Search Weight Loss Topics:

Page 326«..1020..325326327328..340350..»

Home » Fitness » Page 326

(WXYZ) - Location, location, location its important in real estate, but when it comes to fat, it could mean life or death.

Doctors have used the DEXA Scan for decades to detect osteoporosis, but it can see much more than bone density. In recent years elite athletes including NBA and NFL teams have used it to analyze body composition and support fitness goals and catch danger signs in the early stages.

This medical test is a fast growing trend in the health and fitness industry, its finally available to the public in Michigan and its much more affordable than you may think!

Every health and fitness trend has Before and After pictures, the DEXA scan is no exception. For Pastor Josh and Amanda Isenhardt, the transformation you can *see only tells part of their story, which begins before the before.

Back in 2014, we were launching Kensington Church Shelby and my father died of a heart attack unexpectedly. Which was wild because he looked just like me! We had a similar build, I could wear his clothes, says Josh.

That life changing moment led to another one, 6 months ago at FitBody 360 in Washington Township, after their first DEXA scan with co-owner Brandon Long.

DEXA is a high tech, low radiation, full body X-ray machine that provides one of the most accurate measurements of bone density and body composition available. You simply lay down on the machine very still, wearing form fitting fitness clothes, while the scanner slowly moves across every inch of your body. It breaks down fat and lean tissue, limb by limb, section by section.

Giving clients a unique opportunity:

The ability to see exactly whats going on internally with segmented information, says Brandon Long, Co-Owner & General Manager at FitBody360.

Most importantly, the DEXA scan measures the dangerous fat known as visceral fat, which hides in the abdominal cavity among important internal organs, with 96 percent accuracy.

There are heavy people who live long healthy lives and there are skinny people that die of heart attacks. And what weve realized is the common denominator is visceral fat, says Long.

Both Amanda and Josh learned, they had a dangerous amount of it.

It gave me a clear picture of where I really was and what my risk was, says Amanda.

I was like oh great, Ive got the same types of things my dad had, potentially says Josh.

If this is a genetic thing that I have no control over, fine. If this is something I can change behaviorally, then I want to set a different example for my kids, he adds.

With some nutritional coaching from Brandon, both Josh and Amanda re-vamped their diets and found workouts they love! Amanda started swimming again and Josh ramped up his workouts at Grit Obstacle Training Gym in Rochester Hills.

Josh says he feels like a kid again, playing on the physically challenging obstacle course and hes hoping, one day, to audition for his favorite show! (Which airs on another network so it shall remain nameless ;)) He's made a lot of progress towards reaching that goal!

Here are the results of their 6 month follow-up DEXA scan:

Amanda looks amazing!

Oh I feel amazing! I had a ton of back pain and its pretty much gone, Amanda says adding that shes noticed a big difference in other areas of her life as well.

And check out her numbers! The DEXA scan is very detailed, here are the highlights:

Amanda lost 32 pounds total, but she also gained muscle, so her total body fat percentage dropped from 46 to 33! Thats a 13% loss of body fat! She also lost 1.4 pounds of visceral fat bringing her out of the red flag zone to the safe zone.

Her husband Josh lost 8 pounds technically, but his DEXA scan revealed that he dropped 14 pounds of fat and gained nearly 6 pounds of muscle!

His body fat percentage dropped more than 6% and he lost 1.08 pounds of visceral fat bringing him solidly into the safe zone.

To be able to say, you may have added years to your life or saved your life, thats a pretty powerful moment, says Brandon.

Having concrete information so youre not guessing at where you are, gave me the motivation to actually do it and see where in 6 months I was, says Amanda.

Its made a world of difference for both of us and if I could give that gift to anybody, man I would love to do that, says Josh.

The DEXA scan costs thousands in a medical setting, but only $99 at FitBody360 on Van Dyke in Washington Township. The results might just be the motivation you need to get rid of that extra 5 pounds of fat, wherever its hiding.

I know most people have had this experience where theyve been working so hard but the scale doesnt move. But realistically, internally, we might be seeing very dramatic transformations and what better way for me to be able to break it down specifically, arm by arm, leg by leg and see exactly where we are putting on muscle and losing fat and the transformation that youve actually experienced, says Brandon Long.

For more info:

FitBody 360 - http://myfitbody360.com

Grit Obstacle Training - http://gritobstacletraining.com/

Originally posted here:
New health and fitness trend can find harmful, hidden fat! - WXYZ

New York Post

Cardio fitness can help save men with depression New York Post Researchers looked at a group of 5,240 middle-aged men who had reported emotional distress, including depression, anxiety, thoughts of suicide and a history of receiving counseling. The men ran on a treadmill to measure cardiorespiratory fitness, or ...

Read more here:
Cardio fitness can help save men with depression - New York Post

CORPUS CHRISTI -

Smartfit Incproducts combine brain fitness with body fitness, improving physical, sensory, and cognitive performance creating a fun, multi-sensory experience for all ages and abilities.

TheirSMARTfit exercise technologyutilizes the latest inBrain Body Exercise Scienceto bring you a unique solution that improves mental and physical fitness.

SMARTfit found a way to capture the benefits of sports into a modern form that can engage everyone.

They started by looking at the key benefits of sports that were lacking in the average gym and came up with the most important finding: the Hebbian Theory, neurons that fire together, wire together.Neuroplasticity, the brains ability to re-wire itself in response to sensory experiences, is now accepted science thanks to Eric Kandel, Nobel Prize winner in 2011.

Added to this, they also discovered found that research confirms that exercise is good for the brain because BDNF, a hormone often described as miracle grow for the brain, is produced during exercise and is responsible for promoting the development of neurons.

SMARTfit took key elements and put them togetherusing electronic target games to drive engagement and participation.

The key to performing well physically and cognitively lies in the health of our neurons. Physical training, whether for general health and movement, for high performance sports, or for post-injury rehabilitation, requires the development of healthy, permanent neurons. Having well-developed muscles, good cardio capability, and high intelligence also requires that the electrical system that pulls all of this together for use in daily life must be in optimal condition.

SMARTfit utilizes its own proprietary platformto speak to, and receives communication from, dozens of intelligent touch sensitive targets which engage strike style interaction with players who playcognitive games while in motion. This sets up a sequence of physical and cognitive engagements that literally lights up the brain triggering the development of new neurons.

Unlike other target game systems that utilize a mechanical trigger to turn on a colored target, SMARTfit touch sensors can measure vibrational wavesand interpret them in accordance with the game, the equipment used, or the strength of the player whileSMARTfitstargets are mini computers that utilize their 16 x 16 dot matrix screens to display words, numbers, shapes or colors that are meaningful to the game.

This way players are able to learn motor skills, math, words, develop reaction skills and refine their cardiovascular fitness and balance concurrently. Best of all, all training involves playing timed games that are rewarded with scores that can be tracked to measure improvement over time.

SMARTfithas the capability to store thousands of gamified exercise routines and deliver them for each demographic at the push of a button. This ability to customize the system for any demographic and deliver exercises in a scale-able way is what makes SMARTfit technology unique, exciting, and timely today when most technology leads to inactivity and is impacting health at all ends of the age spectrum.

What makes SMARTfit exciting is its ability to adapt to the skill and ability of anyone regardless of age or ability. This means that the same system used for performance athletes can also be used for pre-schoolers, special education, and seniors. The systems play at the level of the players.

SMARTfit technology, focuses on providing a multisensory approach to exercise by simultaneously calling on the hands, feet, eyes, ears, vestibular, and proprioceptors while delivering cardio and brain training games. This is all accomplished with game technology using time and score to ignite engagement, the key ingredient to kicking off the need for the brain and neurological system to create new neurons.

Without engagement and desire to improve/learn, new neurons will not be created or strengthened. Talent is born and created through engagement, deep practice and master coaching. SMARTfit is the best tool to accomplish this fast and in a controlled and scalable way.

With SMARTfit, participants play cognitive games while running, playing ball, balancing, and doing core stabilizing exercises. They can play alone, with an opponent, or on a team, learning to think under pressure, applying strategy and technique while managing footwork, balance, ball control, speed and agility, all while having fun.

Studies continue to show that exercise has a significant impact on brain function, specifically in theaging population.

SMARTfit systems provide community centersand senior living facilities,fitness classes, which help save on staff and contractor-relatedoverhead.

SMARTfits unique combination of enjoyable, safe and ability-scaled physical activity, multi-sensory cognitive stimulation and social engagement provides a perfect foundation for any boomer and senior brain and body fitness program.

Active Agers have affirmed that play is for the kid in all of us. They report that their mental clarity is sharper for days after participating in a class. In an appealing way, SMARTfit represents a form of time machine; adults get to visit the playground again.

SMARTfit games can be used to increase upper extremity active range of motion and coordination, muscular and physical endurance and improve motor planning.

SMARTfits neuroscience-based programming concurrently triggers sensory and motor pathways, building and strengthening new brain connections by simultaneously engaging the whole body and multiple senses.

SMARTfits unique combination of enjoyable, safe and ability-scaled physical activity, multisensory cognitive stimulation and social engagement provides a perfect foundation for any boomer and senior brain and body fitness program.

A literature review uncovered 22 studies that looked at the effects of game play by older adults. Analysis showed thatplaying the games had positive effects, including improving physical function, decreasing depression, and increasing cognition and quality of life. Some older adults reported improvements in socializing and willingness to exercise.

The concept of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis (the ability to re-grow and repair neurological pathways in the brain through stimulus), has evolved from hypothesis to accepted science.

Reading on your phone? Download theKRIS 6 News Mobile App for iOS/iPhone here.And for Android users here!

Excerpt from:
Smartfit improves mental and physical fitness - KRIS Corpus Christi News

Family fun and fitness are coming together to shape a brand-new Dunwoody event into a day people will look forward to every year.

Dunwoody is hosting the inaugural Family Fitness Day Saturday, June 10th at Pernoshal Park, 4575 North Shallowford Rd, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is meant to spotlight city parks, businesses and organizations by providing outdoor activities for all ages.

This will be a really good time to showcase all of our parks and bring everyone of all ages out in a free way they can enjoy, said Rachel Waldron, Recreation Program Supervisor for the parks department. Pernoshal park is about a year-old now, but many local residents still do not know it is there.

The event is modeled after the National Recreation and Park Associations annual day in June, which recommends that families get out to their local parks and get healthy.

The day will kick-off with a 1k Fun Run at 7:30 a.m. and a 5k Run & Walk at 8 a.m. Both of these events require pre-registration online.

Once the runs wrap-up, Pernoshal Park will be transformed with festival activities with a fitness twist. Activities will include free workout classes and clinics, games, giveaways and food trucks. In the kids corner, there will be kid-specific workout classes, nerf football, jump rope and bubbles.

Vendors on-site offering free classes and information will include Dunwoody-based businesses and organizations like UFC Gym and CycleBar Dunwoody; the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta; Emory Healthcare and the Dunwoody Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The activities will extend outside Pernoshal as well. A bocce tournament will be held at Georgetown Park, 4400 Dunwoody Park, just a short walk away. The Dunwoody Nature Center, 5343 Roberts Drive, will be hosting nature hikes throughout the afternoon as well.

This activates a lot of our park space, some which people might not know about, said Dunwoody Spokesman Bob Mullen

Waldron said the day is being setup to get people of all ages out and active, but is also being presented in a relaxed format that will allow visitors to drop in-and-out at any time.

Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

The plan is to make this an annual event and even expand it, Waldron said.

People know we have food trucks and Lemonade Days, and I would love for this to be another one that people look forward to every year, she said.

According to Mullen, during the citys parks master planning process, the city had a large group of residents asking for park spaces to be utilized more frequently.

A lot of the feedback we got was a cry for more activities in the parks and for more organized things there, Mullen said. From that feedback, Rachel and the parks department have really started to create a lot of recreational activities not just for this year, but beyond that.

Waldon has worked with Brookhaven for the past three years, but recently became the recreation program supervisor. In her new role, she said she has been looking at ways to fill in the gaps of city-hosted programming .

Some of the upcoming park-centric events in the works include a concert at Pernoshal Park in July, called Groovin on the Green; a movie in the park series at Brook Run Park; and a wine stroll down the trail connecting Brook Run and Pernoshal parks.

Continue reading here:
Dunwoody gears up to host first annual Family Fitness Day - MDJOnline.com

Eric Ginnard - eginnard@shawmedia.com

Caption

PLAINFIELD The Plainfield Fire Protection District is welcoming instructors from Toronto and New York City to lead a Peer Trainer Fitness program.

The district, along with the International Association of Fire Fighters Plainfield chapter and Paramedics Local 4560, is hosting the certification program, which is designed to help reduce time lost due to both on-the-job and off-duty illness and injury.

The peer fitness trainer program is part of the broader Wellness-Fitness Initiative, which was spearheaded by the IAFF in partnership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs. It was developed to address firefighter medical, behavioral health and fitness issues, according to a news release from the district.

Plainfield Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Jon Stratton said the fire chiefs association has pushed the program for years, but Plainfield Lt. Andy Scott asked whether it could be brought to Plainfield.

By improving the health and well-being of our firefighters, the district can reduce occupational claims and costs while simultaneously improving the quality and longevity of a firefighters life, Scott said.

The voluntary class was filled with about 30 firefighters from Plainfield and other districts. The district is thinking about hosting another one in the fall.

The five-day course uses the latest research on firefighter health and wellness, exercise science and the prevention of injuries to improve the effectiveness of firefighters in meeting the needs of the community, the news release stated.

Plainfield hasnt done this peer trainer fitness program before, but the district has sent first responders to Indianapolis to become trainers for a different wellness program. Those individuals then trained different shifts within the district. Plainfield will have several of its own participating in this program.

We cant force anyone to exercise or participate, but we certainly encourage it, Stratton said.

Firefighters who are certified as peer fitness trainers get to design and implement fitness programs, improve the wellness and fitness of their departments/districts and can assist in the physical training of recruits. The accredited exam is administered by the American Council on Exercise.

See the original post:
Plainfield Fire Protection District staff to participate in peer training fitness program - Suburban Life Publications

Reader Resource

Apply now to be an Entrepreneur 360 company. Let us tell the world your success story. Get Started

What does success mean to you?

Sarah Robb OHagan's resume is filled with big name brands such as Equinox, Gatorade, Nike and Virgin Atlantic. Now she sits at the helm of one of the most well-known fitness brands since being made CEO of indoor cycling company Flywheel in February of 2017. But the road to her current role was a long and bumpy one.

She recalled getting ready to walk onstage to give a talk. But when she heard the biography that was used to introduce her to the audience, something felt off.

It completely left out the 'she was a train wreck in her 20s, she got fired, Robb OHagan says. And I suddenly realized that as a culture, our culture of success had really gone to what I felt was quite a warped placed, putting these perfect pictures of people on pedestals and not helping people see that it's a much different story than that.

Related: 18 Ways to Bounce Back from Failure

That was the impetus behind what became her organization and book of the same name, Extreme You. She interviewed people as varied as Will Dean, the founder of Tough Mudder, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to figure out the drivers of their success. She found that even when people came from very different backgrounds, there were commonalities between how they approached their work.

They all had this willingness to get out of their comfort zone, Robb OHagan says. "You know when you get to the top of your game, whatever that may be, you have to be able to just say, OK, now I've got to go and learn something new and be a beginner again and push myself.

We caught up with Robb OHagan for a wide-ranging conversation about how to not let failure define you and how to change your perspective about what constitutes taking a risk.

What tips do you have for identifying and leading with your unique strengths?

It starts with a real commitment to getting to know yourself. You actually have to get out there and really do things to experience for yourself where you thrive, where you shine, what you love and frankly where you're not good. I think once we really commit to getting in there and try and experience that is when you start to discover your unique strengths and what I call specialties.

Related: How To Do What You Love And Make Money Doing It

Whats your best advice about bouncing back from failure?

I really believe that failure is such an important part of personal growth. I feel like in the last 10 to 15 years in the crazy social media world that we live in where everyone is posting perfect pictures and perfect resumes, it causes people to be incredibly scared of failing. There is a real stigma around it. If you haven't failed you haven't discovered the real potential that lies within you. I've had extraordinarily big embarrassing failures in my career. I was fired twice in my 20s back to back. That was a really tough time where my confidence was shaken.

But how do you bounce back from that? It's about really sitting with it and really wallowing in it. You've got to feel the pain to start to get to the place of examining what you actually did to contribute to that failure, which frees you up to own it and move forward having learned from it.

Related: This Founder Believes He Found the Answer for Burnout

What do you do to prevent feeling burned out? What do you do that makes you feel energized?

Im a big believer that physical fitness is the grounding for your sort of overall mental and emotional fitness. Every single day I will make sure I get my exercise in and it just gives me energy. I learned the hard way earlier in my life when I had very small children and I would give up on exercise because I thought I couldn't fit it all in. Those were the times in my life that I got the most drained and overwhelmed by work. And so I learned that you have to start with that time to just physically express yourself and find your energy that really fuels you for the day.

What strategies do you employ to stay focused on your goals?

I eliminate anything that doesn't matter to what I'm focusing on. And I think that's a great lesson that came through from all the amazing people I interviewed in my book. They are some of the world's most successful people. They frankly tune out the opportunities that aren't relevant. That can be really hard to do, especially at the start of your career. But having the courage to say no to the short-term financial windfall because you are holding out for something longer term, whatever it may be, is a really important lesson because that helps you focus on the goals that you have.

Related:The 5 Golden Rules of Goal-Setting

What is your advice for not being afraid to take risks?

It's all about reframing what risk really is. I think we get into our own heads and we let the fear of failure stop us from doing things we want to do. If you tell yourself that I'm going to take this big risk and the upside is that it plays out and the downside is that it's an epic fail. If it's an epic fail, it ultimately takes me on to greater places anyway because of what I will learn from it. Then you change the whole conversation in your head and you suddenly realize that it's actually more risky to do nothing at all and to stand in the middle of the road than it is to actually just take a big risk and go for it.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Read the original:
This Fitness CEO Says You Should Own Your Failure So You Can Learn From It - Entrepreneur

Worries are beginning to escalate that separate fitness standards for men and women in the Marine Corps will inevitably fuel serious resentment in the ranks.

While the Marine Corps has moved to introduce gender neutral fitness standards for particular jobs to assuage fears of lowered combat performance, the fact remains that the annual fitness tests still allow for separate standards by gender, one for men and one for women, which is starting to upset some observers, Marine Corps Times reports.

The separate standards, once championed as a way to help women succeed and attain promotions in the service, are now being viewed in quite a different light.

When individuals start out at the recruiting station and they see that women are held to lower standards and have a much lower fitness requirement to max out the PFT, that causes cultural reverberations down the line, retired Lt. Col. Kate Germano, who formerly trained female recruits at Parris Island, told Marine Corps Times.

We end up letting the institution down because we have an end product that isnt fit, isnt strong and cant compete with the menand how disappointing is that, from a national security perspective? she added.

The differencesin fitness standards are stark and obvious.

Males need to perform 20 pull ups to achieve the maximum score. Women, on the other hand, only need to perform seven pull ups.

Marine Corps officials arent planning a review of the annual fitness tests.

The issue of respectand resentment has surged to the forefront as of late because of the Marines United scandal, in which male Marines shared nude photos of female service members in private groups, leading to congressional outcry and criminal investigations.

And questions of fitness standards have been an ever-present issue since the Obama administration decided to open all combat roles to women without exceptions.

However, the new gender neutral standards for combat posts, distinct from the annual fitness tests, have weeded out many of the women interested in combat jobs. Out of 1,500 male Marines, only 40 failed to pass the gender neutral standards. For women, however, six out of sevenof the female recruits could not pass the standards.

I think thats made everybody better, Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told the Associated Press in 2016. Were trying to raise everybodys bar a little bit and were trying to figure out how to get closer together, because at the end of the day were all going to be on the battlefield and we all have to be able to do our job.

Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter

Send tips to[emailprotected].

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [emailprotected].

Read the rest here:
Worries Escalate That Lower Marine Corps Fitness Standards For Women Could Result In Disrespect - The Daily Caller

Lululemon (NYSE: LULU) has recently been trading near its 52-week lows. The result of this bearish trend has come from disappointing 4th quarter earnings and guidance. The main thing that has spooked the market is management pointing towards a slow start in 2017, with this decline expected through the entire 1st quarter. While this initial fear has led to a sharp decline in stock price, there are many things that show that LULU has become significantly undervalued.

Industry Outlook

The apparel retail sector still looks very promising. Due to the expensive quality and premium that LULU offers its customers, it has been able to retain brick-and-mortar stores, while other apparel companies have had to decrease to make way for more internet-based operations. The luxurious positioning of LULU allows it to utilize brick-and-mortar, unlike lower-end style apparel clothing companies. Large retail companies such as Under Armor (NYSE: UAA) and Nike (NYSE: NKE) have seen a decline in sales, as they have to make the strategic shift from brick-and-mortar to online sales. This has created a ripple in the industry that has led to companies missing short-term guidance. This is an effect that has not drastically affected LULU. The company's niche and high-end quality allows it to maintain its brick-and-mortar stores over the increasing popularity of online sales. So while we have seen the Apparel Retail sector take a hit, the company should not have been affected by these concerns.

I began by running a relative valuation to consider how Lululemon fundamentally compared with its peers:

Stock

P/E

P/B

Profit Margin

ROA

ROE

LULU

22.30

4.97

12.94%

18.07%

25.41%

TJX

21.47

10.64

6.96%

19.7%

51.19%

UAA

48.23

4.16

4.81%

7.18%

15.52%

NKE

21.60

6.72

12.02%

13.06%

32.60%

GPS

13.18

3.06

4.36%

11.99%

24.81%

AVERAGE

25.41

5.91

8.22%

14%

29.91%

From this relative valuation, we can see that fundamentally LULU is performing better than its competitors. It has particularly a much better profit margin. This is very important, considering that one of the main fears is the entrance of new competitors. Given that it has such a high profit margin, it is able to use a price war to deter any new competitors that attempt to take significant market share in the short term. This shows us that LULU could be undervalued. In order to confirm this, we must value the company given its current and future predictions.

One way to value companies like LULU is using a DCF Model. There are several assumptions that need to be used in order to run an efficient DCF model. One of the key assumptions is WACC. Using GuruFocus, the WACC would be .76%. This is abnormally low, so I decided to use CAPM to determine another required rate of return. Using the CAPM model, I used a risk-free rate of 3-year Treasury note which had a rate of 1.45%. I used Damodaran's MRP of 4.51%. With these two assumptions, the last assumption made is the Beta, for which I decided to use the Yahoo Finance figure of -.16. Given these assumptions, you come up with a required rate of return of 1.02%, which is very similar to the beta provided by GuruFocus. I have decided to equally weight the two required rates and use the average of .89%

The next step in running this model was determining the FCF. I decided to use the Morningstar FCF of 236. The most ambiguous part of this model is determining an appropriate growth rate. LULU may not be growing at a rate that most analysts expected, but it is still seeing healthy growth. Over the last 5 years, its FCF has seen growth of over 38% growth year over year. Similar growth can be seen in revenue and income. However, given the recent concerns in the apparel sector, I decided to use a conservative growth rate of 3% over the next four years and a terminal growth rate of 2%.

Years

1

2

3

4

T

Growth Rate

3%

3%

3%

3%

No Terminal

FCF

243.08

250.37

257.88

265.62

29,844.95

DCF

240.94

245.97

251.12

256.37

28,805.70

Enterprise Value

29,800.10

Net Debt

Surplus 437

Equity Value

30,237.1

Shares Outstanding

137 million

Price Per Share

220.70

Upside

347.76%

As we can see from this very basic DCF Model, LULU has significant upside given its current FCF growth and valuation. We can also run this without adding back the net debt surplus of $437. From this we still get an upside of 340%, and can see that it does not affect the valuation much at all. I have also run a sensitivity analysis of the WACC, considering that the original WACC used is very low.

WACC

1%

1.5%

2%

2.5%

3%

Upside

279.45%

154.81%

92.50%

55.11%

30.19%

From this we can see that even with a much higher WACC, there is still substantial upside. Of course, it shows that LULU has a lot of potential value, but much of the sell-off has been due to weak guidance. There are many reasons why this weak guidance is unwarranted and has been blown out of proportion.

Outlook

Go here to read the rest:
Fitness Industry Shows Promise For Lululemon - Seeking Alpha

The Marine Corps' longstanding tradition of having two-tiered fitness requirements for men and women aims to ensure fairness, but a growing chorus of critics say it creates a double standard and implies that female Marines are not as physically capable as men.

Its another political battle inside the Corps over gender and standards that stems in part from last years controversial decision to allow women to serve in combat units traditionally restricted to men.

The Marines recently began imposing gender neutral physical requirements for specific jobs, a move designed to moot concerns that physical standards will suffer as women integrate into combat units. Men and women in combat arms career fields must meet the exact same benchmarks.

When individuals start out at the recruiting station and they see that women are held to lower standards and have a much lower fitness requirement to max out the PFT, that causes cultural reverberations down the line, said retired Lt. Col. Kate Germano, who was in charge of training female recruits at Parris Island. When women face lower expectations, they end up being less competitive than their male counterparts, Germano told Marine Corps Times.

We end up letting the institution down because we have an end product that isnt fit, isnt strong and cant compete with the menand how disappointing is that, from a national security perspective? she said.

For the routine fitness tests that Marines face, the gap between standards for men and women is clear:

Many experts say the Marines' current policy makes sense. Theres clear scientific evidence that men on average are physically stronger than women.

For example, when male and female Marine recruits arrive at Parris Island boot camp, they undergo a gender-neutral strength test and they do not perform equally.

For the men, about 98.6 percent pass the test. For women, its 92.7 percent.

It would be too difficult to determine a single physical standard for men and womenand most likely, such a standard would be too difficult for women to reach, said Brian Schilling, chair of kinesiology and nutrition sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

It is biologically correct to say that physically fit for a woman is different than physically fit for a man, Schilling said. This is based on sex differences in body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, etc.

Both the PFT and CFT are meant to measure a Marines overall fitness, not how ready they are for combat, said Schilling.

The issue of gender roles and standards has never been more contentious inside the Marine Corps.

Those concerns and controversies are leading to questions about the fitness standards, which critics say may be fueling a culture of misogyny inside the force.

Women, from Day One, do not have to do the same PFT as men, said Maximilian Uriarte, a Marine veteran and the creator of the Terminal Lance comic strip.

To men, thats immediately like: Oh, they have not accomplished the same thing I have Therefore, they do not rate the same respect that I do, he said.

One way to erase the gender gap, Uriarte said in an interview with Marine Corps Times, would be to have women meet the same standards as men on the PFT and CFT.

I think youd probably lose a lot of women, but the ones youd keep would be really stellar, fighting, fit Marines that the men would respect on that level, he said.

If somebody says, Dont run faster than 21 minutes, its going to be really hard to get an individual to run faster than 21 minutes, Hunter said.

Here is the original post:
New concerns that lower fitness standards fuel disrespect for women - Marine Corps Times

Photo by: Rick Danzl/The News-Gazette

From left, Busey employees Kelli Baker, Lyndsay Howell and Bryan Snodgrass work out at the company's 24-hour 'wellness center' at its office on Neil Street in downtown Champaign.

About a year ago, Busey converted part of the first floor of its downtown Champaign office to a gym, complete with treadmills, ellipticals, weights and motivational messages on the walls.

Busey Wealth Management Assistant Vice President Bryan Snodgrass uses it several times a week.

"It takes a little of the excuse away from not working out. I can't say I didn't want to drive across town because it's right here," Snodgrass said. "I've been able to cancel my gym membership elsewhere."

The 24-hour "wellness center" is part of Busey's overall employee wellness program, which CEO Van Dukeman said 85 percent of employees participate in, including him.

"I have fitness equipment at home that I use some, too. I work out a good five to six days a week. Probably half of that, I'm using it here," Dukeman said. "I like to do it. It does relieve stress."

For employees who don't work nearby, Busey will subsidize gym memberships.

"Last year, we subsidized about $20,000 of fitness memberships," Dukeman said.

Busey provides a nice incentive for its employees to participate: up to $1,000 contributed to their health savings account if they have health insurance with Busey. If they don't, they can earn cash payouts up to $700.

They can get this by earning points for completing different challenges, coaching opportunities and maintaining healthy behaviors, and then moving up four different levels.

Snodgrass recently completed a challenge for his team to walk a combined 3 million steps, but others focus on nutrition or mental health.

"One of the challenges that my team was affected by the most was to take a 10- or 15-minute recess," he said. "A huge group of people go walk around West Side Park or something. For them to be able to do that in the middle of the day and to be encouraged to do that, not many employers do that."

Other local companies have similar programs.

Employees at Christie Clinic can earn close to 75 percent off on their deductible and more than half off on their office copays for doctor visits.

"They just have to participate in a yearly physical with routine labs, and complete a health risk assessment, and then they participate in different opportunities for points," said Ladoshia Brewer, Christie Clinic's wellness coordinator.

This is the fourth year Christie has been doing this, and the program has grown every year.

"Almost half of our team members participate," Brewer said. "It's evolving every year as we get more user-friendly and provide better opportunities to meet the team members' schedules."

Carle Foundation Hospital also has a wellness program where employees earn points.

Carle has different challenges throughout the year, from a couch-to-5K challenge to a team step challenge. Employees can win different prizes and gift cards at the end of each challenge, and employees with more points can win more valuable prizes at the end of the year.

Employee wellness is a natural fit for a health organization, said Karen Stefaniak, wellness coordinator for Carle and Health Alliance, although the long hours can make it difficult.

"We do get good support from our administration," she said. But "it's a challenging environment because of the hours that some people work, with 12-hour shifts."

That being said, those who work in the hospital tend to do best on the step challenge.

"The people that work in the hospital are often the winners," Stefaniak said. "For people that are on their feet all day, it's a little bit easier."

None of these companies have looked too deeply into their data to see how effective the wellness programs have been. In theory, they're supposed to lead to healthier employees with fewer sick days and lower health insurance costs.

Anecdotally, they say the programs are worth it.

Busey hasn't seen some of the large health insurance increases others have seen.

"The health care companies, they know we're doing this and so I think it has lowered our costs," Dukeman said. "I hear about major bumps in health care costs. That hasn't happened to us."

It also reduces turnover and helps in recruiting new employees, he said.

"I think they're more engaged and motivated and happy," he said.

See the rest here:
Busey banking on fitness - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

Page 326«..1020..325326327328..340350..»

Home » Fitness » Page 326