Picture being on the 8th hole with your friends playing one of your favorite desert courses on a warm sunny day, when all of a sudden you feel a sharp pain in your back from trying to sink an 18-foot putt. Holding your back and in obvious pain, you can’t move. You look back in… Read more »
Just the other day I was having dinner with an old swimming buddy of mine, Mark Henderson, a former world record holder and Olympic Gold Medalist at the Atlanta Games. In other words, a phenomenal athlete. Sure, we talked about swimming. Then our conversation turned (quite unexpectedly) to yoga. Mark had begun practicing recently and… Read more »
This past May, the International Triathlon Union’s (ITU) World Triathlon Series was held in San Diego. Elite athletes from all over the world competed for international standings, and the final seats on the USA Olympic Team were awarded in both the men’s and women’s divisions. The competition was intense and featured 2,100 athletes from 16… Read more »
Life Coaching is a fairly new and rapidly growing industry. According to a recent article in USA Today, there are now over 10,000 certified life coaches nationally with programs designed for personal, business, diet, health and fitness. How does Life Coaching Work? Life Coaching differs from traditional psychological counseling because it is based on the… Read more »
There is a new therapeutic trend growing nationally, which could become very popular for the Desert’s summer residents. It involves whole body ‘chilling’ to relieve achy joints and bones. It’s called Whole Body Cryotherapy and it is as popular in Europe as massage is in the US. The science behind cryotherapy is that it significantly… Read more »
In this issue I want to highlight a tool that is growing in popularity in the fitness community and helps people become stronger and more flexible – the TRX. I have the privilege of working with one of the only Certified TRX trainers in the desert, Nik Obert, so I asked Nik a few questions… Read more »
You may have heard of this crazy new game called “pickleball.” The US Pickleball Association (USAPA.org) calls the game a “highly contagious, progressive and incurable disease” and estimates that between 40-50,000 people worldwide are currently infected. “While rarely fatal, the disease has enormous positive impact on the lives of infected individuals and on society as… Read more »
Let’s face it. If you want to get lean, or get “in shape”, you need to do cardio. The problem? Number one–it’s boring. Number two–It can hammer the joints. Running one mile is equal to 1500 plyometric reps… or hopping 750 times on each leg. Would you ever prescribe that to someone who wanted to… Read more »
There are now an estimated 23 million golfers in the U.S . alone. With a growth in sport popularity, and most golfers’ strong drive to improve, golf-related injuries are on the rise. Close to 60 percent of golfers experience sport-specific injuries every year. And whether the golfer is a professional or an amateur, most injuries… Read more »
Happy New Year! With the holidays behind us, now is the time to get back on your fitness track. So I am providing a workout that can be done at home to get you started and help shed those holiday pounds. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and 20 minutes to burn some… Read more »
Diabetes Mellitus (or Diabetes) currently affects 25.8 million people or 8.3% of the American population.[sup]1[/sup] Of those Americans 65 and over, diabetes affects 10.9 million or 26% of the population and increases the risk of death by twice as much as those individuals without diabetes.[sup]1[/sup] Diabetes has been shown to be the leading cause of… Read more »
The technology of “whole body vibration” was first used by cosmonauts to combat muscle and bone loss caused by extended stays in zero gravity. Today it is used by professional sports teams, medical facilities, health clubs and fitness studios all over the world. There are many different types of vibration therapy equipment, and the effectiveness… Read more »
It really doesn’t matter how well you play golf. What matters most is that you are able to “play golf,” the game you love. Playing golf helps people feel good. My mother introduced me to the game and I was quite a competitor as a young adult. We played a lot of golf together and… Read more »
The Coachella Valley Health Collaborative just completed its first Healthy Lifestyle Challenge, in which hundreds of local residents participated. More than 573 desert residents took a combined total of more than 125 million steps and the equivalent of over 58,000 miles. A new challenge began on September 1st and the collaborative hopes to increase the… Read more »
These days, more than ever before, people are seeking options and education to better themselves. We are educated or “trained” in a variety of areas, from computer applications to sports performance. This has made us better advocates for our own health and wellness. However, in the sports and fitness world, the word “trainer” has lost… Read more »
One of the latest fitness crazes to hit the country is CrossFit, a short, intense workout program that participants call “addictive.” A CrossFit gym resembles the muscle gyms of the 80’s; however, you are more likely to see 30 year old women and 60 year old men cheering each other on than a bunch of… Read more »
In the beginning of this great country, people got from point A to point B by horse and carriage. It worked well. It got the job done. A couple centuries later the automobile was invented and revolutionized the way people traveled. People were able to get to their destination in a fraction of the time,… Read more »
I was walking through the grocery store when I saw a little boy walking with his Mom. The boy wanted to be picked up, so without thinking twice, his mother, groceries in the other hand, scooped him up effortlessly. I was impressed. That boy must have weighed at least 60 lbs and the groceries another… Read more »
This question is one of sports medicine’s greatest challenges — how to get people back into action while allowing sufficient time for healing. What’s alarming is how often a “got to get back” mentality interferes with athletes who are recovering from an injury or surgery. In order to minimize the risk of re-injury or further… Read more »
It’s that time of year when everyone thinks about finally getting into shape. If you are one of those people, then I recommend hiring a personal trainer for the following reasons: Greater Results, Less Time A personal trainer is educated in fitness with a greater understanding than the average person of how the body works.… Read more »