Wendy’s Picks

Indoor Walking: Your TV Is Your Friend

Keep in shape during the Pacific Northwest’s rainy season by treating yourself to a selection of videos and DVDs that make indoor walking a treat.

Leslie Sansone
Perfect for people with smaller homes, or a home without a treadmill, Leslie Sansone’s series of indoor walking videos are ideal: Just clear a space in front of the TV and Sansone will lead you through a workout designed to burn calories and tone muscles. This is a good choice for beginners. If you are training for a long walk, these videos do not substitute for training outdoors or on a treadmill because different muscles are worked.
www.lesliesansone.com

Kathy Smith
Beginners have recommended this video to me as one they do indoors every day. They describe Kathy Smith as a warm and friendly instructor. The video is a 30-minute workout that uses simple, low-impact marching steps and introduces the viewer to interval training.
www.kathysmith.com

Treadmoves
Bored with your treadmill workout? Want to do some moves like the guys on that “OK Go” music video? These two videos or DVDs take you through a full-body workout on your treadmill. Each segment includes beginner and advanced moves — follow the instructor of your choice.
www.treadmoves.com

Destination Fitness
Shot in stunning locales such as the Swiss Alps, the Grand Canyon, and Maui, these scenic walking videos are available from Destination Fitness. Each video has two progressive workouts and synchronized music to coach you through a virtual walk in these glorious places, while walking on your treadmill.
www.destinationfitness.com

Nike + iPod System
If you already have an iPod nano, the new Nike + iPod system can add a dimension to your indoor and outdoor workouts. The device records your steps, translates them into miles and calories, and beams them to the iPod nano. At the end of your workout, you may be congratulated by Lance Armstrong or marathoner Paula Radcliffe for setting a new personal best. You can also upload the data (free membership included with purchase) to the Nikeplus.com website and track your walking and running workouts. The $29 footpod/receiver system is meant to work with Nike + ready-shoes, although there are ways to attach the system to other kinds of footwear using a homemade pouch or Velcro-brand fasteners.
www.nike.com

Video Players
If your treadmill isn’t situated next to your TV, the explosion in video iPods and mini-DVD players provide other options for watching video from your treadmill, including TV shows like “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” or “Friends.” Some shows can be downloaded directly to a video iPod. You can also rent or buy them on DVD or borrow them from the library.

—Wendy Bumgardner
www.walking.about.com

Book Reviews
New Book Matches Calories Consumed to Exercise

Which would you rather have: A 121-calorie banana, a 204-calorie donut, or a diet-busting cheese pizza with 304 calories per slice?

We’re all familiar with calorie counters, but they don’t answer that one critical question: If I eat this, how long does it take to burn it off?

Nutrition and public health advocate Charles Stuart Platkin answers this question with his recently published book, The Diet Detective’s Count Down.

Presented in an easy-to-read series of tables, the book includes 7,500 of the most commonly used foods with their exercise equivalents for walking, running, biking, swimming, yoga, and dance. In addition to calorie counts, carbohydrate and fat content are also included.

This is the first book to translate food into exercise, giving readers a tool for understanding the caloric cost of almost any food and how long it will take to burn off those extra calories.

For example:
• One slice of chocolate cake equals 200 minutes of walking
• 15 chips equals 30 minutes of cycling
• Two truffles equals 45 minutes of running
• One Coke equals 50 minutes of yoga

The idea is that readers will use the book to create a maintenance diet that teaches them how to trade-off high-fat, high-cost foods for low-fat, healthier choices.

“Knowing we have to walk for 14 hours (43 miles) in order to burn one pound of fat is a great reason to skip dessert,” the author notes. “It’s much easier to pass up a day of overeating ice cream and fried chicken than it is to walk 43 miles.”

Published by Fireside in January 2007, the book is available for $13. ISBN: 978-0-7432-9800-1.

Nordic Walking: A Total Body Experience

This is Tim Arem’s first book and the first book written on Nordic Walking in the US and Canada. The book serves as an introductory guide to Nordic walking. Nordic Walking: A Total Body Experience is simple and fun, incorporating diet, lifestyle, and the importance of physical activity. Walkers from any age curious to about Nordic walking can learn the history, necessary equipment, and proper techniques.

“My goal is to provide a step-by-step approach for walkers of any age interested in learning this awesome activity. It is a quick, easy read and can equally be used as an excellent resource guide for established Nordic walkers,” says Arem.

Arem is a theatrical health/fitness enthusiast and educator for kids. In his latest initiative, Nordic Walking Across America (NWAA), Arem will travel to twenty schools in twenty states during the 2006-07 school year. NWAA is
a national campaign promoting elementary schools to encourage their students to be active. LEKI USA, a manufacturer of Nordic Walking poles, has partnered with Arem to offer poles, a copy of the book, and hands-on instruction to the 20 schools chosen for this season.

Arem’s book is available online at www.amazon.com, www.tbonerun.com, and will be available in select retail stores. Published by Booksurge in 2006. $10.99 ISBN:1419646621.

Skin MD Natural

Walk About received samples of Skin MD Natural earlier this year, and our staff has been using it all summer. We all are passionate about gardening, cooking, walking, and hiking outdoors in all kinds of weather, activities that take toll on our hands and feet. After a few months of use, we have found that the lotion not only kept our hands and feet moisturized but also alleviated dry and cracked skin.
Skin MD Natural is not your typical hand or body lotion. It looks like a lotion but acts very differently on the skin. Shielding lotions form a
protective shield with the outer layer of skin that helps to keep out irritants and chemicals. It also allows natural oils and moisture to remain in the skin so it can heal better.

It is perfect for those in careers that require frequent hand washing because it enhances the skin’s own natural protective factor as it hydrates. It is effective in helping to prevent the skin irritation or blistering on feet that many walkers and hikers experience.

For more information, call 800-540-4790 to find a retail outlet near you or visit www.SkinMDNatural.com.

Springwater Corridor
Closing the Gap

Earlier this month, three cyclist and pedestrian bridges, which had been under construction since spring of last year, were completed. The bridges bring the 17-mile Springwater Corridor closer to completion. They traverse Johnson Creek, Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard and a Union Pacific rail line. The bridges will enable trail users to travel from Boring to the edge of Southeast Portland entirely on the trail. The only unfinished section of the trail is about one and a half miles through parts of Sellwood.

Construction of the bridges cost about $4.7 million, and 90 percent of the total was covered by federal transportation funds. Portland Parks & Recreation, the city of Milwaukie, and TriMet paid the remaining 10 percent. Construction of the trail has been ongoing for almost 20 years. Once it is completed, you will be able to walk from downtown Portland to Gresham and beyond without walking in the street.

For more information and to view maps and history, go to www.40mileloop.org.

Forest Park Gets New Trail

The newest trail added to Forest Park is the 1/3-mile Cannon Trail. This addition connects Wildwood Trail and Leif Erikson Drive trailheads on the south side of Germantown Road. It opens up a number of loop options for hikers and walkers in the northern section of Forest Park and provides a safe link between Wildwood and Leif trails.

The Cannon Trail is named for G.E. “Ding” Cannon, onetime president of Standard Insurance Company. Ding played a major role in the creation and later expansion of Forest park. Volunteers from The Standard helped construct the trail as part of their 100-year anniversary “Day of Caring” celebration.

The project was funded through a generous grant from Oregon Parks Foundation.