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When the NFL launched Play 60 a decade ago as a way to get American youth active, the league had no idea what reach the program would have.

Ten years later, millions of youngsters and 73,000 schools have become involved. Affiliations with such organizations as the American Heart Association and the National Dairy Council have helped make Play 60 one of the nations most effective youth health and wellness initiatives, focusing on fighting obesity and encouraging children to be active.

When the goal is healthier lives, being active physically, the NFL has that magic with kids and with adults, says Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association.

They have this incredible ability to use their players and their local teams to reach youth and adults. The ability we have to create content has helped make this program magical. When players go into schools, the children just light up. To be a well-conditioned athlete requires an intense level of physical fitness. The players are able to inspire the kids, and Play 60 makes it fun, not a chore or a task, to be active and healthy.

Future NFL players will increase Play 60s presence in Philadelphia next week. While there are more than 2,000 Play 60 events held annually, including a virtual field trip during Super Bowl week that was livestreamed to nearly 3,000 classrooms and more than 250,000 students, draft week is a focal point.

So 22 top prospects will be, uh, active from the time they get to Philly until the moment their names are called in the draft. They will participate in Play 60 events ranging from a visit to childrens hospitals to clinics involving hundreds of local school children to attractions at a Play 60 Zone designed to test kids fitness and football acumen.

The league expects thousands of youngsters to be reached by Play 60 in Philly.

Its kind of amazing to me, says NFL senior vice president Anna Isaacson, who helped launch Play 60 in 2007 in New Orleans, with Drew Brees as its main spokesman. Ive been doing this for 10 years, but it was one of those campaigns we didnt really know where it would go. The impact it has had has been very rewarding.

It is one of those projects we gave room to grow. We didnt know how big it would become or what it would be, that kids across country would come to know what Play 60 means. It was not something in which we knew we would see immediate success.

Changing health habits of kids is hard. I think we saw immediate success in terms of players really gravitating to it, talking about what they ate when they were young, activities they did when growing up. And then kids took to it quickly.

But it takes time to see a change and an impact.

According to the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit that promotes life-long health and wellness through research and education, from 2011-2015, there were significant annual improvements in aerobic capacity and body mass for students at schools participating in Play 60 compared to non-participating schools.

The institute, with its NFL Play 60 FitnessGram Project, used data from more than 1,000 schools and found Play 60 a potential viable intervention to help improve youth aerobic capacity.

The important point overall is that Play 60 offers opportunities to get schools moving on the health risks to our kids and their future health, says Cooper Institute CEO Dr. Laura DeFina.

It was really innovative of the NFL, and they wanted to quantify if these programs do work. This looks at all kids in a nonjudgmental manner and also looks at, are they in the health fitness zone?

Having the NFL programs, Play 60 and the Play 60 Challenge (in partnership with the AHA) and Fuel Up to Play 60 (with the NDC) did make a difference in the schools where it was implemented, and (showed) the gap between the kids who are fitter and others who are not in these programs and who are not as fit.

DeFina adds that generally as youngsters age and get into high school, they tend to become less fit. The institutes studies show that teens need to be a focal point.

But shes hopeful that programs such as Play 60 will change those trends, too.

With the kids starting in elementary school, 10 years from now we might not see this, she says.

The NDC has a wide range of student-led initiatives in its Fuel Up to Play 60 program. Student ambassadors engage and empower peers to take action by implementing long-term, positive changes to the nutrition, physical activity and overall wellness within schools. Then, supported by program advisers, educators in the school help students build teams, execute activities, even apply for funding to support wellness improvements.

Fuel Up to Play 60 was developed to provide youth with opportunities to have better, quality nutrition from nutrient-rich foods as well as regular physical activity to achieve 60 minutes each day, explains NDC President Jean Ragalie-Carr.

It is also about empowering youth to be proactive in creating opportunities when it comes to the health and wellness environment in their school, in their home, and their community.

When the NFL launched the Play 60 program, with a focus on combatting the physical activity issue as it related to obesity, we knew we had an opportunity to bring our nutrition expertise to the program to make an even broader impact.

National Dairy Council, together with state and regional dairy councils, have more than 100 registered dietitians on staff, and it makes us uniquely positioned to be part of the broader wellness discussion with schools and with many national and local health, wellness and educational organizations.

Perhaps the biggest challenge to getting kids in shape and keeping them that way is cultural. Sitting on a couch and playing video games comes naturally to Americas youth.

So the AHA is using technology to tackle the task, creating an app that provides youngsters with a gamefied way to get involved in physical activity, Brown says.

Weve gotten lots of positive response from the app; the app can live outside of school, Brown adds. Parents like it, because if theres no prying your kid away from a mobile device these days, so if a way those devices can lead to doing Play 60 or physical activity, this is a plus.

The hope for all concerned is that as Play 60 grows, youth obesity and lack of fitness significantly diminishes.

Play 60 has provided a straightforward, simple message and solution to youth under a recognizable brand, Ragalie-Carr says. The program has provided an opportunity for youth of all demographics and abilities to participate because of its scalable and customizable format, which has made it accessible to almost every young person throughout the country.

For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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Play 60: Battling youth obesity and lack of fitness (Apr 20, 2017) - FOXSports.com

State health officials hope to know early next week if an outbreak of Legionnaires disease was definitely linked to the LA Fitness gym in Ocoee.

Three people who went to the gym at 1560 E. Silver Star Road recently contracted the disease, according to the Florida Department of Health in Orange County. The disease can result in a severe form of pneumonia.

LA Fitness followed health department recommendations to decontaminate its hot tub and change out shower heads, said Alvina Chu, epidemiology program manager with the health department.

She declined to provide the status of the gym-goers who became ill, citing confidentiality rules. She said its common for patients with Legionnaires to be hospitalized.

They had gone to the gym in the exposure window, a few days before they became ill, Chu said. We continuously look for other exposures, and this was the common one we found.

LA Fitness shut off access to the showers and hot tub upon being notified by the state, then installed specially filtered shower heads that eliminate bacteria from the shower stream, she said.

State investigators pulled water samples from the gym before steps were taken to clean up the facility. Those samples have been sent to a lab in Jacksonville, Chu said.

It takes seven days to grow out the samples, so we should know something by Monday or Tuesday, she said.

The LA Fitness media office didnt respond to requests for comment.

Legionnaires is caused by Legionella bacteria, which naturally exists in the general environment and fresh water.

It generally cannot spread from person to person, and can be found in man-made water systems such as hot tubs, spas, hot-water tanks and other pumping systems.

Symptoms are similar to other forms of pneumonia, including coughing, high fever and shortness of breath. Symptoms present themselves within two days to two weeks after exposure.

Over the past few years, Legionnaires disease was investigated at Florida Hospital and at SpringHill Suites Hotel in Altamonte Springs.

Some people are at higher risk of getting Legionnaires, including people 50 or older, current or former smokers, people with a chronic lung disease (like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema); people with weak immune systems from diseases like cancer, diabetes, or kidney failure; and people who take drugs that weaken the immune system such as those prescribed after a transplant operation or chemotherapy.

In January 2016, Florida Hospital Orlandos water tested positive for Legionella, leading the hospital to hire a firm to flush its water system.

The chain of events began in late 2015, when a critically ill patient at Florida Hospital Orlando tested positive for Legionella, but the hospital said there were no instances of people acquiring the disease at the hospital. The strain of Legionella found in the hospital water system was different from that the patient had.

Each year, between 8,000 and 18,000 people in the United States need care in a hospital because of Legionnaires disease, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

pbrinkmann@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5660; Twitter, @PaulBrinkmann

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LA Fitness in Ocoee probed for Legionnaire's outbreak - Orlando ... - Orlando Sentinel

With a few weeks to go before the holidays, there's no need to panic yet about doing actual gift shopping. If you're in need of inspiration, however, it's time to start researching.

The tech experts at SpecOut, a tech product data site by Graphiq, curated a list of small-sized tech items that are perfect stocking stuffers. SpecOut considered items like fitness trackers, drones, earbuds, streaming devices, bluetooth speakers and virtual reality (VR) headsets and ranked each by its Smart Rating. A Smart Rating is a score out of 100 that takes into account different important attributes of a tech gadget.

Within the "drone" category, SpecOut only considered "pocket-sized" items with a wingspan of less than 100 millimeters. The only VR headsets included in the roundup are those that can fit in your hand (i.e. attach to phones), and the battery-powered speakers are similarly sized. Three streaming devices without Smart Ratings are also included at the beginning in alphabetical order.

To assemble this registry, SpecOut sometimes prioritized size over price, meaning that many of these items are over $50. While there are several entries at the lower end of the range, beginning with the Google Cardboard VR headset priced at $4.99 on Amazon, items are priced up to $500, the cost of the Bluesound Pulse Mini bluetooth speakers. Prices are as of Nov. 11, 2016.

Click through to find something for the gadget-lovers in your life.

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The best tech: Headphones, VR, fitness and more - Corvallis Gazette Times

(CNN) Fitness tracker technology, like Fitbit or Mio, continue to advance. A new study in the annals of internal medicine is looking at just how accurate the devices are.

Fitness trackers are a great way to monitor activity levels, but the probably arent as accurate as medical equipment, according to a small study out of the University of Wisconsin.

Researchers compared readings from four different commercial fitness trackers with readings from electrocardiographs, or ECGs.

ECGs are used in doctors offices and hospitals to measure heart rate. The fitness trackers proved fairly accurate when users were at rest, one measured within five beats per minute of the ECG reading.

However, with all of the devices tested, as activity increased, accuracy dropped. The monitors were off by a range of 20 to 40 beats per minute at high activity levels, compared with corresponding ECG measurements.

It should be noted that the survey was very small, there were only 40 participants. Critics argue that fitness trackers are not performing up to their advertised promises. However, supporters note that fitness trackers are not medical devices, and do help boost health generally by making people more aware of their activity level throughout the day.

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How accurate are fitness tracking devices? - wwlp.com

Maxim

Fabulous Fitness Guru Richard Simmons Finally Speaks Out After 3 Years In Self-Imposed Exile Maxim The mystery of fitness guru Richard Simmons's fate has been so compelling to some it even inspired a podcastMissing Richard Simmonsabout seeking him. Questions about the once ubiquitous celebrity ran toward the ominous: What's he been up to? Police at home of beloved fitness guru, Richard SimmonsCrimeOnline Richard Simmons' Fitness Empire Revealed: What Is the Star's Net Worth?E! Online Video: 'Missing' American fitness guru reassures fans he's all rightTVNZ Celebrity Insider (blog) -Facebook -ABC News all 49 news articles »

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Fabulous Fitness Guru Richard Simmons Finally Speaks Out After 3 Years In Self-Imposed Exile - Maxim

Daily Mail

Red, White, and Blue Collar: How Chris Pratt became the All-American actor everybody loves to love Men's Fitness April 20, 2017 3.04pm. Chris Pratt. The Riker Brothers. T. This is a preview of Chris Pratt's cover story from the May 2017 issue of Men's Fitness. Buy the new issue on newsstands Monday, April 24 and download the new issue available Friday, April 21 ... Chris Pratt tells Men's Fitness why he likes doing stuntsDaily Mail all 92 news articles »

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Red, White, and Blue Collar: How Chris Pratt became the All-American actor everybody loves to love - Men's Fitness

I balance two 25 pound plates on the barbell, place the sweat rag along the bench and position myself beneath the bar to warm up on the bench press. I stare up at the bar, check in with my body, and position my hands perfectly before I realize Crap! I forget the fitness journal upstairs!.

After weight training 4-5 days a week for about a year and a half, I plateaued. My workouts had grown predictable, my muscles were getting visibly thicker but not stronger, and I needed an affordable way to motivate myself (i.e. I couldnt afford a personal trainer) and revamp my post-work sweat-sesh. So, after January came and went and 2017 hadnt magically brought me #gains, I embarked on a February Fitness Resolution: to log all my workouts for the month of February. When I came down with the flu the first week of the month, I edited my goal accordingly.

So from February 6th-March 6th I began keeping track of every part of my workout: how many reps, how many sets, how hard it was on a scale of 1-10, and a quick 1-3 sentence summary of my lift. Since, I had been gifted a fitness journal by the strongest woman I know for the holidays, and because her biceps give mine a run for their money, I went into my resolution with high hopes and I wasnt disappointed. Heres what I learned and how my workouts improved.

My first attempt of logging my workouts went horribly. My writing was eligible. I realized I didnt know the names of half the workouts Ive been doing for 18 plus months. A push press got called shoulder pushes. Russian kettlebell swings got called KB wooshes. Cleans with a kettlebell got called KB up & downs. My weight-lifting vocabulary needed some serious work.

By week 4 I had gotten into my fitness journaling groove: I began planning out my workouts ahead of time, which gave me time to look up the proper name for all the exercises, look back at the weights I had done throughout the previous three weeks and accurately predict how much weight I could bench, curl, and press either during or after warming up. When I planned my workouts ahead of time I left the reps box blank, so that during my workout that was the only section that needed to be filled in.

While at the beginning of of the month I found the journal to be a distraction away from my workout, by the fourth week I had found a system that worked, and I am glad as heck that I kept with it because its pretty rewarding flip back through the pages and see how much work Ive put in in a month.

I began doing CrossFit two weeks into this experiment after a friend of mine who works for a local CrossFit box hooked me up with a set of free classes. Stopping during class to write how the warm-up, WOD, and warm down complete with sets, reps, and weight was not possible. Which meant that when I logged my WODs into my fitness journal I often forget important details such as my one-rep max, how long the workout took me to complete, or whether the workout finished with a 25 calorie row or a 500 meter row.

I began going to the 6am CrossFit class, so when I incorporated CrossFit into my fitness schedule I did not stop lifting weights on my own after work. My new morning activity was hard to track in my journal while in class, so often I went to my CrossFit boxes website where the WOD was posted, and copied the workout right from the website into my journal and when I remember the weight I used or the time I completed the workout in, I included that as well.

If I continue to drink the CrossFit Kool Aid I will download and use a tracking app that the most invested CrossFitters use to track their workouts, which is an app I researched, but did not begin using, because I was committed to using only a paper-log for a month.

Many dietitians and trainers suggest keeping a food and/or a workout journal to track progress and daily intake because it keeps you accountable. I was skeptical whether or not I would feel motivated by some paper and a pen, but I did experience the valuable asset of task completion when at the end of my workout I saw a detailed chart of my hard work.

At the beginning of the month I decided that I would leave a page blank in my fitness journal for every day I did not work out or took a rest day. Many days it was this ~fear~ of the blank page forced me to go to the gym 6 days a week. On my rest day I often spent extra time foam rolling or stretching my muscles so that I would get the reward of writing it down in my fitness journal after.

Because the journal only had so many boxes, I stopped spending as much time warming up, and began dedicating more time to actually lifting heavy weights. After the first three days of filling out 8 boxes just from warming up, I realized that my workouts were not as efficient as they could be and I was tiring myself out before the heart of my workout even started.

By limited myself to three warm up sets (or 3 boxes) I gave myself both more room in the fitness journal to track my progress and had more energy to actually reach and surpass my fitness goals. At the beginning of my experiment I had plateaued on my bench press at 1 rep of 155 pounds and 3 reps at 135 pounds, however, by the end of my experiment I had bench pressed 1 rep of 165 pounds and 5 reps at 135 pounds.

At the top left corner of my fitness journal I had the option to to check yes or no for a box labeled stretching. While I would usually rush back to the locker room after completing my last set so that I could get home and beat the hanger that was sure to set in if I didnt make it home by 8:30pm to cook dinner, I wanted to check that damn box so I stayed and stretched.

While I never stretched or foam-rolled more than 10 minutes, after a month of 10 minute stretch-sessions, I am finally able to touch my toes (a feat I stopped being able to do after training for a marathon tightened up my hamstrings and hips). While my new-found flexibility is more a testament to my stubbornness than anything else, I have my fitness journal to thank.

Even after I had begun seeing how positively the journal was impacting my sweat-sessions, there were still some days where taking meticulous notes on my workout was the last thing I wanted to do. Some days I was feeling exhausted from work and writing the details felt like a chore, especially when I wanted to zone out and get my sweat on.

Now that the month is over, Im glad that I kept track even on the days when it felt like a hassle, but on those days taking pen to paper was annoying.

By writing down my workouts, and filling in the additional information section at the bottom of the log, I dedicated an additional few minutes to touching in with my body. I started with my toes: Hows that broken toe on my right foot feeling? And moved slowly up my body to asses each muscle group: How are my shoulders holding up after a day a push presses and clean jerks? Do I need to take an additional few minutes to roll out my lats or massage my forearms? Can my body handle my cash out set of 10 pull-ups today, or should I skip?

After checking in with my body I recorded the BEST and WORST part of my workouts. Some days the best part included, Learned the name of the strong rugby player Ive seen in the locker room, other days the best part was finally hitting that 160 bench press PR. Some days the worst part was Felt very dehydrated or Kept weights light in preparation for early morning CrossFit WOD which I can tell will be hard.

At the end of the month I had finally broken through my plateaus. I was pushing, curling, squatting, and deadlifting the most weight I ever had. But more than just getting stronger, I also finally learned the names of the my weight-lifting moves, am the most flexible I have been in years, and realized that my workouts werent as efficient as they could be.

While a portion of the improvements I saw during my month resulted from my mental stubbornness, I did see real physical improvements. Either way, keeping a fitness journal has really benefited my body and mind, making it a habit I will gladly continue at least until my biceps outsize my gifters.

Editors note: This article is an op-ed. The views expressed herein are the authors and dont necessarily reflect the views of BarBend. Claims, assertions, opinions, and quotes have been sourced exclusively by the author.

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I Kept A Fitness Journal For A Month. Here Are 6 - BarBend (blog)

NASCAR traditionalists love to reminisce about the formative days of the stock car spectacle when T-shirt clad moonshine runners and daredevils triumphed through ingenuity, willpower and country strong toughness.

Those drivers often smoked cigarettes, partied into the night and were not exactly workout warriors.

Flash forward to the modern day of this corporate-driven sport, and those folksy stories come across as somewhat cautionary tales.

Most of the drivers in each of the top three levels of NASCAR now spend their mornings grinding in the weightroom.

Following the lead of legendary former driver and workout warrior Mark Martin and Mens Fitness mag-azine cover model Jimmie Johnson, the hottest trend for drivers involves cycling, marathons, triathlons, hiking and mountain climbing.

Its all about conjuring up those powerful endorphins that help a person attack each day with gusto.

On Thursday, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular Trevor Bayne pushed himself during a workout at 6 a.m. before engaging in a wide-ranging telephone interview. He then planned to work out again in the afternoon.

From improved endurance in long races to a general boost in confidence, Bayne said his workout routine has paid dividends in the form of improved finishes.

Johnson, the seven-time Cup champion, trains six days a week and has completed an Olympic-distance triathlon. He focuses on anaerobic work, resistance training and speed work and strives for power and speed through activities such as running stairs.

Many fans look up to NASCAR drivers as indestructible machines who can harness and navigate a 3,400-pound monster machine at dizzying speeds around tracks that would make roller coaster fanatics drop to their knees in fear.

NASCAR drivers certainly have advantages in the form of team workout areas, personals trainers and nutritionists. And hopefully they can set an example for their fans of all ages to practice smart eating habits and follow fitness programs.

The focus on flexibility, strength and hand-eye reflexes prepares drivers for demonic tests such as Bristol Motor Speedway where drivers continually rip off flawless 15-second laps around a .533-mile oval.

These guys may endorse sugary soft drinks and fast food, but they watch everything they drink and eat. Just check out the physique of a Cup driver. Not much body fat there. Remember Carl Edwards, better known as He-Man.

The demands on a Cup superstar or young charger with a Fortune 500 sponsor are high, but so are the rewards. Just like athletes in stick-and-ball sports, NASCAR drivers are always searching for that extra edge.

As you watch the stars in the Monster Cup, Xfinity and NASCAR K&N Series tackle the high banks of BMS this weekend, remember that they pay a daily sacrifice for fame and fortune. And that price involves early wakeup calls followed by sweat and pain.

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GREGORY: Fitness no mere fad for today's drivers - Bristol Herald Courier (press release) (blog)

VICTOR Orangetheory Fitness, a fast-growing fitness franchise, is opening a new studio in Victor. The Clifton Park studio will be at 400 Commerce Drive, Victor Crossing. Orangetheory Fitness has 28 studios now open in the state with several more in development.

Owned and operated by Paola Horvath and John Palmiotto, the new studio will celebrate its grand opening with a VIP party today from 4:30 to 7 p.m. and will officially open to the public on Friday with classes starting at 5 a.m.

We are passionate about health and wellness and are excited to bring Orangetheory Fitness to our community, Horvath said in a news release. We cant wait for Rochester to become part the Orangetheory family and start seeing results from the unique and high-energy workout.

Horvath and Palmiotto opened their first studio in Niskayuna on May 27, 2015. A second opened in Albany on June 3, 2016 and a third studio just opened in Clifton Park on April 7.

Orangetheory Fitness launched its first studio in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in March 2010. It features a 60-minute, five zone heart-rate monitored interval training concept.

For more information on the Victor Orangetheory Fitness and membership packages, call (585) 207-0202. Follow Orangetheory Fitness on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and trends.

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BUSINESS: Orangetheory Fitness Studio opening in Victor - Finger Lakes Times

The 39th Reedy River Run in downtown Greenville, featuring a 10K, 5K and one mile kids run/walk. Start of the 5K race.(Photo: KEN OSBURN)

Organizers of the TD Bank Reedy River Run want to make fitness a family affair.

The event includes a competition called the FIT'S COOL School Challenge that encourages young people and parents to participate in the run to win money for their schools.

"We hope to encourage more fitness in the elementary and middle schools," said race director Mike Caldwell.

Here's how it works: Every elementary or middle school student who enters the FIT's COOL Challenge earns 10 points for his or her school. Every adult (a parent or family friend) who enters on behalf of a school is awarded twopoints for the school.

The top elementary school and top middle school -- those earning the most participationpoints -- are awarded $500 each from TD Bank Run.

The money is to be used for fitness programs at the schools.

Last year's winners were Paris Elementary School, with 47 students and 46 adults participating; and Tanglewood Middle School, with nine students and 21 adults participating.

"Part of our mission is to encourage fun and healthy fitness through running," Caldwell said. "We thought this was a fun way to get young people interested in elementary and middle school."

Last year, 375 students participated in the FIT'S Cool Challenge in one of the three races: Youth Mile, 5K or 10K.

"They can choose any race," Caldwell said. "It depends on their ability. Many of them run the 5K."

Young people and adult supporters represented 11 elementary schools and five middle schools last year in the FIT'S COOL Challenge.

In the overall TD Bank Reed River Run, about 3,000 runners are expected to participate.

The event is celebrating a milestone: its 40th year.

The 10K run is nearly closed, with only 30 slots left, Caldwell said.

The 5K run has about 150 slots still available, he said.

For more information, visit the website tdbankreedyriverrun.com.

Paul Hyde covers education and everything else under the South Carolina sun. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @PaulHyde7.

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Students compete in TD Run for fitness - Greenville News

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