My experience with a Zumba class!

Zumba             

By Mary Beth Valentic-Stanga

Hello, I am back and my plan to attend a Zumba class at the Natrona Heights, YMCA has changed. I have an unexpected opportunity to experience a Zumba class in Uniontown while visiting my sister. I was told to bring plenty of water and wear loose clothing. Fortunately, I happen to have on a jogging outfit.

The Zumba class is being held at the Knights of Columbus and is filled with women of all ages. (the group consists of 20 thru 60 year old women) There are few men that normally attend but are not here today!  I was just informed that every Zumba class is unique because the instructor personally creates their own routine.

The class is about to start and the instructor is offering explanation of the main steps that will be used in the dance routine. The warm up song is introduced”Everybody Dance now”.  (This song has been chosen by this group as a warm-up song and is used for every class because everyone loves it.)

I was curious how Zumba was started? I was told that Zumba was created by a happy accident. There was an aerobics instructor, Alberto “Beto” Perez that forgot his traditional music so he improvised using his own mix of tapes he had in his exercise bag. In his bag he had salsa and merengue music that he grew up with. Spontaneously, he created a new kind of dance-fitness. The story goes that this energy electrified the room, and people could not stop smiling! Everyone loved it and on that very day Zumba was created. .

Getting back to this session, I must add that these women are really “into” this type of exercising! They love this instructor because she offers different types of dancing as well as music that is personally chosen!) 

The Uniontown class offers 10 to 12 dances that take place in a 60 minute period of time. Salsa, Hip Hop, as well Merengue music. There is punching, kicking as well as jumping movements added to their dance. This provides an invigorating sense of accomplishment. I feel the stress being released with every twist and turn.

I have learned that this particular group of women have been coming for the past 2 years and have no intention of quitting. They are saying that dancing at home is boring and that a 60 minute video class of Zumba feels like three days long! To be exact, there are 39 women in here today and in the last 3 months there has been a total of 235lbs lost within this group.

There are Zumba classes that are offered in different parts of town and they are as follows: Zumba gold, Aqua Zumba, Zumba Atomic-(for kids), Zumba in the circuit class, high octane-level classes. So depending on what level and your age group, you can attend different types of Zumba classes.

I would say that Zumba is a nice way to “feel good”, the heart gets a comfortable work out and muscles are worked out as well. My heart is racing but I feel comfortable. My body is feeling great! I must admit that I really like Zumba. I hope to find this type of Zumba class back in my hometown of Lower Burrell. I would like to mention that the YMCA in Natrona Heights offers a 7-day pass to try their facility. I hope to take advantage of this opportunity to try their Zumba class.

I would like to say that no matter which form of exercise or workout program that you choose, continue to do it for as long as you possibly can. Any form of exercise will help to keep you emotionally and physically fit.

I would like to wish everyone Good Luck in going from Crappy to Snappy!



 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsSrq3HBa7A

                                                               

April Showers Bring May Flowers and Joint Pain

By: Suzanna Harmening

Joint pain is one of the most common complaints among Americans, according to Health United States, 2006, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics.

How healthy are your joints?  Ask yourself the following questions. 

1.       Are you more than 10 pounds overweight?

2.      Have you ever had any hip problems?

3.      Are you over 45 years old?

4.      Have you ever had an injury to your knee?

5.      Have you or are you currently involved in any daily activity that requires more than 2 hours of lifting, bending, or carrying things?

If you answered “YES” to any of these questions than your joints are at risk.

Joint pain can be explained in many ways.  Generally it is known as a discomfort or tenderness when touched, a bruised feeling, swelling or inflammation of the area, or restriction from movement.  The leading cause of joint pain is derived from the cartilage in our joints that wears thin as we age.  The most commonly diagnosed cause of painful joints is arthritis.

Causes

§  Arthritis- acute or chronic inflammation of a joint, often accompanied by pain and structural changes and having diverse causes, as infection, crystal deposition, or injury.

§  Tendinitis- inflammation of a tendon

§  Bursitis- inflammation of a bursa which is a pouch, sac, or vesicle, especially a sac containing synovia, to facilitate motion, as between a tendon and a bone.

§  Joint Injury- harm or damage that is done or sustained to a joint

§  Joint Strain- to impair, injure, or weaken a joint

*All definitions are derived from http://dictionary.reference.com/

Solutions

There are several ways to alleviate the symptoms of joint pain.

1)      Get Moving!  Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your overall health, including your joint health.  It strengthens the tissues and muscles around the joints, helps to maintain bone strength, and can control your weight to ease the pressure on your joints. Chemicals called “endorphins” are released during exercise that can actually block pain signals from reaching your brain.  According to Dr. Edward Laskowski, the co-director of the Sports Medicine Center at the Mayo Clinic in Minn., “Endorphins are the body’s natural pain-relieving chemicals that in many cases are more powerful than morphine”.  The following exercises should be done at least three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes for optimal results; stretching, yoga, dance, walking, bike riding, swimming, elliptical machine, and cross country skiing.

2)   Supplements and a good diet!  3 things are needed for healthy joint cartilage: water, collagen, and proteoglycans.  Proteoglycans are a type of molecule found in the connective tissue of our body.  First is glucosamine.  This is a natural amino acid already found in your body. It helps to repair cartilage and can stimulate collagen growth.  It is said to increase the amount and thickness of fluids in the joints, which allows the joints to hold more water for shock absorption.  The recommended dose of glucosamine in 1500mg each day for one to two months.  The second is chondroitin.  While glucosamine helps proteoglycans that sit in the space in the cartilage, chondroitin acts like ‘liquid magnets’.  It draws in necessary fluids while helping the present cartilage from breaking down.  The recommended dose of chondroitin is 800 mg each day (400 mg twice daily) for one to two months.  And the third is MSM.  It is said that methylfonylmethane (MSM) supports healthy, flexible ligaments.  The recommended dose is 1000 to 3000 daily.

* http://orthopedics.about.com/od/nutritionandsupplements/tp/supplements.htm

Fun Fact

April showers not only bring May flowers, but also joint pain for many.  Have you ever had a grandparent who could predict a rainfall based on their joints?  It’s true.  Scientific studies found that our body’s joints have sensory nerves called baro-receptors that respond to changes in the atmosphere.  The barometric pressure will drop and make the air moist and signal for a chance of rain.  Our body’s nerve receptors then react to this low or drop of pressure.  When this happens, the fluid surrounding the joints changes and people with joint problems will feel this change because they have less cartilage that cushions the body’s joints. So the next time your grandparents say it’s going to shower, pack an umbrella.

South Beach Diet

Summer time is right around the corner!  It has been a long winter and many people have put on a few pounds.  Dieting is hard, but what is a better way to get ready for the beach than trying the South Beach Diet?  The South Beach Diet will become not only a diet, but a way of life.

There are three phases in the South Beach Diet.  The first phase allows you to cut out and control cravings.  It teaches you this in a two week period by eliminatingyour sugar and starch cravings because it will stabilize a person's blood sugar. "The focus of this two-week period is on eating plenty of nutrient-dense, fiber-rich (and guaranteed delicious!) foods that satisfy your appetite. Your meals include lean protein, such as fish and other seafood; skinless white-meat poultry, and lean cuts of beef (vegetarians can enjoy meat substitutes, tofu, and beans); high-fiber veggies; reduced-fat cheeses; eggs; low-fat dairy; and healthy, unsaturated fats, such as those found in avocados, nuts and seeds, and extra-virgin olive and canola oils."  (www.SouthBeachDiet.com)

The second phase focuses on how much weight you want to loose and then achieving that goal.  You will eat everything that you ate in phase one plus more healthy carbs!  You will be able to eat pasta and even chocolate.  You can jump right into this phase of the diet if you do not have a lot of food cravings, or excess belly fat. 

The third and final phase of the South Beach Diet is to maintain your weightloss for life. You have already learned how to make healthy food choices.  This opens your world back up to all kinds of foods.  It is a lifestyle choice you have to be the one to make the decisions. 

I hope that if you are looking for a diet you should check this one out.  It has a lot of good things that you can eat while you easliy shed the pounds!

By: Kendra McCracken

Sources:  http://www.southbeachdiet.com

Jazzercise

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Desktop\YouTube - Jazzercise Triple Play.mhtAdd caption

Hello, I am back and today I am visiting the Jazzercise class in Lower Burrell. It is located on Leechburg Road.

My intention is to check out different exercise facilities and to compare what they have to offer.

Some exercise programs require that you continue to follow them indefinitely.  I would like to find an exercise program that I enjoy.  Time is valuable and commitment is the key. I do not want to work out every day and/or for that matter more than twice a week. 

Upon walking in to the studio, the atmosphere is pleasant. The room is bright and it has a great view of the outside world. Everyone appears to be ready to rock and roll. The music is upbeat and I must admit that I like it already!

The group of women here today is from ages 22 years to 60 years of age. They are wearing anything from tights to jogging outfits. I see water bottles and towels everywhere.

I was told that one can burn up to 600 calories in one fun and powerfully effective 60-minute total body workout. So let’s find out if this is true. (I must add that I am not able to do these exercises effectively but I will be doing my best!) 

Jazzercise music is combining a dance-based cardio with strength training. There is stretching to sculpt tone and lengthen muscles for maximum fat burn. This is choreographed to today's hottest music; there is jazz dancing, along with intense resistance training. Believe it or not there is Pilates, yoga, and kickboxing all combined in to one dance instruction!

I keep hearing that this is a way to dance yourself fit and to change the shape of your body-quick! Plus... It does not create bulky muscles!

The class runs for 60 minutes and I am 45 minutes in to this and I must say that I have to stop working out. My heart is pumping and I am sweating profusely! This type of exercise has my body tingling all over and heart rate pumping!

I have just learned that if one would care to follow a diet plan, Jazzercise has many types of diets created to help you. I would like to add that I have not included prices of anything because I would like readers to be able to judge what the actual program has to offer.

My goal is to do the leg work and to let the readers experience thru me as to what works and what doesn't.

 Jazzercise has given me intense workout but I feel great! 

      I am impressed with their program. 

 

        For my next adventure, I will be visiting a Zumba class.

A Visit To Curves

 



(Example of many machines )

  Curves

By-Mary Beth Valentic-Stanga

           

Due to an unforeseen medical issue, I will be continuing on my path of weight loss but in a low-key manner.

I would like to continue on with my plan of visiting various sights and reporting of my findings of different ways of exercising along with dieting. I would like to report about my findings at Curves, Lower Burrell, PA.

Upon entering the atmosphere is bright and people are friendly and are willing to help.  Upon scaling the room...There are various machines in a semi circle and music seems to be a motivator to those working out. There is a cool down area that allows for one to relax, get their things together.

I was told via that person at front desk that Curves strives to give you a complete cardio and strength-training workout, where you can burn up to 500 calories every time. The circuit is made up of resistance machines that work every major muscle group, two muscles at a time.
And with a circuit coach to teach and motivate, you’re sure to reach your fitness goals in no time. Whether you want to lose weight and inches, gain energy or tone up, the Curves circuit will work for you.

The level of workout I would say is medium to high. Every so many stations that one would be working on... you are prompted to check heart rate to see how fast or slow your heart is pumping and are coming along. I would have to say that there was middle age to older women that had attended, at least the evening that I was there. They play trivia games that you can answer and win prizes. Some of the prizes were shirts, hats and even passes. It is an opportunity to perhaps join with a friend and get out of the house, away from kids, or even to be able to stop and release some stress from a long days work at the office. Curves are conveniently located and have discounts offered throughout the year and is affordable.

A few women were interviewed...

"How enjoyable Curves is. The workout routine isn’t difficult - no confusing machines to figure out. I have a sense of community - its great being in a place where people know my name, especially because I’m relatively new to my neighborhood. Also, I like that there are women of every shape, size, and background. Other gyms can be like meat markets - Curves is different. And it’s about your whole being. I feel better mentally and emotionally and I’m less embarrassed about my body. I feel sexier!"

"I didn't want to develop health problems. I wanted to be proactive, to get to a particular fitness level. Curves offered an exercise program with a book that had an eating system that seemed realistic. And it has been. I'm happy with where I am and where I'm headed."

Curves has an online area ...MyCurves.com is an online meeting spot created exclusively for Curves members. With rich content, healthy recipes, and an active online community, MyCurves.com provides additional support when you need it from Curves members around the world — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week benefit to Curves membership at no additional charge.                                              

My next endeavor is to check out Jazzercise!

Easy, Peasy, Home Remedies

By Cary Bryson

Look around your kitchen when you have a few extra minutes.  Take a quick inventory of the items that are way in the back of your refrigerator, cupboards, or shelves.  There may be a lot of items in there you are not even aware of.  You may not know it, but the majority of these items may be used for things other than cooking.  That is right.  You may have your very own do-it-yourself pharmacy.  Follow me with this.  I do not have any eye of newt tinctures.  I do have a few easy home remedies that I use on myself and my children when an ailment strikes.

Remedies for Constipation

Figs and prunes always work well.  Rhubarb stewed with honey will also have the same effect.  My favorite is strawberries.  Strawberries have a mild laxative effect and are very useful when constipation is due to prescription medications, excessive meat, or fat in the diet (p.222).

Remedies for Diarrhea

A slightly unripe banana has pectin that oxidizes and works the same as Pepto Bismol.  Blueberries can be added to oatmeal and both are great for diarrhea (p.223).  The oldest remedy for diarrhea is rice pudding.  Make your own with 1 1/2 cups of milk, pinch of salt, 6 tablespoons of brown sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, 2-4 eggs, grated lemon rind, and 2 cups of cooked white rice.  Add all ingredients and mix well.  Spread mixture into a buttered baking dish and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Enjoy.

Remedy for Congestion

Fill up your bathroom sink with hot water.  Add 3-5 drops of eucalyptus oil.  Drape a towel over your head and bend over the sink.  Breathe the vapors for about 5 minutes. You will feel your sinuses opening up.  The vapors will travel to your chest and open up your bronchial tubes.  Repeat as needed.

Remedies for Ear Aches

You can make your own garlic oil drops or buy it.  If you make your own, crush a clove of garlic and let it rest in warm olive oil for 15 minutes.  Strain the liquid.  Soak a cotton ball in liquid and place inside the earlobe or drop the oil inside of ear and let it rest for 15 minutes.  One teaspoon of warm almond oil can be dropped inside of the ear (p.231).

Home remedies are becoming more popular today with minimul side effects compared to antibiotics.  Remember when you were little and the remedies your parents or grandparents gave you when you were feeling ill.  They did not rush you to the doctor’s office.  They devised a horrible tasting tea, rubbed your entire body with Vick’s, and made you stay in bed for days it seemed.   

If you are wondering where to purchase certain items like the eucalyptus oil I mentioned.  Back to Nature in Indiana has a wide variety of herbs.  Also, Glicks Market on Rte. 286 towards Clymer, is owned and operated by the Amish.  They also have a nice variety that is less expensive than Back to Nature.  I have included a few good books that can be found on Amazon.com.   

Sources:

The New Guide to Remedies. Paragon Publishing. IHE, UK. 2005. 221-236.

www.exoticindiaart.com/bookdetails

Cardiovascular Exercise.. What a Heart Saver!

In the U.S. Today, over two thirds of the population is considered to be overweight. Obesity is a growing epidemic in our world today and a main factor to this is the lack of cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is important to people's everyday lives not only because it helps maintain a healthy weight, but it also reduces the risk of several health problems and personal stress.

Cardiovascular exercise requires your heart and lungs to work harder in order to receive enough oxygen for the body to perform correctly. After a person continues to exercise, the body does not have to work as hard to get enough oxygen. Building your cardiovascular health lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke. By exercising regularly, a person lowers their bad cholesterol and raises their good cholesterol. Bad cholesterol, or LDL, can cause fatty build up om the arteries which causes the heart to work harder to push blood through the body. With exercise, not only does one reduce the buildup, they also increase the amount of good cholesterol, HDL. HDL helps carry LDL away from the arteries and back to the liver to be properly passed from the body.

In addition to lowering a persons LDL, exercise can help prevent high blood pressure. It is estimated that one out of every three people has high blood pressure. High blood pressure occurs when the force of blood is pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps the blood out. After time, high blood pressure can damage ones heart, kidney, and more.

Cardiovascular exercise is also important because it releases endorphins, which create the “runners high.” Endorphins are small protein molecules produced by cells in your nervous system that work to relieve pain. These endorphins are anywhere from eighteen to five hundred times stronger than any man made drug and they are produced naturally! By producing these endorphins not only do you feel good about yourself, but it is a natural stress reliever.

Overall, cardiovascular exercise is important to maintain every individuals optimal health. Even though after a long day at work, working out is the last thing anybody wants to do, the hardest part is to just get started. Afterwords, it all pays off. It is important to exercise your mind and your heart.

By: Kendra McCracken

Sources:

http://www.123life.com.health/fitness/cardio-exercise/why-is-cardiovascular-fitness-important.shtml

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions?Cholestrol/AboutCholest..olUCM3055-61Article.jsp

http://www.road-to-health.com/64/What-are-endorphins.html

The Shaman's Medicine Bag

By Donald Findley

            The Native American people had extensive knowledge of the natural world and the uses of it as it applies to the healing art.  The Shaman also known as the medicine man, was the one responsible for healing the people of his tribe.  The Shaman used multiple methods of treating the people including chanting, vision quest, and herbs.  I will be addressing some of the myriad of herbs that these homeopathic healers used.

The Winnebago and the Dakota tribes used Skunk Cabbage to treat asthma. It helps to remove the phlegm as an expectorant works that we use today such as Robitussin.

Horsemint has been used to treat back pain, fever, inflammation, and chills.

Yellow-Spined thistle was used on burns and open sores on the skin.

Boneset was frequently used by several different tribes for different illness’ such as body pain, fever, and stomachache

Goldenseal used by the Cherokee as an insect repellant and as a stimulant.

.

Feverwort was used to treat fever in the Cherokee tribes.

American Mistletoe has been used in a tea to prevent conception and to cause abortions.

Witch Hazel was used on people that had muscle pain from sporting events.

Now imagine you are the Shaman of the tribe and people come to you with the following complaints. What would you use to treat them from the above herbs using the least herbs for each person? The answers are at the end of the blog.

1) I was running sprints and playing ball, my legs hurt.

2) I have a high temperature and I ache all over.

3) I need something to keep the mosquitoes off me.

4) I am really congested and it is hard to breath.

5) I got burnt making a canoe.

Answers 1) Witch Hazel 2) Boneset 3) Goldenseal 4) Skunk Cabbage 5) Yellow-Spined Thistle

Herbs can be grown and prepared by people in their own yard and gardens as an ornamental plant and then harvested for the medical applications.  I highly encourage people to research each herb before using it or preparing it themselves, because some parts of the plant are poisonous and others parts are not.  There are many different places to get the prepared forms of the herbs covered in this blog and my previous blogs covering conditions such as back pain, influenza, and common colds.  The following is a list of just a few places.

Nature’s Wonderland Complete Herb Listing

http://www.pennherb.com/herbs.html?gclid=CI64iOH16acCFUPf4Aod_20kcA

Mother Herbs & Agro Products

http://www.motherherbs.com/medicinal-herbs.html

Annie’s Remedies

http://www.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail515.php

Reference

Cherokee Messenger, (1996). Native American herbal remedies. Houston, TX: The Cherokee Cultural Society of Houston.

 

Avoiding Allergies and Detox Dieting

By:  Samantha

People with allergies can suffer from one or many ranging from pet dander to fragrances.  Out of the wide variety of allergies that are out there, more and more people are becoming aware that they have an allergy to certain foods.  Two types of foods that a large number of individuals are allergic to are wheat products and dairy products.  Avoiding a specific food completely can be difficult and may make one feel that they are missing out on something.  Thankfully, food allergies can be alleviated by substituting that food with something like it.  There are many products on the market that enable people to enjoy the flavors they love without the negative effects of an allergy.  There are a variety of symbols, dependent on the manufacturer, indicating if a product does or does not contain a specific ingredient.  Some of these symbols can be found at www.livefreefoods.com.

Wheat (gluten) is found in more foods than most people realize.  The main types of food that contain wheat gluten are breads and pastas.  Most food products made with flour contain wheat, but it is also found in foods such as certain brands of yogurt.  Checking the ingredients list is the best way to know if something contains wheat gluten or not, so check your labels.  Many health food stores sell an array of gluten free products, and many grocery stores are beginning to do so as well.  This is helpful to those who must have a gluten free diet since they would have to make a lot of foods from scratch with gluten free ingredients if these items were not available.

Dairy products are along the same lines, but include foods/drinks that most people consume on a daily basis.  Milk, cheese, butter, and sour cream are a few examples.  If there is a circle with the letter “U” inside and the letter “D” next to it, that indicates that the product may contain dairy.  The words “Parve” or “Pareve” on a label mean that it is dairy free.  Just because a product says “non-dairy” does not mean that it is dairy free.   This is the group of foods that, unfortunately, I do not digest well.  Though it was hard to imagine not being able to have these foods, I have started to get used to it.  Luckily, there are many substitutes to choose from which are also sold at health food stores and are becoming more available at grocery stores, too.  Nutritional Frontiers (2011) gives a variety of dairy substitutes on the Dairy Free Food Program link under the Customized Food Program list.  These are the suggested substitutes:

Milk:  soy milk, rice milk, hemp milk, almond milk, hazelnut milk, and coconut milk

Cheese:  rice cheese, soy cheese, hemp cheese, and cheese (Veganella and Galaxy brands as well)

Cream Cheese and Yogurt:  Tofutti brand cream cheese and soy, rice, and coconut yogurt

Ice Cream:  rice, soy, and coconut (Rice Dreams, Tofutti, and So Delicious are a few brands), all-fruit sorbet is another option

Butter:  CHECK LABELS or use olive oil

Nutritional Frontiers (2011) also offers a Detox Food Program under the Customized Food Program List which gives a list of do and do not concerning fruits, vegetables, starch, bread/cereal, legumes, nuts and seeds, meat and fish, milk and dairy substitutes, fats, beverages, spices/condiments, and sweeteners.  This is a diet plan aimed toward ridding the body of unwanted/unhealthy/unnatural toxins which may also help you to drop a few pounds.

Though having any kind of allergy can be unpleasant, at least those of us with food allergies are beginning to have a wider variety of substitutes to choose from.  I want to thank all of my followers for their time and interest, and I wish you all the best with your journey toward a “snappier” you.

References:

Live Free Foods. (2011). Live Free Foods:  Gluten Free.  Allergy

Free.  Be Free. Retrieved from

http://www.livefreefoods.com/pages/Icon-Guide.html

Nutritional Frontiers. (2011}. Nutritional Frontiers:  Breaking

Through Nutritional Boundaries. Retrieved from

http://www.nutritionalfrontiers.com/

About the Author:

Samantha is a 28 year old who is currently working full-time in a group home and is enrolled in the Nursing Program at Westmoreland County Community College, Indiana Campus.  Though she has been discouraged many times over the years, she still strives to succeed with all things she hopes to achieve.  Becoming a healthier person, inside and out, is just one of many goals Samantha is working toward.  That specific goal is why she chose to be in the Crappy to Snappy blog group for her Advanced Composition course.  She also hopes she has helped others see that no matter what they may be dealing with there is always someone out there who can help.  You just have to start looking in order to find the answer.