Online chinese learning Sample – Video
Posted: May 29, 2012 at 12:13 am
See original here:
Online chinese learning Sample - Video
Oldest female bodybuilder loves pumping iron
Posted: May 28, 2012 at 1:21 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - As an active 77 year old, Edith Wilma Connor enjoys doing step aerobics with her great-granddaughter. But pumping iron is the real passion of the oldest female competitive bodybuilder.
"When I'm getting ready for competition, I go as heavy as I can," said Connor, who was awarded the title by Guinness World Records. "To me it's fun to add another 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms) and do it."
Connor, who is based in Denver, Colorado, is a late bloomer who began to pursue fitness in her 60s, to counterbalance the sedentary work the data entry company she owned with her husband demanded.
"It was something I could do by myself, for myself," Connor explained. "It was a tension releaser. I sit at a computer all day, so it was one way for me to take it out on the weights instead of the employees."
On her 65th birthday she entered her first competition, the Grand Masters in Las Vegas, and won first place.
"At that point, I was hooked," said Connor who went on to become a certified personal trainer specializing in the mature body.
Her day starts with an aerobic or other warm up exercise followed by weight training. Typically for bodybuilders, all body parts are not trained during each session.
She works out at least three times a week and does not diet, preferring to follow the nutritional guidelines she developed over time for her body type.
"I allow myself a few pounds, until my clothes don't fit right, then it's got to come off," Connor said. "It's a mindset."
She lost her husband of 57 years two weeks after her last competition, in 2011.
Read more from the original source:
Oldest female bodybuilder loves pumping iron
Cobi excercise… – Video
Posted: at 1:21 pm
More here:
Cobi excercise... - Video
Bangkok: 5 free things to do
Posted: at 1:21 pm
BANGKOK Chaos is part of Bangkok's charm. But the savvy traveler quickly learns how to navigate Bangkok's legendary traffic jams and discover its soul, a mix of urban jungle and Buddhist serenity where shopping and eating are national pastimes.
Despite the weak dollar, Bangkok remains one of the best deals in Asia. Some of the world's tastiest street food sells for as little as 25 baht (80 cents) a plate. Beat traffic by zipping down side streets in a tuk-tuk or cruising up the Chao Praya on public express boats for stunning views of the city's premier attractions both for about a dollar. Other favorite outings are free:
LUMPINI PARK: An oasis of tropical gardens and paved jogging paths in the middle of the city. Beat the heat by avoiding the park in midday. There are early morning tai chi classes and after work aerobics classes. You can rent paddle boats, take the kids to one of Bangkok's best outdoor playgrounds or marvel at the massive monitor lizards in the lake.
CHATUCHAK MARKET: Browsing is free at the largest outdoor market in Thailand, and it's a sight to see whether or not you take something home. Chatuchak's thousands of stalls are divided into sections that include antiques, home dcor, clothing and food. You can find everything from Buddha statues and Thai handicrafts to handmade jewelry and the occasional endangered species in the live animal section. For upscale, air-conditioned window shopping, head to shopping malls Siam Paragon, Emporium or Central World.
TEMPLE HOPPING: Catch some karma at Bangkok's many Buddhist temples, known in Thai as "wats." Some of the most popular, Wat Po and Wat Arun, ask foreigners to pay a minimal entrance fee but hundreds of others are free, including the impressive Temple of the Golden Mount, also known as Wat Saket. A temple compound's shaded walkways and quiet corners are a perfect place to escape the sensory overload on Bangkok's busy streets.
FLOWER MARKET: Bangkok's largest flower market, Pak Klong Talat, is open 24 hours but it's busiest just after 2 a.m. when traders unload their fresh-cut blossoms in bulk. It's a kaleidoscope of colors with an incredible selection of orchids at jaw-droppingly cheap prices. The market is just south of Wat Pho and not far from the Grand Palace in the historical section of old Bangkok.
PATPONG: For a walk on Bangkok's wild side, take an evening stroll along Patpong Road. It offers the incongruous mix of go-go bars and evening shopping. A thriving night market selling T-shirts, pirated DVDs and other souvenirs runs through the red-light district and spills onto the adjacent Silom Road, which is packed with street food vendors, restaurants and bars.
See the article here:
Bangkok: 5 free things to do
Hot for Bikram yoga
Posted: at 1:21 pm
I'm inverted in separate leg stretch at Yoga 101, pulling on my heels, reaching the crown of my head to my yoga mat, when a huge drop of sweat falls from my stomach into my eye. Or was it from my thigh? I can't really tell because my entire body is dripping with sweat. My arms. My legs. My chin. My eyelids.
At this moment, I'm not looking very pretty. But I'm feeling pretty tough. Sweating through 90 minutes of stretching, pulling, bending, flexing and cardiovascular activity has made me a new woman and turned numerous other Tri-Staters into hot yoga converts. Hot yoga is yoga practiced in a hot room with high humidity.
"Hot yoga is very challenging," said Mick Conati, 42, from Evansville. "I've lost close to 40 (now it's up to 60) pounds since I started practicing regularly and next week I expect to get off my blood pressure medicine."
Photo by Jason Clark, 2012 Jason Clark
photos by JASON CLARK / COURIER & PRESS Below: Tara Logel of Henderson, Ky., watches herself in the mirror as she participates with others in a hot yoga class led by instructor Nicole Tibbs at Yoga 101 in Evansville Wednesday.
Photo by Jason Clark, 2012 Jason Clark
Right: Mick Conati participates in a hot yoga class led by instructor Nicole Tibbs at Yoga 101. Conati has lost about 60 pounds since he started practicing in the classes regularly.
Photo by Jason Clark, 2012 Jason Clark
Hot yoga participants follow instructor Nicole Tibbs. More Tri-Staters are taking up the practice of yoga in a hot, humid room.
Conati said he's dabbled with hot yoga off and on for the past couple of years, but a few months ago began practicing about five times a week. Coupled with a diet that includes no preservatives or prepared foods, the results have been great.
More here:
Hot for Bikram yoga
Yoga Monkeys Strike
Posted: at 1:21 pm
Even the French baguettes got into it assuming the up dog position as a flash mob of 20 yogis struck the farmers market at Wooster Square.
Peg Oliveira leads the new non-profit 108 Monkeys (explanation to follow) that seeks to make yogas gospel of mindfulness more accessible to kids in the schools and other under-stress populations, including shoppers deeply focused on their errands.
At 12:40 p.m. Saturday, Oliveira gave the yoga troops these orders from a staging area near the Christopher Columbus statue in Wooster Square Park: Do stand up, stand down, then break into your personal positions: warrior one, warrior two. When I go into the tree pose, all follow. At the ringing of the bell, come to mountain.
In the crowded single aisle of the market, shopping co-existed nicely even with this dramatic dancers move, and the shoppers shopped on.
However, when Oliveira began a chant of seven deep oms, which she characterized as the sound of the universe, the yoga mobsters picked it up and the sound grew into a quiet crescendo. From Chapel Street to Wooster the commercial air in the market appeared to shift. Attention was being paid.
The yoga routine, which lasted no more than four minutes, culminated in all the participants bowing deeply and saying namaste, whose meaning is I share my inner light with your inner light, according to OIiveira.
For years Oliveira provided yoga classes for kids often in after-school programs, for which there was not opportunity for sustained follow-up. Suddenly staff at the after-school program and parents wanted it [too], she said.
So she founded 108 Monkeys. The number embraces infinity and nothingness, Buddha described the chattering mind as a monkey. The organization seeks to spread the word and increase the opportunity for people to participate in yoga. Its not a studio but an outreach vehicle for existing studios like Fresh Yoga, Balanced Yoga, and the many others in town reach more people and people who may not be able to pay fees. Next year a prime focus of 108 Monkeys is going to be the schools, especially at-risk kids.
At its core, the ability to engage in a violent act is a disconnect to your own feelings and to others. If you understand we are all connected and your act comes back, then you would have the empathy that would not allow you to act violently against another, she said.
Eight city yoga studios were represented in the flash mob. Through 108 Monkeys, they will be offering free yoga every Saturday night at College Woods Park in East Rock and 6 p.m. and every Friday at noon a the Hill farmers market. Click here for the groups activities that includes this fall bringing yoga to the New Haven Boys and Girls Club, The Connecticut Mental Health Center, and the Clifford Beers Clinic.
Read the original here:
Yoga Monkeys Strike
Fan Reaction: Should Yoga Be an Olympic Sport?
Posted: at 1:21 pm
Yoga has already turned competitive, and the National Yoga Asana Championship was held on March 2-4. Still, many want yoga to turn into an Olympic sport, such as USA Yoga and the Yoga Federation. The Yoga Federation is requesting that the International Olympic committee think about adding yoga to the Olympic games.
Many don't like the idea of yoga being competitive since it originally was meant to be relaxing and noncompetitive.
I feel that yoga would make a great addition to the Olympic sports for the following reasons:
Judging is done on the yoga poses (asanas) alone
Those who chose to compete will be judged on the postures rather than any spiritual aspect of yoga. In this sense, yoga is no different than competing for points in gymnastics, figure skating or any other sport.
Yoga would make a great Olympic sport to watch
Just as it is appealing to watch those who have mastered swimming, basketball and other such sports, it is intriguing to view those who have perfected the art of yoga with grace, flexibility and strength.
Yoga will be recognized as a sport rather than a form of exercise
Many people do not view yoga as a sport but rather as a form of exercise. Yoga can be very relaxing, but certain poses can be very challenging as well. It would be great for it to be recognized as an actual sport since it requires strength, flexibility, concentration and discipline. Mastering poses can be just as challenging as mastering any other sport.
It would break the stigma that yoga is only for women
National Senior Health and Fitness Day Interview – Video
Posted: at 7:20 am
Read more:
National Senior Health and Fitness Day Interview - Video
ALL DONE FITNESS MOTIVATIONAL TRAINING – Video
Posted: at 7:20 am
Read more from the original source:
ALL DONE FITNESS MOTIVATIONAL TRAINING - Video
Health and fitness magazines take different approaches when motivating women and men
Posted: at 7:20 am
I'm one of those women who likes reading men's health and fitness magazines. Though they all promise bodies and sex lives that most of us will never have, I'm drawn to the funny, self-deprecating tone, the functional workout tips and the emphasis on sweat, competition and strength training.
Yes, women's magazines have these elements but on a vastly diminished scale. They're fluffier, in part because beauty products and clothes are considered health-related, but also because women are still plagued by the irrational fear of "bulking up."
We won't get huge without added testosterone, but some magazines still perpetuate the notion that men should build insanely huge muscles and women need to lose fat.
A recent Muscle & Fitness magazine cover, for example, promised "75 of the Best Muscle Building Exercises."
By contrast, Muscle & Fitness Hers, the female counterpart to the bodybuilder mag, featured thinspiration, including "The Skinny on Fat Loss" and "The Best Natural Appetite Suppressants."
The majority of advertisements touted fat-burning supplements, stimulants and weight loss products.
Men's Health and Women's Health magazines have plenty of overlapping content.
Both recognize that both genders compete in marathons and triathlons, want great abs in 15 minutes and need nutritional guidance. But the editors use considerably different voices to reach their male and female readers.
"For Women's Health, it's a confiding, challenging, sisterly thing -- equal parts encouragement, sympathy and advice. It comes from a place of 'just us girls,'" said David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men's Health and editorial director of Women's Health.
"Guys tend to be a bit more bracing with their counsel, with a healthy dose of humor -- plus self-denigration -- thrown into the mix," Zinczenko added. "First we laugh at ourselves, then we laugh at you, then we deliver the goods straight up, with an expert chaser."
View original post here:
Health and fitness magazines take different approaches when motivating women and men