in life because they're more physically fit.”
  Kettlebell class includes using old fashioned, yet hardcore, kettlebells.
  Wilkinson added, ”it's starting to come back. In the industry, a lot more fitness professionals are seeing the benefit of kettlebells and, and how that can motivate somebody, a new toy will motivate somebody into, you know, coming into the gym and taking a kettlebell class or a personal training session one on one.”
  Exercizer Jim Montague said, ”I got like the best workout of all the workouts I've ever done [with kettlebells].”
  Multi-purpose fitness centers, those that include cardio machines, weights and classes were all the rage.
Now, you're starting to see speciality facilities, like one which features vibrating power-plate workouts.
  The power-plate uses whole body vibration to give you more of a workout in a lot less time.
Wilkinson added, ”now what we're seeing is people specializing in one thing or another. So you'll see the increase in pilates studios. You'll see the increase in yoga studios where these centers are focusing on come in, all I do is personal training, come in to my studio and it's me and you, one on one and we're gonna work together. Instead of coming into the gym where it's one stop shopping, kind of like the Wal-Mart or the Sam's Club kind of approach to fitness.”
  The bottom line is finding the time to put physical fitness back on your agenda in the new year.
  ”I think it's really important going into 2009 for people to, to focus back on basics. I think that they need to take a look at in their life where they can fit in the exercise classes or their visits to the gym or how about just a walk outside,” said Wilkinson
  And that should give you all the incentive you need to walk the walk in the new year.

ICA to host 17th annual natural fitness symposium

admin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:49:56 +0000

February 17, 2009 The International Chiropractors Association (ICA) will host the 17th Annual ICA Symposium on Natural Fitness March 6-8 in Columbus, Ohio. The event will feature Arnold Schwarzenegger and will be held in conjunction with the worlds largest fitness festival, the Arnold Schwarzenegger Fitness Weekend.
The symposium will include Franco Columbo, DC, who has won every major title in body building
and power lifting and who is also a dedicated chiropractor; Lee Haney, whos an accomplished body builder and educator; Ray Lankford, a former Major League Baseball player; and various faculty speakers.
Source: International Chiropractors Association,

Fitness Matters: Don't let the cold, wind or snow stop you

admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:28:38 +0000

Find that adventurous spirit this winter, and enjoy the crisp invigorating air by being active outdoors.
Outdoor fitness is not only fun, but it burns more calories while you’re trying to keep warm, and it adds variety to your activities and challenges your muscles in ways they are not used to.
Whether you are in your own backyard or climbing a local hill, sledding is a great workout. The fun part really only lasts a few minutes, then comes the real workout . . . climbing back up the hill. Depending on how much hill climbing you are doing, calves and hamstrings are challenged, but it is also a cardiovascular workout that can burn up to 485 calories per hour. Like hiking, the terrain you are climbing will determine how hard you have to work.
Ice skating indoors or outdoors boosts endurance, balance and coordination. Muscles that are challenged include abdominals, calves, hamstrings and quads, and it is the aerobic equivalent of a light jog or a run, and is low impact as long as you stay upright. A leisurely pace can burn up to 460 calories per hour, while a more vigorous pace burns closer to 600.
Cross-country skiing is an aerobic workout that works the entire body, especially the biceps, triceps, glutes, hamstrings and quads. It can be done almost anywhere there is snow, and is low impact.
Snowshoeing is considered the hybrid workout of running and cross-country skiing. Snowshoes add a bit of resistance, yet this activity has less impact on the joints. It is a great way to cross train and condition for running, and actually builds stamina and leg strength and tone. Research has shown that this activity improves overall conditioning for running. All fitness levels can enjoy this activity at their preferred intensity level and can burn from 360-860 calories per hour.
Snowboarding requires incredible balance, coordination, as well as leg strength. Preparing ahead of time with core training, overall body strengthening and flexibility training will enhance your experience with snowboarding. The same is true for downhill skiing, since it involves every muscles from your abs down. The mechanics of these two activities involve the knee and hips joints, so it goes without saying that the muscles surrounding these joints need to be strong. With an increase in balance, coordination, and endurance your risk of injury will also be less.
It’s important to remember that when you are preparing to be active outdoors, especially for a sport, proper warm-up and stretching are necessary. Cold temperatures make your body less flexible and prone to injuries, so don’t skimp on this important step.
Don’t let the wind, snow and cold slow you down with regards to fitness. If you dress appropriately, with layers to keep you warn and reflective clothing to keep you visible on dark days, you will enjoy it like a true Minnesotan should. Whether you are 6 or 60, you can enjoy many of the exciting winter sports and activities that snow brings because we are all kids at heart.
Shelly Greenfield is an athletic trainer and writer in Rochester. Fitness Matters features the fitness stories of area residents.

Readers Care: Rise n' Shine helps family focus on the future

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:58:03 +0000

Angela Askren doesn’t deny she’s made mistakes in her life.
Chief among them: getting hooked on prescription painkillers and writing fake prescriptions for herself.
It cost her a job as a medical assistant and landed her in jail. Four years ago, Askren met Steven Brower. Both were in recovery. Askren, now 30, has been clean for four years, Brower, 41, for 5 1/2.
Three years ago, more than a year after they began dating and just a short time after they moved in together, Brower shared a painful secret: He was HIV positive, but hadn’t told her.
She got tested and found out she also was positive for the virus that causes AIDS.
“It was a hard time,” Askren says. “I went through a deep depression. I stayed with him because I knew that he loved me and he’d been afraid to tell me. He has a lot remorse because of it.
“It took a long time for us to recover as a couple and grow from that. But he’s the kind of man who will go out of his way to help anybody and everybody. He’s a hard worker to provide for his family.”
Medical reality collided with dreams.
But life did not grind to a halt.
Seventeen months ago, Askren, who has two sons, 10-year-old Johnathan and Jacob, 8, by a previous relationship, gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Jayden.
“Our miracle baby,” she calls him.
“When I was diagnosed with HIV I thought I would never have another baby,” she says. “I had so much anxiety about infecting a child. But I worked with an awesome obstetrician at the University of Washington who specializes in people with HIV and AIDS. I found out medical technology has come so far you can have a healthy baby and not have it be infected.”
Despite their health, she and Brower, a painter by trade, focus on the future.
“With medical advances I can live a long time, 25 or 30 years,” says Askren, who takes medication to help her compromised immune system. “There’s a good chance that I can live long enough to see my children grow up to have their own children. I have three wonderful children I need to live for. If I go down the wrong path (abuse drugs again) my chances for survival are slimmer. I want to live not only for myself but for my children.”
In the meantime, Rise n’ Shine, an organization that offers services and emotional support to children whose lives have been impacted by HIV or AIDS, entered the family’s life. “It’s been amazing,” she says. “They provide back-to-school supplies and clothing for my children. The kids get to go, and pick out a couple of outfits and their backpacks.
“There’s a huge Christmas party every year and a birthday party. They provide Christmas gifts for the families.
“There’s summer camp at Lake Wenatchee. Rise n’ Shine does so much. It makes a huge difference in my children’s lives.”
Because of their young ages, her children “understand only to a point,” she says. They understand it’s something that could make me sick. But they don’t understand it really. And they don’t talk about it with their friends.”
In the past, Askren stayed largely quiet about her diagnosis, conscious of the stigma that goes with it.
She is speaking out now, she says, because of the role Rise n’ Shine plays in her family and in other families affected by HIV.
“I’ll do anything for Rise n’ Shine,” she says. “They are amazing.
“What people should know about me is that even though I’ve made mistakes in my past, I’ve changed. I’m a hard worker. I love my children. I’ll go out of my way to give them the best chance I can.
“Sometimes in life you need a second chance or even a third chance. Sometimes you need more time to learn what you’re losing out on.”
Askren worked as a dialysis technician during her pregnancy with Jayden until health issues forced her to quit. She now hopes to go back to school to become a registered nurse.
“I have too much to live for,” she says. “I love working with people. I have big dreams. And I want to see my boys grow up.”
For more than a quarter century, Seattle P-I readers have donated generously to the newspaper’s annual Readers Care Fund drive, generating nearly $5.9 million for local charities. Today we feature another one of the five charities that will benefit from this year’s readers’ generosity.
The five charities that will benefit from the fund are: Forgotten Children’s Fund, Northwest’s Child, Rise n’ Shine, Seattle Education Access and Southwest Youth and Family Services.

Duffy Lands A Deal With Diet Coke

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:54:53 +0000

has something to smile about! SheвЂ™s been named the new face of Diet Coke! And you know that campaign is probably going to pay the bills for a few years!
The first commercial featuring Duffy will air during the Brit Awards tomorrow night. And the acting part of the gig must have come naturally to her, since sheвЂ™s playing herself!
In the ad, Duffy is shown panicking as she is given an encore after a huge concert. Instead of coming back out and playing for the crowd, she hops on her bike and sings the song вЂњIвЂ™ve Got To Be Me.вЂќ
But donвЂ™t worry! She wouldnвЂ™t leave her fans hanging! Duffy makes her way back to the concert to finish performing for the crowd. Maybe she just needs a little caffeine boost? Sounds like a cute spot!
And speaking of the Brit Awards, Duffy is up for four of them: Best Female Solo Artist, British Single, British Album, and British Breakthrough Act. We wish her the best of luck!

Programs offer discounted drugs

admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:07:14 +0000

Uninsured and financially struggling Arizonans might not be aware of programs that could provided discounted or even free prescription drugs, and that’s something that state lawmakers and pharmaceutical research companies are trying to change.
The Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a national campaign that connects people to programs that help pay for prescription drugs, took its “Help is Here Express” bus across Arizona for a fourth straight year. House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, Senate President Bob Burns, R-Peoria, and several other lawmakers greeted it Thursday outside the state Capitol.
“This program is especially important to our state,” Adams said at a news conference outside the bus.
“This program is not only working; it is during these difficult times that it is especially needed,” said Sen. Carolyn Allen, R-Scottsdale.
So far, 81,000 people in Arizona and 5.5 million people nationwide have used the campaign’s online database to check their eligibility for prescription-assistance programs.
The bus, which features banks of laptop computers, makes weeklong tours through all 50 states promoting www.pparx.org, the program’s online database service.
“The fact that it is open to all Arizonans is important,” said Rep. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix. “Drugs are too expensive for some people in the community.”
The program is targeted at people who struggle to afford medication for chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma.
“This service is so vital,” said Sen. Richard Miranda, D-Phoenix. “Being a diabetic myself I know how important it is to take your medication.”
Mark Grayson, senior director of communications for sponsor Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said the program preempts the cost of treating people in advanced stages of diseases by connecting them with resources that help them get the medication they need.
“It is important to make sure people who need access to prescription drugs find a way to get them,” Grayson said.