Fitness & Exercise - fitness tips

Love of the Sport

Triathlete Wendy Ingraham loves to compete. It's the love of her sport that has made her one of the world's best long-distance triathletes for more than a decade. Last year, she won the Austria Ironman for the second time, finishing in 9:02:25--more than 12 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. Fondly called "Wingnut" by her friends, Ingraham has also placed third in the Australian Ironman and fifth in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.

When she's not training or competing, Ingraham volunteers her time, helping children find their own way into the winner's circle. She also works with young girls suffering from eating disorders.

"Wendy's exceptional talent, great personality and love of competition has made her one of the most recognized and respected athletes in her sport," says David Rosen, Vice President of Marketing at TYR Sport, Inc. "Her confident attitude and rise to the top have helped her form an indelible mark in triathlon."

Fit Happens

According to Publishers Weekly, there's hardly a topic that Joanie Greggains and Patricia Romanowski's new book, Fit Happens (Villard Books; $19.95), fails to cover--from the facts about battling fatigue to the fictions about fighting fat. As fitness guru Jack LaLanne says, "Joanie Greggains is an icon in the physical fitness world. A true motivator, she tells the truth and practices what she preaches. Her honesty, integrity and desire to help people earn her two thumbs up in my book."

The busy Greggains hosts the nationally televised show Morning Stretch, has her own Saturday morning radio program on KGO in San Francisco and has produced, choreographed and starred in 13 exercise videos. Not to be outdone by her writing partner, Patricia Romanowski is the co-author of 18 books, including three national bestsellers.

Fit Happens focuses on the fundamentals of fitness to create a holistic approach to health. According to Greggains, fitness should not be a job nor an obligation, but rather the natural result of making good, positive lifestyle choices on a daily basis. For more information, call (212) 572-2476.

Maintaining Mass

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently published a study in its journal, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, that confirms the beneficial relationship between a concurrent weight-loss diet and regimen of strength/endurance training in men.

A team of researchers at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, studied 35 healthy but overweight men to evaluate the physiological effects of weight loss with and without exercise. Divided into four groups, the men either:

(1) reduced their caloric intake and maintained their normal activities,

(2) dieted and performed an aerobic-endurance training program,

(3) ate a reduced-calorie diet, worked out aerobically and lifted weights or

(4) as part of the control group, maintained their normal diet and activities.

"We wanted to find out what the effects might be with restricted diet alone as compared to diet combined with endurance training, and diet combined with both endurance training and heavy resistance training," says lead researcher William J. Kraemer, Ph.D.

By week six, there was a significant reduction in body mass or body composition in all but the control group. By week 12, the diet-alone group had a 69 percent composite reduction of body fat. The diet-and-exercise group was at 78 percent, while the diet-exercise-strength training group reduced body fat by an impressive 97 percent. The only group that lost nonfat mass (mostly muscle) was the diet-only group.

"Weight loss alone is not the optimum goal," explained Kraemer. "The type of mass lost is important. Our analysis showed that keeping muscle mass is possible with aerobic and resistance training."

Safe and Effective Kick boxing

When performed incorrectly, kickboxing aerobics can be hard on the body. According to Tom Seabourne, Ph.D., the author of Complete CardioKickboxing: A Safe & Effective Approach to High Performance Living (YMAA Publications; $15.95), with proper training and instruction (and a little common sense), cardio kickboxing can be one of the safest fitness programs you'll ever enjoy. It can also get you into the best shape of your life.

The comprehensive guide is chock full of 200 illustrations in which the author and a model demonstrate dozens of punches, kicks and blocks. The 100-page Complete CardioKickboxing, which includes chapters on injury prevention, postures, punches, kicks and footwork, takes the guesswork out of this popular fat-burning exercise program, allowing the reader to create their own safe and effective personalized program.

For more information, call (310) 459-3366.

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COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group