Merry Christmas and wishing you a healthy holiday was the message from Ikea to their employees. 12,400 US Ikea employees received a bicycle for the holidays to use for commuting, recreation, fitness and fun. Just think of the impact this could have on creating and supporting a healthy lifestyle for millions if more businesses provided their employees with the gift of a bicycle.

This YouTube clip will put a smile on your face and make you want to grab your new dance partner (hey who needs a man…or a woman). Just put your favorite jive song on and start hooping.

Hooping is way more fun than the hula hooping you remember as a kid. Everybody can hoop, regardless of age, size, or sense of rhythm. All you need is a customized hoop that’s four feet in diameter. The rotation is slow enough that even clumsy amateurs can keep the hoop going.

And hooping is like a belly massage for the internal organs with lots of rythmic rubbing going on. It can be meditative, contemplative, playful, and fun. It will bring a smile to your face and make you sweat. As Philo Hagan, the creator of Hooping says, “It’s about freedom.” Freedom to move, to play, to let loose, to have fun. And that’s all healthy! So pick up a hoop and start shaking, grooving, gyrating and moving! Now watch this and you will havta start hooping!

Need a holiday gift for your family, a friends, or the kids? – it’s perfect along with this DVD clip for a bit of motivation.
What are you waiting for – start hooping – pass it on!

As my dear friend Cindy Sage says – when the wind picks up…”Just be one with the wind”. That was definitely the mantra during Saturday’s El Tour de Tucson as we were heading north on Oracle with a nice tail wind and still averaging over 20mph. That mantra got harder to pull up as we hit the cross winds and head winds turning into Rancho Vistoso for the final 40 miles.

But I ride with two hardy and determined cycling clubs – SynCardia and Cactus Cycling who posted some amazing results. Here are just a few of the highlights:

So why do we do this El Tour thing? Maybe if you asked Rodger he would say – because you can, because you never know when you won’t be here any longer, when you won’t be able to do this El Tour de Tucson.

A special congratulations to Tom and Evelyn who won the 66mi tandem, Candace – platinum, Robert – 20th in the 109 and all the SynCardia and Cactus Cyclists who finished safely and successfully with strong rides! Great work out there!

Ok, the work is done…time to eat (healthy), drink (water), be merry (no heavy partying) and taper down! Tapering for a big event is crucial for optimal performance. Training tears down the body and creates fatigue. Now it’s time for quality rest with reduced training volume and intensity to allow the body to recover, repair and restore energy reserves.

The most notable change during the taper is a marked increase in muscle strength and power that are a result of physiological adaptations, most notably changes in the muscle’s contractile mechanisms and muscle fiber recruitment along with improvement in glycogen stores, increased blood volume and aerobic enzyme activity, and connective tissue repair.

Training volume this week should be reduced 50-60% with some brief bursts of high intensity work with long recoveries to enhance muscle recruitment and to keep the legs snappy and from feeling flat.

And watch the calorie intake as your calorie expenditure decreases significantly this week. The goal is to fuel well, hydrate and stay lean.

Oh yes, Syncardia’s Team Estrogen members, Judy, Maria and Gwen, have laid out some ambitious goals for El Tour de Tucson 2010.

Judy – sub 5-hours and platinum in the 109mi – Stay off the front girl and let those big boys do the work!
Maria – top 10 overall women in the 80mi – Gwen predicts a top five finish!
Gwen – top 10 overall women in the 66mi – May the wind gods be with us!

Rest and recovery this week. We plan on Ramping it up on Saturday.

This weekend at the 25th Anniversary Gala dinner of the American Council on Exercise in San Diego I had the privilege of sitting next to Shellie Pfohl, the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition.
You remember the President’s Physical Fitness Awards, established by President John F. Kennedy. We all did these performance-based tests in physical education class – sit-ups, pull ups, 600 yd walk run, etc.

In 2010 to promote life participation in physical activity the Presidents’ Council has instituted the PALA (physical activity lifestyle awards) based on participation in physical activity rather than performance…and anyone can participate.

Here’s what you need to do to participate and earn your award:

Adults (that’s anyone over 18 years old): You need to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, for 6 out of 8 weeks. As an alternative, you can count your daily activity steps using a pedometer (goal: 8,500).

Kids and teens (that’s anyone between 6 and 17 years): You need to be active 60 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, for 6 out of 8 weeks. As an alternative, you can count your daily activity steps using a pedometer (girls’ goal: 11,000; boys’ goal: 13,000).

To sign up and begin logging your activity go to:
http://www.presidentschallenge.org/celebrate/active-lifestyle.shtml

You can sign up individually or as a group. What a great way to get your family, friends and coworkers exercising together and supporting healthy lifestyles.
Out goal is to have one million people participate and receive awards in the first year of the program.

I’m inviting my staff and my family to participate. How about you – who are you going to get involved? Hey – pass it on…

Games involve play…and who doesn’t like to play? Playing games make us all
– “happier
– smarter
– stronger
– healthier
– more collaborative
– more creative
– better connected to our friends and family
– and better at WHATEVER we love to do when we’re not playing games”

So check out this new site launching next month – Gameful, a secret HQ for worldchanging game developers. Gameful means to have the spirit or mindset of a gamer: someone who is optimistic, curious, motivated, and always up for a tough challenge. It’s like the word “playful” — but gamier. 🙂

Gameful is a project started to make real lives and the real world better — not just to entertain. “ANY kind of game counts: computer games, videogames, mobile games and alternate reality games; commercial games and indie games; serious games and art games; board games and iPad games; crowdsourcing and innovation games; street games and new sports; education games and activist games; health games and productivity games; and just about any other kind of game you might think of!”

And Gameful is being started by this kick ass woman, Jane McGonigal. She is a game designer, game researcher, future forecaster, and very playful human! My kind of woman.

So get game, be playful, anywhere, anytime – on your computer, on the bike, in the pool, in bed – you’ll stay happier, healthier, smarter, more creative and more connected.

http://blog.avantgame.com/2010/08/gameful-secret-hq-for-worldchanging.html

Exercise can take many forms – high intensity endurance training, relaxing yoga, focused Pilates, strength training with weights or rubberized tubing – all quite structured modes of movement. It’s well documented that people who fidget, can’t sit still, are up and down from a seated position burn more calories, have higher BMRs, and weigh less. So here are 5 easy ways to boost your daily physical activity.

1. Stand while you work. Standing up requires two times the energy as sitting down. Standing desks are gaining and being upright may help produce more ideas, alleviates back problems, and burns fat.

2. Walk while you talk. Every time your cell rings, pop up from your desk (or couch) like you have somewhere important to go. Pace the halls of your office or your street. Pacing burns about 90 calories an hour, which adds up if you spend half your day on phone calls.

3. Use the two-minute rule. For some, even 20 minutes of exercise can feel like a life time. But you can do two minutes. Set you alarm on the hour and when it goes off do an exercise for two minutes (knee lifts, step hops, walking). If you stick to that plan between 8am and 6pm you will have added 20 minutes of exercise to your day and you’ll burn an additional 200 calories.

4. Meet halfway. Think of this as the buddy system. Make a pact with a friend to meet at some walkable halfway point (coffee, library, grocery store, wine bar). There’s something about having a destination that takes the boredom out of exercise.

5. Have more sex! Sex is the most fun anyone will have burning calories. Even the laziest people on earth tend to enjoy a good romp. And aside from the myriad other benefits it offers—like happy hormones, glowing skin, and less stress—it’s a great way to get your heart rate going.

So what are you waiting for – just get moving!

For a ride up Mt. Lemmon…and yes we were one with the wind! Rising from the desert floor to the smell of pines, fall leaves and cool temperatures at 8000 feet…world class climbing…right here in our backyard playground. This is just good living!

Climbing, rhythmic breathing, legs feeling strong, listening to Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrel on my ipod and singing –
“Ain’t no mountain high enough
Ain’t no valley low enough
Ain’t no river wide enough”
To keep me from climbing this mountain

And then the reward at the top….turkey and green chili crepes!

Che vita (what a life)