Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I was looking through my old Seventeen magazines from the 80’s and I found this article in the November 1987 issue about Aerobikata. Actress, Christine Harnos, demonstrates the cool new workout craze from New York that was supposed to be a mixture of aerobics and karate.

Christine Harnos was best known for her part playing Jennifer Greene, the wife of Mark Greene on ER. The only thing I’ve seen her in was a guest spot on Star Trek: Voyager. It’s good to know that she went on to bigger and better things than Aerobikata.

The “workout craze” however doesn’t seem to exist on the Internet. Far from Japanese, the word aerobikata is Finnish and simply means “to do aerobics.”

• aerobikata – Wiktionary

As non-existent as the craze may have been, the moves shown in the magazine are pretty interesting and will probably get your heart rate going if you give them a try.

I especially like number 11. It’s the perfect depiction of a hamstring/calf stretch as you’ll ever see. Keep your back straight and you should feel the stretch in your straightened leg.

Whenever I read the fitness magazines of today, I’m reminded of articles like these from twenty years ago. Sure, it might look like the new fitness craze now, but in twenty years, it’ll be as silly as Aerobikata is today.

The brilliant Wendy Bumgardner at About.com has another article that really got me thinking.

• 10 Ways Walking Can Land You in Prison

There are things I didn’t even think about on that list:

• Jaywalking
• Trespassing
• Weapons Violations
• Destruction of Public Property
• Theft
• Public Urination/Indecent Exposure
• Assault
• Battery
• Leash and Scooper Laws
• Loitering

When you list them out like this, it seems like a no-brainer, but when Wendy goes into detail about all the ways you could accidentally break the law, I had a whole new appreciation for my daily walks through the neighborhood. From ground scores to desperately seeking a Porta-Potty, there are ten ways that you could land yourself in a cell. Check out her article and you’ll be as surprised as I was.

• 10 Ways Walking Can Land You in Prison

• Just completed a 2.98 mi bike ride with @runkeeper. Check it out! http://rnkpr.com/a98aeu #RunKeeper #
• Just completed a 0.54 mi bike ride with @runkeeper. Check it out! http://rnkpr.com/a98a2z #RunKeeper #
• Just completed a 2.49 mi walk with @runkeeper. Check it out! http://rnkpr.com/a918wi #RunKeeper #

I love this video of this little hamster just chowing down on the tiniest piece of broccoli.

The next time you’re dreading adding vegetables to your meal, remember this little guy and eagerly get some broccoli into your cheek pouches.

Video via: Check the Feet Flail at 1:05 — Cute Overload

I saw this advertisement from 1971 and I immediately smiled to myself.

It’s an advertisement for the hilariously styled, TrimJeans. The ad says:

Trim-Jeans with the Fabulous New Sauna Belt

Guaranteed to reduce your waist, abdomen, hips and thighs a total of from 6 to 9 inches in just 3 days or your money refunded

I laugh at this ad because I KNOW that TrimJeans didn’t reduce ANY part of my grandma’s body when she wore them. I know from experience that they just made her look silly when she wore them.

On the other hand, these sorts of products are still around today. Take the Avon/Curves Trimming Shorts:

When I posted an entry about them last year (Curves and Avon Embrace Quackery), they were staunchly defended by the Avon community, despite the experts in the field who say otherwise:

• Neoprene weight loss shorts? – Yahoo! Answers

Fat is not melted away by warm clothing…it is only lost when consumed by the body as a source of fuel. Do cardio for over 20 minutes and you’ll start to burn fat. The sweat under your shorts is just water trying to keep you cool…not fat.

Why are we so eager to laugh at 1971 when the SAME things are being marketed today? Sure, the neoprene shorts don’t look as silly as the TrimJeans, but there is nothing funny about their false promises.

TrimJeans Ad Via: LiveJournal: TrimJeans, 1971

I was watching this video of a cat jumping and playing the other day and I suddenly became sad.

Watching that cat jump over and over looked like so much fun. When did exercise become work? I remember skateboarding around and around my block all day long. When did I stop enjoying that sort of thing? Right now, the closest I come to enjoying my exercise is when I’m riding my bike. Of course, I’ve found a way to turn that into work as well. Logging miles and times, I analyze my workouts to death instead of just enjoying them.

I’ve decided that from now on, I’m just going to ENJOY my bike rides. Just like this cat jumping after the toy, I’m going to stop worrying about times and hill intervals and just ride for FUN.

Video via: VIDEO: Leaping Savannah Kitteh – Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures of Cats – I Can Has Cheezburger?

I bought myself a subscription to Weight Watchers Magazine on Zinio and it’s one of those rare magazines that I read from cover to cover. The September/October issue was pretty good. I really liked the interview with Jennifer Hudson. Every time I feel like I just can’t get to goal, it feels good to read about someone who DID get to goal using Weight Watchers. There are lots of success stories in the magazine, but because Jennifer is famous, I liked her story the best this month.

My favorite article, however, was about hunger called “Are You Really Hungry?”

Having a checklist to go through every time I feel like eating is really helpful and I love this article the best.

There was also an article about jeans that inspired me to buy a pair of skinny jeans. I’ve wanted some ever since they got popular, but I thought I would look stupid in them, so I never even tried them on. After seeing their plus-sized model looking so hot in hers, I actually have hope that they might not look so bad on me. I guess it’s time to take a trip to the store…

Weight Watchers Magazine was great this month and totally worth every penny.

I bought myself a subscription to Oxygen Magazine and every once in a while they have something interesting to talk about.

The September 2010 Issue had an article about protein bars and how they are just expensive candy bars. They then gave a few recipes for protein and energy bars that you could make yourself for less calories, more protein and FAR less money.

The most interesting recipe was the one for Bulge-Free Brownies. Each brownie costs 51 cents to make and they are only 100 calories apiece. I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but it looks interesting.

I also love the Stretch Your Way Strong article. It gives detailed descriptions and pictures for eight stretches. Over the years, I’ve tried to describe and take photos of many of these stretches, so I know how hard it is to get it right. They did an excellent job on that article and make the whole magazine worth it with just four pages of detailed photos.

I HATED the cover of the September 2010 issue. The model Alicia Marie, looks more like a body builder than a specimen of a healthy female. I wish they would show more normal women in this magazine. Seeing women like Alicia just makes me want to give up. Oxygen Magazine has a long way to go to become the type of magazine I’d read from cover to cover, but at least there are a couple of articles each month that make it worth it.

Fitness Magazine provided me with a complimentary subscription in exchange for a monthly review of their magazine.

The September 2010 issue had an article that I really liked called, “Excuse-Proof Your Diet: Chronic Cheaters, Here’s Help!” It was an amazing article, giving you tips to avoid cheating and how to talk yourself out of cheating. Here are the excuses that they tackled:

• I’m on vacation
• I have PMS
• But he’s eating all that
• What’s a movie without Milk Duds
• I’m so stressed out
• I’ve been good all week
• I haven’t eaten all day
• I need a pick-me-up
• I’m too busy to eat right

The cost of the entire magazine was made up in that ONE article, so get yourself to the grocery store and buy your copy today!

This is where I stopped the first time I tried to ride up the hill. I caught up with Mike, panting and dripping with sweat. We had taken a ride to a restaurant at the bottom of the hill and pumping up with a full tummy was harder than I had expected it to be. We rested for about five minutes before finishing our ride home.

That was three months ago.

Today, I stopped. I was panting and moist with sweat, but this time, I stopped to snap a photo. Could I have made it up the hill without pausing? Yes. It’s still a hard hill that kicks my butt EVERY time I do it, but today I realized that I’m stronger than I was three months ago.

I need to remember this feeling the next time I’m tempted to skip my daily workout.