Archives for May 2010 | Be Well Philly

Archive for May, 2010

VIDEO: POWER UP YOUR WORKOUTS

Local fitness guru Gavin McKay shares how plyometrics can transform your body

Posted by Gavin McKay on 5/27/2010 at 3:50PM | 5 Comments

Power training is a style of advanced, high-intensity, resistance exercise that increases people’s athleticism and ability to generate force with speed. It can be done with weights, bands, balls or just body weight as the resistance, but the key is to be able to move explosively through a full range of motion with balance and speed. Plyometrics is a form of power training, which is essentially jumping in all its various forms—which jacks your heart rate while fatiguing the muscles quickly. Other examples are kettlebell swings, speed band work and sprinting up hills. READ MORE

HEALTHY TRAVEL: HEAVENLY HIKING IN VERMONT

Travel editor Christine Speer is planning the perfect mid-summer vacay

Posted by Christine Speer Lejeune on 5/27/2010 at 9:00AM | 1 Comment

I have a friend who decamped years ago to the mountains of Vermont, and he is positively evangelical about the summertimes up there. He says the mountains are cool and lush, perfect for hiking and nighttime star-gazing. It’s because of him—and because I love a good hike—that I am in love with the idea of a trip to New Life Hiking Spa in Killington, a 33-year-old health spa in the Green Mountains that was just named by MSNBC as one of the top 10 fitness vacations in the world. READ MORE

TOTAL RECALL

Does using recalled baby items make you a bad mom?

Posted by Anne Taulane on 5/26/2010 at 9:30AM | 3 Comments

Perhaps it’s just on my radar now that I’m a new mom, but doesn’t it seem like every day another product is recalled because it threatens to maim, sicken, or kill our children? Tylenol, baby slings, strollers—I mean, what’s next? Cribs. Yup, them too. At this point, I’m considering padding my 10-month-old son in bubble wrap and tucking him away in a hygienically sealed room until he’s 18.

It’s the crib controversy that has me most concerned— public enemy No. 1, in particular: the drop-side crib. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled more than 7 million drop-side cribs from 11 brands in the past five years—the most recent culprits Golden Baby, Sorelle and C&T International, Graco and Simplicity. And now the government group is saying it plans to ban them altogether by the end of the year. (If you want a list of the latest product recalls, check out the CPSC website .) READ MORE

WHAT IT TAKES TO LOOK SEXY FOR SUMMER

Local fitness guru Gavin McKay shares his top four secrets for getting a beach-ready bod

Posted by Gavin McKay on 5/25/2010 at 9:00AM | 2 Comments

You have to feel sexy before you look sexy. And to get that feeling you have to be happy with your body and confident in yourself, which takes true commitment to a healthy, active lifestyle. I’ve seen my clients make major transformations in as short as 10 weeks by following the four tips below, and now I’m sharing them with you. If you start following these now, you’ll never have to worry about bathing suit season again. READ MORE

PHILLY RUNNING LEGENDS: NEILL CLARK

Running coach Ross Martinson chats with the 12-time Bar Run winner on everything from how he avoids injury to what keeps him motivated year after year

Posted by Ross Martinson on 5/25/2010 at 8:30AM | 1 Comment

Neill Clark

Neill Clark, a class action lawyer for Berger & Montague, won the 2010 lawyers division of the Philadelphia Bar Association 5K for the 12th consecutive time on Sunday, May 16th. I gave him a call to ask him about everything from how he avoids injury to what keeps him motivated year after year. Check out our Q&A below.

What keeps you motivated year after year?
A passion for the sport, for staying fit, and the process of staying fit. It’s important having people to train with and the camaraderie of a shared purpose.

How have you avoided injury?
Stop at the first sign of trouble, rather than wait and hope it gets better.

What was your hardest race?
One year I went to a wedding in D.C. the night before and showed up at the line with no sleep. READ MORE

MARKET WATCH: CHARD

Local healthy chef and RD Katie Cavuto-Boyle shares the good-for-you, in-season fare to eat this week

Posted by Katie Cavuto Boyle on 5/24/2010 at 11:02AM | No Comments

Greens place at the top of my “favorite veggie list” and rainbow Swiss chard tops them off. This impressive green, leafy vegetable is pillared by radiantly colorful stems and may be one of the most nutrient-dense veggies around. I like to think of chard as hyper-color spinach with a kick. The greens tend to be bitter and full flavor which is balanced out by the tender, yet crisp and refreshing, stems.

Chard is a rock star when it comes to its nutrient benefits. It’s loaded — and I mean loaded — with Vitamin A, C , and K, and packed with iron, fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium … and the list goes on. READ MORE

WELLNESS WIRE

1 in 8 pools could make you sick

Posted by Jenna Bergen on 5/24/2010 at 10:32AM | No Comments

Is Watching Your Wallet Weighing You Down?
If finances have forced you to frequent more budget-friendly supermarkets as of late, consider this before tossing the $2 pizza rolls into your cart: The percentage of obese shoppers is nearly 10 times higher at low-cost stores compared to pricier markets. [Msnbc.com]

Hey, Memorial Day-ers: 1 in 8 Pools Could Make You Sick
Before you jump in, ask your pool operator to test PH levels. If the PH isn’t between 7.2 and 7.8, those crystal blue waters could be harboring bugs that cause intestinal infections. [Abcnews.com]

Pick Up Some Pistachios
New research shows that the nuts can increase levels of antioxidants in the blood of adults with high cholesterol. [Sciencedaily.com]

— Research by Jillian Skrocki

BE WELL BITES: VIRAGO’S VEGAN & GLUTEN-FREE CUPCAKES

See what we thought of these dairy- and flour-free treats

Posted by Jenna Bergen on 5/21/2010 at 4:30PM | 6 Comments

Last week one of my co-workers came into my office and tossed a menu for Lansdale’s Virago Baking Company on my desk. “I just had the most amazing cupcake I’ve ever had in my life,” she declared dramatically. “And it was vegan or gluten-free, can you believe it? She makes both, but whatever. You absolutely have to try this place.”

Seeing that many of our readers are either vegan or struggling with celiac disease, my interest was piqued. So, Jillian, Be Well’s amazingly wonderful intern, went to work calling Regina Petruzziello Mason, the “she” my coworker was referring to, and the owner of this little Lansdale gem. READ MORE

THE MOM WHO HAS HELPED MILLIONS

JDRF's founder, Lee Ducat, chats about her lifetime dedication for finding a cure for type 1 diabetes and how it all started 40 years ago — right here in Philly

Posted by Jenna Bergen on 5/21/2010 at 11:32AM | 9 Comments

Lee Ducat

This Saturday, May 22nd, the Promise Ball at the Loews Hotel will honor Lee Ducat, the founder of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, for her lifetime dedication to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes. As many as three million Americans live with the autoimmune disease, in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a vital hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Two of my siblings—I’m one of five kids—are among them.

I had the amazing opportunity to speak with Lee about her work with JDRF and how it all started, right here in Philly. In the first year, working out of her home in Penn Valley, Lee raised $10,000. Now, JDRF raises $100 million annually and has raised $1.4 billion since its inception 40 years ago.

Whether or not you or a loved one has been touched by type 1, Lee is an amazing, amazing example of what one woman—what one mother—can do when she puts her mind to it. Check out our Q&A below. READ MORE

GET TO KNOW ROSS MARTINSON, BE WELL’S RUNNING COACH!

Check by weekly for his thoughts and tips, and email him your running-related Qs

Posted by Jenna Bergen on 5/20/2010 at 3:18PM | No Comments

Ross Martinson (Far right)

Ross Martinson is co-owner of Philadelphia Runner, with three stores that specialize in running shoes, gear, and advice. As a competitive runner, Ross has finished 23rd at the Boston Marathon and in the top five of the Blue Cross Broad Street Run, but still remembers his first run when he was dropped by everyone on his high school cross country team. He shares his love of running in the stores and as coach of Team Philly Race Training.

Ross will be blogging for Be Well Philly bi-weekly, and he can’t wait to answer any and all of your running-related Qs. Email him and he could answer your question in an upcoming blog post!