Top 10 Fitness Trends from 2009

“The non-profit American Council on Exercise (ACE) has announced the top ten fitness trends from 2009, based on its annual survey of personal trainers, group fitness experts, advanced health and fitness specialists and lifestyle and weight management consultants. The survey revealed that boot camp-style workouts, which were named the most popular workout in 2008, were also the most popular fitness trend in 2009. The following represents ACE's listing of the top trends for 2009: 1. Boot Camp-Style Workouts: 2. Budget-Friendly Workouts: 3. Specialty Classes: 4. Getting Back to Basics 5. Circuit Training 6. Kettlebells 7. Boomer Fitness 8. Technology-Based Fitness 9. Event or Sport-Specific Exercises 10. Mixing It Up.”

Boot Camp-Style Workouts: Boot camp workouts remain extremely popular because they provide a total-body workout that's varied, fun and challenging. Up to 600 calories can be burned during a boot camp session, which is obviously going to facilitate weight loss.

Specialty Classes: While yoga and Pilates will remain strong, dance-based classes were all the rage this year. Zumba, a fitness program inspired by Latin dance, combines South American rhythms with cardiovascular exercise. Bollywood, ballroom, Afro-Cuban and other exotic dance styles grew in popularity thanks to shows such as Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.

Getting Back to Basics: Despite the fact that many exercises and equipment are becoming more advanced and trendy, trainers continued to focus on basic movements and techniques with their clients.

Circuit Training: Studies have shown that interval training combining strength training and cardiovascular activity at different intensities provides a more time-efficient workout than participating in traditional aerobic and weight training sessions

Event or Sport-Specific Exercises: Despite the emergence of new and trendy workouts, sports or recreational activities remained a popular way to stay in shape.

Mixing It Up: Traditional programming has changed from what's called linear progression to undulating, as research shows similar if not better results. For example, mixing low-intensity cardio with intervals on different days, and mixing high-volume, low- intensity weight training with low-volume, high-intensity training on alternate days.

On ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Health Can Take Back Seat

LOS ANGELES — When more than 40 former contestants from “The Biggest Loser” gather Wednesday for a reunion television special, the winner of the program’s first season, Ryan C. Benson, who lost 122 of his 330-pound starting weight, will be absent. Mr. Benson is now back above 300 pounds but he thinks he has been shunned by the show because he publicly admitted that he dropped some of the weight by fasting and dehydrating himself to the point that he was urinating blood.

Now in its eighth season, “The Biggest Loser” is one of NBC’s most-watched prime-time programs besides football, drawing an estimated 10 million viewers each week, according to Nielsen. It has clearly tapped into the American obsession with losing weight, as more than 200,000 people a year submit audition videotapes or attend open casting calls for the program.

It also has spawned a licensed merchandise business that will generate an estimated $100 million this year.

The series also highlights the difference between the pursuit of engaging television and the sometimes frenzied efforts of contestants to win, perhaps at the risk of their own health. Doctors, nutritionists and physiologists not affiliated with “The Biggest Loser” express doubt about the program’s regimen of severe caloric restriction and up to six hours a day of strenuous exercise, which cause contestants to sometimes lose more than 15 pounds a week.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/business/media/25loser.html?_r=1&ref=health

Recipes for a Healthy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dinner doesn’t have to be the kickoff to a month of holiday overeating, ending with a regretful New Year’s resolution and a January diet. The holiday can be festive, even indulgent, without dishes loaded with fats and salt.

Thanksgiving favorites can all be made in healthful, flavorful ways, as the columnist Martha Rose Shulman writes in this week’s Recipes for Health:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/healthy-thanksgiving-treats/

Is Cardio Over? Strength Training Climbs List Of Fitness Trends

“‘Strength training,’ which is workout-speak for lifting weights, isn’t just for those who want to bulk up. More people are incorporating it into their existing routines, or in some cases going with an all-weight workout. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, strength training is moving from the men’s-only realm to women and ‘average exercisers.’ In its fourth annual survey of top fitness trends for the coming year, strength training is No. 2, up from fourth the past two years and sixth in 2007. What does this mean? More people are using weights and weight-machines not to get ripped, but simply stay in some semblance of shape, the ACSM says. And ‘it is not uncommon for cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, or metabolic disease management programs to include some form of weight training in the exercise prescription.’ Brad Davidson, who runs the Synergy Sports Institute in Costa Mesa, isn’t surprised that strength training is climbing the rankings. He specializes in it, and he believes cardio workouts and aerobics aren’t as efficient at reducing body fat and increasing muscle mass as strength training. ‘The best results come from heavy strength training,” said Davidson, whose clients turn over tractor tires and perform other old-fashioned techniques as part of his ‘country strong’ program.”

http://healthyliving.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/09/strength-training-climbs-list-of-fitness-trends/12593/

Obesity Causes 100,000 US Cancer Cases: Report

“Obesity causes more than 100,000 cases of cancer in the United States each year -- and the number will likely rise as Americans get fatter, researchers said on Thursday. Having too much body fat causes nearly half the cases of endometrial cancer -- a type of cancer of the uterus -- and a third of esophageal cancer cases, the American Institute for Cancer Research said. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease.

The American Cancer Society projects that 1.47 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year and 562,000 will die of it. More than 26 percent of Americans are obese, defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher. BMI is equal to weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. A person 5 feet 5 inches tall (165 cm) becomes obese at 180 pounds (82 kg). Additionally, nearly a third of Americans are overweight, defined as having a BMI of 25 to 30. The study combined findings from AICR research linking diet, physical activity and fatness with cancer risk with national surveys on obesity and cancer incidence. ‘We then worked out the percentage of those specific cancers that would be prevented if everyone in the United States maintained a healthy weight,’ the group said in a statement.”

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/11/05/eline/links/20091105elin025.html

The Importance of Exercise, Health Heart Video

“We all know by now that exercise is good for your heart, but what exactly is it about exertion that gets your ticker pumping? For the past couple of years, a group has been working with the Harvard athletics department to examine how…”

http://www.boston.com/video/viral_page/?/services/player/bcpid21962023001&bctid=48414992001