ABOUT THE RUNNING CLUB

The Little Yoga Studio | San Diego, CA

THE WORKOUT
The Running Club in San Diego was created for those who love to run or power walk but tend to skip out on post-workout stretching. Since stretching is an integral yet often neglected component of running performance, the Running Club was created in 2010 as a means to increase flexibility and prevent running injuries by combining yoga and running, while also providing a social element. The workout begins at 8 a.m. every Saturday morning, where two groups of exercisers–one running and one power walking–leave the studio and head out on a 45-minute route planned by an instructor. The two groups of exercisers then meet back at the Little Yoga Studio for a powerful 30-minute yoga stretch designed to target all of the body’s tight spots. The result is a 75 minute session that boosts the heart rate, strengthens and stretches major muscle groups, and captures the beauty of San Diego in a dynamic group environment.

THE SCENE
The Running Club begins at The Little Yoga Studio, an exotic yet contemporary yoga locality in downtown San Diego. The instructor typically chooses one of three beautiful and scenic routes–Balboa Park, Harbor drive or the Convention Center–for the runners and walkers to complete. Requiring only running shoes, comfortable workout clothes, and a positive attitude, the Running Club is enjoyed by San Diego natives, out-of-towners, fitness enthusiasts and novices alike.

THE INSPIRATION
After a 7-year stint in marketing and advertising, Maria Camacho moved to the United States in search of greater opportunity. However, a year later, in 2001, while on a yoga mat, Camacho found more than opportunity–she found herself.

“When I discovered yoga in 2001, a whole new world opened before me,” recalls Camacho. “I knew immediately that I wanted to devote my life to yoga and to helping others practice.”

After receiving her instructor certification through a 200 hour teacher training program in November 2007, Camacho opened The Little Yoga Studio with the intention of creating a space for personal growth and to share the gift of yoga with her community.

“The Little Yoga Studio is my dream come true,” said Camacho. “I am grateful for every single student and teacher that has come through our door. I acknowledge how we all learn from each other and how we are all connected somehow.”

Recognizing the many benefits of yoga, specifically in terms of preventing running injuries, Camacho teamed up with one of her instructors, Deborah Ignacio, a graduate of Federal University with a degree in Exercise Physiology, to introduce the Running Club to the San Diego community. In less than a year, the Running Club has blossomed into an indispensable program celebrated by both existing and new members of The Little Yoga Studio.

“For those that only participate in yoga at our studio it is a great way to add a cardio workout to the mix,” said Ignacio, a native of Brazil. “And for the runners that live in the neighborhood, we are introducing them to yoga,” she added. “It’s a great combination!”

CONTACT THE LITTLE YOGA STUDIO

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SAN DIEGO, Dec. 14, 2010/FitElix.com/ — New-media platform developed to help independent fitness professionals capture niche audiences prepares to launch competition to find “The Coolest, Most Unique Workouts in the World.”

Independent fitness trainers across the country—traditionally less concerned with money and more with results—find themselves in a fight for survival with larger, big-box clubs and chain gyms. Bobbing and weaving to dodge the opponent’s heavyweight blows, the independents often rely on agility and vigor to capture their share of the market. For instance, while larger health clubs and gym-chains have found solace in cutting membership prices—a proven tactic for luring budget-conscious consumers through their doors—savvy trainers counter the attack by exploiting their generality and inefficient economies of scale.

“Many independent trainers work diligently to differentiate themselves by creating fresh concepts that appeal to new, highly-fragmented consumers,” according to Dan Salupo, Senior Editor of FitElix.com, a new-media platform developed specifically to help independent trainers capture niche audiences. “However, a majority of these folks are full-time trainers, business owners, and family members—so while they love creating new concepts, they simply don’t have the time and resources necessary to communicate their offerings effectively.”

To help fill the void, Salupo is preparing to launch a competition to find “The Coolest, Most Unique Workouts in the World.” Using video, images, editorials, and Web 2.0 tools, he will be featuring a collection of workouts in major U.S. cities, including San Diego, throughout the year on FitElix.com for end-users to try, rate and review.

“San Diego is an especially challenging market because there are a lot of passionate people competing for their piece of a small pie,” said Salupo. “So, naturally, you have a great deal of innovation and creativity stirring.”

F-Max Fitness, for example, a perfectly small 2600 sq. foot studio in San Diego, offers the Ride and Glide® workout—an interval-based class that fuses together the Gravity Training System (GTS) and Schwinn spinner bikes—to put a “spin” on the often monotonous cycling classes offered at the nearest health club. Developed and trademarked by F-Max Fitness trainer Dana Cahill, the Ride and Glide® workout appeals to exercisers wishing to incorporate strength training into their fitness regimen but may not want to sacrifice cardio or have the time to do both. Since the GTS machines are a relatively new product, they have not yet been adopted by the larger clubs. Thus, F-Max Fitness has a leg up on the competition—that is, as long as people know about it.

“I’d love to spend more time marketing Ride and Glide® to both local residents as well as other trainers, but virtually all of my time is spent training clients,” said Cahill. “We’re working much harder and a lot more often for our money these days.”

Both Cahill and Salupo are hopeful that the 2011 Workouts of the World competition will help out the area’s smaller operations. The first series of workouts is scheduled to be published on January 1, 2011—an ideal time to help independent trainers attract the large number of consumers making their New Year’s Resolution to get in shape, but whom may not be enchanted by the idea of crowded gyms and sweaty equipment.

“We’re excited about the launch,” said Salupo. “The response from local and independent trainers has been overwhelming, and we’ve been digging up some really cool concepts that we feel will appeal to both local consumers and audiences worldwide.”

Trainers interested in entering the competition can contact Dan Salupo or visit Workouts of the World for more information.

Contact:
Dan Salupo
Senior Editor
FitElix, Inc.
440-550-4469
info@fitelix.com

About FitElix.com
FitElix, Inc. is developing a web-platform to showcase cool, local fitness studios, clubs, trainers, and the latest research for the World to explore. We’re not the experts – in fact, the experts are often entirely too busy (being experts) to publicize all of their unique knowledge and happenings. So, we figured we’d do it for them. There’s a lot of cool stuff out there.
Turn The World Into Your Fitness Routine™

(Logo: http://fitelix.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/fitelix_logo.jpg)

Links
http://advertise.fitelix.com/workouts-of-the-world.html

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By: Dan Salupo

The purpose of any sound strength training program is to systematically manipulate certain variables (e.g. sets and reps, weight, amount of rest, etc.) over a planned period of time to create new stimuli for our muscles to adapt to—“a biological process that eventually makes them stronger,” says Iván Chulvi-Medrano, PhD, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at the University of Valencia, Spain.

One popular resistance training modality used to facilitate the muscle strengthening process, referred to as muscular failure, is defined by Chulvi-Medrano as “the point during a resistance exercise in which the activated muscle group is unable to generate enough force to complete a full- repetition due to fatigue.” Used properly, training to failure can be an effective tool for progression, or increasing strength over time. Essentially, by reaching this point of fatigue or “failure”, our bodies adapt by recruiting, repairing, and strengthening the muscles necessary to perform the exercise—thereby increasing the amount of weight we’re able to lift.

Although training to muscular failure has been proven to be effective for increasing strength, Chulvi-Medrano, who recently reviewed nearly 30 studies on the topic, believes the decision of whether or not to implement a muscular failure training program depends largely on a risk VS benefit analysis. For example, “training to failure may increase muscle adaptation, however there is a tendency to jeopardize proper technique when the muscles are fatigue, thus raising the risk of injury,” warns Chulvi-Medrano. “Moreover, research has shown an increased risk of over-training as well as a loss of motivation as a result of a muscular failure training program.”

In addition to evaluating the risks and benefits, Chulvi-Medrano also recommends assessing one’s own resistance training status when considering a muscular failure training program.

“Research suggests, for example, that muscular failure can be applied occasionally to highly experienced athletes seeking to improve their performance in plateaus periods,” reported Chulvi-Medrano in his recent paper published in the Journal of Human Sport and Exercise. “However there have been no significant differences found between training and training to failure among less experienced exercisers.”

Thus, the decision to adopt a muscular failure training program should be made only after considering the benefits and risks involved, as well as your current stage in the game. So while an exerciser who has advanced experience in resistance training may elect to train his or her muscles to failure during a plateau period, an older adult with limited training experience could achieve similar benefits from an alternative strength training program without as much risk.

Nonetheless, if and when you decide you are ready to implement a muscular failure training program, Chulvi-Medrano advises adhering to the following guidelines:

1. Application shall be planned – including sets with 8-12 repetitions near voluntary fatigue. This range of repetition is used because it can cause synergistic increases in strength, muscle endurance and hypertrophy in a healthy way. The number of sets should not be too high, since the benefits are very similar to small volumes and large volumes.

2. Only use muscular failure in one or two exercises per muscle group, preferably in the last set(s). These exercises should be performed at the beginning of the workout session.

3. Since training to muscle failure can cause interference on the proper technique of the exercise, be sure to use guided-machines when performing exercises.

4. Time of rest between sets is crucial because it significantly affects the changes in hormonal and metabolic systems. The methodology of muscle failure training requires at least four minutes of rest between sets; applying less recovery time will result in a loss in execution speed, increased fatigue and a decrease in training load.

5. A given training session should alternate between different muscle groups to prevent cumulative fatigue

6. Implementing a muscular failure training program should not exceed 7-weeks to avoid the risk of injury and/or overtraining.

To get you on the right track, Chulvi-Medrano has provided the following example of a 7-week muscular failure training program for improving bench press performance. If you decide to follow the program, be sure to come back and tell us what you think in the comments section!

Applying light-weight, high-intensity strength training programs will build muscles, according to researchers at McMaster University.

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Conventional wisdom in the world of fitness holds that if you’re goal is to build muscle size you need to lift heavy weights. However, a new study by researchers at McMaster University found that similar gains in muscle mass can be achieved by using lighter weights. The secret, according to the researchers, is to lift the weight until you reach muscle fatigue.

“Rather than grunting and straining to lift heavy weights, you can grab something much lighter but you have to lift it until you can’t lift it anymore,” said Stuart Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University. “We’re convinced that growing muscle means stimulating your muscle to make new muscle proteins, a process in the body that over time accumulates into bigger muscles.”

In the study, 15 men around the age of 21, all of whom had at least 6 months of training experience and had trained at least three times a week 6 months prior to the start of the study, did 4 sets of one-legged extensions using one of the following training protocols:
1) 90% of one-rep maximum weight to failure (heavy weight)
2) 30% of one-rep maximum matched in reps and load to #1
3) 30% of one-rep maximum done to failure (light)

For example, participants were able to lift the heavy weights in the 80-to-90 percent range from five to ten times before fatigue set in, while at 30 percent, subjects could lift that weight at least 24 times before they felt fatigue, according to the study’s lead researcher Nicholas Burd, a doctoral student at McMaster University.

The results of the study, published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS), showed that the light weight to failure style (#3) was more effective at increasing muscle protein synthesis compared to #1, or high load, heavy weight. Essentially, this style of training may be capable of increasing muscle size, strength, and even endurance simultaneously.

“We’re excited to see where this new paradigm will lead,” says Phillips, adding that these new data have practical significance for gym enthusiasts but more importantly for people with compromised skeletal muscle mass, such as the elderly, patients with cancer, or those who are recovering from trauma, surgery or even stroke.

McMaster University  Researcher: Nicholas Burd McMaster University (Mac) is a public research university located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. >>Learn More

Overload Fitness  With OVERLOAD’S scientifically advanced exercise system and equipment you will reach your maximum fitness in less than one hour of exercise a week. >>Learn More

A recently released study by Boston University researchers found that, compared to walking, yoga appears to have a greater boost in the chemical in our brain associated with mood and anxiety.

Photo of Prana Yoga and Dance Studio in Broadview Heights, OH.

Chris Streeter, lead researcher of the study and assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology in BU’s school of Medicine, looked at a group of 34 randomly selected physically and psychologically healthy young men and women who were divided into two groups: one that walked for an hour three times a week and one that practiced Iyengar yoga for the same amount of time. Using a cutting-edge technology to monitor levels of a brain chemical called gamma-amino butyric acid, or GABA (elevated levels of which are associated with improved mood and decreased anxiety), Streeter found that the yoga group reported a greater boost in mood than the walking group.

The 12-week study was published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine and is “the first study [we were able] to measure GABA’s relation to yoga,” said Streeter in an interview with BU Today. And while there have been a number of studies comparing aerobic and nonaerobic exercise that show exercise helps ease depression and anxiety, Streeter’s study was unique in that the walking group clearly had more exercise and the particpants were very active people, yet the yoga group had more improvement in their mood.

Streeter explained, “GABA is an important neurotransmitter, which is decreased in depressed people and increased in people who take so-called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), like Prozac, and it’s also implicated in anxiety disorders. It’s been reported for years that yoga helps people with depression and anxiety, but in this study we took people who didn’t have any experience with yoga and found that mood scales were higher in the yoga group, and so were GABA levels.”

Particularly relevant to this study is the growing rate of depression in the U.S., where 17 million American men and women suffer clinical depression, according to the American Psychiatric Association. However, Streeter advises that Yoga is not a substitute for traditional treatment, but rather an adjunct to treatment.

“It’s an exciting behavioral intervention, but the results here are associative, not causal. That’s a problem, expanding these results to say that doing yoga as a substitute for one’s meds is a good idea. It’s not. And doing yoga without proper training or supervision is not advised,” said Streeter.

And, even though participants in this study received more mood benefits from yoga, don’t retire you walking shoes just yet – “It doesn’t mean that yoga is better than walking in other populations and other situations,” warns Streeter.

Boston University   Researcher: Chris Streeter Boston University is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian and internationally recognized center of higher education and research. It is in fact one of the four largest independent institutions of higher education in the United States. >>Learn more

Prana Yoga and Dance  Prana Yoga and Dance studio offers a wide selection of classes and workshops in dance and in yoga for all levels and all ages. Rediscover your inner-self. Unify your body, mind and soul. Express yourself while being comfortable, confident and congratulated. >>Learn more

Shocking pictures showing what a life without exercise can do to your facial appearance were released Tuesday by researchers:

Catherine Duffy, as she is now, and artificially aged twenty years later with & without exercise.

Experts in aging at the University of St Andrews in Scotland used the latest in facial imaging technology to depict the impact of a sedentary lifestyle on a person’s appearance over a period of twenty years.

Researchers used the technology, which has been in development for over 15 years by the University’s own perception lab, along with real people to illustrate that in addition to the many benefits of regular exercise, there are also consequences of not exercising–including detrimental effects on the ageing process.

Researcher Ross Whitehead explained, “By looking at the height and weight of the three volunteers, and the consequences of exercising versus not exercising for facial appearance, we were able to build an image of how they would appear in five, ten and twenty years.”

The study was conducted in conjunction with Active Nation, a nationwide initiative encouraging Scots to get more active in the lead up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games and beyond. Whitehead noted that the idea behind the study was to show that in addition to health, the benefits of routine exercise and fitness include maintaining or enhancing personal appearance as well.

Taking into account the average weight gain in line with age (about 1¼ lbs for women and 1½ lbs for men per year), they developed a comprehensive picture of the effect that no exercise has on the face. As shown in the above photos, the neck and jowls are the most affected areas of the face, resulting in saggy loose skin, while the forehead and eye area tend to fatten.

While the more obvious outcome of a lack of fitness over time is weight gain, in addition to a variety of skin-based changes, “the novelty of our research is that we are able to simulate these effects and illustrate to individuals, on images of their own face, how their appearance may change over time with or without exercise,” said Whitehead. “If everybody viewed a stark image of the negative consequences of not exercising in terms of their appearance, we would expect a sharp rise in exercise participation.”

Whitehead recommends participating in at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day to maintain a healthy body and appearance.

One of the participants was Catherine Duffy (43), a hockey player from Lanarkshire. She commented, “I really enjoy keeping active but it always surprises me when others avoid exercise at all costs. I think if everyone got to see what they would look like in twenty years they would be straight down to the gym without giving it a second thought.”

The key dance moves that make men attractive to women (sans fistpumping) have been discovered by psychologists at Northumbria University.

Researchers at Northumbria University’s School of Life Sciences in the UK filmed 19 men, aged 18-35 using a 3D motion-capture technology as they danced to basic ryhtms. The movements were then mapped onto avatars (white, featureless, gender-neutral humanoid characters) so that 35 heterosexual women could rate their dance moves without being prejudiced by each male’s individual level of physical attractiveness.

The study, led by psychologist Dr Nick Neave and researcher Kristofor McCarty, “is the first study to show objectively what differentiates a good dancer from a bad one,” according to Dr. Neave. “Men all over the world will be interested to know what moves they can throw to attract women.”

The results, which surprised the research team, showed that eight specific movement variables made the difference between a “good” and a “bad” dancer: The size of movement of the neck, trunk, left shoulder and wrist, the variability of movement size of the neck, trunk and left wrist, and the speed of movement of the right knee.

“We thought that people’s arms and legs would be really important. The kind of expressive gestures the hands [make], for example. But in fact this was not the case,” said Neave.

Rather, female perceptions of good dance quality were influenced most greatly by larger and more variable movements in relation to bending and twisting of their head/neck and torso, and faster bending and twisting movements of their right knee, the researchers said in a report published in the Royal Society Journal Biology Letters.

Movements that went down terribly were twitchy and repetitive – so called “Dad dancing”.

Dr Neave believes that such dance movements may form honest signals of a man’s reproductive quality, in terms of health, vigour or strength, and will carry out further research to fully grasp the implications.

“We now know which area of the body females are looking at when they are making a judgement about male dance attractiveness,” said Neave. “If a man knows what the key moves are, he can get some training and improve his chances of attracting a female through his dance style.”

Researcher Kristofor McCarty said: “The methods we have used here have allowed us to make some preliminary predictions as to why dance has evolved. Our results clearly show that there seems to be a strong general consensus as to what is seen as a good and bad dance, and that women appear to like and look for the same sort of moves.

“From this, we predict that those observations have underlying traits associated with them but further research must be conducted to support such claims.”

By: Dan Salupo

For years, researchers have tried to determine which of two diets is safer and more effective for weight loss in the long run: the low-carbohydrate, Atkins-style diet, or the low-fat diet.

Beginning nearly fifteen years ago, when Dr. Robert Atkins re-introduced his 1970s low carb diet program (known today as Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution), there has been what can only be termed “low carb mania” in the United States and abroad, with an estimated 25 million Americans on a low carb diet during any given period.

On the other side of the spectrum, however, is the “low fat everything” movement – a cornerstone of the national strategy to prevent heart disease since the late 1970s, spawnning the proliferation of prepared low-fat foods on our supermarket shelves.

Despite powerful advocates and clever marketing attempts to pursuade end-consumers one way or the other, many of us are just as confused as to which diet will help us reach our goals as we were when the debate started.

Unfortunately, as it turns out, we’ve wasted a lot of time trying to decide: A new Temple University-led study has found that either diet works equally well when coupled with a comprehensive, behavioral support program.

The two-year study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the Aug. 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, was the largest of its kind, following the weight loss of more than 300 people – half of whom were assigned to a low-carb diet, similar to the Atkins diet, and the other half to a low-fat, low-calorie diet. Interestingly enough, according to a Temple news release by Renee Cree, participants in both groups had virtually identical weight loss at the end of the study.

But what set this study apart from others, in addition to its length and size, was its behavioral treatment component, said Gary Foster, director of Temple’s Center for Obesity Research and Education and lead author of the study. Each participant attended group sessions weekly for the first 20 weeks of the study, every other week for the next 20 weeks, and once every other month for the remainder of the study. In each session, participants discussed topics such as goal setting, self-monitoring, and limiting triggers to overeating.

“When comparing these two popular weight loss plans, none of the existing research had included a comprehensive, long-term, behavioral support component,” said Foster. “This research tells us that people wanting to manage their weight need to be less concerned with which diet they choose, and more concerned with incorporating behavioral changes into their plan.”

In addition to weight, researchers looked at levels of cholesterol, blood pressure, bone mineral density and percent of body fat. For both groups, each of these areas changed almost identically, except that in the low-carb group, levels of HDL cholesterol – the body’s “good” cholesterol – were higher than in the low-fat group, by nearly twice as much.

“For years, the conventional wisdom was that low-carb diets had a host of ill effects on health, but these results suggest that those concerns are unfounded,” said Foster. “It doesn’t make a difference for weight loss how you get there,” he added, “both of these are options. These diets work.”

As for behavioral strategies to adopt, Foster recommends keeping track of what you eat and how much you move, and liminating triggers for overeating like watching T.V. or eating in the car.

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Prana Yoga & Dance
8051 Broadview Rd.
Broadview Hts., OH 44147
216-346-1246 | View Map
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