2011 NYC Marathon -- How I Got In

As you may know, in order to get into the NYC Marathon, you have to enter a lottery and keep your fingers crossed that you get in. It's such a huge race and so many people want to do it, it's the only fair way to handle all of the entries they receive each year. If you don't get picked for three years in a row, you're automatically in the following year. There are also other ways to gain entry, including running a certain number of road races through the New York Road Runners (NYRR) team or raising money for a charity.

I entered the lottery last year and didn't get in, so I entered again this year...and didn't get in. Dismayed by the whole thought of having to wait two more years for guaranteed entry, I made the decision to raise money for a charity. I selected Fred's Team, which raises money to support Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Their goal is to live in a world free of cancer. With so many friends and family members who have either fought against cancer or know someone who has, I felt drawn to this particular charity. So now comes the fun part, raising money. I need to raise $3,500 by November 6th. I'm excited and petrified all as the same time -- sort of how I feel about running my second marathon.

I'll share my training plan and the trials and tribulations of preparing for a marathon and fundraising. I'd love to get your input, too. Have you completed a marathon? Any tips you'd like to share?

I could use your help. Check out my fundraising page. Thanks in advance for your help!

What is a TRX Suspension Trainer?

I've been wanting to try TRX since it's become all the rage, with dedicated classes and at-home gear. While I haven't been able to get to a class just yet, I found this great article at ThreeFatChicksOnaDiet.com:

The TRX Suspension Trainer is a portable fitness tool that can help users accomplish many different tasks through the versatility of simple resistance bands. This kind of innovative workout gear is getting popular, not only with military professionals like U.S. Navy Seals, but with top athletes and recreational users, too. These days, it seems like everybody is looking for the best ways to drop weight, tone muscles, and get better overall body capacity for living better and doing more. The TRX Suspension Trainer is one way to get yourself closer to your fitness goals without investing in bulky, expensive equipment that might end up just filling up the basement or attic.

Looking at the TRX Suspension Trainer

Weighing just over 21 pounds, the TRX Suspension Trainer attaches to various surfaces to provide nimble resistance for the legs, arms or core. The possibilities for using this free-form item are almost endless. Manufacturers and retailers provide easy illustrated guides to all of the exercise options that the TRX Suspension Trainer offers.

Exercises for the TRX Suspension Trainer

One way to work out with the TRX Suspension Trainer is to stand on the ground with your arms attached to the resistance cords. These kinds of exercises help to build the upper body. Alternately, users can squat on the ground with their ankles attached in order to work the lower body and core. For example, in a take on the classic push up, users can keep their feet connected to the TRX Suspension Trainer, where only the hands are touching the ground, in order to maximize body responses. For upper body exercises, users can strap the resistance gear around their chests in order to work their torso, or target the arms with exercises like the Chest Press Fly or Combo. Exerting pressure down with the straps while standing on the ground can work some of the upper back muscles, such as the “lats” or latissimus dorsi muscles, that don’t usually get a lot of intense training on traditional weightlifting machines.

Apart from the above exercises, the TRX Suspension Trainer offers a good training experience regardless of your favored sports or recreational activities: from golf to martial arts, and from football to gymnastics. Lots of experts are showing up to endorse this product and explain to their clients how to handle the TRX Suspension Trainer for the best overall workouts to reach their fitness goals.

If you are on the hunt for a machine that can quickly take you to a higher level, check out the vast resources available around the TRX Suspension Trainer, on vendor websites and associated pages. At these locations expert coaches and trainers appear in free videos that illustrate how others are using this new fitness product to increase their strength, improve coordination and balance, and yes, burn fat and calories.

Have you tried TRX? What did you think?

The Health Benefits of Yoga

Photo: Real Simple &

Tamara Schlesinger

In the world of public concern over antioxidants, body toxins, and the word "cleansing," hot yoga - yoga performed in rooms with temperatures between 85 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit - is definitely in. While there are many different styles, the basic health benefits revolve around the belief that the body sweats out toxins when exposed to heat, which then boosts metabolism and one's immune system. Here's just a few more benefits people claim from hot yoga:

Muscle flexibility

Except for a handful of synthetic compounds designed specifically not to break under cold temperatures, most things are considerably less flexible in cold environments, muscles included. As a result, in hot yoga, one's muscles are hypothetically more flexible as they're literally warmed up, potentially boosting one's range of motion, aiding injury recovery, and helping to prevent accidental injuries when exercising.

Weight loss

The heat from hot yoga makes the body increase its pulse without heavy joint impact. It also helps to bring down chemicals in the body that help a body retain fat that are related to stress, and may help to boost metabolism through thyroid stimulation. This combination of factors makes it potentially easy for the body to shed pounds faster when doing hot yoga than when not.

Joint lubrication

As one ages, the body becomes less flexible and able to recover from injuries. By doing yoga, one activates groups of muscles and moves bones that might otherwise go ignored, which can help fight and delay the onset of arthritis, muscle, and joint pain brought on by the natural processes of aging and joint impacts brought on by work and life in general.

Immune system performance

By participating in hot yoga one brings up their core temperature beyond what the body normally self-regulates, which then makes the body act as if it's undergoing fever conditions when perfectly healthy. This, then brings up white blood cell counts and stimulates the immune system, which in turn makes it harder for the body to undergo actual illness, which is obviously a good thing and an easy way for hot yoga to extend one's general well-being and life expectancy.

Stress reduction

It's been said for decades that exercise and meditation can help one reduce the amount of stress in one's life; in fact, meditation has often been practiced to help alleviate stress in and of itself. Hot yoga requires that the mind put stress factors out of the way in order to pose successfully, and this in turn helps the body to lose weight (or not gain it, as the chemicals that retain fat move less quickly and at lower levels), sleep better, lower the heart rate and blood pressure, and possibly benefit one's mood. While high stress can occasionally make the body perform better, it often proves much tighter and harder to work well, making lower stress (with all its many, many benefits upon one's mental and physical function) something worth pursuing for just about everyone and a definite reason to consider hot yoga.

Written by Andres Halloway Find his other work on schools for forensic science and online accounting degrees

The Benefits of Seeing A Nutritionist

This post was guest written by Sean Ramily, also known for his work on sites like this site and cosmetologyschool.net."

We all try to eat healthy, but in this day and age the amount of information available to us can be downright overwhelming. The list of must-eat and do-not-touch items can be contradictory, confusing, and misleading. On top of that, if you’re eating a diet high in processed foods, you may actually be undernourished. That is where a nutritionist comes in.

A nutritionist, or nutritional therapist, has a degree in nutrition and nutritional education. This highly qualified individual will be able to determine what exactly your diet needs, what nutrients you might be lacking, and how to improve your eating habits.

One of the biggest benefits in seeing a nutritionist is, obviously, if you’re looking to lose weight. Whether you have a slow metabolism, need calorie adjustments, or need more information on what makes a food “healthy,” a nutritionist is able to help you. Reading labels can be a good step in the right direction, but a nutritionist has expert training that can show you details you may have overlooked.

Hand-in-hand with weight loss come vegetarian diets. Many people choose to cut out unhealthy foods by simply focusing on eating only vegetarians and plant-based proteins. Celebrities tout this style of diet, but what they’re not telling you is that they have a team of nutritionists and chefs keeping their nutritional needs balanced. If you’re looking into becoming a vegetarian, you may want to schedule an appointment with a nutritionist to make sure you aren’t overlooking any important diet supplements or health issues.

A good diet can boost your immune system, cut down on sickness, and even ease PMS symptoms. Nutritionists can do a variety of tests to see what nutrients you need to bring about these changes. Diet changes can bring about a huge change for a variety of maladies, like anemia, heart disease, or digestion problems.

If you are an athlete, trying to become more active, or training for any sort of activity, a nutritionist might be able to give you the energy boost you need to reach your next goal. As you become more active, your dietary needs will change – you’ll need more calories, more protein, and maybe even more fat in your diet. A nutritionist can show you exactly how to keep up with your body’s needs.

Allergies seem like the realm of pollen and cat dander. Over-the-counter remedies abound, so why drag a nutritionist into the mix? You may not be aware that food allergies also exist, and come with symptoms far beyond sniffling and sneezing. A nutritionist will be able to improve your health and daily life simply by pointing out remedies you didn’t even know you needed. If you have any unexplainable symptoms, it might be time to see a nutritionist.

Nutritionists can also point out medicine interactions that you didn’t even know existed. Did you know that hormonal birth control can interfere with caffeine metabolism? That cranberry juice can inhibit certain kinds of infections? If you’re looking for some natural remedies, or worried about the efficacy of your prescriptions, a nutritionist can point you in the right direction for the best health.

Most of all, a nutritionist acts as a coach. They are available to teach you how to make healthy decisions, learn how to cook healthy meals, and discover healthy alternatives to old favorites. Even if you don’t have any special health or diet concerns, a nutritionist is able to provide you with great recipes that might really shake up your family meals. If you are trying to make a change in your life, using a nutritionist – in addition to seeing your doctor and even a personal trainer – can be the boost you need to really see results.

Have you ever consulted with a nutrionist? What was your experience?

Fit Moms: Back to WeightWatchers.com

I have a confession to make. I had a major fall-off-the-wagon couple of weeks. Have you ever gone through something similar? A few parties, a miserable illness that had me down for the count for a good day and a half (you'd think that would've taken off a few pounds), PMS, stressful work projects...I could go on and on. With that, I've completely lost my diet mojo!! Argh!! I had hit a plateau about 2-3 weeks ago, and suddenly I gained 5 lbs. Needless to say, it blows, but I'm not deterred. Whenever I hit a diet roadblock, I always turn to Weight Watchers.

Are you surprised? Here's a little background... I was able to lose 40+ pounds after each of my pregnancies, and I lost that weight in 4-5 months. While I had great success, the one part of WeightWatchers.com that always bothered me was the fact that the Points system didn't account for healthy protein appropriately. For example, if I had an entire chicken breast, I wiped out a good portion of my daily Points. Plus, you could eat cake all day and as long as you were within the Points you were allotted, everything was good. But that's finally changed.

If you've seen the recent Weight Watchers advertising with Jennifer Hudson (from American Idol), you may have noticed a new PointsPlus system. It's my dream come true! Now Points are calculated by accounting for fat, carbohydrates, protein and fiber. It's not just based on calories, fat and fiber. Woohoo!! Also, the PointsPlus system gives you way more points! I was shocked at the daily and weekly allotment. I just finished my first week and I have 16 points left! (Granted, I worked out a good 17 Points-worth, so I may have been left with less if I was lazier.)

I signed up for the 3-month plan, which should do the trick since I want to lose approx. 12 pounds. With one week under my belt, I've already lost at least 2-3 pounds (my official weigh-in is tomorrow). I'll also be interested to see if my fat percentage goes down. (You know how obsessed I am with bodyfat. LOL!)

Stay tuned and please let me know if you're a current or past Weight Watchers fan and what your experience has been.