I’m very sore lately…everywhere. Why is this surprising? Because I’ve increased my stretching in a huge way over the last few months. But in that time I have also suffered from back pain that, although its finally waning, is still persistent, and new hip soreness. I’m not necessarily suggesting that the soreness and back pain are a result of more stretching…but I am wondering why I am not feeling much better and loose since beginning to stretch more! I have been looking into this and have found some interesting information that I want to share with you. [Read more…]
Ouch…Why the Recent Soreness after Adding more Stretching?
February 23, 2012 by 2 Comments
Nine Reasons I Like the Exercise Bike for Cross Training
September 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
When I was in college at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, I participated in the first Women’s Little 500 there. It’s hard to appreciate the Little 5 if you haven’t seen the movie “Breaking Away”, or lived in Bloomington. 500 laps on a cinder track on a bike with one gear in relay format – that pretty much explains it. Our team of five girls rode a lot of miles in the hills around Bloomington to prepare for the race, and the bike I rode was a Schwinn 10-speed…I was always a little behind to put it mildly. However, after the Little 5, I borrowed a friend’s Trek road bike and entered in the “Take the Lake” 50 mile bike race. Since I had been training on a big heavy bike, when I got on the much lighter Trek road bike, I flew… and got third place. it was a blast! [Read more…]
A Few Thoughts About Conference Realignment and Amateur Sports
September 26, 2011 by 1 Comment
It may appear that I am drifting a little off topic today, but I actually think it has a lot to do with what 9 Kid Fitness is all about. Those of us who are my age were some of the first females to really benefit from the opportunities that sports opened up to women in college and beyond. Although I did not (nor do most) go on to play college athletics, organized sports continue to have an impact on our lives in a positive way. And many of us now have kids playing high school and college sports. I am worried that the athletic pursuit for young women (and men) might be squeezed out or at least impacted by what is happening with college football.
We have been hearing a lot lately about the possible realignment of many of the bigger college sports conferences. Although I am fairly (if not totally) ignorant about all that’s going on, I do understand that what is driving a lot of it is the popularity of football in terms of fan support and TV revenue. Just like most Americans, I like football, but as a cross country coach and as a parent of “non-football sport” athletes, I also have to wonder how it will ultimately affect the other sports, and frankly amateur athletics in general. At a recent cross country meet I started to wonder about all of this when I saw a young man run like the wind. [Read more…]
Local Fitness Promotions Online…a Good Deal?
September 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I bought a “deal” today online. Although I have been receiving group coupon promotions on my phone, I usually don’t give them much more than a glance. But this one I had to re-read three times to see if I had it right: 20 outdoor boot camp or yoga classes, five oxygen therapy sessions (whatever that is), three 45 minute Far Infrared Jade massages (whatever those are) + 15 minute foot massage, two personal training sessions, 30 Day Diet Plan and Body Fat Evaluation, RMR (metabolic rate) testing…. for $20 from Anytime Fitness. Too good to be true? Maybe. I mean they claim the value at $534, and say it is a savings of 96% ($514)! I was number 165 to accept the promotion. That’s a lot of people for a fitness class, not to mention to schedule massages and “oxygen therapy” sessions. [Read more…]
Take a Nap…and a Quote of the Week
August 1, 2011 by 1 Comment
Quote of the Week: The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep. W.C. Fields
There is always something extremely frustrating about learning how much sleep deprivation, even in small amounts, can affect us negatively. I mean how many people do we know who don’t like sleep? Most of us like it and would like more of it, but usually because of kids, jobs, and the demands of life, we just don’t sleep as much as we should! So I thought I would hand out a little bad news, but report a little good news as well. First the bad…
[Read more…]
Life is a Balancing Act! Why Balance is Crucial for Fitness
May 11, 2011 by 1 Comment
Did you ever think about the fact that about 40% of the time that we are walking around, we are on one foot? Balance is crucial, regardless of how athletic you are. Just think about what happens as we get older, and our balance is not as good as it once was. We begin to take shorter strides to compensate for our lack of balance. Hence, one reason for the shuffle that we sometimes see in elderly people. The balance is not as good and therefore stability is off. It isn’t too hard to see why balance is such a crucial component for fitness, too. [Read more…]
Follow Us