Supertraining and New Year

[Guest guest]

Here here!!! All the best to everyone and Happy New Year! Especially

many thanks to Dr Siff for openly sharing his knowledge and experience

with the rest of us!!! I hope he will continue to do so in the New Year

and many healthy years to come!

[Many thanks indeed - it is a real pleasure to be of value to this group and

to share so much with so many interesting and challenging people. May you all

enjoy a great year ahead! Mel Siff]

Thanks,

Dmitry Voronov

Ontario, Canada

----------------

Mel,

Here is a better version from article that may be of interest to

readers. Happy New Year to you and ! Feel free to improvise. I love your

thoughts! Wish I

had your level of knowledge (genius).... you are! (but not a guru - smile!)

[Thank so much for those kind wishes and words. and I wish to

convey to you and all members of the list a wonderful New Year filled with

peace and many

blessings. Mel Siff]

Debbie Kiefiuk, M.Ed., C.S.C.S.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

USA

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IHRSA/LIFE FITNESS FYI - NOVEMBER 5, 2001

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE POSITIONS ROLE OF REGULAR EXERCISE IN POST WTC

WORLD

The attached article, that appeared in Friday's Washington Post, is

too

good not to share.

McCarthy

IHRSA

This message is brought to you by IHRSA and LIFE FITNESS in the

interest of

reaching 100,000,000 health club members worldwide by the year 2010.

Foot Soldiers for Health

By Carol Krucoff and Krucoff

Special to The Washington Post

Friday, November 2, 2001; Page C08

We've opened our wallets and our veins, signed petitions and lighted

candles,

adorned our bodies, vehicles and homes in red, white and blue. Yet as

we

struggle to rise above terrorism's assault on our minds, bodies and

spirits,

we continue to search for ways to strengthen our country and

ourselves.

To this end, we offer a modest suggestion: Get moving. At a time when

medical

costs and physical suffering related to our sedentary lifestyles have

soared,

our nation would gain a major social and economic boost if more

Americans

followed the U.S. surgeon general's prescription to accumulate 30

minutes of

moderate physical activity on most days of the week.

Granted, this will not eliminate terrorism. But getting Americans fit

can

play a vital role in our homeland defense because it can profoundly

improve

individual well-being, plus save our country billions of dollars in

health

care costs. While terrorists strive to immobilize us through fear,

movement

provides an effective, natural way to relieve stress, combat illness,

strengthen immunity and enhance our ability to handle the complex

physical

and mental challenges of life.

Over the past decade, public health officials have increasingly warned

that

our lack of movement is killing us -- physically and economically. In

our

push-button, drive-through, remote-control culture, only one in four

Americans exercises regularly, and chronic diseases linked to

inactivity have

skyrocketed. Obesity has doubled since 1980, with almost two-thirds of

Americans overweight or obese; Type 2 diabetes has increased ninefold

since

1958; and heart disease is still the number one cause of death.

This " epidemic of inactivity " kills an estimated 250,000 people per

year,

according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical

Association. If the more than 88 million inactive Americans started

moving

regularly -- by taking a daily walk, for example -- health officials

say we'd

save more than $76 billion per year in medical costs.

The simple act of adding some movement to our days can help prevent or

relieve a broad array of ailments including arthritis, depression,

breast and

colon cancer, hypertension, stroke, osteoporosis, asthma, carpal

tunnel

syndrome and diabetes. No need to join a gym, take huge chunks of time

or

even sweat to combat these disorders. Even small steps can yield

dramatic

benefit -- raking leaves, climbing stairs, putting on some music and

dancing.

Some say it's our patriotic duty to hit the malls and spend. We urge

Americans to lace up their walking shoes and save -- not just their

money,

but their lives. Like the victory gardens our parents grew during

World War

II, daily health walks can enhance both personal and societal fitness.

The common excuse of " no time " needs rethinking after our communal

wake-up

call to what really matters in life. In a society where adults watch

television an average of four hours a day, do we really lack the time

to go

for a walk with a friend, relative or pet? Instead of always watching

sports,

can we get up and play them? Rather than sit on a bench watching our

kids,

why not swing and climb, too?

One of the many perspective shifts surrounding our collective

near-death

experience is a new focus on the quality of our days. In this light,

it's

clear that the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits gained from

movement go much deeper than the self-absorbed pursuit of washboard

abs and

thin thighs. Despite our cultural preoccupation with appearance,

exercise is

not just about looking good -- it's about feeling good, oxygenating

our

brains and other vital tissues, uniting mind and body and lifting our

spirits

with the sheer joy of motion. Simply put, exercise is the best

medicine money

can't buy.

Unfortunately, most adults approach movement with the same aversion

they

express toward an awful-tasting medicine. Yet as children we didn't

feel this

way. Kids typically view physical activities as exhilarating play.

That's why

we encourage people to approach exercise with the excitement and

pleasure we

knew in childhood, running outside on a beautiful day to play with

friends.

Instead of a dreaded workout, exercise becomes a joyous play break

that

nurtures body and soul and is a highlight of our day.

To make this happen, find a form of movement you enjoy. If exercise is

fun,

it will get done. Any sport or activity can become a powerful moving

meditation capable of healing body and soul. Just let go of thinking

how

you're going to look from the exercise you're doing, and go outside --

or

inside -- and play.

Consider this daily " recess " your patriotic duty: to improve your own

health

so that you use fewer medical resources and have the physical and

emotional

strength to help others sharing your journey on this planet. True

fitness

isn't measured by the ripple of your abs or the diameter of your

thighs, but

by the strength, flexibility and openness of that most important

muscle --

the heart.

Carol Krucoff is a yoga instructor, karate black belt and certified

personal

trainer. Krucoff, MD, is an associate professor of cardiology

at

Duke University Medical Center. They are authors of " Healing Moves:

How to

Cure, Relieve and Prevent Common Ailments With Exercise " (Harmony

Books/Random House, 2000).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27493-2001Nov1.html