Monday, January 26, 2004
Fit bits: Ways to stay active and healthy
Get out
Stretching for spring: It's cold now, but spring will be here before you know it. The Gardener's Special class 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at Feldenkrais Within, 4124 Hamilton Ave., in Northside, helps you prepare for the physical demands of gardening with increased agility while kneeling, squatting and bending. $90. 541-5720.
Fit and free: SparkCincinnati, the fitness offshoot of SparkPeople Inc., presents a New Year's Resolution Bash, 6-9 p.m. Thursday at Paul Brown Stadium, downtown. The event - with resolutions booths, food and beverages, music, and speakers - kicks off a year of activities to help make Cincinnati a healthier place. Free. 241-6470.
Hip-hop for hips: Here's a chance to dance away the winter blues and get fit at the same time. Sign up for a Cardio Hip-Hop class, 11 a.m. Saturday at the Bond Hill Branch Library. For ages 10 and up. Free. 369-4445.
Step lightly: Join a park naturalist for a leisurely January Thaw walk, 3-4 p.m. Saturday at the Avon Woods Nature Preserve in North Avondale. If there is snow, and the weather conditions are right, look out for snow fleas. Free. 861-3435.
Work it out
Welcome to the neighborhood: The Bayley Place Community Wellness Center, in the heart of the 158-acre Bayley Place Retirement Community Campus, recently opened in Delhi Township.
The center's mission is to encourage healthy aging by embracing a holistic environment that supports the emotional, intellectual, vocational, social, spiritual and physical well-being of each member.
Features include an aquatics center, fitness center, indoor walking track, integrative therapy and a cafe. A full-time professional team, partnering with the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, staffs the facility and creates programming. Membership is limited to ages 40 and over.
Membership fees: single, $50 a month (plus tax); couple, $75 a month (plus tax) plus $125 joining fee. 347-1400.
Advice
Walking without pain: Walkers and runners frequently encounter foot and back pain because of the way their feet twist as they move. One solution is to be sized for an orthotic, a specially fitted shoe insert to level your foot. A new ready-made orthotic, Powerstep, offers an affordable option. The cushioned arch support and contoured heel cup cradles the foot and reduces twisting. Available at Bob Roncker's Running Spot in O'Bryonville, Footworks in Crescent Springs and Evendale, Shoe Outlet in Newport, Compass Health Care in Montgomery, East Cincinnati Running Company in Milford, Fleet Feet Sports in Blue Ash, Group Health Associates pharmacies, Midwest Sports Supply in Sharonville, New Balance Shoes in Glendale and Wheelie Fun Multisport in Lebanon. Also online (www.powersteps.com) .
Shelf help
Read all about it: Check out this month's Consumer Reports magazine. The issue covers which infomercial exercisers work, body fat scales, effective ways to cut fat and what's really in those "ephedra-free" products.
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E-mail srhone@enquirer.com
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