Get Healthy

The lengthy menu of group fitness programs at most gyms can be overwhelming. Here is advice from personal trainers on finding one suited for you:

Observe it first. Ask the instructor if you can stand in the back of the room and watch a class in action. You also can talk to some participants afterward and, if you like what you hear, get a few tips on tackling the first day.

Talk to the instructor. Find out the usual pace of a class and its fitness goals, whether it’s overall toning, weight loss or working on specific body parts. A program also may be more or less intense on certain days of the week.

Determine your “impact” level. Aerobics classes usually are divided into low, medium and high impact. If you haven’t exercised regularly and get out of breath fairly easily, start out low and aim to move up over time.
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With proper supervision and form, kettlebells provide tougher workout in less time than traditional weights

In a small fitness studio on the Square in Crown Point, there are some women throwing some serious weight around.

Traditional dumbbells have taken a back seat here, making way for a centuries-old modality that is new on the scene in Northwest Indiana.

Angela Ramos, owner of Inspiration Fitness Camp, demonstrates how to use a kettlebell, which looks like a flat-bottomed cannonball with a handle. With origins in Russia, this ball of iron is a favorite tool of professional athletes, Olympians, military units, and Hollywood personalities.
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I grew up during the 1950s and ’60s in Madison, Wis., in a family that lived and breathed sports—and I don’t mean watching sports. We played sports, outdoors: hockey, cycling, tennis, hiking, golf. My grandparents lived on a lake so we were always outside swimming and skating. We even had our own personal physician in the off chance any injuries occurred—my dad, Dr. Jack Heiden, an orthopedic surgeon.

I remember when I was 12, I broke my wrist speed skating the same day I’d gotten the cast off from breaking my wrist cycling. And that was the second time I’d broken my wrist speed skating!

Did Dad rush in and advise me to take it easy or give up the sport? No way. My family never pressured us, but they really made activity a priority. My sister, Beth, and I didn’t begin training seriously as speed skaters until 1972, but because we’d always been so active, only eight years later we both medaled at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
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Bears mascot challenges youngsters to score a healthy life

Staley, the official mascot of the Chicago Bears, questions students about healthy choices during his visit to Protsman Elementary School. He offered the students ”Staley’s 6 Week Fitness Challenge” program. (Photograph provided by Protsman Elementary School.)

In an effort to encourage children into making healthy choices, the Chicago Bears and Staley Da Bear, the official mascot of the Bears, visited Protsman Elementary School recently.

“Staley’s 6 Week Fitness Challenge” is an informative, hands-on, educational school health show presented throughout Chicagoland. The students were introduced to the four elements, or “downs,” of this health/fitness program during an assembly entitled “First & Goal: How to Score a Touchdown for a Healthy Life.”

The students each took home a chart to monitor his/her progress daily during the six weeks following the assembly. Points are assigned for each “down” on a daily basis.
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Into the mystic chill of an autumn morn, runners from all over the Midwest descend on the deserted dunes of Lake Michigan’s southeastern shore. It is a pilgrimage of sorts, a spiritual experience that distance runners refer to as “running the ridge.” The ridge itself is the highlight of a 7-mile trek located amongst hills and wooden canopied paths of Indiana’s National Lakeshore.

The Ridge is but one chapter in a long-storied love affair between region runners and the majestic awe of Dune Country. Indiana has a great legacy of distance running. This is Hal Higdon country, the father of the modern marathon, a legend in the running community who has inspired many region athletes to take to the sand and solitude of the dunes. It’s also home to Al Mussman and Brian Rotz who, in the early ’80s, created the Zoy Run, which grew to such popularity in the mid ’90s that the Indiana Department of Conservation cancelled the event for fear of environmental damage. Although the original Zoy no longer exists, a number of other trail races, such as the Bride of Zoy and Zoy Relapse, have sprung up in its place.
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When it comes to women and fitness, it seems there is always that one stubborn body part that we lament upon, the one that makes us cringe when we look in the mirror, the one that despite our best efforts, it seems, just refuses to budge.

June Puzon, a trainer at Fitness Pointe in Munster, says the most heavily complained-about areas among her clients tend to be the abs, glutes, outer thighs (a.k.a. “saddlebags”), triceps (the “friendly” muscle that keeps waving long after you’ve said hello) and, ugh, back fat.

Puzon’s picks for the best overall strengthening exercises for the common trouble spots are the plank and bicycle for abs, squats and bridge for the butt/hips, kickbacks for triceps and abduction for outer thighs. As for back fat, she says, cardio is the best bet.

In general, Puzon suggests working up to about 16 to 20 repetitions of each exercise. When that becomes easy, add more sets or hold some weight. Don’t forget to give the muscles you’ve worked a day of rest, as that is when the rebuilding of a stronger muscle takes place.
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Bust a gut with The Biggest Loser. It’s like having your own personal trainer.

Based on NBC’s reality TV series, this game is about losing weight, dieting, and exercising—or just generally getting in shape. To me, wellness games like Wii Fitness sound like oxymorons. A game that helps you get fit doesn’t sound like much fun at first.

Anyway, when I made my personal file, I used the name “Russell Crowe” due to my dislike for that actor’s work. Then I got down to business. You record your birth date, weight and height in order to compute your body mass index and how many calories you should eat per day. Then you pick a four-, eight- or 12-week challenge to reach your recommended weight. The routines get exhausting, the further you go into the program.

You have to have dedication to meet your goal. Show hosts Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper are your animated (literally) trainers. Read the rest of this entry »

Organ recipient there to greet her at end of 26.2-mile journey

Runners make their way into a tunnel on Sunday in the first stretch of this year's annual Chicago Marathon. (Photograph by Kyle Telechan/The Times.)

Each of the 37,942 participants in Sunday’s Chicago Marathon had a story as to how they arrived at the finish line, but few were more touching than that of Cori Goodfellow.

Goodfellow decided this year that she was going to run the 26.2-mile race only after she was fully recovered from donating a kidney to her friend Kristy Swenson. The Valparaiso resident underwent the procedure Oct. 8, 2008, and began training for the marathon almost immediately after her recovery.

“I had run many half-marathons before but never a whole,” Goodfellow said. “I never could find the inspiration, but with everything that happened, I wanted this feat for myself.”
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Illiana Christian sophomore Max Boonstra, left, runs with his father Pete Boonstra, who is the school’s principal, on Monday. Max is the youngest entrant from the Region who is competing in Sunday’s Chicago Marathon. (Photograph by Kyle Telechan/The Times.)

Are you planning to run the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon? Don’t wince. Age is just a number.

Cedar Lake’s Max Boonstra will be tackling his first marathon this Sunday. Boonstra is 16.

Flossmoor’s Hal Weatherford is competing in his ninth Chicago. Weatherford is 79.

And Schererville’s Beverly Bonnema Ream has never run a 26.2-mile marathon until now—at age 62.
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Get outside and take a stroll through nature

The mild fall weather is perfect for hiking. Not too hot, not too cold and hopefully not too muddy.

Hiking is a great family activity that promotes fitness and gives parents and children a chance to interact and talk while exploring the natural beauty around them.

Not sure where to roam for a nice hike? Checking with local and county parks and recreation departments is a good place to start. An Internet search is also sure to help you find spots in your area for mild to expert hikes.

Trails.com lists several area hiking spots and details of the length and terrain, such as Deep River in Merrillville, Grand Kankakee Marsh County Park in Demotte and Oak Ridge Prairie Loop in Griffith.
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