Monday, May 3, 2010

Really? Well, um...sure!

According to the latest issue of Men's Health Magazine, Cincinnati is one of America's thinnest cities. While I'm always happy when my city gets props, to be honest, this accolade is a bit of a head scratcher. Here's how MH said they ranked the cities:

To arrive at our rankings, we calculated the percentage of people who are overweight, the percentage with type 2 diabetes, the percentage who haven't left the couch in a month (CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System); the money spent on junk food (Bureau of Labor Statistics); and finally, the number of people who ate fast food nine or more times in a month (Mediamark Research).
 Seeing that survey data makes up a big chuck of the findings, I'm wondering if Cincinnati should really get the "America's Most Lying City" award.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Another Pig Has Come And Gone

Today was the annual running of Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon and where was I? In bed sleeping. Hopefully this will be the last year of that as I have made it my goal to do the half-marathon next year. The fact that it is 364 days away and that I'm on week 2 of the Couch to 5k makes it seem so far away, but I know from past experience that it will be here before you know it.

Kettlebell



I've been on the hunt for a good workout that can be done at home with the least amount of equipment possible, and I think I've found it. Welcome to the world of kettlebells.

Kettlebells originated in Russia a loooong time ago (1700's) but only recently gained popularity in the states. The main benefit that they offer that regular dumbbells do not is their ability to be swung. The fact that the center of mass of a kettlebell extends beyond the user's hand means that more muscles are utilized in controlling its movement as compared to the lifting of a dumbbell. 

If you are interested in seeing what kettlebell exercises look like, I recommend checking out Lauren's blog. Lauren is a personal trainer that specializes in kettlebell workouts and has several videos available to view from her site and youtube channel.

I've already started doing her "Quick Fat Burning Kettlebell Workout" and have been pleased with it so far.