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FLEXIBLE FITNESS: Exercising safely during pregnancy – Wicked Local Hudson
By Sara Aucoin and Melissa McGowan, Correspondent
Participating in an exercise program while pregnant can have many benefits for both the mother and baby, including maintenance of the mother's fitness level and prevention of pregnancy-related pain or other health-related issues.
Exercising during pregnancy has been shown to reduce the incidence of pain (commonly low back pain), and has positive effects on mental health, including postpartum depression and other pregnancy-associated conditions such as gestational diabetes and hypertension. About 50 percent of pregnant women experience pain in the low back region, and may require the need to take a leave of absence from work. It may also put women at risk for experiencing long-term symptoms. If you are experiencing this kind of pain or any pain during or after your pregnancy, it is important to contact your medical professional. Physical therapy and exercise are safe, noninvasive ways to address aches and pains that occur during pregnancy.
For women who are not having pain, exercise has been recommended and proven to provide benefits. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that non-pregnant women exercise moderately for 30 minutes or more daily. This is similar for pregnant women if they were previously active in an exercise program. If women are exercising on a regular basis prior to becoming pregnant, then it is safe to continue with exercise on a daily basis at a similar intensity. However, if a woman is planning on beginning an exercise program when pregnant, the safest and most recommended way would be to contact their medical professional and follow their guidance to ensure safety and gain medical clearance to continue exercising. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, it is important to discuss your medical and exercise history with your medical provider as some women may need to limit their exercise routine based on underlying heart disease, anemia, presence of bleeding during second and third trimesters, and risk for premature labor.
Women should avoid high-impact exercise or exercise that puts them at risk of falling or of causing trauma to the abdomen, such as skiing, hockey, horseback riding or jumping sports. Appropriate exercises include walking, stationary cycling and swimming. You should be able to maintain a conversation while exercising. Resistance training can also be beneficial and can be modified by decreasing resistance intensity and increasing repetitions to focus more on endurance and stability benefits. It is also extremely important to prevent breath-holding during the activities.
There are some precautions that pregnant women should keep in mind if they are interested in completing an exercise program. During the second and third trimesters, women should avoid any exercises while lying on their back. The added weight of the baby can put pressure on important blood vessels in your body. It is additionally important to drink plenty of water before, during and after you work out as you want to prevent dehydration. Drinking water will also prevent you from becoming overheated. Other steps you can take in order to avoid becoming overheated are to wear loose-fit clothing and try to exercise in a temperature-controlled room. Avoid completing any exercise during really hot or humid weather.
Exercising can be very beneficial for the health of the mother and baby during ones pregnancy and safe when completed in moderation. If you are having any pain or questions about maintaining or beginning an exercise program while pregnant, it is important to contact your health-care provider.
Sara Aucoin PT, DPT is a physical therapist at Spaulding Outpatient Center in Framingham. Melissa McGowan, PT, DPT, CLT is a physical therapist at Spaulding Outpatient Center in Framingham.
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FLEXIBLE FITNESS: Exercising safely during pregnancy - Wicked Local Hudson
Anytime Fitness opening at Afton Ridge – Independent Tribune
KANNAPOLIS - Anytime Fitness, the world largest and fastest growing 24-hour co-ed fitness franchise, is open for fitness in Kannapolis at the Afton Ridge Shopping Center. A grand opening celebration will take place on Monday, May 1, from 4:30 to 8 p.m.
For many people, joining a gym can be an intimidating experience, said James Sorey, Anytime Fitness club owner. Our gym is big enough to feature everything you need for a great workout and small enough to provide personalized attention for all of our members. Whether weight-loss is your goal, or increased strength or improved balanced and flexibility or a combination of some of those things at Anytime Fitness, were able to help you achieve whatever results you seek.
To celebrate its grand opening, Anytime Fitness is hosting a sampling of our training programs in the evening, prize drawings and healthy eats for all who stop in.
To help celebrate our Grand Opening, new members can join for $1 now through May 6.
Club tours will also be available. For membership information, call or email the gym at 704-273-1616 or
KannapolisNC@anytimefitness.com.
Nationwide, the average Anytime Fitness club has about 800 members. The gyms are staffed roughly 8 hours a day, but members can access the club whenever they like even during unstaffed hours using a computerized key-fob system.
We make it easy for our members to exercise whenever and however they like, said Sorey. We have personal trainers available to help you learn how to use all of the equipment and to develop an individualized workout plan, if you like. And, our state-of-the-art video projection system allows members to choose from dozens of video classes whenever its most convenient for them.
Membership at one Anytime Fitness club gives members access to more than 3,000 clubs worldwide at no extra charge.
The layout of every Anytime Fitness club is designed for quick and effective exercise. At the new club, members have full use of top-quality equipment and amenities, including:
Circuit and resistance training machines
Free weights
Cardio equipment, including treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes
Team Training
Private bathrooms, changing rooms and showers
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Anytime Fitness opening at Afton Ridge - Independent Tribune
EP Review: Fitness Puppet Show and Fitness – Dying Scene
Chicagos Fitness is a band that hit me out of nowhere. We get a handful of bands like that every year, the sort that send you reeling with a name youve never heard and a sound youre glad you had. In this case, the connection was Dont Panic Records, who handled the vinyl of the fantastic Davey Dynamite release last year. Fitness Puppet Show and Fitness is a six song EP, a youthful and scrappy concoction of pop punk with tons of guitar leads, self loathing, and sing a longs.
Puppet Show and Fitness grabs you from the first song, immediately familiar and simultaneously new. If you sniff around, you can hear the influences, but none of them ever quite come to define their sound. The first one that came to mind for me was Hot Water Music, whos dueling guitar leads became an oft-copied sonic idiosyncrasy, but Fitness dont play it with the same post-hardcore edge. When Fitness plays them, they have a more electric, less serpentine and melancholy feel. Its this pop sensibility that signals Fitness as more than a band of Gainesville acolytes. They dont have that droney edge, that sense that they ended up writing singalong songs through mad scientist potion mixing, deconstruction and rebuilding. No, Fitness has a knack for pop songwriting, strong melodies are the glue that holds their songs together, and in this sense they sound a bit like Junior Battles or Problem Daughter. But, Fitness is propulsive, more straight-ahead than either of those when a song gets out of its cage, it rampages.
Album opener Road Lizard is a good example of this: guttural vocal delivery, guitar leads flexing at each other over an insistent beat. It has its own mix of energies, and it always comes as a surprise, that the vocals are as raw sounding as they are. Separated from the rest of the track, they couldve been from a hardcore band thats how much snarl they put on the words. But with the instrumentations bouncy energy, it becomes this airy and energetic brand of pop punk.
Theres a difference between good playing and good songwriting. One of them allows a band a spot on bills, it sounds tight live but doesnt stick with you for the drive home. The latter keeps the songs stamped on a time and place, we grow on them and they grow on us. Fitness has a cool sound, but what they also have is songwriting chops to spare. Puppet Show and Fitness reminds me of the Dead Bars EP, in that is expresses a sharp and consistent songwriting vision, with defeatist lyrics met with triumphant melody. Roseannes Bars 60s pop chorus starts with the line Call me a liar, call me pathetic, sounding like a Phil Spector penned Nirvana song. These are the types of decisions that make the sort of inward-focused punk that has become popular in the last ten years stick, rather than remaining a competent copy of a copy. The best airings of grievances come with a hook, a recognition in the crowd that as you sing along, theres a kindred spirit out there, a conversation between artist and audience where the response is: me too.
To sum it all up with a thesis logline: Puppet Show and Fitness is a great EP from a band poised to do a lot more in the future. Theyre exciting, theres a sense of urgency to their music thats infectious, enough aggression to sell the venom in the lyrics. Each song is an experience, with busy leads that bounce off each other like billiard balls on break, full throated singalongs begging to be shouted back; songs that come out swinging, gloves in the air and a pep in their step, hungry for connection.
4/5 stars
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EP Review: Fitness Puppet Show and Fitness - Dying Scene
HEALTH AND FITNESS: Your fitness bank – Aiken Standard
Saving money for emergencies is good advice and important for maintaining quality of life in the event of lost employment or other financial crisis. While this may seem like common sense, many people have been caught without enough savings when they needed it and found it difficult to meet basic needs.
This principle can also be applied to fitness. When you are healthy, you can maintain a high level of fitness. This makes your day-to-day activities easier and serves as a reserve or bank to draw on when you need it. Your good fitness now can get you through a health crisis just like saving money can help you through a financial crisis. This health crisis could come in the form of an injury or illness that keeps you from being active for several days or a hospitalization that keeps you in bed for a week, a month or longer.
The problem with periods of inactivity, like bed rest or hospitalization, is that there are severe physiological effects that occur within days and get worse over time. You may have noticed this as weakness and fatigue after spending a few days in bed with a cold. Muscle strength declines with each day of bed rest and can be 50 percent lower following as little as three weeks. That reduction in strength could limit a person who was already deconditioned to a point where he or she would have difficulty completing the most basic activities of daily living.
A person who was fit and strong when they went into the hospital would certainly be better off when released. Older adults fare worse than younger individuals. According to one study, the decline in strength seen in older men in just 10 days was equivalent to the change measured after 28 days in men 30 years younger.
Its not just the muscles that are affected; the bones get weaker, too. In fact, 12 weeks of bed rest can reduce bone density by as much as 50 percent, exposing patients to a greater risk of fracture. This is due to the reduced stress on the bone from not standing and walking as well as the lack of muscle activity. Two of the most effective ways to build bone density are putting stress on bones through weight-bearing activity and the action of the muscles pulling on the bones from resistance training. Because bed rest eliminates these stresses, bone density declines rapidly.
One unique study from the 1960s had healthy young men complete three weeks of bed rest. They all experienced a rapid decline (over 20 percent) in their aerobic fitness but recovered quickly after the experiment ended. These individuals also had their fitness tested again 30 years later. It turns out that the decline in fitness in those young men in three weeks of bed rest was greater than the decline in fitness that occurred over 30 years of aging!
The good news is that most patients are encouraged to move around as much as possible. Some receive inpatient physical therapy or rehab, even after major surgery, to help lessen the effects of prolonged bed rest. It is important to take advantage of these opportunities if you, or a loved one, are hospitalized.
There are many reasons to exercise and be fit, but the most important reason may be to develop a fitness bank you can draw on if you become injured or hospitalized. Since the effects of bed rest are seen in people of all ages, everyone can benefit from a good fitness foundation. Just like putting money in the bank, doing a little now can have great benefits later when you need it most.
Brian Parr, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at USC Aiken where he teaches courses in exercise physiology, nutrition and health behavior. You can learn more about this and other health and fitness topics at http://drparrsays.com or on Twitter @drparrsays.
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HEALTH AND FITNESS: Your fitness bank - Aiken Standard
Unique fitness program targets teens – Mount Airy News
Youths in the Teens Into Fitness program at Reeves Community Center in Mount Airy are allowed to be who they are while also learning the value of exercise and nutrition in promoting good health.
Americas gung-ho sports culture that stresses competition while branding winners and losers often overlooks the fact that not everyone is prone to be an athlete, or even tuned in to physical fitness at all.
But it is precisely those kinds of individuals who are the focus of an after-school program at Reeves Community Center which basically lets kids be who they are while also learning the value of exercise and nutrition in promoting good health.
With the program being mostly female, this makes it even more important to me, RCC Health and Wellness Supervisor Kasey Summers explained in describing the Teens Into Fitness initiative she heads, which is geared toward ages 11-15.
I want these girls being confident in their own skin and knowledgeable about a healthy lifestyle early.
The Teens Into Fitness program was created for kids in an age group facing a challenging time in their lives on physical, social, emotional and other levels. It seeks to engage youths whether they are physically active on a normal basis with sports or not, according to Summers.
The idea behind it was to introduce different aspects of health and wellness without a focus on how much they weigh or weight loss/gain, the program leader added.
I just wanted them to learn about fitness and nutrition and that it can be fun with their friends, as well as start early with showing how it is an important part of our lives.
Non-threatening environment
Andi Morris had high praise for the program in which her twin daughters Caroline and Lily have been participating in for a good while.
The local mom said she appreciates the fun, non-threatening environment it offers.
The program runs six weeks on and two weeks off, which allows participants to have breaks and avoid getting burned out, Summers related. It is now on such a break, in anticipation of the next six-week cycle starting in early May.
When in session, the group meets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and typically has a different focus each day.
But if the kids request something special or get excited about something we do we try to accommodate them because, again, its about them enjoying health and fitness, Summers mentioned.
Mondays generally are set aside for what she calls strength days, with a focus on different methods of strength training, from weights to mind/body approaches using yoga and meditation.
Wednesdays are cardiovascular-based days. The youths sometimes go outside, venture to RCCs Nautilus room, play games or can participate in formatted group fitness classes.
Friday is Nutrition and Free Play Day, when RCC partners with Surry County Health and Nutrition Center.
On those days, Allie Willard and a team from the center come and offer different activities and treats to the kids to help teach them about healthy eating.
When the nutrition portion is finished, the group plays games, talks about the week and all the good things that happened and ends on a positive note until Monday.
Lily Morris, 11, said that in addition to learning about nutrition, she has become more attuned to fitness due to her exposure to the exercise classes and Nautilus machines that are part of the program. It is loaded with fun things that have made a difference in her life, she says.
For example, before she became involved, the youths after-school schedule might have included going outside to play or not.
The program has taught her the value of a daily exercise regimen, the participant said.
Striking a balance
Its important to me that these kids have positive role-models with their instructors, so I have a great team of certified group fitness and certified personal trainers along with myself to work with them in this program, Summers continued.
With the pressure of social media and society to look certain ways, I feel it important to bring to this program a positive self-love/acceptance aspect and help teach them to be the best them that they can be, she pointed out in further describing its goals.
I want these kids to leave this program each day feeling better about themselves inside and out.
Youths in the Teens Into Fitness program at Reeves Community Center in Mount Airy are allowed to be who they are while also learning the value of exercise and nutrition in promoting good health.
http://mtairynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Teen-Fitnesss-1.jpgYouths in the Teens Into Fitness program at Reeves Community Center in Mount Airy are allowed to be who they are while also learning the value of exercise and nutrition in promoting good health.
Tom Joyce may be reached at 336-415-4693 or on Twitter @Me_Reporter.
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Unique fitness program targets teens - Mount Airy News
Fitness guru has 10 tips for people unhappy with their weight. Why? She’s been there – Times Herald-Record
Robert Rodriguez - Tribune News Service
Dina Juve, a rising star in Fresno's health and fitness community, didn't always have a sculpted body, a taste for healthy foods or a positive attitude.
At one time, she was known as the fast food queen, weighed 202 pounds, and was an 18-year-old single mom. She suffered from juvenile arthritis and autoimmune disease. She was in physical pain most of the time, depressed and had little energy to keep up with a toddler.
"I sat on the couch on day, looked at him and just started crying," says Juve. "I didn't want him to see me like this, I wanted him to be healthy and happy."
It was a low point for Juve, but also the beginning of what would become her new life. She gave up sugary soda and eating fast food. She focused on healthier, minimally processed food. After a while, she also began to exercise. She stayed out of the health clubs in favor of her VCR at home and exercise tapes of Buns of Steel and Tae Bo.
"I was too embarrassed to go to a gym; I did not want people to see me trying," she says. "What if I failed?"
Except Juve didn't fail. She got stronger, she got healthier and she became a new person. She immersed herself in the study of nutrition and exercise, earning certifications in kettle bells and TRX _ a band resistance program. She's a battling ropes coach, Barre instructor and a weight-loss specialist, counseling clients on how to live and maintain a healthier lifestyle. She dropped 90 pounds and her weight these days ranges between 110-114.
Along with her business partner, Melissa Oberti, she also founded FitnessSocial, a northeast Fresno fitness studio with a growing following.
Juve, who admits to living comfortably outside of the spotlight, was thrust into the public eye by friends and clients. With their encouragement she rose to national prominence after being selected one of five women vying for Women's Health 2015 Next Fitness Star. She appeared in the July/August issue of Women's Health magazine. Although she didn't win, she appeared on the "Today" show twice and made many valuable connections.
Today, the 43-year-old wife and mother of four is in demand as a public speaker, cooking instructor, and weight-loss expert. She has a spot on the Patio Cafe's menu under the label Dina's Picks where she and restaurant owner Robyn Richardson have come up with menu items that are under 550 calories. And this year Juve will be speaking at Central California Women's Conference on Sept. 19. Her topic is "Real Fast Food."
Friends say they aren't surprised that Juve has become a health and fitness guru.
"People talk about finding their passion or their calling and for Dina it is fitness and nutrition," says K.C. Cornwell. "I really think that Dina was put on the planet to make people feel better about themselves."
Hillori Hansen, culinary director for Whole Foods Market Fresno, has tapped Juve to lead several cooking classes. Recently, Juve and Hansen taught a class on how to make a healthier hamburger using five ingredients or fewer.
"One of things that people love about Dina is that she is real, she has gone through struggles in her life and has overcome them," Hansen says. "I can see her taking her message to a national stage."
That may be happening as Juve explores writing a book and more speaking engagements.
"This is a whole new life for me," Juve says. "But it is one that allows me to share my story and help others become healthier and happier."
To help you get started on living a healthy life, Juve has come up with 10 tips to follow:
1. Before embarking on a change in your diet, ask yourself why you are doing it. If you can dig deeper than just vanity, you are more likely to be successful. If you don't know why you are doing it, chances are you won't continue to truly live a healthy lifestyle. If you are doing it to feel better, have more energy, for health reasons, to be around for your children and grandchildren, etc., then you stand a better chance of success.
2. Drink water. Every system in your body depends on water. My recommendation to my clients is to drink 16 ounces of water before each meal and snack to keep it simple. On average, try drinking 48 to 96 ounces of water per day. I find that when my clients have water before eating they tend to eat less.
3. Stick to whole, real food. Avoid foods that are heavily processed or contain large amounts of artificial sweeteners, dyes or chemicals. Try to eat foods with ingredients you can pronounce. Think fresh fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and animal- and plant-based proteins.
4. Add healthy fats from fish, avocado, olives, nuts and tropical oils. Nuts have a lot of health benefits and help you lose fat by improving metabolism, balancing hormones and eliminating constant cravings by keeping you feeling full longer. Healthy fat calories do add up quickly, so be mindful of portion sizes if you are trying to lose weight.
5. If you crave something, eat it _ guilt free _ just don't overdo it. Eat the serving size, enjoy it, savor it and be done with it. If your indulgence doesn't satisfy you, ask yourself why. Are there other things going on in your life that need to be addressed?
6. Avoid categorizing foods with words like good or bad. Negative words make you feel bad about yourself and that's not helpful. Aim to eat foods that give you energy and not make you sluggish.
7. Mindful eating. Eat when you are hungry and do not eat when you are not. We have gotten into a routine of eating on a schedule, even when we are not actually hungry, or we skip meals. Try listening to your body. When you pay attention to your body, you will find yourself fueling your body and using that fuel before you eat again.
8. Slow down when you eat. Try to take 20-30 minutes to eat a meal. Put your silverware down between bites. Try to chew your food fully. You will most likely find yourself eating less. Try to not eat when you are stressed, anxious, angry or rushed because this can be the cause of overeating.
9. Aim to eat the rainbow by adding more fruits and vegetables. The more colorful your plate looks the more appetizing it will appear to your eyes. It will also most likely ensure that you will receive the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
10. Yes, you can still eat out and have the body you desire. You just have to balance it like a checking account. If you overeat the debt will show up on your body. If you do not go out to eat, stay at home and do not enjoy life, that's not creating a long-term healthy enjoyable lifestyle you can maintain. We call that a diet and diets don't last long term. A healthy eating lifestyle has variety and it includes occasional indulgences. You know you have the plan that works best for you when you feel, move and look your very best. It really is not as hard as it seems.
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(c)2017 The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.) at http://www.fresnobee.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Fitness guru has 10 tips for people unhappy with their weight. Why? She's been there - Times Herald-Record
Chicago Fire’s Bastian Schweinsteiger says he is at 70 percent … – MLSsoccer.com
Bastian Schweinsteiger has made quite an impression in his first few weeks with the Chicago Fire, buthis best might still beto come.
The German midfielder has gotten off to a good start with the Fire by scoring two goals and delivering an assist in his first four appearances for the club, but herecently confessed that he is still not at his top level in terms of fitness. Part of this is aproduct of riding the bench for much oftwo seasons at Manchester United, but he'sconfidentthat he willget back into tip-top shape withmore MLS matches under his belt.
"I would say around 70 percent," Schweinsteiger told Chicago Fire Weekly when asked where he is at right now. "[There are moments] in the game you feel like you want to do something andyou can't really do it because of the energy. I try to,of course, play with my brain. My brain is 100 percent, so that's working, but I feel as a player ifyou play 20 games in a row you have a better rhythm, feeling for the game. That's what I'm working on."
Schweinsteiger will have another opportunity to improve his fitness and help the Fire pick up another win on Saturday, Apr. 29, when they visit the New York Red Bulls (7:30 pm ET | TSN2 in Canada; MLS LIVE in US).
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Chicago Fire's Bastian Schweinsteiger says he is at 70 percent ... - MLSsoccer.com
Glory coach laughs off Sydney fitness claims – Yahoo Sports
Perth Glory coach Kenny Lowe says he was amused when hearing Sydney FC coach Graham Arnolds claims that the Sky Blues were the fittest team in the A-League.
His team are fit, but every team is fit in the A-League. I like the way Arnie [Graham Arnold] twists it and blows it, its brilliant.
Thats part and parcel of Arnies personality. Which is good fun. I always have a giggle at Arnie, Lowe told http://www.a-league.com.au on Friday as Glory settled in to Sydney ahead of Saturday night's blockbuster.
But what will be the key to this semi final? And can a team that finished fifth on the ladder defeat the runaway premiers on their home turf?
Sydney FC - Perth Glory Preview
According to the Glory boss, therell be a few factors in play but hell need his big players to perform on the biggest of stages at Allianz if they are to have any chance of causing an upset.
Big players standing up, or the opposition dealing with big players. Mistakes or blunders, errors and maybe the odd refereeing decision.
So there are variables that can throw a twist in the game, he said. 55 goals scored by each team [this season]. Probably the two best players in the league in Ninkovic and Castro, with a few more thrown in that really excite.
Its not going to be a quiet game. Its not going to be a 0-0.
"Itll be end to end and open and hopefully if we can keep doing what we do, we can pinch one more than them, which will be nice."
Andy Keogh Melbourne City v Perth Glory A-League 23042017
Andy Keogh, Perth Glory
Perth have spent around 12-14 hours in the air over the last week after flying to Melbourne to defeat City in the Elimination Final last weekend, flying home to WA before taking another flight across the country again to Sydney.
[The flying] is a variable you just forget about because we dont dwell on that. Because theres a bigger picture and thats we want to get through.
We dont look at negatives, just positives," Lowe added.
And if Perth enjoy a positive result and depart from Allianz Stadium victorious on Saturday night, Glory will earn a spot in the grand final in either Melbourne or Brisbane.
More flying! Lowe said, with a smile. This is what you want to be involved in [the finals]. Otherwise youre sat at home and the seasons over.
We have belief. Its going to be tough. And Ive been in enough Cup games when I think well win and we dont and you think we wont and we win.
So itll be a good one for us to win.
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Glory coach laughs off Sydney fitness claims - Yahoo Sports
Fitness studio to open in Bellefonte – Centre Daily Times
Centre Daily Times | Fitness studio to open in Bellefonte Centre Daily Times Victory Empower Boot Camp Fitness is projected to open in early June at 102 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte. The fitness studio, a branch of Victory Sports and Fitness in College Township, will offer classes in the morning and afternoon. The options range ... |
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Fitness studio to open in Bellefonte - Centre Daily Times
Give like MADD in May at CENTER Mind/Body Fitness – Herald Review
CENTER Mind/Body Fitness will be celebrating Mothers Day this year by organizing a month-long fundraiser for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, commonly known as MADD.
Founded more than three decades ago by a mother who lost her daughter to a drunk driver, MADD, according to their website, is the nations largest nonprofit aiming to protect families from drunk driving, drugged driving as well as underage drinking.
According to CENTER owner Christina Andersen, many of CENTERs clients are women and mothers. But more importantly, all of them have a passion for making a positive impact on the lives of others.
For this reason, CENTER Fitness hopes to tap into their health-minded community, while also remaining true to their mission to improve lives, by organizing a month-long fundraiser for MADD. This year is the first of what CENTER staff hope will become an annual event.
"This fundraiser is a win-win-win, said Andersen. CENTER gets to see new faces, students get to give back and improve their mental and physical health while doing it, and MADD gets the fruits of our labor to put to use preventing drunk driving and the fatalities associated with it.
CENTER, which specializes in Pilates and yoga, also offers various other forms of fitness, including RIDE classes, kettlebell boxing, TRX and more. For staff, it just made sense to create a take on an already existing MADD Fundraiser, known as Walk Like MADD, and instead call theirs Ride Like MADD.
For Andersen, the decision to host a month-long fundraiser was based on a number of factors, the two most prevalent being the CENTER-hosted Sukha Into Spring 5K which took place on April 15, as well as the upcoming MS Walk, taking place on May 7.
CENTER aims to raise $1,000 during their first annual Ride Like MADD Fundraiser.
Its lofty, for sure, said Andersen. But goals are good and our students continue to amaze me with their enthusiasm and generosity.
Throughout the month of May, CENTER will donate $10 for every 1,000 watts accumulated during all their ride classes. (According to Andersen, the average rider, depending on size and conditioning, can produce anywhere from 60 watts to 230 watts during an hour-long RIDE class.)
People love a challenge, said Andersen. "They get so much more out of their workout when they are doing it for something, or someone, else. Maya Angelou had it right: Giving liberates the soul.
CENTER will also donate 20 percent of all new Trial Month Memberships and 20 percent of all registrations for their Sip n Spin: Biker Barre with Mocktails event taking place on May 19 at 5 p.m. The latter will be an hour-long event co-taught by Andersen and Rhonda Peters, co-owners of Bala Day and Med Spa.
Biker Barre will allow participants to experience 30 minutes of RIDE, followed by 30 minutes of Barre. At the end, mocktails will be provided.
You definitely do not need to be a member, or even have been to CENTER before to partake in this fundraiser, said Andersen. In fact, this is the perfect excuse to come and check out who we are and what we do."
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Give like MADD in May at CENTER Mind/Body Fitness - Herald Review