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January 31, 2022

Cracking joints isn’t bad for you and could even serve a useful purpose

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: — admin @ 5:01 am

Some people habitually crack their joints, others can’t, and many are irritated by those who do.

So what’s going on? Why do people do it, is it harmful, what makes the noises, and what would happen if our joints weren’t able to crack?

Before going on, it’s important to note we’re talking here about people cracking their own joints. This is also known as “self-manipulation”. But when a physiotherapist or chiropractor cracks (or manipulates) your spine, what makes the noises is the same, but the implications can be very different than what’s being discussed here.

Although it may irritate friends and family, self-manipulating our joints is probably neither useful nor harmful for the individual.

Woman cracking knuckles.
Although it may irritate friends and family, self-manipulating our joints is probably neither useful nor harmful for the individual. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Why do we crack our joints?

People crack their joints because they feel better, looser, or less stiff afterwards.

The relief is temporary and they typically repeat it at some point after 20 minutes, when the effects wear off.

While joint cracking may seem incomprehensible to us non-crackers, we all do similar behaviours.

“Pandiculation” is the nearly universal type of stretching we do after being inactive — even dogs, cats, elephants, spiders and unborn sheep do it.

The drive to “pandiculate” and it’s transient effects are similar to joint cracking. However, pandiculation is thought to have positive effects on the body, by restoring and resetting the structural and functional equilibrium. The same is not the case for cracking joints.

Even spiders need to stretch now and then.

It doesn’t cause arthritis

Probably everyone who self-manipulates has been told — usually by someone irritated by the behaviour — not to do it because it will cause arthritis.

It’s now clear this isn’t the case.

American doctor Donald Unger famously cracked knuckles only on one hand for over 50 years, and found no sign of increased arthritis compared to the other hand. For this he received an IgNoble Prize in Medicine in 2009, an award for unusual achievements in research.

Person cracking knuckles.
Probably everyone who self-manipulates has been told not to do it because it will cause arthritis. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

In another study, knuckle cracking was not found to increase the incidence of arthritis in an elderly population who had cracked their knuckles compared to those who didn’t. Also, the incidence of arthritis was not greater in the knuckles they did crack, compared to the other joints of the hand that weren’t cracked.

There are a few reports of injury from knuckle cracking, but these are probably too minor and infrequent to be of much concern.

Put simply, there don’t appear to be significant adverse effects to cracking your joints.

What makes the noise?

When people crack their knuckles they separate the joint surfaces and the pressure within the joint decreases. At a certain point the surfaces suddenly separate and a bubble forms by a process known as cavitation.

A simulated joint cracking.

A similar effect can also occur with a simulated joint, as in the video above.

It’s not entirely clear however which part of the process causes the actual cracking noise in humans. One theory is the noise is produced by the formation of the bubble itself. Another theory suggests it’s the breaking of the fluid “adhesive seal” between the joint surfaces as occurs with pulling a suction cup off of a wall.

High speed MRI image of knuckle cracking. As the joint surfaces are separated the volume suddenly increases and a bubble (the dark area that appears in the middle of the joint) is formed.

Woman cracking knuckles.
When people crack their knuckles they separate the joint surfaces and the pressure within the joint decreases. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Why have our joints evolved to crack?

Perhaps the most interesting question is why our joints developed in such a way that they’re able to crack.

I had a conversation recently with Jerome Fryer, a Canadian researcher who was involved in the above study with the simulated joint. He raised an interesting idea which hasn’t been published. Could the ability of our joints to crack actually serve a useful purpose?

When the simulated joints in his study were filled with normal water, the joint surfaces separated easily, which formed bubbles but didn’t produce the cracking sound.

But when the water was treated to remove all of the dissolved gasses and microscopic bubbles, the simulated joint performed more like a real joint. That is, much more force was needed to separate the surfaces, and only then did it produce a cracking sound.

Perhaps the fact it requires a large force to separate our joints, which happens to also produce a cracking sound, may be very useful by assisting in joint stability and thereby providing protection from our joints being damaged.

Neil Tuttle Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist & Senior Lecturer, University of Tasmania

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Suffering from creaky joints? Boost your diet with these 14 anti-inflammatory foods

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Crows’ fitness guru adds mental toughness – 7NEWS

Filed under: Fitness — admin @ 2:29 am

Fitness guru Darren Burgess is playing mind games at his new AFL club, Adelaide.

And Burgess’ desire to build mental toughness has been just as important as his fitness expertise, Crows ruckman Reilly O’Brien says.

Burgess has joined Adelaide from reigning premiers Melbourne, where he oversaw a training regime that helped propel the Demons to their first AFL flag in 57 years.

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“He’s really good at instilling belief in the group at how fit we are and how well we are going, which has been great,” O’Brien told reporters on Monday.

“He has played a few mind games with us … it keeps us on our toes and keeps us guessing as to what we’re going to do.

“That has certainly helped in our resilience and our mental toughness.”

Burgess has deliberately kept Adelaide’s players in the dark about their fitness program until almost the last minute.

“Things like not telling us how many reps we’re doing, sending out sessions … the night before so we’re not knowing what we’re doing, that sort of stuff,” O’Brien said.

“A lot of it is between the ears really. Everyone around the league is really fit.

“But having that belief that you can outrun your opponent all day … is really important.

“That mental side is just as important as the physical side and he has been able to do that.”

O’Brien, who said the Crows were collectively the fittest they had been since he joined the club in the 2014 rookie draft, were following Burgess’ blueprint which led to Melbourne’s success last year.

“He has talked about Melbourne and their ability to work really hard but work really smart in their running as well in games,” he said.

“We have talked about that and being really fit but then not necessarily having to use it, just by doing your work early and working together as a group.

“They (Melbourne) were obviously the best in the competition at doing that with their defence and we’re looking to emulate that in the way we’re playing.”

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Sweat stress: Stop worrying you perspire too much or too little

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: — admin @ 2:01 am

We know we sweat to keep ourselves cool, but why do some exercisers get totally drenched (we see you Rafael Nadal) while others survive without so much as a towel-down?

The fear you’re sweating too much can lead to embarrassment, while staying dry in an intense workout can cause concern that your body isn’t working as efficiently as it should be.

But understanding how and why your body sweats is the best way to stop feeling self-conscious about it while you’re exercising.

Sweat flies off Rafael Nadal as he plays against Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles final at the Australian Open 2022. (Getty)

READ MORE: Does grunting really give tennis players an advantage?

Professor Robert Newton, co-director of the Exercise Medicine Research Institute at Edith Cowan University, told 9Honey Coach that as a general rule of thumb, men tend to sweat more than women.

“Men have larger and more numerous sweat glands,” Professor Newton explains.

But women have other cooling mechanisms that work just as effectively to lower their core temperature.

“They tend to be smaller size, which means they have a greater surface area so they are better able to radiate heat than men. They also have less body hair than men so they lose heat more effectively,” Professor Newton says.

“Women also have a much better ability to shunt blood to the skin, which is often why women get more flushed than men. It’s their natural ability to shift a large volume of hot blood to the skin and lose the heat through radiation.”

READ MORE: Do you burn more fat when you sweat

By sweating less, women do have the advantage of retaining more fluid in the heat, but overall Professor Newton says neither sex’s system is far superior to the other (it’s just that men are more likely to get sweat patches in the cooling process).

(Getty)

“There is very little difference between male and female marathon times and no noticeable difference in numbers who experience heat exhaustion,” Professor Newton points out.

Overweight people tend to sweat more because the body perceives they need more sweat in order to cool down, and stressful situations can induce a sweaty response in plenty of us — particularly on our palms.

About three per cent of the population suffer hyperhidrosis, which is a medically diagnosable condition characterised by excessive sweating in non-stressful or unheated places.

There is also some variation between people — some women sweat more and some men sweat less — but Professor Newton says that unless you have a medically diagnosed condition, you probably have nothing to sweat (ahem) about.

It’s also worth noting that the more that you train in hot conditions, the more you’re likely to sweat.

“Sweating is highly trainable — the capacity of your sweat glands increases when you exercise in the heat,” Professor Newton says.

(Getty)

“Your sweat glands acclimatise to the heat and can produce a greater volume of sweat. But interestingly sweat becomes less concentrated and has less salt in it so you are losing less electrolytes, which is important because if sodium gets depleted you can have muscle cramps or other problems.”

As for whether excess sweating is better for clearing toxins, as fans of hot yoga often say, Professor Newton says there’s no research to demonstrate that.

If anything, exercising in extreme heat hinders performance.

“The difficulty with exercising in the heat is you can’t work at the same rate because it’s much more difficult,” he says.

“When your core temperature starts to rise your body will signal that as a challenge and you will feel greater fatigue. You only have to drop about three per cent in body weight [through fluid loss] for your strength and endurance to be impacted negatively.”

Children also sweat a lot less because they have less developed sweat glands. Once they hit puberty, their sweat quantity usually increases.

“You have to be careful of kids in the heat because they’re not as effective at keeping themselves cool,” Professor Newton points out. 

Fitness trends you should join in 2022

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January 30, 2022

‘Absolutely thrilling’: Women’s Ashes Test ends in dramatic scenes CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 30: Alana King of Australia runs out Anya Shrubsole of England during day four of the Women’s Test match in the Ashes series between Australia and England at Manuka Oval on January 30, 2022 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Filed under: Outdoors — Tags: — admin @ 8:23 am

The women’s Ashes Test has ended in dramatic scenes, with England’s No. 11. batter blocking out the final over to secure a thrilling draw.

You couldn’t have scripted a better advertisement for women’s Test cricket than this.

The Ashes Test at Manuka Oval has ended in dramatic scenes, with all four results possible heading into the final couple of overs of day four in Canberra.

England came agonisingly close to pulling off mission impossible, scoring the largest fourth-innings team total in the history of women’s Test cricket.

But it ultimately wasn’t enough, with the thrilling contest ending as a draw.

With the possible exception of day five of the New Year’s Test in Sydney, this was the most captivating day’s cricket of the 2021/22 summer.

Just as Steve Smith couldn’t get the job done for the Aussies at the SCG earlier the month, Australian debutant Alan King was tasked with unearthing a miracle 10th wicket in the last over, but it wasn’t to be.

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Skipper Meg Lanning declared Australia’s second innings in the afternoon session of day four, leaving England with 48 overs to chase the 257 runs required for victory.

The highest successful run chase in the history of women’s cricket was 198, achieved by Australia over a decade ago – England’s all-time best was 173.

The Australian camp understood that a draw would have strategically worked in their favour, with the scoring system in the multi-format series meaning the hosts only needed one victory in the three ODIs to retain the trophy in such a scenario.

And at the change of innings, it seemed as though a draw was an inevitability – Australia’s bowlers needed 10 wickets for victory, but the pitch had flattened out beautifully over the course of three-and-a-half days of action.

However, England opener Tammy Beaumont made it abundantly clear that the visitors had no intention of playing for a draw. She smacked a quick-fire 36 before Tahlia McGrath removed the right-hander with her first delivery of the day.

At the other end, Lauren Winfield-Hill compiled a patient 33 off 65 balls, prompting a journalist from the media centre to chuck his head out of the window and bellow, “Have a go, Lauren!”

But momentum quickly shifted back in England’s favour when skipper Heather Knight came to the crease, fresh off her record-breaking 168 not out in the first innings.

Knight and England all-rounder Nat Sciver combined for a game-changing 72-run partnership, scoring at quicker than a run per ball.

Lanning put six fielders on the boundary rope, hoping to stem the flow of runs – but easy singles became quick twos as England’s required run rate dropped below six per over.

The Manuka Oval deck was offering zero seam movement for Australia’s pace bowlers, with the exception of a couple of deliveries from young all-rounder Annabel Sutherland that crept below the bat.

Suddenly, the target didn’t seem unfeasible – England required under 100 runs for victory with eight wickets in hand heading into the final hour.

Teenage quick Darcie Brown got the long-awaited breakthrough with less than an hour left in the day, trapping Knight on the pads to halt England’s stampede.

But England’s Sophia Dunkley switched into T20 mode as soon as she waltzed into the middle, smacking 37 from her first 21 balls at the crease.

With 10 overs remaining in the day, England required just 45 runs for victory with seven wickets in hand. They were favourites.

According to the almighty CricViz, England’s chances of securing a win had risen from two per cent to 87 per cent in less than two hours.

However, in yet another stunning twist, only two runs were scored from the following two overs, making the equation 43 needed from eight overs.

Sciver then slapped a short ball from Sutherland directly towards Lanning at square leg, ending her swashbuckling knock on 58 from 62 balls – no women‘s player has scored more runs in a Test innings at a faster strike rate.

With England requiring 38 runs for victory, Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy missed a tough stumping chance off King’s bowling, gifting Amy Jones an extra life on zero.

A handful of sloppy misfields from the Australians leaked crucial runs, but Sutherland struck again a couple of overs later, with Jones cracking a delivery towards Beth Mooney at the mid-wicket boundary, who claimed a regulation chance. All four results were still possible.

In another game-changing moment, Mooney snared a remarkable diving catch low to her right at long-on to remove the dangerous Dunkley for 45. It was a late contender for catch of the summer.

“This woman has had jaw surgery just days ago, titanium plates in her face, and absolutely no fear to take a diving catch to dismiss the dangerous Sophia Dunkley,” former Australian captain Alex Blackwell said on Fox Cricket.

The Aussies at this stage required four wickets from 28 balls for an unlikely victory, while England still needed 24 runs.

Sutherland snared her third breakthrough the following over, dismissing the powerful Katherine Brunt for 4 with a short ball that was edged through to Healy with the gloves.

Three overs remaining – Australia needed three wickets, England required 17 runs.

King’s next over featured a cataclysmic run out, with Anya Shrubsole attempting a suicidal quick single only to find herself half a metre short of making her ground.

And the very next delivery, Charlie Dean attempted to sweep King towards fine leg, but the top edge was caught by Healy for Australia’s ninth wicket of the innings. England had lost 6/26 in a dramatic collapse.

As Dean made her way back to the pavilion, the third umpire checked for the dreaded back-foot no-ball, but replays showed that King was safe by a matter of millimetres.

Two overs remaining – Australia needed one wicket, England required 13 runs.

Several deliveries went past the outside edge in Sutherland’s relatively uneventful penultimate over, in which just the one run was scored.

Ultimately, it came down to the last over. Just as James Anderson did four weeks ago, England No. 11 Kate Cross successfully blocked out the final six balls to avoid a dramatic defeat, and the Test was drawn.

Largest fourth-innings scores in women’s Test history

245/9 – England vs AUS, Jan 2022

229/5 – England vs IND, Jun 1986

225/8 – England vs NZ, Jul 1996

223/8 – India vs ENG, Jul 1999

214 – New Zealand vs ENG, Mar 1969

Former England bowler and Fox Cricket commentator Isa Guha called it “one of the greatest Test matches in Ashes history.”

“Heather Knight and the rest of that team are going to be absolutely devastated,” she said.

“They pulled off an unbelievable heist. To get themselves into a position to win the Test match — they were only one wicket away.

“I just can’t believe what we have witnessed.”

Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne tweeted: “What a finish that was. Absolutely great for Test cricket.”

Cricket broadcaster Adam Collins tweeted: “Well played Meg Lanning, Heather Knight and both teams. In just 10 sessions, they‘ve engineered an excellent, compelling Test. More of it, across five days. And also, crucially, time for multi-day domestic women’s cricket. Let this be a springboard.”

Australia takes a 6-4 lead in the multi-format series ahead of the one-day internationals, which get underway on Thursday.

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January 29, 2022

Lions Continue to Build Fitness Under the Watch of Fabian Bazan – Orlando City SC

Filed under: Fitness — admin @ 6:05 pm

With all the buzz surrounding Orlando City’s two Designated Player signings this week, you’d be forgiven for looking past the hard work being done at the Orlando Health Training Ground at Osceola Heritage Park.

But this is perhaps the most important time of the year for a soccer team. The Lions, returning from their offseason holidays, are two weeks into a six-week boot camp readying them for the steady grind of a Major League Soccer season. We spoke to Orlando City Strength and Conditioning Coach Fabian Bazan to get the inside scoop on how he prepares the Lions for the marathon to come. 

The first step, says Bazan, starts right at the end of the previous season, when the players head home for the winter armed with individualized fitness plans. Rather than keep them in peak shape, these plans are designed to actually ramp down the players’ bodies from the harsh environment of the season, allowing them to recover and prepare to build back up for the following campaign.

Upon arrival at training camp, Bazan puts the players through 7-10 sessions of assimilation back into the daily routine of professional soccer. This is especially important for new players, who need to adjust to Orlando City’s methodology and fitness techniques. Bazan says he focuses a lot on building up lower body strength during this period, with an emphasis on the quads and hamstrings, muscles which need reinforcement to prevent injury.

After these initial sessions, it’s time to start building towards game fitness. Bazan runs a series of stress tests on the players, including the infamous “beep test,” a non-stop back and forth sprint between two sets of cones designed to test the players’ maximal oxygen consumption. That was the focus of this past week, with the beep test taking place during Friday morning’s session.

The next couple weeks are built around increasing the players’ fitness loads, with the sessions gradually becoming longer and more intense. Bazan says that while this phase is physically strenuous on the veterans, it is actually most difficult for younger players, especially those from the academy who are not used to working at this level. The Lions’ first preseason games will occur during this period, with Orlando set to open up their scrimmage slate against Minnesota United on Thursday evening.

Finally, the players are ready to begin regular-season training in the build-up to the opener. Intrasquad scrimmages and other soccer exercises are common, not just to get the players ready for games, but to give the coaching staff a chance to evaluate their progress ahead of the season’s first match.

Orlando City is set to open its season against CF Montréal at Exploria Stadium on Sunday, February 27 at 1 p.m. By that time, you can be sure that Bazan will have the Lions ready to go.

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This Kettlebell Grip Cue May Change Your Training for the Better

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

#kettlbell has accumulated north of three million posts on Instagram. Your favorite fitspo is probably (most definitely) swinging and hoisting kettlebells overhead, and you’ve been officially convinced to swing and hoist kettlebells. If that sounds like you, you probably have run into an annoying and unexpected problem: Your grip sucks. 

Man gripping a kettlebell in a Turkish Get-Up position

Man gripping a kettlebell in a Turkish Get-Up position

Kettlebells aren’t the easiest tool to grab, and the ballistic nature of many kettlebell movements makes them even harder to hang onto. What’s more, your ability to grip, and grip tightly, actually facilitate stronger and more powerful lifts. And it all starts with your muscle fascia.

The Importance of Grip

The fascial lines of the body are many and varied. This article isn’t intended to be a primer on fascia but on better understanding it to enhance our training. The arm lines are particularly relevant to our grip needs. There are four of these lines, and all play some part in grip and its effect on supercharging our performance.

This experiment uses the principles of irradiation of muscle tension to demonstrate just how vital grip is:

  1. Let your arms hang loosely by your side and notice where there is tension. Now make a fist. Notice it’s not just the muscles of the hand that are tight. The tension travels up your forearms.
  2. Now grip even harder. Notice the abdominals engage. Observe how the tension is now not just in your shoulders but also the muscles within your shoulders. How you grip grip has the potential to activate every muscle in your body.

Let’s try our experiment again, this time to demonstrate the importance of the arm lines:

  1. Grip as hard as you can, but focus on squeezing the thumb and index finger the hardest. You should feel the pec and delt engage forcefully.
  2. Now focus on gripping hardest with the little and ring fingers. This time you should feel the muscles in the back — the lats, rhomboids, and rotator cuff muscles — engage.

Applying this knowledge to exercise is common sense, yet few people do it. The conclusion to make from these tests is that if the body is ready for pushing (via the pecs and delts being engaged), your grip needs to have the index finger involved. The opposite applies to pulling motions, where we want to make sure that the pinky and ring finger are in direct contact with the bar or bell.

Hand Position for Smarter Grip

The most common hand position when using kettlebells is a grip that slides the wrist into the corner of the bell where the handle and body of the bell meet. This allows the handle of the bell to run diagonally across the hand and minimizes discomfort on the back of the wrist.

Then, most folks will close their index finger and thumb around the handle. You may mistakenly believe this grip is acceptable. It’s not acceptable. This grip will actually decrease performance while increasing injury risk. 

Man pressing a single kettlebell over his head outside

MDV Edwards/Shutterstock

Here’s why: During pressing, you need to address not only shoulder flexion but also shoulder stability. If the pinky doesn’t grip the bell, the rotator cuff won’t be fully engaged. And when it comes to swinging or pressing a heavy object overhead, you definitely want all the musculature of your shoulder to be engaged.

A better way to grip a kettlebell for pressing (or get-ups or snatching) is with the handle of the bell going directly across the hand, in line with the calluses. This grip allows both for use of the prime movers and for optimal function of the stabilizers.

 

Stronger Grip for Better Movement

If we extrapolate this for other kettlebell exercises, such as squats or swings, we can see these fascial lines connect the fingers to the muscles around the shoulder and also become muscles of the trunk on both sides. The front and back functional lines create two large Xs, one on the front of the body and one on the back.

The correct use of grip will switch on our postural control muscles and enhance all of our bigger lifts. For kettlebell squats, the flat grip is once again the better option (as opposed to the diagonal grip), since it activates the most support muscle.

Once you’re used to gripping this way, you’ll find your performance improves while your injury risk decreases. Changing your hand placement will perhaps make a difference in how much load you can move, but that shouldn’t be a concern unless you’re a powerlifter. Focus on how well your body can move and function as a unit.

More on Breaking Muscle:

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Kyrgios set to cash in like never before Which Aus Open doubles final pairing team is Australia, and which is Australia A?

Filed under: Outdoors — Tags: — admin @ 8:23 am

The All-Aussie Open doubles final has been likened to cricket’s nostalgic Australia v Australia A. But who is Australia and who is Australia A?

Nick Kyrgios is in line for his biggest-ever Australian Open payday – topping his entire 2021 earnings – in a men’s doubles final that has attracted interest like none before it.

Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have turned the tennis world on its head to the point where Saturday night’s doubles showdown with Max Purcell and Matt Ebden – marking the first all-Australian men’s grand slam doubles final in 42 years – has turned into one of the most anticipated matches of the week.

KYRGIOS & KOKKINAKIS V EBDEN & PURCELL STARTS AFTER THE WOMEN’S FINAL | FOLLOW BARTY V COLLINS LIVE

And it could be a lucrative one, too.

Kyrgios played precious few tournaments in 2021, entering the Australian Open on the back of a five-match losing streak, and finished the year with a 7-8 singles record – with $430,102 finding its way into his bank account.

While that’s nothing to sniff at, he’s set to blow that out of the water in one special fortnight with his best mate.

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Should they keep the party going with victory over fellow Australians Max Purcell and Matt Ebden on Saturday, they’ll split the $675,000 in prizemoney – giving each player $337,500.

Throw in the $154,000 Kyrgios earned for his first-round win over Liam Broady, and he will bank a healthy $491,500 for two weeks’ work at Melbourne Park – more than the $340,000 he earned for reaching the 2015 Australian Open quarter-finals.

None of this is likely to be important to Kyrgios, who prioritises entertainment over winning – but not to the extent that he’ll make a fool of himself.

“I think I played pretty good tennis in the past. I’ve beaten pretty much every player that’s picked up a racquet,” Kyrgios said.

“I’ve obviously had to play a certain level of tennis. It’s not like I’m going out there putting on a clown suit and creating a circus.

“I have also played, won titles, won big titles, I have played the traditional way.”

As for who deserves favouritism, it’s a prickly question for both camps.

The unseeded pairing of Ebden and Purcell bristled at questions likening this final to the Australia v Australia A cricket matches in the 1990s – where the star-studded world-beaters were pitched against a side of young guns, but one that was still considered the second-tier team.

“Who is Australia and who is Australia A? Because we’re the underdogs,” said Purcell.

Ebden stepped in to ramp up even more pressure on their high-profile opponents – who don’t have the doubles rankings to show for their heavy-metal performances this week.

“They have higher singles rankings right now. We have higher doubles rankings. They had big crowd support. We did also yesterday,” Ebden said.

“The pressure is on them for sure. They’ve had pressure on them their whole lives.”

Originally published as Australian Open men’s doubles final: Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis v Matt Ebden and Max Purcell

Read related topics:Nick Kyrgios

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January 28, 2022

Fitness entrepreneurs invest in Augusta as pandemic gym routines hit their stride – Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel

Filed under: Fitness — admin @ 9:16 pm

AUGUSTA — Delays caused Anthony Oglesby to postpone the ribbon-cutting for his new Augusta business Thursday, in just another in a sequence of postponements the New Hampshire-based entrepreneur has faced.

The biggest delay, bar none, has been the COVID-19 pandemic that has hobbled all kinds of businesses with closures and gathering restrictions, but few more so than gyms and fitness centers.

While many people have turned to in-home options or replaced gym time with outdoor pursuits, Oglesby is betting big on the return to gyms. He is just days away from opening All Out Fitness at the Turnpike Mall with state-of-the-art weight strength and cardio equipment. It will be his second All Out Fitness location after the first that has opened just north of Concord, New Hampshire. A third is now under development in Connecticut.

Meanwhile, by the end of March, Planet Fitness is expected to open up a new, larger facility at 152 Western Ave. at the Capitol Shopping Center, that will more than double the space available and be able to offer the full slate of services, including hydromassage and tanning, that the current space cannot accommodate.

“In the Augusta market and for the people who live there, we just needed to be bigger,” said Mike Cleary, managing partner for Granite Coast properties, owner of five Planet Fitness franchises in Maine.

While the COVID-19 virus continues to spread, people across the United States have been returning to gyms and fitness centers in numbers close to pre-pandemic levels. Placer.ai, a company that tracks and provides analysis of foot traffic, reports that while gym visits declined in the fall as they tend to do in ordinary times, visits over the summer had nearly made up for pandemic losses.

PITFALLS ALONG THE WAY

When Cleary’s company acquired the existing Planet Fitness on Civic Center Drive in 2012, it has already been in operation for about six years. Even before the pandemic struck, he had been looking for a larger space because there was no space to expand where he was.

He was looking for a high-visibility space on a well traveled road with good parking. While a number of spaces were available, some were in older buildings and needed more work. Eventually, he found what he needed at 152 Western Ave. in the Capitol Shopping Center plaza, which is also home to Shaw’s Supermarket.

Among the work being done to the 23,000-square-foot space is removing the second floor in the space to open up the building, replacing the HVAC system and work on the building’s façade.

A large two-story open area is under construction Thursday for a new Planet Fitness location in the Capitol Shopping Center plaza, which is also home to Shaw’s supermarket, in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“A lot of people are looking for a little more room, a little more air theses days, so we’re really happy about this location,” he said.

The leased was signed last summer and demolition started in September. Cleary said he anticipates the new facility will be open in the second half of March.

At the start of the pandemic, he said, customers were initially cautious. But with the advent of vaccines, customers have said they want to return to the gym and to their usual exercise routines.

The exterior view of construction underway for a new Planet Fitness location in the Capitol Shopping Center plaza, which is also home to Shaw’s supermarket, in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“The CDC reports that even one workout can reduce a person’s risk of depression and anxiety while improving sleep,” he said. “People have become so much more conscious of the benefits of exercise.”

Cleary said the focus has been on larger spaces. He moved his Westbrook facility to a larger space in South Portland in November 2020, about eight months into the pandemic.

Oglesby’s challenges have been larger than just the pandemic, which slowed the process of renovating three commercial spaces in the Turnpike Mall on Western Avenue, just west of Interstate 95, into a single 17,000-square-foot space.

Co-owner and founder Anthony Oglesby shows an aromatherapy pod during a tour Thursday of the new All Out Fitness location under construction at the Turnpike Mall in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

In June 2021, Oglesby was in a car crash on Interstate 93 near Meredith and he is still recovering.

Oglesby, who graduated from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, got his start at Planet Fitness and later started TapouT Fitness, which he started to franchise. After selling off half of the brand, he took some time off with his family.

Eventually, he started a small club under the name All Out Fitness, and he started to pay attention to what people wanted.

“I thought of the camaraderie aspect of the gym, that’s what brings people together,” he said.

Co-owner and founder Anthony Oglesby, left, and co-owner and general contractor Jeff Blizzard stand Thursday in their new All Out Fitness location under construction at the Turnpike Mall in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

He plans to foster that camaraderie with a host of offerings in addition to the usual weight training and cardio equipment with aromatherapy pods, tanning, haircuts and manicures.

CENTRAL MAINE MARKET

Oglesby was drawn to Augusta because it shares a number of attributes with Concord, New Hampshire’s state capital. And just like growth drove investment in that community, he sees a similar trend developing in central Maine.

“Everything has a cycle, and Augusta is on an upward trend,” he said. “I want to be known for helping to grow and bring in a top-notch, high-end facility at an affordable rate. There’s going to be a huge influx in Augusta come the next 10 to 15 years.”

Maine is home to 11 Planet Fitness facilities, including five owned by Cleary’s company. In addition to Augusta, his company operates Portland, South Portland, Falmouth and Rockland locations.

“We’re really excited because we wanted to invest in the Augusta market for some time,” he said. “We wanted to bring the full Planet Fitness model to the market and we wanted to see if we would relocate or renovate the existing place.”

The exterior view of the new All Out Fitness location under construction at the Turnpike Mall in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Keith Luke, deputy director of development services for the city of Augusta, said it is good to see the investments being made by these companies at both of these locations.

The shopping plazas, along Augusta’s main commercial strip, are among those that have had high-profile vacancies as large national retailers have reduced their footprints by closing some stores or have shuttered entirely.

“It’s certainly been challenging from our standpoint to work around those vacancies,” Luke said. “These will be relatively high-traffic enterprises that I hope will breathe some new air into those retail complexes.”

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Review: Mexico City’s Hotel Galería Plaza San Jerónimo

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: — admin @ 9:05 pm

Sitting in one of three large jacuzzis on the elegantly designed rooftop terrace of Hotel Galería Plaza San Jerónimo, nursing a craft cocktail while the sun sets over the southern flank of Mexico City, it’s easy to feel like one of the country’s famous futbolistas. In fact, there’s a good chance those fit fellas sitting in the next jacuzzi over are professional soccer players. The hotel’s unique location places it near the three biggest stadiums in Mexico City, making it a favorite home base for visiting soccer teams and their traveling fans.

Galería Plaza San Jerónimo is located in the Jardines del Pedregal neighborhood, where many upscale residents call home. It offers travelers a calm respite from Mexico City’s bustling center, as it’s nestled beneath the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains.

The modern-looking glass and steel exterior of Hotel Galería Plaza San Jerónimo offers a pleasant, albeit a bit corporate, combination of stylish common areas and spectacular views. The numerous green spaces throughout the property make the hotel a popular local destination, hosting weddings on the weekends and business events during the weekdays.

Outdoor patio with cocktails on table
Courtesy Image

Three different restaurants inside the hotel and 24-hour room service make up for a general lack of nearby restaurants or the easy walkability found in other sections of Mexico City. All the in-hotel restaurants serve a typical mix of Mexican and international dishes, with plenty of variety and ingredients sourced from the hotel’s in-house gardens.

The large, well-lit rooms are outfitted in a minimalist style and equipped with modern technology throughout (think flat screens, Bluetooth speakers, and sleek furniture). The bright accent walls contrast well with the light wood finishing and floors. There’s also a full-service business center and nicely equipped gym and yoga space available for hotel guests.

Luxury hotel bathroom with tub
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While distinctly suburban in feel, the San Jerónimo neighborhood is centered around a centuries-old Franciscan Chapel and its cemetery of the same name, surrounded by meandering wooded paths and richly decorated tombs. There’s also a popular ice rink directly across from the hotel called La Pista, which hosts a variety of skating activities and events, including some rowdy amateur hockey tournaments.

The popular Cuernavaca bike trail runs through the area before heading into the Sierra Madre foothills and the rooftop lap pool all offer outlets to get outside, active, and occupied. This is a great stay if you find yourself in Mexico City for business or pleasure—especially if you’re a footie fan.

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Epic Lessons Learned Motorcycling From Kilimanjaro to Cape Town

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , , — admin @ 6:57 pm

That moment sufficiently summed up the entire trip. A lot went wrong: flat tires, reroutes, and a number of close calls—all of which we laughed off. There’s a calmness in knowing that your crew has your back. There’s a lightness in realizing that the worst moments always pass. There’s a freedom in learning that most problems don’t have a single right answer. Thick mud, deep sand, lightning storms, food poisoning, and bike trouble are all solvable problems, provided your group sticks together.

Motorcyclists making repairs on a tire during a road trip through Africa
Andy Cochrane

Lesson #2: Plan Ahead, but Save Some Room for Creativity

Let’s go back to the beginning and how we got into this mess. Two weeks earlier, we’d touched down in Arusha, Tanzania, clean cut and naively optimistic for the journey ahead. The four of us, close friends and frequent adventure partners, had spent the last half year planning this moto trip across Africa. That may sound like a lot of time, but for something of this magnitude, it turns out it really isn’t.

We divvied up the to-do list, researching routes, collecting the right gear, building out a spare parts list and repair kit, figuring out visas and vaccinations, and petitioning bosses for PTO. We moved fast, putting together a month-long, self-supported motorcycle ride across the southern half of Africa, but in all honesty, we didn’t know what to expect.

We had the gear, riding experience, and GPX routes on our nav, but that’s just table stakes. There wasn’t a playbook for what we were about to get into—nor did we want one. We didn’t fly across the world to follow someone else’s path, repeat their experiences, and post the same photos to the ‘gram. We wanted to do it our way, get lost a few times, and figure it out as we went.

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