Jump For It

The calorie-torching fitness craze that's sweeping the nation isn't just good for you, it's also good clean fun.

Quick Poll: Have you picked up a jump rope since grade school? I recently found myself in a boot-camp-fitness situation in a sweaty muscle gym (first bad sign) that incorporated the playground staple — and I couldn't fathom why I had ever found it a recess-worthy activity. Pathetically stumbling and tripping through the workout, I was shocked at how difficult it was, and after, I slunk out, dejected. (Did I just pay for this humiliation?) But at another class I attended later that week, I found myself bouncing around again — this time on a trampoline — and had quite the opposite experience: I don't think I've ever had so much fun exercising since, well, grade school.

Evidently, I'm not alone. It seems the nation has suddenly become smitten with the simple act of jumping up and down. "Trampoline parks," fitness/play centers for the whole family, are cropping up all over the country. One major chain, Sky Zone Sports, has recently opened 18 of them, with 10 more scheduled to roll out in cities like Dallas and Cleveland over the next year. We'll be watching trampoline gymnastics at the Olympics in London this summer, and innovative new classes on rebounders (those mini personal trampolines) are springing up at boutique fitness studios from coast to coast. In L.A., there's On the Rebound at the ESP Wellness Center (espwellnesscenter.com) and Jump at Ballet Bodies (balletbodies.com); in New York City, there's Trampoline Yoga at Shen Tao (shentaostudio.com) and Bari Bounce at Bari Studio (thebaristudio.com).

Here's why this seemingly juvenile trend is a very, very good thing for everyone involved: 1) A trampoline workout is easy on the joints; people with sports injuries and other issues are protected by the low-impact cushion of the net. 2) It's detoxifying. Jumping up and down stimulates the lymphatic drainage system, which is why experts at the world-famous We Care fasting spa near Palm Springs — where stars go to drop 5 to 10 pounds fast — recommend their tony clients jump on mini trampolines throughout their stays. 3) It's accessible. Besides all the trampoline parks opening up everywhere, anyone can purchase a relatively affordable rebounder (about $40) and sneak in a few bounces during TV hour. 4) It's also highly efficient. Studies show that jumping on a trampoline burns about 20 percent more calories than jogging at five miles per hour. And according to Parvati Shallow, teacher of ESP Wellness Center's new trampoline class, six minutes on the rebounder can equal one mile of jogging. And did I mention it's really, really fun?

Addicted to the feeling of flying through the air with the greatest of ease, I hightail it to Bari's Bounce class, where I first got hooked. Co-owners Alexandra Perez and Brice Andrew Hall, a trainer who has worked with Madonna, claim Bounce further improves on the already propitious trampoline workout. "People need cardio [like running] in their workout routines, but we found too many clients were prone to shin splints, foot problems, and other issues that interfere with exercise," says Perez. "For Bounce, we've choreographed strategic sequences on the trampoline that activate more muscles — and in different ways — to burn more calories and engage you cognitively, so you also benefit in areas like strength, balance, and coordination." In other words, clients find themselves doing a lot more than simply bouncing on the spot, and it translates to maximum results. During the class, we learn dance-y routines that require quick thinking and take us up, down, and all around the trampolines; plus we pull resistance bands hanging from the ceiling, squeeze exercise balls between our legs, and perform interval push-ups and other strength-training exercises off the side of the thing (which makes for some serious core work). It's exhausting but enjoyable, and you can immediately feel how full-bodied the workout is. While just jumping on a trampoline still packs major benefits, the new versions of rebounding workouts are on speed.

The other day, I received an invitation to check out NYC's Sex and the City — famous trapeze school. But unlike Carrie Bradshaw, I'm not sure heights are my style (unless I'm flying first class, that is). Luckily, they also now offer a Big Top — style trampoline class, which instantly transports me back to childhood, jumping around in a neighbor's yard at dusk with that feeling of pure, unadulterated joy. Sounds like a perfect workout high.

This article is by Erin Flaherty and appeared in Marie Claire.

You can read it here:- http://tiny.cc/xh8vbx

71 Coconut Oil Benefits

 

71 Coconut Oil Benefits: My Experiments with Coconut Oil

There is so much hype about Coconut Oil benefits at the moment.  I remember reading a book about coconut oil when I was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so I started taking it daily and did actually start to feel better.  However when I started my major healing through my raw food diet I kept my fat intake much lower so forgot all about coconut oil.

I’ve recently stumbled upon another book, The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife which was very convincing, so I decided it was high time to experiment with this ‘miracle’ food.

Learning the Ropes

To get your ultimate high-performance body, try the secret weapon of models and Olympians: the Redcord workout.

By Joanne Chen

PHOTO CREDIT: JEFFREY WESTBROOK

This time, though, I was indoors, at Pilates on Fifth in Manhattan, strapped into a contraption with lipstick-red ropes and slings hanging from the ceiling. The setup resembled a sleekly designed medieval torture chamber, but I wasn't deterred: I've done my time in the gym. I can out-rep (usually) and outrun (at times) most. Yet I found myself flat on my back, legs splayed, at a loss, as my trainer asked me to lift my hips off the ground.

"Lift? With what?" This was my first attempt at Redcord, the Norwegian workout offered in more than 80 percent of gyms in Norway and a favorite of Swedish models. Not that I'm expecting to get Elin Nordegren's physique, but the fact that the latest fitness import is a go-to for top athletes who've trained on it at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York, means it's no joke.

At least in my total initial failure, I was in good company. "The first time I tried it, I did only five reps," confesses Sara Studebaker, America's top-ranked biathlete, with a laugh. According to her trainer, Peter Toohey, "Every Olympian, the strongest, the fastest — they all fail on the system initially. Guaranteed."

The reason, explains Redcord guru Michael Torres, is that most exercises let us cheat. It's easy to churn out reps without engaging our core or using a stronger side to compensate for a weaker one. Over time, the neglected muscles weaken and can't respond when the brain signals them to move. When life throws us a curveball like a wet sidewalk, which requires a strong core to avoid injury, our brain screams, "Help!" but our muscles are too slow to respond. Redcord sharpens the brain-body connection.

For a gymnast, Redcord can target the muscles needed to stick tricky landings. For a skier, it can diagnose if one side is weaker to smooth out turns and jumps. (For the average person, it can also be used for rehab post-injury or for chronic pain.)

Personally, I was after stronger abs and a better butt. So we stuck with the basics, like a squat while attached to various pulleys. Easier said than done: With one ankle looped comically behind me, my arms strapped above me, the ropes shook uncontrollably. I persevered for the next few weeks, working out parts of my body I had naively thought were already in shape.

I thought I knew proper push-up form. With Redcord, we refined my technique so that I was working exactly the right muscles, with a bungee slung under my belly for assistance. As I got stronger, Torres lowered the bungees, until eventually I was almost doing a perfect push-up without any help at all. Improvement comes from doing more reps and repositioning the cords.

By my fifth session, I succeeded in repeating the initial butt-lifting exercise with far less rope-quivering. For fun, I tried the "Mission Impossible" — a move in which each limb is suspended by a rope, and, in my case, the core is supported by a sling. First, I balled up, knees to elbows. Then I busted out my arms and legs into an X, like Tom Cruise (in theory). I'm told that the exercise literally uses every muscle — and while my brain doesn't yet comprehend where each of them are exactly, I'm tapping into them all, simply by trying to keep the ropes still. It's the kind of exercise normally done by an elite soccer player looking to nail midair bicycle kicks. Perhaps one day I'll do one of those — or not. For now, I'm happy to walk taller, feel stronger, and make it down the block confident that I can manage just about any curveball life throws at me.

This article is from Marie Claire magazine.  See the article here:-   http://tiny.cc/qj5vbx