By Cecily Guest, AFAA, NCEP certified instructor

Could it be that there’s one, singular way to burn fat, tone muscle, reduce stress, increase serotonin levels, protect against heart disease, dementia and depression, make you smarter and bring you closer to friends and family? Yes! It’s called dancing.

For many exercisers there’s no secret that dance-aerobics burns 300-500 calories per 60 minute workout. Others have learned that dance classes can quickly tone leg muscles as well as muscles of the upper arm, chest and upper back. But recent studies like the one I found in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that the one activity that offered the greatest risk protection against dementia was dance. Golf and cycling offered 0% protection, reading a crossword puzzling offered 35-47% protection, dance offers up to 76% protection against dementia.

“The cerebral cortex and hippocampus which are critical to [dance] are remarkably plastic, and they rewire themselves based upon their use” say on Havard Medical School psychiatrist.

If you want to loose weight while dancing you’ll have to pick up the pace as slow dance, ballet and casual clubbing don’t raise your heart rate enough for high caloric burn. Once you’ve found the best dance based exercise program to suit your personality you’ll be more likely to stick with it because you’ll actually enjoy yourself and you’ll start to look forward to interacting with the other students. Don’t worry if you’re a little uncoordinated. You’re not going for an Olympic medal and there are no Hollywood stars waiting to give you the buzzer. Relax and have fun in your dance-based workouts.

One of the most popular dance-based exercise forms in the last 10-years is Zumba ™, created by fitness instructor Alberto “Beto” Perez. The format has more than 12 million people in 125 countries following and using it to get into better shape. Zumba’s popularity exists in many local, community studios and dance halls as followers consider it to be the only fitness experience they need. It’s a total body workout with some intricate Latin based moves, which help improve coordination, balance and cognitive skills. Classes in your area are easy to find on Zumba’s website and most local studios charge as little as $5 per class. This means you can easily take Zumba ™ 3-5 days per week. Plus there are frequent Zumba-thons in the Bay Area which are usually associated with charity drives.

Here are some unofficial signs you’re serious about Zumba:

1. You own Zumba ™ gear

2. You find that you are doing Zumba workouts more than once a week.

3. You are humming Zumba ™ songs in the shower, kitchen, while pumping gas, etc.

4. When you meet fun people, you try to get them to go to class with you

5. Your kids, spouses and in-laws join you at least once a week

6. You’re a “gidder done” type of guy who finds himself leading the dance line at weddings

7. You’re loosing weight and burning fat with a smile on your face.

8. You have a Zumba ™ song as your ring tone

9. You’re thinking of getting certified to teach Zumba ™

10. You made a fitness budget that includes Zumba ™ workouts.

Guest is owner of Progressive Fitness in Antioch.

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As a personal trainer for the better part of 25 years, I’ve seen marketed almost every “get fit quick” scheme there is. From my experience in the fitness industry I can say that most all of them do not work and have little impact but on the pocket book.

In recent years marketers of these fitness products and routines “in a box”, have refined their techniques of selling, by preying on the late night food bingers (you know who you are) with television commercials designed to help you feel less guilty about that after hours snack or bowl of ice cream. They offer a “miracle” weight loss product or program that of course you can have in three easy payments.

Seeing the dramatic results of “everyday people” losing 30, 60, 120 lbs. and women dropping dress sizes down from an 8 to a 2 or even a 0 and strutting around with renewed confidence plays on the emotions of what has you sitting there chomping away to begin with, a lack of confidence. It is the ultimate temptation: to make you feel like the product can do something to change the way you feel about yourself, and how other people view you.

The real secret to the financial success of these “get fit quick” programs, and your ultimate failure in changing your life and getting in the shape you “want”, is not “false” advertising or even the products they offer. While it is not easy to hear this; it is your weakness. A lack of self-confidence that leads to your lack of will, and self-control.

Your miracle product is in the mail. Opening it up, excited about what it offers, at some point you come to the realization that you are going to have to put work in to making the product effective and lose the extra pounds that the product “promised” you would. To be fair, you are set up to fail from the very start because of unrealistic expectations. These products don’t come with will power.

Looking for the next great fitness product? Don’t. The next one you already have. There is no initial payment to make, just a rock solid commitment to changing your life. In fact it isn’t a product at all, it’s you. And it is guaranteed to work if you stick with it.

Not only will you lose the weight you want, but your health and your life will be fuller and richer than any bowl of ice cream or dessert you have ever had.

Find a boot camp; hire a trainer; grab your wife, husband or the kids and go for a walk; watch what you eat, and follow a nutritional program. You had to make a decision to open the refrigerator, just make the decision not to open it. And the next time you find yourself up at 3 a.m. wanting a snack… GO TO BED!

Terrell Lambacker is a Certified Personal Trainer and owner of Progressive Fitness in Antioch. For more information visit his website at www.MyProgressiveFitness.com or see the ad below.

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Raising “Super” Healthy Families is the goal of every parent. Moms and dads innately want the best for their beloved. With the right health philosophy and action steps, you and your loved ones can enjoy an excellent quality of life together. Here’s a super healthy philosophy with some science and common sense to back it up.

Health comes from within. The moment you were conceived, one cell from your mother and one from your father united to form a unique and magnificent you. This united cell multiplied over and over again during the next nine months into 80 quadrillion cells without any help from the scientific community. Your heart, lungs, fingers and toes, were all positioned by your Innate Intelligence to develop and function properly.

As long as there is no interference to this process, everything can develop perfectly and you are prepared to be delivered into this world. This Innate Intelligence stays with you after you are born. With the nervous system as its conduit, this intelligence controls and coordinates the function of your entire body. Keeping this system free from interference is essential to a healthy life. This Innate philosophy strengthens you. It keeps you healthy in mind and body. If you teach this philosophy to your children you will raise them as strong, confident individuals who trust their body, immune system, and genetic potential. They will be “super” healthy kids.

On the other hand, teaching a drug-oriented philosophy from birth can lead to drug-dependency as an adult. Too many people buy into the philosophy that they need drugs to be healthy.

While this may be true in limited cases of extreme pain, sickness and disease, it is not true or healthy as an overall philosophy or lifestyle.

Think about the impact of a “drug first” philosophy. When your baby gets sick for the first time, you have a choice. If you do not have confidence in your child’s natural immune system, you might immediately panic and give your child a drug. In their toddler years when they get a cold or infection you may give them a drug right away so they won’t “suffer”. Each time they say they do not feel good, rather than rely on their body’s innate wisdom, do you call in a prescription or go to the store and get them an over-the-counter drug?

When your child is old enough to go to school, the teacher might inform you that they are struggling to concentrate or sit still. The child might be labeled and immediately given a drug.

What is the message that is constantly sent to a child under these “drug first” conditions? If a child is taught that they should take a drug every time they do not feel good, this drug-first behavior becomes conditioned. Is it any wonder that when this child has a minor ailment, does not make the team, or has a social conflict that they turn to drugs to “feel better?”

Your health care philosophy is your choice. The 100 Year Lifestyle and chiropractic deliver an innate health care philosophy which is working for millions. It can also work for you and your family. Isn’t it time you begin trusting yourself and this innate philosophy and begin living the ‘super” healthy life that you and your children deserve?

This article is provided by Dr. Brandon Roberts, D.C. and was reprinted with permission of The Family Practice, Inc.

Dr. Roberts has a 100 Year Lifestyle Affiliate Office. Deer Valley Chiropractic, 3381 Deer Valley Road, Antioch, 925-757-7571

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Vasant Lad, BAMS, MASc, world-renowned Ayurveda Physician, scholar and teacher, will be giving a weekend workshop on “Ayurvedic Principles for Body, Mind and Spirit March 16-18. Shri Anandi Ma, Self-realized master of the ancient yoga lineage of Kundalini Maha Yoga will join Vasant Lad for this workshop.

Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word that means “Science of Life.” It is probably the oldest authentically recorded healing science in existence, having been practiced throughout India for over 5,000 years. Its knowledge is empowering and timely. Ayurveda seeks to understand and correct imbalances and to restore the innate intelligence and harmony of the individual through diet, herbal medicines, lifestyle changes and other treatments.

It creates balance within and around us. It is a simple, practical science of life whose principles are universally applicable to each individual’s daily existence. Ayurveda speaks to every element and facet of human life, offering guidance that has been tested and refined over many centuries to all those who seek greater harmony, peace and longevity.

We are thrilled that Vasant Lad will be traveling to our Center in Antioch from his base at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuqueque, NM.

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A volunteer free medical clinic in Pittsburg will celebrate its first anniversary Feb. 9, having served more than 700 uninsured patients in its very successful first year.

The RotaCare Pittsburg Free Medical Clinic at St. Vincent de Paul opened on Feb. 9, 2011. The clinic is a joint effort by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Contra Costa County and 10 Rotary Clubs in the county. It is open each Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at 2210 Gladstone Dr., Pittsburg. Volunteer doctors and nurses are the heart of the clinic.

The clinic serves a wide range of uninsured people in the community. Three-fourths of the patients live in Pittsburg or Antioch; most of the rest live in Oakley, Brentwood or Bay Point.

Many of the patients are middle-aged, most underemployed or recently unemployed. Two-thirds come to the clinic for acute illnesses, with upper respiratory infections the biggest single illness treated. More than a third of the patients have diabetes or hypertension.

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The American Cancer Society invites individuals who want to celebrate the lives of those who have faced cancer, remember loved ones lost and fight back against the disease to join its Relay For Life, scheduled for June 23-June 24th from 10 AM-10 AM at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg.

In 1985, Relay For Life began with one man who walked around a track for 24 hours raising $27,000. This year, Relay For Life is coming to you in more than $4,800 communities.

The Relay For Life kickoff rally is where anyone families, caregivers, cancer survivors, schools, companies, etc., get together to kick off annual Relay For Life activities.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is an overnights community celebration where individuals and teams camp out, barbecue, dance, and take turns walking around a track relay style to raise funds to fight cancer. At nightfall, participants will light hundreds of luminaria around the track in a moving ceremony to honor cancer survivors as well as friends and family members lost to the disease.

he American Cancer Society Relay For Life represents hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated.

WHEN – Tuesday, February 7, 2012 – 6:30 PM
WHERE – The Pittsburg Elks Lodge #1474, 200 Marina Boulevard, Pittsburg, CA 94565
HOW – To join Relay For Life in our community, contact Event Chair Judy Dawson: judy_dawson@att.net, 925-787-9021 or Event Co-Chair Michele Littlefield: mmm5864@comcast.net, 925-813-5274 or visit www.RelayFor Life.org/antiochca

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Ten Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals, including the one in Antioch, have been named 2011 Leapfrog Top Hospitals, an honor that rewards medical centers for outstanding success in such areas as using electronic health records to reduce medication and other errors, lowering infection rates, maintaining appropriate physician and nursing staffing, and other measures of safety and efficiency.

“It is an honor to see our Antioch and Walnut Creek hospitals receive this designation,” said Ginger Campbell, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Area. “This reinforces our commitment to quality and reflects the personalized and consistent level of dedicated care we provide to our patients.”

Over the past three years, 13 Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California have been named Top Leapfrog Hospitals.

“Kaiser Permanente is consistently recognized by several independent third-party organizations for providing high-quality health care, and this latest honor from Leapfrog is further testament that our physicians, nurses and staff members are consistently delivering personalized, coordinated and technologically advanced care that is improving the health and well-being of our patients and the communities we serve,” said Gregory A. Adams, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals, Inc. in Northern California.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Top Hospitals in 2011 are Antioch, Oakland, Richmond, Roseville, San Francisco, San Jose, South Sacramento, South San Francisco, Walnut Creek and Vacaville.

Eight Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California also received the honor, which means that 18 of this year’s 65 Top Hospitals in the U.S. are Kaiser Permanente facilities in California. They were chosen from a field of nearly 1,200 hospitals around the country surveyed this year.

The 18 honored Kaiser Permanente hospitals were all in the “urban” category, and comprised more than a third of the 52 top urban hospitals listed nationally. The other categories surveyed were children’s hospitals (10 honored nationally) and rural hospitals (three nationally).

“The physicians, nurses and staff of Kaiser Permanente consistently deliver outstanding quality care and service that is personalized, technologically advanced and closely coordinated across all disciplines—primary care, specialty care, outpatient care and inpatient care,” said Robert Pearl, MD, executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group.

“Our excellent ratings from Leapfrog and other third-party organizations reflect the excellence and superiority of our integrated model for medical care, which enables our medical group, hospitals and health plan to work together on behalf of our patients to achieve the highest quality outcomes.”

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded a decade ago to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability. Initially organized by the Business Roundtable, it is now an independent advocacy group working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers. The annual survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind.

The 2011 list includes university and other teaching hospitals, children’s hospitals and community hospitals in rural, suburban and urban settings. The selection is based on the results of the Leapfrog Group’s national survey that measures hospitals’ performance in crucial areas of patient safety and quality. The questions Leapfrog asks on its survey are consistent with measures used by The Joint Commission, National Quality Forum and Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The results of the survey are posted on a website open to the patients and families, the public and employers and other purchasers of health care. It is the most complete picture available of a hospital’s quality and safety. The website is www.leapfroggroup.org.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.9 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information go to www.kp.org/newscenter.

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A new fitness studio has recently opened in Antioch called Progressive Fitness. Owners Terrell Lambacker, a 22-year veteran of the fitness industry and his wife Cecily Guest, a 23-year veteran, are bringing their fitness expertise and great passion for fitness to the Antioch community, in the form of a personal training facility.

This has been the long-time dream of this power couple, originally from New York, and now they can bring health and fitness to the public the way they’ve always wanted to.

“We are putting the personal back in personal training” says the duo. “The last few years in fitness has seen the big box gyms take personal training and treat it as just another stream of revenue for their facilities, and the quality has been lost which is very sad to me as a life long fitness trainer.”

“The fitness consumer believes that because it’s being offered in the gym or health club that it must be good or that the information that they are receiving is the best. Unfortunately that’s not always the case,” said Terrell

He was voted one of the top personal trainers in the country by Men’s Health Magazine, a tremendous honor. He and Cecily are determined to bring personal training back to the public the way it started.

“Personal training, in the beginning, was all about the client getting the health and fitness results that they wanted to achieve”, says Cecily. “For the trainer, it was about forging a partnership with your clients to help them get those results in an atmosphere that was comfortable and nurturing. It started in small intimate studios where the clients were part of a community.”

“The big box gyms only see the money side of personal training and turned it into some kind of assembly line operation,” she added.

The duo knows of what they speak, both have been managers of fitness and group exercise for some of the biggest health and fitness chains in the country during their long and storied careers in fitness.

“At Progressive Fitness we are dedicated to helping our clients achieve their health and fitness goals in an atmosphere that is private, comfortable, nurturing and fun,” Terrell said. “No one said it can’t be fun too.” Cecily added.

With all sessions being by appointment only, Progressive Fitness’s hours of operation are whenever clients want to train.

“We are here to service our clients when they are able to train, says Terrell. “I don’t want to give clients an excuse not to train, so whenever their schedules allow for them to come in and train that’s when we are open.”

They also offer help and suggestions with nutrition and will soon be offering training and nutrition packages as well because.

“It’s one thing we know for sure, you can’t get the results you seek without your nutrition being on track too,” he stated emphatically.

Terrell along with Progressive Fitness’s other top in-house trainer Fred Johnson, who is also a massage therapist, offer to everyone interested in training, a free session to experience what training with these dedicated professionals is like

From the looks of their facility that’s going to be a tremendous workout. They have the TRX Suspension Training System, the hottest fitness training apparatus on the market today. A pair of straps hanging from the ceiling, innocent looking but what a workout those straps can provide.

Along with big tractor tires and sledge hammers, Kettlebells and a few other tricks up their sleeves Progressive Fitness has all today’s fitness enthusiast as well as those looking to lose a few pounds needs to see the results they seek.

Progressive Fitness also offers Yoga Circuits, taught by the Bay area’s top Yogi and owner of Progressive Fitness Cecily. Yoga Circuits are offered every Sunday morning.

“Its a wonderful way to start your Sunday after the hectic lives we live during the week”, says Cecily.

Terrell also says that RYDE is starting at Progressive Fitness this month, that’s indoor cycling on stationary bikes called REAL RYDERS – bikes that actually turn from side to side. Plus, GOBOX!, a boxing conditioning class led by Fred.

“Its everything but the knockouts,” he said.

For folks who like to dance those extra pounds and inches away, ZUMBA classes are also offered at Progressive Fitness. ZUMBA is taught by YANI, one of the hottest instructors in Antioch.

So stop by Progressive Fitness, located at 4045 Lone Tree Way, Suite C, near Starbucks in the Bluerock Center, and talk to the team about fitness and let them progress your health.

For more information visit them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PFTC1, or on their website at www.MyProgressiveFitness.com or call (925) 727-3031.

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