October 5, 2025

Food Safety Tips by Heather Mangieri, MS, RDN, CSSD

May 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Be Mindful this Weekend by Using Proper Food Safety Habits

Who’s ready to get their grill on? The weekend is just around the corner and thousands of us will be getting together with friends and family and cooking outside. Whether you’re the host of the gathering or you’re headed to a picnic planned by someone else, you’ll want to make sure the food you offer is properly prepared to prevent food-borne illness.  Be mindful of the entire food preparation process; from the grill we use to cook the burgers to the dishtowel we use to dry our hands to the plate we carry raw foods on. To keep you, your friends and the entire family safe, be sure to use proper techniques when preparing, serving and re-handling foods.

•         Keep equipment safe- If you have not cleaned your grill since last year, now is the time. Scrub the grill, outdoor utensils, coolers and other containers with hot soapy water before cooking your favorite summertime foods.

Your cooking equipment also includes your apron & dishtowel. These items can harbor bacteria if you are using them to clean up spills, wipe raw juices or wipe dirty hands. Consider paper towels for drying hands and wipes for cleaning spills.

Lastly, avoid cross-contamination, one of the most common concerns during outdoor grilling season. Keep raw foods and ready-to-eat foods separate. Be sure to use a new plate to place prepared foods. Never brush meats to marinate with the same utensil you brushed raw foods. If you’re headed to a picnic, bring lots of extra plates, utensils, paper towels and make sure there is extra soap and water for keeping hands clean.

•         Prepare food safely- this includes any prep work that is being done in preparation for your picnic or party. Be sure to wash hands before, during and after preparation. Make sure you never partially pre-cook meat or poultry before transporting. If the item must be precooked, cook it until it is done, cool, pack in the cooler and then re-heat as necessary.

Be sure to use a meat thermometer to check that food has been cooked to a proper internal temperature. You can’t rely on color, smell, taste or texture alone to determine if meat is thoroughly cooked. A food thermometer also prevents you from overcooking meat and poultry. Never reuse marinates that have come into contact with raw meats.

•         Keep food safe after cooking- The higher the temperature, the less time foods can remain out of refrigeration. The typical two hour rule does not apply in hot weather (greater than 90 degrees F). Rather, it gets cut to 1-hour. Keep cold foods on ice so that they stay below 40◦ F or hot foods hot (over 140◦ F).

You don’t want to be remembered for the host with the dirty grill, or the person that prepared the burgers that made everyone sick.  For more food safety information visit www.homefoodsafety.org.

Heather Mangieri is a national media spokesperson, registered dietitian and owner of Nutrition CheckUp in Pittsburgh, PA. For more information visit http://www.nutritioncheckup.com. You can follow Heather on Twitter @nutritioncheck and join her facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/NutritionCheckUp

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Summer and Kids: How to Stay Organized by Coach Juli

May 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

If you are a parent of a student-aged child you may not be as excited for school to end and summer to begin as your child. For kids it is a time for long lazy mornings, random meal times, playing outside in the middle of the day, and mid-week sleepovers, but for parents it’s another story all together!

For the adults in the equation, it’s days of interrupted routines, minimal structure, bored children, and often the need to work with children being left to their own devices during the weekdays.

Staying organized for the summer months takes a bit more planning because of the lack of structure when school isn’t in session. Start by finding out what activities your kids wish to do during the summer days. If they want to sit around and color pictures all day, that’s great, but if they want to do things that require you to drive them around everywhere you might need to work on that with them and come up with a reasonable schedule that works for everyone.

Don’t panic! Here are three tips for staying organized for the summer:
1.    Keep easy to grab snacks and small meals for children so they can feed themselves when they are hungry. Family mealtimes may be a just a few weekly dinners, so for breakfasts and lunches they can learn to fend for themselves – with your providing good food in the cupboards & fridge.
2.    Make a list and post it on the fridge entitled: “Things I can do” that you compile with the children so you don’t have that constant “Mom, I’m bored!” whine coming from down the hall every few hours.
3.    If you have really young kids, you might want to secure a ‘mother’s helper’ over the summer to keep the kids safe and entertained while you are home or running errands. Jr. and Sr. high school students who can’t work out in the community yet often love these opportunities.

Attempt to keep some structure to the days as best as you can as children tend to do better with some routines.

Coach Juli is a Professional Certified Coach with a specialty in Productivity specifically those with ADHD. She works with individuals at any stage of life who find themselves stuck and wish assistance and skills to better organize their lives both in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to www.coachjuli.com.

 

 

 

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Weight Loss Do’s and Don’ts by Lori Rosenthal, MS, RD, CDN

May 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Four Infallible Weight Loss Dos & Don’ts

Plan Ahead - In the game of life, when we have a plan we are more successful. So, why would it be any different when it comes to weight loss? Meal planning gives us the opportunity to make healthy choices before life gets in our way (which it often does.) When we are already hungry, our judgment becomes clouded, often leading us to opt for what’s convenient instead of healthy. Planning ahead takes this out of the equation, which allows us to make smarter decisions that won’t leave us feeling guilty and dis-empowered. Need added incentive to plan ahead? Meal planning has also been found to decrease stress and save money.

Be Mindful - Eating mindfully means being aware of why, what and how much we are eating. Begin by asking, “Am I really hungry?” It sounds simple, but it is an effective way to avoid emotional eating, eating out of boredom and grazing (for example, snacking throughout the day.) During meals, focus on the meal. Turn off the TV. Put away your phone. Close the laptop. Studies show that when we take the time to chew, taste and savor our food, we naturally eat less and enjoy more.

Eat Your Calories, Don’t Drink Them - Sugary drinks have been a hot topic over the past year and rightly so. Eating and drinking are two different sensations. Calories from drinks, including fresh juice, add up very quickly, yet do nothing to curb our appetite. By swapping out juice and soda for sugar-free drinks, we can cut out hundreds of unwanted calories. As with eating, we must enjoy what we are drinking for the change to stick. To add flavor, but not calories try infusing water with fruits, vegetables or even ginger.

Don’t Skip Meals– Despite popular belief, we need to eat to lose weight. Skipping meals slows our metabolism, causing our body to hold on tight to every calorie we put in our mouth. This is often referred to as “starvation mode.”  Eating three meals and two to three snacks picks up our metabolism, facilitating weight loss. Meal skipping also leads to poor decision making, fast eating and larger portions. Three weight loss no-nos. If we never skip meals, we never get to the point of “starving,” enabling us to make smarter choices and control our portion sizes.

Lori Rosenthal, MS, RD, CDN
Bariatric Dietitian
Department of Surgery
Montefiore Medical Center
Follow Lori on Twitter via @LoRoRD

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5 Tips to Better Racing by Kristie Cranford, CPT

May 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Knowing how to race is just as important as logging all your training. There are specific actions to take, and just as important, specific actions to avoid before you toe the line. Here are your 5 expert tips to better racing:

Do train within your ability

If you truly want to exceed in racing, do train within your ability.  Find the race distance and estimated time that fits within your current or achievable ability.  Training for a pace you cannot realistically achieve can lead to burnout and injury.  Training for a distance your life schedule does not allow time for can lead to burnout and unnecessary stress.  You want to enjoy the training process, not stress about it.  Set yourself up for success, not failure.

Don’t do anything new race day

Experiment with food, drink, clothing, shoes, and everything well before race day.  Have it all down to a science.  You want to be a practiced well-oiled machine race day and not risk digestive, energy or clothing issues.

Don’t start out too fast

Don’t burst out of the gate with all you have, once that energy is expelled you will never get it back.  On the back end of the race you’ll come up short with the extra energy burned during an over exuberant start.

Do pick the right race for you

If you have a specific goal in mind, find a race that will help you to reach your goal.  Find one with an optimal course and entrant size to assist you.  A race that is too crowded or has a lot of elevation challenges may be a fun race, but may put too many odds against you.

Do allow for rest between races

Allow your body recovery time between races.  Your body gets stronger and repairs at rest and recovery.  Too much racing will lead to declining performance, burnout and injury.

This article is written by Kristie Cranford, CPT. A wife, mother, multiple cancer survivor and competitive athlete, Kristie is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer as well as a Certified Running/Triathlon Coach for PRS FIT. Living in Las Vegas, she is 2012 Coolibar sponsored athlete, 2013 Training Peaks Ambassador and Raw Elements Sunscreen Ambassador. Contact information: Email: CoachKristieLV@yahoo.com, http://www.coachkristie.com, www.prsfit.com.

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Fitness on the Road by Brett Klika C.S.C.S

May 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

You’ve worked hard to establish a workout routine. You have your running routes, your favorite pieces of equipment in the gym, and a consistent program that’s been delivering results! What happens when you have to take this “show” on the road and leave your usual routine? The good news is, “the show can go on!”  You just need some adaptable, fun, and effective exercise strategies that can be done anywhere.

Below are common features found in parks, rest stops, and other outdoor areas that can be used to create a challenging exercise program. As always, consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.

Park Bench

1.    Push-ups
Depending on your level, you can put your hands on the bench (beginner) or your feet (advanced) and perform push-ups.  To make them even more challenging, lift one leg off the ground or bench while you do them.
2.    Step-Downs
Start by standing on the bench with both feet.  Attempt to step down to the ground slowly with one foot, only allowing the heel to touch the ground before standing back up.  Touch the ground as lightly as possible.  Repeat on both legs.

Parking Stall Curbs

1.    Balance squats
Standing on the parking stall curb so your feet are perpendicular to the curb, perform body-weight squats without falling forward or backward.
2.    Calf raises
Standing on the parking stall curb so your feet are perpendicular to the curb and heels are off the curb, raise up to our “tip toes” and return to your start position.
3.    Quick steps
Start by standing on the ground, facing the curb.  Step up with the right foot then the left foot as fast as possible.  Repeat as fast as possible stepping down as well.  Repeat at the highest rate possible.
 

Put the above exercises together and combine them with running, jogging, swimming, or any other activity to get a fun, diverse, and effective workout on the road!

Make sure to warm-up by jogging, skipping, or moving at a moderate intensity for about 5 minute prior to starting your program.

 

Brett Klika C.S.C.S., Director of Athletics at Fitness Quest 10 and founder of www.brettklika.com, is a world- renowned human performance specialist, motivational speaker, author, and educator. He uses this knowledge and experience to motivate individuals and audiences around the world through his writing, speaking, DVD’s, and personal correspondence. For more information and video on exercises, programs, and any other information on losing fat and creating the body you have always wanted, check out The Underground Workout Manual – Exercise and Fat Loss in the Real World at www.undergroundworkoutmanual.com.

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Holistic Health Defined by Rachael Roehmholdt

May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

When you think of the term health, what comes to mind? Do you immediately think of what you eat or whether or not you exercise? What about if you’re fulfilled on a deep level each and every day? Or if you have a desire to do something bigger than yourself when you get out of bed every morning?

This is exactly what the holistic health approach takes into account. Holistic health is the idea that your health is not a separate entity from any other area of your life. It takes into account all facets of your life and how they all work in an interconnected fashion to create who you are – in your body, your health, and your life as a whole.

What’s different about a holistic approach to getting healthy is that you can look into each and every area of your life to look for improvements, as opposed to just assuming that eating more fruits and vegetables every day and getting moving will make you healthier.

The basic idea is that your health isn’t just determined by what you eat every day and whether or not you made time to exercise. It also is affected by your job, and whether you enjoy or dread going to it every day. Your relationships are considered and if they support and nourish you or drain you to your very core. Even your spirituality can have an affect on your health. Feeling a sense of being connected to something bigger than yourself or making a difference in the world can change how you interact with the world. All of these things, including the food you eat and the exercise you get each day work together to determine how healthy you are and how you feel on a daily basis.

You can eat all the right things and exercise every day and still be unfulfilled in your career and relationships. Or you could have an amazing life in all other areas than your diet and be healthier than any marathon runner out there. Health is subjective so take a holistic approach and look for areas in your life that can be improved upon – even if it’s not in your diet or exercise routines.

Rachael Roehmholdt is a certified holistic health coach and founder of Be More Healthful. With a passion for good food and living a healthful and balanced life, she believes that small changes to our everyday lives can set us up for a lifetime of health and happiness.

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Friendly Competition? By Mollie Millington

May 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Participation in organized races, from 5Ks to half-marathons, has increased tremendously in the last few years.  People now have triathlons on their bucket lists and run marathon to raise much needed funds for charities. 

Why should you get involved?

Increases motivation- If you have trouble finding a reason to get up and run in the morning (or after work), a race will give you purpose.  It provides a deadline which will motivate you to train within the time frame allotted.  If you register for a charity team, that is another powerful motivator to complete the race as your donors expect you to do so.

Structures training- When you have a specific distance and/or discipline to work on, your training will need to be tailored.  Working with a coach or personal trainer, they can provide you with a schedule that will take the guesswork out of your preparation.  It makes it easier when you can just hop on a bike or lace up your sneakers without worrying about what you need to do. You will have a time or distance to complete and just need to get it done.

Provides you with a new community- Not all of your friends will understand why you are leaving the party early to get up and run on a Saturday morning. When you befriend other runners in the park or on the track, you will meet like-minded people who know exactly what you are going through. These people enjoy the same thing you do- exercise and competition. They might also be good motivators and mentors in the end.

Improves your fitness- This is a no brainer.  If you start running, swimming, or cycling regularly, you will feel healthier.  This will improve your mood, increase strength, decrease stress, and lower blood pressure.

Sense of pride and achievement- When you have your first medal around your neck, it will be an amazing feeling.  You will think back to when you started and how much you have overcome to cross the finish line.  A smile will be on your face for days.  You will feel unstoppable and ready to register for your next event, and maybe even bold enough to increase the distance.

Registering for a race can be scary but it can also be unbelievable motivation to exercise regularly.  It will help focus your exercise sessions, introduce you to new people, make you fitter, and give you a sense of accomplishment the second you cross the finish line.  If you haven’t done so yet, find a race near you and register today.  Look for a realistic distance and be sure to give yourself enough time to train properly.

By Mollie Millington. For more information, go to www.ptmollie.com or via Twitter @PTMollie.

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Should Kids Lift Weights? By Brett Klika C.S.C.S.

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

“How old should my child be to lift weights?”

In working with a large number of youth, this is one of the more common questions I get from concerned parents. Urban legends of stunted growth, fractured growth plates, and prematurely inflated physiques have made parents, and society for that matter, reticent to involve youth in weight training.

The fact is, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that there is a perfect chronological age to start weight training. Research has not demonstrated any negative health consequences for weight training in youth, assuming proper movement is introduced and enforced concurrently with appropriate progressive increases in training load.

Despite what myths have been created around the subject, the current data suggests youth weight training injuries are primarily due to equipment accidents (weight falling on them, tripping in the weight room, etc.) or overzealous coaching rendering improper program introduction and progression.

Proper resistance training in youth has been demonstrated to improve fitness, favorably affect bone density, improve movement ability, and decrease the likelihood of athletic injury. Weight training is merely loaded movement.  More simply put, it’s challenged movement.  If basic movement becomes easy, we can challenge by adding something extra to continue to provide a training effect.

If a child can do a squat pattern perfectly for repetitions, holding a 2- pound medicine ball adds additional load.  Once they can overcome this load with proper movement, they can hold a 4- pound ball.  All semantic hubbub aside, this is weight training.  One doesn’t have to be lifting barbells and dumbells to be training with weight. If a child can’t do a squat pattern perfectly, adding additional load would make no sense.  They have demonstrated they do not need any additional challenge.  The movement pattern itself has provided enough load.

The critical questions in regards to youth and weight training become:
1.    Are they able to focus on the proper execution of task?
2.    Are they able to execute and repeat an unloaded task with proper movement and cadence?
3.    Are they mature and coordinated enough to respond to coaching cues?
4.    Are they interested in weight training?
5.    Is the person in charge of their program experienced and knowledgeable about movement and progression?

If the answer to any of the above is “no” it doesn’t matter the age of the human, they are not ready for weight training.  In this case, I would focus on merely learning how to move properly through a variety of movement patterns without additional challenge or load.

The best answer to “When should my child begin lifting weights” is “when they need to.”  When a child is able to focus on an organized training in which they execute and repeat all of the involved skills and drills correctly, add a challenge and slowly progress over time.

Brett Klika C.S.C.S., Director of Athletics at Fitness Quest 10 and founder of www.brettklika.com, is a world- renowned human performance specialist, motivational speaker, author, and educator. He uses this knowledge and experience to motivate individuals and audiences around the world through his writing, speaking, DVD’s, and personal correspondence. For more information and video on exercises, programs, and any other information on losing fat and creating the body you have always wanted, check out The Underground Workout Manual – Exercise and Fat Loss in the Real World at www.undergroundworkoutmanual.com.

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5 Factors for Triathlon Fitness written by Mark Kleanthous

April 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

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5 Factors for Triathlon Fitness written by Mark Kleanthous
 

There are five main factors that contribute to fitness in triathlon – aerobic threshold endurance, nutrition, economy, strength and recovery – but your approach to them has to be balanced. Neglect one and your performance will suffer.
 

Aerobic threshold endurance

The use of intense aerobic-threshold training (which effectively, means training at your predicted triathlon pace) is perhaps the best way to get fit – the more you do the easier the training session gets and the faster you become. However, the problem is that we have a limited tolerance to it, and the result can be over-training. Therefore, not all your training should consist of intense, aerobic-threshold work-outs, also known as a ‘key work-outs’. Unfortunately, it is a common mistake to do too many of them with more than eight weeks to go before a triathlon.

Nutrition

In order to compete successfully in any triathlon event you must be able to load your body with all the fuel necessary to propel yourself across the required distance at the desired speed. But this factor isn’t only important when racing, because in order to complete your training successfully your body must be constantly carrying the correct amount of fuel. By that I mean the type of carbohydrate that can be accessed and fed to the muscles during training, as well as when racing.

Economy
 
Top triathletes all have one thing in common – they don’t waste energy doing things they don’t need to do. Having 10% extra energy is not good if you use up 15% more running compared to a fellow competitor. Economy of movement is something that can be learned early and needs to become automatic.

Strength

Strength is important in all sports. However, what is required in triathlon is sport-specific strength to the level required. For example, resistance training using hand paddles, cycling up hills and running off road is more specific than weight training.

Recovery

Full-time athletes are obviously more successful than those who work full time because they can dedicate more time to training, but another equally important reason is because they are able to take more recovery time. Most injuries and illnesses are caused more by the lack of consistent sleep, regular massages, healthy food, stretches and cool downs than anything else. These recovery essentials  not only help you recover from work-outs, but more importantly they allow you to tolerate a greater amount of training. Fitness is about being able to recover as you train; the quicker the recovery the greater the effect it has on fitness.

This article is written by Mark Kleanthous. Mark has competed in triathlons for 30 consecutive seasons and crossed the finish line in more than 450 triathlons including 35 ironman events. He is author of The Complete Book of Triathlon Training and is a full time sports and nutrition coach. Mark can be contacted via www.ironmate.co.uk

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At-Home Core Strength by Chanda Fetter

April 22, 2013 By 1 Comment

3 Effective Ways to Strengthen Your Core  Muscles At Home

We can’t always make time for the gym, sometimes we have to rely on the space and items we have around our home to get those important exercises done.  The following three exercises will help strengthen your core, tighten your waistline, reduce back pain and give you a boost of energy!

Sitting V with Trunk Rotation – Grab a bag of potatoes or fruit, something that might equate to 8-10 lbs.  Sit on the ground and wedge your feet under the couch to secure them in place.  Sit up tall and hinge back from the hips to engage your abdominals.  Be sure you don’t hinge back too far as you don’t want to over recruit your hip flexor muscles, nor do you want to load your lower back.  Stay at a safe angle that allows maximum recruitment of your abdominal wall.  Take your weight and rotate side to side making sure to stay evenly planted on your tail.  While you are performing this exercise be sure to tighten your abs and breathe deep.  Know that this exercise can be performed with just your body weight as well for less intensity by simply crossing your arms on your chest.   Perform until you find fatigue in your abdominals then rest for a few breaths and repeat 3x.

Back Extensions – Take a few pillows and place them on the floor.  Lie on your stomach so the pillows rest under your hips.  Wedge your feet under the couch and place your hands behind your head.  Lengthen out of your spine and inhale, then exhale and lift your chest off the ground to find a position just beyond neutral.  You’ll want to be sure you pull the shoulder blades down your back so you’re not taking weight into your neck and shoulders.  Keep your gluteal muscles relaxed and feel the muscles along the sides of your spine tighten and you extend your back.  Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps with a 3 second hold at the top.

Plank with Rotation Knee Tucks – Take an ordinary kitchen towel or pillowcase and place it under your feet.  Assume a plank position up on your hands, tighten your abdominals and make sure to keep your legs zipped together as one.   Take a deep breath in and as you exhale pull your knees across your body and into your right elbow then your left.  Do this a total of 8-10x keeping a nice pace.  Notice that your hips will lift slightly as you pull the knees across your body.  This is an advanced exercise so know that holding a static plank is a great alternative.  Planks can be done on your hands, your forearms, on your toes or on your knees.

By Chanda Fetter
IM=X Pilates, Owner and Master Trainer. Contact Chanda via chanda@imxsb.net, www.imxsb.net or 805-687-4692.

 

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