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Thursday September 24, 2009

Jazzercise, the forerunner of dance-based aerobics programs, was conceived in 1969 by a professional dancer named Judi Sheppard Missett. Dance in all its forms is a great way to get and stay in shape and to loosen up joints and muscles. Besides, dancing is fun. This week's focus is on Jazzercise: Dance Yourself into Shape.

In weight training the muscles should be work from largest to smallest. If you already have enough size in most of the large muscles then work your weakest body part first. The muscles should be worked in this order: quads, chest, back, hamstrings, shoulders, calves, triceps, biceps, forearms/wrists, abs because, to get the most gains the large muscles have to be worked hard enough to promote growth. If, for example, you worked your triceps to failure then tried to bench press, to work the chest, your triceps would be worn out before your chest worked hard enough to grow.

Avoid working abs before doing Squats. The abs are a very important link in doing squats, they shouldn't be tired before doing squats. If triceps are worked before the chest make sure to lower the weight when working the chest.

Hold the right Perspective

One day a father and his rich family took his young son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night in the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

Very good, Dad!"

"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.

"Yeah!" "And what did you learn?"

The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon.

When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.

His son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are!" Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude toward life, you've got everything!

You can't buy any of these things. You can have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!.
 

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"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gingerbread

Ingredients:

• 1Canola oil spray

• 2 cups cake flour

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 Tbsp. ginger

• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 cup dark molasses

• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 6 Tbsp. canola oil

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 cup boiling water

Direction:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat inside of a 10-inch sponge-cake type deep pan (12-cup capacity) with canola oil spray. Sift together flour, sugar, spices, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.

• In a separate, large bowl, whisk together molasses, applesauce, oil and egg until well blended. Add dry ingredients and stir until well blended. Whisk in boiling water.

• Pour batter into baking pan. Bake until cake begins to pull away from pan and tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack and cool in pan 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a platter and cool to lukewarm warm, about 15 minutes.

• Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature, with cider sauce, if desired, or whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Makes: 10 servings.

Nutritional Information:

Per serving: 134 calories, 5 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 22 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, <1 g dietary fiber, 162 mg sodium.

Jazzercise: Dance Yourself into Shape

Energetic dances and dance-based exercise programs are fast-moving and fun. Dance in all its forms is a great way to get and stay in shape and to loosen up joints and muscles. Besides, dancing is fun.

Jazzercise combines elements of dance, resistance training, Pilates, yoga, kick-boxing and more to create truly effective programs for people of every age and fitness level. Increase your muscle tone, flexibility, balance, strength, and endurance using easy to follow movements.

Jazzercise, the forerunner of dance-based aerobics programs, was conceived in 1969 by a professional dancer named Judi Sheppard Missett. Like so many dance-based programs that have come along since then, it was launched in a dance studio rather than in a gym. In 1972, she was teaching it in a YMCA gym, and it spread quickly. It was the first program to franchise its instructors, and although it is now a multimillion-dollar corporation, Missett still leads classes and choreographs a new routine every 10 weeks to keep classes varied and lively. Classes use a musical medley of jazz, pop, country, funk, and classics as a backdrop for an ever-evolving routine.

The basic format is a warm-up, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise that's a blend of jazz dance and studio exercises, a strength segment using hand weights, and a cool-down with stretching. Jazzercise formats now include Jazzercise Plus, which is similar to the original but in a 90-minute version; Simply Jazzercise, a toned-down program for beginners; Jazzercise Lite, which is for beginners, seniors, pregnant women, and significantly overweight exercises; and even musical chairs Jazzercise, a seated exercise using light weights or resistance for people of all ages with limited mobility.
 

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