It is recommended that you take at least 10,000 steps per day.  Average Americans are taking about 3,000 steps per day.  As a culture we need to walk more!

We need to make sure we’re moving daily.  Look for ways to increase your step count.  When can you walk as opposed to drive?  Do you really need to drive everywhere you go, can you walk?

Can you park farther from the entrance to stores?

Can you park farther from the entrance to your work?

Get a pedometer and start counting your steps, it’s a self full-filling prophecy, as soon as you see how little you’re walking – you begin to look for ways to increase your step count.

Pedometers are a great motivator!  Remember – get to steppin’!

By David Roddenberry

Health club memberships in the U.S. have leveled out over the last 20-years while the obesity epidemic has ballooned. In light of this disparity, many health clubs are increasingly adopting unconventional programs to bolster their membership base and better motivate the marketplace to get fit, trim and healthy.

“Amid the growing rate of obesity in the U.S., health clubs are continually challenged to drive new memberships and inspire current members to visit their facilities for workouts with some regularity to get, and keep, them on a healthy track,” notes Kelli Calabrese, international fitness, nutrition and lifestyle specialist twice named “Personal Trainer of the Year.” “I applaud the health club community for integrating new, exciting and innovative ways to attract and engage members to keep their fitness lifestyle fresh, fun and frequent…and even profitable!”

Here are a few cool new programs now underway:
1. Whole-Life Training.  Health club facilities are now looking beyond just the exercise component of fostering a healthy lifestyle.  In addition to personal training staff, today’s progressive health clubs are boasting on-site nutritionists and other allied healthcare professionals like physical therapists and even psychologists.  These value added services holistically address all areas of a member’s life that impact their overall well-being, health and happiness. Engaging and assisting members in this comprehensive way maximizes member results, retention and referrals.
2. Kicking Members Out. For outdoor fitness, that is.  Some health clubs are utilizing their external real estate to promote fitness activities al fresco. Club owners are realizing that many people get bored with the indoor offerings—even depressed or deterred—so they are offering running and cycling clubs, parking lot boot camps and spin classes, and more.

3. Weight Loss Wagering.  Diet contests and weight loss betting programs, like that offered by HealthyWage.com, are exploding in popularity as both individuals and employee groups from coast to coast “diet for dollars.”   More than 4,500 health clubs nationwide now serve as  “weigh in locations” for HealthyWage.com contest participants, with many opting to also purchase a club membership as they shed pounds with their eye on the $10,000 team prize. This financial weight loss incentive approach is so effective, Fortune 500 companies nationwide have integrated such program into their corporate wellness initiatives to benefit both employee groups and their own bottom line.

4. Clubs Go Retro. Nostalgia evokes emotion and emotion drives action. With this in mind throwback 80′s fitness classes, in which participants dress in period-inspired spandex and leg warmers and do aerobics to music by Michael Jackson, George Michael, and the like, are bringing the neon headband sporting, leotard-wearing enthusiasts to health clubs in droves.   Originating in hipster ‘hoods like LA and NYC, this 80’s fitness craze is sweeping the nation, proving to be a fun, creative and, like, totally awesome way to attract new members – and keep current members coming back for more.
5. Social Media Stimulation. From small boutique gyms to large national chains, health clubs are tapping the social mediasphere in innovative ways to stay connected with current and prospective members. Informative and engaging Facebook fan pages rife with workout strategies, success stories and special product offers; up-to-the-minute Twitter announcements, training tips and topical tweet feeds; online virtual fitness coaching; un-lockable specials on Foursquare; VLOGs (video blogs) and a myriad of other social networking strategies are helping health club purveyors better connect with the marketplace—informing, motivating and helping them thwart those momentary chocolate cravings like never before.

6. Patriotism Personified. While military discounts are nothing new in the business landscape, full-scale, week-long national programs offering completely free benefits to any and all active, reserve and retired military members, and their families, throughout the U.S. is wonderfully above and beyond the norm. This is exactly what one large national change is doing, for five consecutive years having provided complimentary week-long club access to America’s extensive number of active, inactive and retired military personnel—and dependents—in observance of Veterans Day.  This same sentiment-oriented national health club chain also celebrates “Active Aging Week” by offering free week-long workouts for older adults age 50 or above.

7.  Club Crawl. In an effort to get members integrated to all areas of the health club and its services, at the time of registration some clubs are giving new members a card with goals to complete for a prize. The goals can include trying fitness classes, completing a personal training session, meeting certain staff members and using specific areas of the fitness center. This gives members the opportunity to experience all the club has to offer before getting pigeon-holed into only one or two areas like nautilus machines or heading right for the spin bike studio.  The idea is that the more people the member meet and services they experience first hand, the more connected they will feel to the club and more likely they will be to try—or at least tell friends about—all of the club’s offerings.

8. Gamers Press Play! Video gamers take note: one private gym in Mountain View, California, Overtime Fitness Inc., has tailored its offerings to teenagers in a novel approach to address childhood obesity.  This facility boasts an arcade filled with physical video games that require dancing, boxing, and jumping.  Riders race against each other on stationary bikes networked to a server! Teen fitness has never been so fun – or effective at making health clubbing “cool!”

While our nation’s obesity epidemic was top-of-mind at this month’s ‘Weight of the Nation’ Conference in Washington D.C. sponsored by the CDC, much of the dialogue proffered nothing new. Even in the report released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) ‘Accelerating Process in Obesity Prevention’ cited strategies that, while sound, have been proposed in years past as obesity continued to run rampant.  It’s time for fresh approaches, innovative thinking and even risk taking to trim America’s collective waistline. Novel health club programs can tactically and effectively address obesity in new and compelling ways on the front line.

David Roddenberry is co-founder of HealthyWage, (www.HealthyWage.com), the only company that pays Americans cash to lose weight while offering social and expert-based support, tools and resources, and goal-setting and tracking technologies to address our nation’s obesity epidemic and improve America’s collective health. 

There’s nothing that I love more than to see children be able to express themselves!  Combining movement, art and expression is one of the most wonderful developmental building blocks for our children.  I love Dancing Classrooms Philly because it brings movement into school!

Dancing Classrooms Philly is a licensed ballroom dancing program for Philadelphia schoolchildren, launched in September 2007. Dancing Classrooms Philly isn’t just about dance – it’s about transforming kids into “ladies and gentlemen” with a set of behavioral skills and social graces that will carry over into all aspects of their lives, giving them the confidence and self-esteem needed to compete in the real world.

You can watch the performances on their YouTube Channel and learn more about them on their website.  I highly recommend this program for children and supporting this program in any way possible.

In order to enjoy healthy meals and snacks you need to make sure that you’re shopping for healthy food.

Live in the city?  Looking for a great place to grab healthy snacks for the beach or for your fresh summer salads?  There is one place that has it all!  You can pack a picnic basket for an afternoon in Fairmount Park or a day down the shore!

I love the Reading Terminal Market for great healthy food options.  There are several produce stands in the market if you’re interested in locally grown foods, there is Fair Food Farmstand offering all sorts of wonderful options from local food growers.  There’s also Iovine Brothers for every imaginable fruit, vegetable or green!  The list of fresh meat and fish vendors goes on and on.

It’s easy to get to with great parking!  $4 parking for 2 hours with a minimum purchase.  The Reading Terminal sits next to Market East Station for SEPTA’s regional rail and there are countless bus routes that pass by on 12th street.

Shopping Healthy – Eating Healthy – Being Healthy is a lifestyle that requires commitment, even to where you shop.

My phone rang the day the article broke.  ”Kimberly, can you be in the studio today at 5 pm to respond to the New York Times article?”  the producer from Fox 29 asked.  ”Not a problem!  I have a few things to say!”

If you’ve not read the article, the author says, “Because too many experts who are involved in the discussion of obesity don’t understand something crucial about black women and fat: many black women are fat because we want to be.”

“BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE?”

I disagree, most Black Women don’t want to be fat!   Unfortunately many have fallen victim to the quick fixes, or worse, given up.  But, there is light at the end of the tunnel,  and yes, you can achieve sustainable and permanent weight loss.  I am encouraging all women, especially black women, to break out of cultural norms and work towards a healthier overall lifestyle.

Please join our FREE Walk next week at the Art Museum on May 19th at 6 am and learn the simple, universal, and eternal truths about permanent weight loss.

I have so much fun dancing with my son!  I invite everyone to show their children how much fun dancing can be.  Dancing is a great way to burn calories and have so much fun!

Afternoon of dancing

There’s an amazing event called “Baby Loves Disco” on June 9th at Electric Factory!  You’ll love it!  Let your children just let loose and “shake it”!  I’ll be there having a blast – hope to see you!

I’ve been on the hunt to help you all make your summer beach excursions healthier.

Well, I hit the jackpot in Stone Harbor!

Smoothies with wheat germ, fresh squeezed juices, healthy sandwiches and lots and lots of salads.

If you can make it to Green Cuisine for HAPPY HOUR you get half priced smoothie with a purchase of a sandwich or salad!  Now, I like the sound of that!

There are gluten free options and hey have kids meals with NO FRIES!

Enjoy!

This is going to be a great day!  Teach your children to get down to lift their spirits!  Join us, it’s a blast!  Don’t tell them to dance – show them.  Give your children a positive role model for a healthy lifestyle.  Show them that movement through dancing can be a great way to have fun and get much needed exercise that will help to keep them fit and healthy.

Get to Steppin’

No excuses!

Here’s a list of walking trails in Wildwood for you while you’re on vacation this summer.

Enjoy