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Tag Archives: Yoga

Group Classes versus Gym Equipment versus Fitness DVDs – Which is Best?

12 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by Adriana Falco in Exercising, Fitness Classes

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Tags

DVD, Fitness, Gym, Health, Physical exercise, Pilate, Yoga, Zumba

Getting fit is the goal, but is it easier to achieve by participating in a group class or following along a fitness DVD? What about all the other exercise equipment that can be found in the gym? This could be a great debate question among exercise enthusiasts; work out in a group, in a gym, or solo in front of a TV. Which gets you the best results?

When I first joined a health club, I became curious to the aerobic exercise classes that went on behind the closed door in the gym. As a person who came to the gym to use the equipment, treadmill and swimming pool, I would take a quick look inside of the room – filled mostly with enthusiast women –sweating it out in almost complete synchronization to the vociferous instructor. It was almost as if I was in envy as I stood there watching. At the time, I had never taken group fitness class, so I was very curious what it would be like to work out in a synchronized group. What kind of results would I get?

Many of the participants in the group classes seemed more flexible and more coordinated at the choreography than I’ll ever be. But as I gazed in more often and frequently, I also noticed that most of these very same women do not work out in the free weight room or on the circuit training equipment. They solely come to the gym to take a class, then exit out the door. That’s it. That’s their workout, well, from what I can tell from the gym’s side.

Can someone get fit just from a fitness class? For many years (since I was 17), I had used the equipment in the gym – from the free weights and weight machines to the indoor track and swimming pool. This was my main training means when I worked out for fitness competitions to which I got great results.

I have also used and still use fitness DVDs, with Mari Winsor’s Pilate series my absolute favorite, (especially the ab sculpting DVD). Results have been very good; so good that I continue to use the Pilates DVDs to this very day.

I did eventually try the group fitness classes at my gym. I wanted to see what type of results I would achieve but was also drawn to the socialization, something you do not get with a DVD or dumbbell.  I soon became hooked, and before you know it I became a regular and pro at the Advance Step Aerobics class, a high cardio step routine on risers. I also many others, including Pilates, Yoga, and Boot Camp.

So what about the classes? Are they just as good? Well, like the fitness DVDs, there are so many to choose. Step. Body Pump. Lift It. Kickboxing. Interval Training. Spin. Zumba and many more. For many and most, results are achievable. If you put in the time, determination and dedication – as much as you would any other workout – then yes, goals are definitely attainable.

The true bottom line is the best workout – may it be group classes, gym equipment or fitness DVDs – is the one the gives YOU the best results. Everyone’s genetic makeup and how your body reacts to your chosen exercises and venue is different. The personal preference to what you enjoy best varies from person-to-person as does their time availability to get fit. Do what makes you feel good and the one you see the most ideal results. Find what works best for you and enjoy most. In the end, it doesn’t matter “how” you achieved your results as much as the fact you “have” reached your goals.

Be Fit. Be Strong. Be Well.
Adriana

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Following My Mother’s Footsteps into a Healthy Lifestyle

05 Thursday May 2011

Posted by Adriana Falco in Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Vitamins, Yoga

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Tags

Andrew Weil, Health, Isadore Rosenfeld, Jack LaLanne, James Balch, Linus Pauling, Mara Carrico, Mehmet Oz, Nutrition, Prescription for Natural Cures, Robert Kowalski, Stephen Sinatra, Steven Pratt, Vitamins, Yoga

In honor of this upcoming Mother’s Day, I thought I’d write about the great influence my mother has had on my own healthy way of living today. I have mentioned my mother a few times in my writings before and, I must admit, I have yet to meet another woman as passionate or absorbed into healthy eating and exercising as Mom.

Just this morning, Mom called me up to discuss Bob Greene’s latest book, “20 Years Younger: Look Younger, Feel Younger, Be Younger.” He was on ABC’s Good Morning America earlier and she caught the clip. She suggested I should buy his book and that she’s going to get it, too. Mom is 86 years young.

You have to love Mom’s spunk and relentless dedication to health and wellness. As long as I can remember, this was her way of living. When I asked how her interest in living healthy first began, Mom says she happened to catch a television program, sometime between the births of my two older brothers, that instantly ignited her interest and fascination into wellness. And she took to the subject like a sponge.

Mom was always a ferocious reader and she began reading all of the latest and greatest health and nutrition books of her time. She scoured newspapers and magazines for columns and articles, and surfed radio and television channels for shows broadcasting the latest and greatest on diet, exercising and overall wellness.

For years, she drove from the suburbs of Philadelphia into the City of Brotherly Love to take yoga lessons from a then well-known instructor. His name now slips her, but that’s okay; after all Mom is in her mid-eighties. When finding the time to travel to the city for her classes became challenging, Mom switched to practicing the physical discipline at home. Sometimes I would see her in her bedroom stretching and bending into all sorts of yoga positions and poses, then to the teachings of Mara Carrico.

In addition to her yoga, Mom rode the stationary bike we kept downstairs, walked at a nearby track with a neighbor of ours, and followed the exercise routines of Francois Henri “Jack” LaLanne, the renowned exercise and nutritional guru who is referred to as the “godfather of fitness” or the “first fitness superhero.” As a child, I remember seeing his classes on TV with LaLanne dressed in tight-fitting clothing, and my mom following his instructions to a tee.

Accompanying Mom’s commitment to exercising, she also faithfully followed the teachings of several public health advocates which lead to her attraction to vitamins and nutrition. Almost daily, you would hear her listening to Dr. Carlton Fredericks on the radio in our kitchen. Once considered “America’s Foremost Nutritionist,” Dr. Frederick discussed vitamin and nutrition therapy for nearly half a century on the radio, broadcasting six days a week and nationally syndicated. Dr. Linus Pauling was another favorite of hers. An author of best-seller “How to Live Longer and Feel Better,” Dr. Pauling was an advocate on the very high intake of vitamins, especially vitamin C. Mom read this book and others of his. Then there is urologist James Balch, M.D. who co-authored “Prescription for Nutritional Healing: A to Z Guide to Supplements,” a book that has sold over 3.5 million copies to date. Dr. Bach also authored “Prescription for Dietary Wellness,” “Prescription for natural Cures” and “The Super Antioxidants.”

Mom also has read the writings of Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a board certified cardiologist, nutritionist, and anti-aging specialist specializing in integrative medicine; Dr. Isadore “Izzy” Rosenfeld, perhaps the most famous cardiologist in the world, plus a distinguished Professor of Medicine at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center and a well-known health authority in medical media; and Robert Kowalski, a renowned medical journalist and another best-selling author who was known for his a pioneering advocacy for quitting smoking, reducing saturated fat and cholesterol, increasing  exercise and adding oat bran and fish oil to a heart-healthy diet.

As a result of Mom’s healthy lifestyle, our refrigerator was stocked with all sorts of vitamins, supplements, minerals and herbs while growing up. No sweets could be found in our house, vitamins were served with breakfast, and all food labels were examined by Mom before entering our kitchen. When I was a child, she enrolled me in every sporting activity under the sun and encouraged me to continue my athletic endeavors well into my adulthood.

Although I didn’t see it then, Mom’s ways had a way of rubbing off on me. The older and wiser I become, the more I am like my mom with a similar strong allegiance to nutrition, fitness and overall wellness. Like her, I have added yoga to my workout regimen and, for the last several years, read books by Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Steven Pratt, Dr. Rosenfeld and Dr. Mehmet Oz among others. And to top matters off, vitamins come with breakfast, food labels are read before entering the kitchen, and, with the exception of dark chocolate, no sweets are in the house.

Thanks to my mom for a wonderful upbringing and an amazing life. As one of the early trailblazers who saw the value of good nutrition, regular exercises and overall wellness, Mom is my role model and my mentor. Her healthy ways are now my healthy ways. And on this Mother’s Day, when Mom unwraps Greene’s “20 Years Younger” book in large print, she will once again bask in the euphoria of learning something new and noteworthy about living a healthier life at any age.

Be Fit. Be Strong. Be Well.
Adriana

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