Brilliant balloons flicker and glow in the predawn darkness
Like gigantic colored lightning bugs
14 million BTUs per propane tank
Preparing the hot air globe for flight
Billowing masses of vibrant cloth
Fluttering, unfolding, expanding
To it’s final form
Lifting in magnificent glory and greatness
Sounds of the gas-generated hot air hissing upward
Then silence
Lift off
Carried by the winds
Into the sky

The world’s premier hot air balloon event in Albuquerque New Mexico hosted 250 plus balloons from over 50 countries. Sipping hot chocolate and café at 5am in the 40-degree pre-dawn darkness watching the ground unfurl with plastic tarps, masses of majestic cloth, guide wires, wicker baskets, and propane tanks. At sunrise and in crystal clear skies with a slight breeze, a kaleidoscope of colorful and whimsical gigantic forms take flight.

Or Life on a board, a board life, got board?, get on board, women with boards, don’t get board, all boarded up, board down, is that a board in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?, I’m board!

However you want to phrase it these women know how to use their board, enjoy their board and definitely are not living a board life.

And what do you do when you get board with life?

Why train statically, when nothing is ever accomplished standing still! It’s the underlying premise of the functional movement, functional training movement.

I haven’t had the opportunity to try out this new training tool, the Core-Tex, but they sure hit it conceptually and motivationally with their promotional DVD. The Core-Tex™ allows for movement in all three planes of motion while its base translates at the same time. This allows for an almost infinite number of combination movements and the ability to change direction to maximize the integration of the body’s receptors from the foot and ankle all the way up to neck, eyes and inner ears. This causes the body to react and respond just as is required with real world activities and sports.

Check this out.

Gotta love the fitness industry – always some new, fun, inspiring toy to play with!

I love dancing and good music with a rhythmic, foot stomping, hand clapping, heart pumping beat. And there’s nothing better than putting it all together in a creatively choreographed piece. Check out this innovative hand jive –
Nice small muscle and fine motor skills!

Determined not to age as their parent did it’s no surprise that Boomers are the biggest consumers of Botox and hair dyes. But if you look past the surface it’s a different story:

• The obesity rate for boomers is double what it was for their parents at the same age

• 58% of boomers surveyed think that weight has little or no effect on their heart health

• Only about half of boomers are physically active

• The oldest baby boomers report poorer health than people nearly 20 years their senior

• Boomers are more likely to have trouble walking long distances or lifting 10 lbs.

• Chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes plague many boomers

The boomers are making progress in some areas – they engage significantly less in smoking and heavy drinking, two big contributors to poor health.

The oldest boomers turn 65 next year so there is still time to make positive lifestyle choices that can significantly impact their health, quality of life and longevity.

So what’s it going to be as you age – the Age of Aquarius or an early demise? It’s time to get serious about redefining aging and actually change the social norms about what aging looks and feels like. Are you up for the task?

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You know it’s fall in Tucson when all the cyclists take to the roads – training for El Tour de Tucson. Love seeing all those colorful jerseys – like big jelly beans scattered around town. Today it was fast and furious for the first half of the ride and then the heat and wind set in as we hit the scenic part of the ride – Hughes access road and Los Reales! But we all finished…and with vigor. May it cool down soon.

Sorry Tim and Mike – not sure where Richard was pointing the camera this morning. Thanks for the strong pulls!

Check out these 15 bike designs of the future all submitted to the Seoul Cycle Design Competition 2010 in Seoul, Korea. The mission was to provide a cycle for the city dweller to adopt cycling into the daily routine of residents to promote healthy lifestyles. The city on its part, promises to provide all the infrastructure needed to promote cycling in Seoul.

15 Amazing Bicycles For The Future of Seoul

Check out the body gyrating, booty shaking, footwork fanatics on this Youtube video. Gotta love the masters – Patrick Swayze, John Travolta, Fred Astaire, Michael Jackson, Jamie Lee Curits, and of course the cast from FlashDance.

And don’t miss the season opener at ACT, Backwards in Highheels. You guessed it – the Ginger Rogers story.

It’s time to strap on those dancing shoes and move that body. So much fun, exhilarating, heart beating great exercise! What are you waiting for?

It would be nice if we could get it right from the start, make it happen immediately, plant the seed and reap the harvest and create immediate success….the reality is that progressive and continuous progress towards your goals is the best formula to realize your dreams. Whether you are training for an athletic event, saving for a new home, developing an important relationship, or starting or growing your business – a consistent, well thought out plan that moves you progressively forward is most likely to yield success. And here’s why:

1.) Time clarifies perspective – and allows you to release biases, to be realistic, refine strategies, to integrate all of the variables and develop a clearer vision.

2.) Chunking builds momentum – creating short term goals and slicing an overwhelming project into smaller bite size morsels that are digestible and manageable creates small successes along the way. Momentum builds with small successes.

3.) Flowing trumps lurching – dramatic stops, starts, sputters, and lunges create waves and turmoil. A fluid flow forward creates progressive movement, allows for adaptation and results in steady progress towards your goal.

4.) Practice compensates for failure – hey, not eveything you set in motion is going to work. Adding smaller chucks or developmental pieces make failures more palatable and allow for rethinking and retooling.

5.) Showing up is half the battle – actually it’s more like 99% of what it takes to be successful – tenacity, perseverance, determination, stamina…all are critical ingredients for success and to meet your goals.

So it’s time to get moving – what ever it is you want to accomplish – you don’t have to do it all in one day.
You just need to get started, create the momentum and let the process begin.

Hey check out these legs, voted “America’s Best Looking Calves” by Life Fitness.They belong to Patti Mangone – a part-time spinning and group strength training instructor at the YMCA in Plum, PA.

Well Tucson, I have seen some eye-popping calves out there on the road and on the mountain that could sure compete with these. So flex those gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, snap a photo and shoot me an email of your hot hot Tucson legs. [email protected]

Hey check these out!

OK, so these ain’t no 30-something set of calves…..but they have lots of miles in em. Maybe I’ll try Patti’s workout.

Patti Mangone shares her five-day workout routine:

* Monday: 30-minute group cycling class followed by seated calf raises

* Tuesday: Weighted squats – 3 sets of 10

* Wednesday: 45-minute group cycling class followed with a good old-fashioned session of jump rope – 5 sets of 3-minute intervals or sometimes calf extension machine – 3 sets of 12 reps

* Thursday: Walk uphill on the treadmill at a steep setting for 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds – repeat 10 times. Followed by standing calf raises – 8 reps

* Friday: Walking lunges – 20 steps