231

10 IHRSA | getact ivemagazine.com

EXERCISE BOOSTS YOUR BRAIN POWER. Studies show thatregular cardio workouts, especially if you exercise while listeningto music, help you focus on tasks.

EXERCISE MAY GET YOU A RAISE. Researchers found thatexercisers get along better with co-workers, take fewer sick days, and

TheActive!Life:: exercise :: fitness :: health :: wellness :: active lifestyle :: food :: nutrition :: ihrsa wire :: by maryann hammers

EXERCISE & FITNESS

Three More Reasons to Get MovingSure, you work out to look and feel good, but researchers have come up with three additional motivators:

do more work with less effort than their sedentary colleagues.

EXERCISE MAKES YOU HAPPY. Even a 10-minute moderate workout can boost your mood and reduce anxietyand depression, reports a recent issue of Mayo Clinic’sWomen’s HealthSource newsletter.

Smarter, richer and happier?No wonder the gym’s packed.

Phot

o:Da

vid

Sack

s/Ge

ttyIm

ages

12 IHRSA | getact ivemagazine.com

::TheActive!Life EXERCISE & FITNESS

Now you can get yourfitness fix on the road.

research says

E ven the most dedicated fitness buffs arelikely to slack off on their exercise routineswhen they travel — not for lack of motiva-

tion or time, but simply because they havenowhere to work out. Hotel fitness centers oftendisappoint, even in the finest five-star resorts.Hidden in a basement or some other window-less room, they typically consist of a couple ofcreaky treadmills and a few weights.

That depressing scene is changing as a hand-ful of hotels nationwide are partnering with topgyms in the area, providing guests access to thefitness floor, personal trainers, group classes,spa services and all the amenities you’d expectof a first-class health club. Here are two of thebest and newest examples of the growing trend.

:: The Four Seasons tower in Miami houses the40,000 square-foot SportsClub/LA.The cheerful, enormous fitnessfloor boasts every kind of strengthand cardio machine, class and gearimaginable. One-on-one yoga,kickboxing, dance, Pilates and otherclasses are also available. A “CircuitExpress” program caters to time-crunched executives, and a fitnessconcierge will design outdoor, circuit-and cross-training programs suited toan individual’s goals and interests.

The club’s luxurious new Splash

gym news

Take YourGerms to the Gym?Can you exercise with a cold,or will that make you evensicker? Your fellow gym-goers won’t like it if yousneeze all over them. But ifyou have a mild respiratoryinfection, a moderate work-out can help you feel better.Your cold won’t last anylonger, your symptomswon’t get any worse, andyou should be able to keepup with your regular routine,according to a Ball StateUniversity study. “Regularand moderate workouts mayactually strengthen thebody’s immune system andhelp protect against infec-tion,” says Thomas Weidner,PhD, director of the school’sAthletic Training Researchand Education Laboratory.

Boning UpThink osteoporosis is for “oldladies”? Think again. Womenin their early 20s are suscep-tible to the disease’s earlystages. Bone-loading exer-cises that twist, bend, andstretch the upper shoulder,spine, thigh and forearmcan prevent future bone

loss, saysCedricBryant,

PhD, chiefexercisephysiologist

of the AmericanCouncil on Exercise.Eating a high-calcium,

high-fiber, low-fat dietalso strengthens bones

for women of all ages.

Glide Your Way To Fitness:: Gliding may be the next gym craze. It utilizes10-inch discs that are placed underfoot for awider range of motion and graceful, low impactmoves that work a variety of muscle groupsand improve balance and flexibility. The discscan also be incorporated into strength-training, yoga, Pilates, core or step classes. For information, go to www.glidingpro.com.

Travelers Have No More Excuses

Phot

os,t

op:D

avid

Mad

ison

/Get

tyIm

ages

.Bot

tom

:Sto

ckdi

sc/G

etty

Imag

es

Bend for yourbones.

(cont’d)

Now That’sGROSSAmericans are sloppy aboutwashing their hands. Aconsumer research surveyshows that:

43% of those surveyedseldom or never wash theirhands after coughing orsneezing.

One-third of public-restroom users don’t washtheir hands after using thebathroom.

More than halfdon’t wash their hands longenough to remove germsand dislodge dirt.

One-third of Americansdon’t always wash beforeeating lunch.

Apart from the gross factor,there are serious health rea-sons for meticulous handwashing. It’s the single mostimportant thing you can do tokeep from getting sick orspreading illness to others. Ifyou’re nowhere near soapand a sink, alcohol-basedhand sanitizers (used withoutwater) do a good job of elimi-nating germs, though theyare not cleansing agents anddon’t get rid of surface dirt.

14 IHRSA | getact ivemagazine.com

Exercise: Isn’t It Romantic?To get a boost in the bedroom, get in the weight room. In another example of the life-enhancing powerof exercise, a recent study discovered that those who work out report having a better sex life than

couch potatoes. In a study published in the Journal ofHuman Sexuality, researchers probed the habits andattitudes of 408 college students and discovered:

:: 80% of males and nearly 60% of females whoexercise two or three days per week rated themselvesas above average in desirability.

:: 88% of men and 69% of females who workedout five days per week considered their sexual per-formance to be above average or much above average.

You don’t have to be Alfred Kinsey to recognize thatincreased self-esteem, physical endurance, cardiocapacity and other benefits of working out in a health club can translate to a more enriching romanticlife. And not just for college students, notes theresearchers, who said the study results can beapplied to exercisers beyond their college years.

::TheActive!Life EXERCISE & FITNESS

research saysSpa, adjacent to the fitness floor,offers sport-specific massages, suchas “Runner’s Revenge” and “Fore,”along with a full array of face, bodyand complete salon treatments. Goto www.fourseasons.com, or call(305) 358-3535 for more info.

:: The Renaissance ClubSport inWalnut Creek, Calif., is another luxuryhotel and fitness facility that has it all.This Northern California resort provides state-of-the-art workout facilities with expert personal

trainers at the ready, full nutritionprograms, a world-class spa andexciting diversions, such as volleyballtournaments and other specialevents. Mature adults may want totake advantage of the specializedservices courtesy of the RenaissanceClubSport Wellness Team, who pro-vide the works in total health, includ-ing cardiac rehabilitation, massagetherapy, physical therapy — you

name it. For more info, call (925) 938-8700 or visitwww.clubsports.com/renaissance on the Web.

The road can be a lonely place. It can also be fattening. If you

travel frequently, you know what a toll it can take on your body,

especially when you miss your regular workouts. You can’t

always count on hotel gyms to provide the type of equipment

and schedules you need to get your blood pumping. That’s why IHRSA has developed the internation-

ally recognized Passport Program, which provides access to more than 3,000 participating IHRSA

clubs all over the world. If you don’t know what an IHRSA club is, look around. You’re in one. IHRSA

is the largest trade association of gyms on the planet, and an IHRSA Passport will get you into world-

class gyms in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Japan and other countries, including the U.S.

Ask your club rep if they’re a participant in the IHRSA Passport Program, or to find participating

clubs around the world, visit www.healthclubs.com.

I H R S A P A S S P O R T P R O G R A M : D O N ’ T L E A V E H O M E W I T H O U T I T .

PASSPORTTO FITNESS

So that’s why youwork out so hard.

Your mother wasright: Wash up.

Phot

os,l

eft:

Bren

dan

Byrn

e.Ri

ght:

Keith

Brof

sky/

Getty

Imag

es

Do you have your Passport?

No More Excuses (cont’d)