Pink VS Yellow Undertones.

I went most of my life believing I had darker skin and needed something similar to what my mother wore.  I found out a couple of years ago that I use a much lighter foundation with pink undertones.  As a matter of fact, I had a couple people tell me I needed pink and it made no sense to me because I didn't understand that people had skin with pink or yellow undertones.  Turns out, my mother has a skin tone that is more yellow and since I bought mine based on what she did, it's no wonder I looked absolutely horrible in the foundation I bought.

Since then, I've learned that most people either have a pink or yellow undertone to their skin.  The undertone refers to the underlying shade of your skin and has nothing to do with how light or dark your skin is.  There are four divisions of undertones.  First is a warm undertone which is where the skin is yellow or golden and can be found in light to medium skin tones.  Second is skin that has a cool undertone which is pink or red and can be found in light to medium skin tones.  Third is skin that runs the medium to dark with a golden or yellow undertone and a slightly greenish olive cast to the skin.  Finally is neutral which is not noticeably yellow, golden, pink or red.  It is balanced and is found in light to medium skin tones.  

To determine the undertone of your skin, look at your face, chest or chest in broad daylight because undertones have nothing to do with how light or dark your skin tone is.  It also has nothing to do with acne, eczema, or other skin irritation.  

Cool undertones appear to be reddish or pinkish with a possible bluish cast.  Your skin might range from a very light pinkish tone to medium tan.  Your skin might be a darker shade described as coffee or chocolate with cream added and would never be described as honey or golden.  If you have cool undertones, you can wear jewel tones in your clothing rather than colors like ochre, tomato red, orange, or brown.  Your jewelry should be silver rather than gold and in the sun you burn first and possible tan later..  When you choose a foundation you want one with cool undertones and has no golden tints in it.

Warm undertones tend to be yellowish, peachy, or golden.  If you have lighter skin, you'll see tones ranging from peachy to golden honey but if you have darker skin tones like honey or golden, you have warm undertones.  You can wear earthy brown, coral, orange, cream, ivory, mustard and peach clothing, not the jewel tones because they will make you look sallow.  Gold jewelry is better for you and when you are out in the sun, you are more likely to tan rather than burn.  choose a foundation with yellow or golden undertones.

Olive undertones may either be yellowish or greenish undertones.  The skin tone appears to be more of a muted bronze with tints of green.  Your skin tone could range from light to medium but appears bronze. Fortunately, you can wear almost any shade except for neon colors, brown, beige, or mauve and can wear both silver or gold jewelry.  You want to select a foundation that leans towards golden with a slight olive hue. When you are out in the sun, you tan easily.

Neutral undertones means you can wear a variety of shades within a specific range due to the balance of warm and cool undertones.  Skin tones can range from light to quite dark with no outstanding red, pink, yellow or golden.  You are able to wear muted shades and both gold and silver.  If you go into the sun, you might or might not burn before you tan.  Look for a foundation that are balanced but lean towards the golden shades.  

The best way to test the foundation you chose is to use a Q-tip and dab some foundation on your cheekbone, around your nose, and along your jaw on one side before standing next to a window to see how it looks.  If it makes you look shallow, chalky, too yellowish, or just not right, try a different shade.  I finally went to the mall to a store and asked a makeup sales person to help me find the proper shade.  That was when I discovered I needed a light foundation with a bit of a pink hue to look decent rather than ill.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

I'm Bored.

I'm bored!

Do Not Disturb!

Shhhhh.  Let the little one sleep!

7 World Records Associated With Weddings!

 

Every year, I receive invitations to various weddings from family or friends.  The weddings range from a formal one held in a church, to an outdoor wedding on an organic farm with reception inside to a wedding held on top of a mountain with a potluck reception and the cake made by the groom.  The average cost of a wedding runs around $33,000 in the United States in 2019.  There are some weddings out there that can run more than I'll ever make in a lifetime.  

The most expensive wedding gown cost around $12 million.  It was a collaboration between Renee Strauss who is a designer and Martin Katz jeweler for the Luxury Brands Lifestyle Bridal Show held at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Ray, California back in 2006.  The silk gown is covered with 150 carats worth of diamonds and named "The Diamond Gown". As far as anyone knows, it is still up for sale.

The longest wedding veil is over 22,000 feet long or around 4 miles long.  It was ordered by Cyprus bride Maria Paraskeva who always dreamed of breaking the record for longest veil.  She purchased over 23,000 feet of tulle fabric with a width of almost 6 feet wide and spent around 4000 Euros for the materials.  Then she had to find a factory to turn the material into a veil that met industry standards for a veil. She wore it in 2018.

The longest wedding dress train measured over 26,000 feet long or almost 5 miles long.  It was created in Caudry, France, a town known for it's lace. In 2006, Dynamic Projects worked with 15 volunteers who spent two months stitching all the pieces of the train together.  After, the Guinness Book of Records confirmed the length of the train, the train was cut up into smaller pieces and sold off as a fund raiser for various charities.  

The wedding with the most number of bridesmaids took place when Tina Ackles married Thomas Rogers in Florida.  She set a new record when she asked 168 people to be her bridesmaids. This happened at the American Businesswomen's Association meeting in Safety Harbor Florida in April 2015.

The wedding with the most ushers happened in February 2015.  Abbi Lewis, a bridal shop owner, opened a competition with the prize of having a free wedding designed to break a record or two.  Amy Ewing and Radio DJ personality Alex Simmons received a wedding package worth 110,000 pounds.  Abbi managed to get most everything donated including the outfits for 130 bridesmaids and 97 ushers which set records for the most bridesmaids and most ushers at a wedding.  Within two months, the bridesmaid record was broken.

The most expensive non royal wedding cost the father of the bride $55 million.  The cost covered a six day event which included a recreation of the couple's courtship, their engagement, and famous musicians such as Kylie Minogue. The father rented the Chateau Veaux Le Vicomte dating back to the 17th century and located near Paris.

The largest guest list goes to a wedding reception thrown by Jayalalitha Jayaram for her foster son's wedding in 1995.  Jayalalitha is a former minister and movie star who invited 150,000 people to the event in Madras, India 

The last record goes to the couple from San Francisco who paid almost $30,000 for a slice of cake from the 1937 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.  They purchased it from Southeby's auction house  in 1998.

Can you imagine spending $12 million on a dress or $55 million on a ceremony? I can't. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.

The 10 Most Expensive Cakes In The World Ever Sold!

For most people they either purchase a package of cake mix and a tub of frosting to make something at home or they stop through the bakery section of the grocery store to buy something ready made.  Few of us are willing to spend a lot of money for a fancy cake but there are 10 cakes out there that cost more than most of us make in a year.

The royal family paid $78,000 for the cake served at the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton in 2011.  The cake took Fiona Cairns and her team of 50 people to create the cake over a 5 week period.  This multiple layer cake included 17 lace flowers from Kate Middleton's wedding dress.

Japanese pastry chef, Nobue Ikara created a beautiful cake decorated with platinum pendents, pins, and necklaces for the Platinum Guild International.  The cake cost over $130,000 because the chef used edible platinum flakes on a base of regular fondant and frosting.  The cake was commissioned with the idea that it would encourage people to purchase more platinum jewelry.

Another Japanese pastry chef, Masami Miyamoto made a beautiful chocolate cake which included $850,000 worth of diamonds provided by jeweler Sa-Birth. It was made for the holiday season as part of the jewelers window display.  The jeweler hoped more people would come in to check out the merchandise or even buy the cake.  Masami used about 50 carats of diamonds in the cake. 

The first three cakes are edible but this one, the Luster Dust cake is not edible but is still classified as a cake.  Dallas Delicious Cakes got together with the Dallas Gold and Silver exchange to create this magnificent work of art for the Dallas Bridal Fair in 2010.  The exterior is made from a luster dust frosting  that is decorated with more than one million dollars worth of jewels.  If it were a real cake, it would have weighed over 200 pounds.  The cake is valued at $1.3 million.

A jewelry store in  Tokyo commissioned a cake in the shape of Africa for it's window display. What makes it so expensive is the 2000 diamonds outlining the continent and filling in the southern part where diamond mining is found.  It is valued at $5 million.

In 2006, a cake artist created a seven layer bridal cake for the Beverly Hills Luxury Bridal Show.  The seven layers has a trail of flowers leading from the top of the cake down the side and around to the bottom all in white. The $20 million cake has lots of gold flakes and diamonds which makes it much more expensive than a normal wedding cake.

The Cake Boss from television was commissioned to create an extravagant cake for a party thrown by Devorah Rose who is the editor-in-chief of Social Life magazine. She is known for her parties and this $30 million cake was the highlight of one of her many parties. It was covered in diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. 

In 2012, Dimuthu Kumarasinghe created a pirate fantasy cake valued at $35 million. The cake was made to look like a pirate ship complete with booty such as rare stones, brooches, rings, and necklaces.  What made this cake different than most is that each layer of the 10 layer cake was a different flavor such as zucchini, pumpkin, or coconut meringue.  This cake became the most expensive cake ever made. 

One year later in 2013, the National Gay Wedding Show commissioned a 5 foot tall, eight layer cake worth $52 million.  The 4000 diamonds embedded all over the cake is what took the cost up and it nudged the pirate fantasy cake out of first place. 

The most expensive cake in the world was made by Debbie Wingham.  She made it for a person in the United Arab Emirates who wanted something unique for his daughter's birthday. The $75 million cake recreated a six foot long fashion runway with edible models clothed in designer clothing, and many were embedded with $45 million worth of diamonds and other gems.  

Imagine having enough money to afford one of these cakes without going into debt for the rest of your life.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day. 

Canary Wharf and The London Eye.

 I always connect the London Eye with Canary Wharf due to the way the media seems to associate one with the other quite frequently.  For me, I always associate Canary Wharf with a battle on Dr Who when Rose was listed as a casualty but ended up in an alternate world alive.  Yes, I'm a Dr. Who fan and am proud of it but back to Canary Wharf.

Historically, Canary Wharf was used as a dock for ships of the East Indian Company going to and coming from the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean.  It was extremely busy because the United Kingdom imported vegetables and fruit from the area. Canary Wharf is located on the Isle of Dogs.

 Things stayed quite busy until the 1960's when shipments slowed down and by 1980, all the docks had closed down. One year later, the government's Secretary of State founded the Docklands Development Corporation whose focus was to try to rebuild the area. By 1988, construction began on a development funded by a Canadian millionaire.  

The new development contained One Canada Square which was the tallest building at that time and remained the tallest at 244 meters until 2010. By the early 1990's several banks and newspapers moved in and it was off but in 1992, the company running it filed for bankruptcy and it went into receivership with a variety of banks.  In 1995, the Canadian who funded the original development and his partners raised enough money to buy Canary Wharf back from the banks for 800 million pounds.. 

In 2004, another company Songbird lead by Morgan Stanley purchased it back from the Canadian developer after an 11 month battle for control.  Then five years later, Songbird collapsed due to it's debt load and Canary Wharf was purchased by another company. Around 2014, the management company arranged to expand the development by building 30 new buildings filled with stores, residential and offices , adding almost 5 million square feet more to the original buildings.

Now Canary Wharf is the second central business district in London with all it's banks and financial institutions.  In addition, it is one of the main financial centers in the United Kingdom and the world. 

The London Eye on the other hand is about four miles from Canary Wharf.  The London Eye is the huge Ferris wheel you see in pictures of London.  

In 1993, the Sunday Times and Great Britain's Architecture Foundation held a competition for a new landmark to celebrate the new millennium. Although no winner was selected, the architects who submitted the plan for this Ferris wheel decided to get it built themselves and found the land for it on the south side of the river Thames.

Construction began in 1998.  It was put together horizontally before being hoisted into it's current position in 1999.  It was originally named the "Millennium Wheel" in commemoration of the year 2000.  At 443 feet tall, it held the record for the tallest Ferris wheel in the world until 2006 when a new wheel was built in China that took the title away.

It has become one of London's biggest tourist attractions.  It is credited with people developing a new interest in Ferris wheels.  Although it is called a Ferris wheel it is actually classified as the worlds largest cantilevered observation wheel with 32 capsules, each capsule represents one of the boroughs of London.  It is possible to see as far as Windsor Castle from one of the capsules which is about 40 kilometers away.  Although, there are 32 capsules, there is no number 13 so instead of 1 to 32, they are numbered 1 to 12 and 14 to 33.  

In addition, the name was officially changed from the "Millennium Wheel" to the London Eye in March 2000 when they started charging admission.  It attracts over 3.5 million visitors each year and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom and gets more visitors each year than the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids of Giza.

I've been to London but it was long enough ago to know really know about either place so I've put them on my list of places to visit the next time I go over which is probably going to be in another couple or three years.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

I'm So Lonely.

I'm so lonely.  Want to be my friend?

Thanks For The Ride

Thanks for the ride!

What Causes Bone Loss?

Unfortunately as both men and women age, they face the possibility of losing bone density to the point of ending up with osteoporosis.  Bone is made up of living tissue that changes constantly.  Prior to puberty, both boys and girls deposit calcium and other minerals at about the same rate.  After puberty, boys tend to increase bone density at a higher rate than women.  Due to the rapid growth of a child, their skeleton is changing in size and the body works on making sure the bone is dense.  Up to 90% of peak bone density is acquired by girls around 18 and boys by 20. For the first 18 or 20 years, the bone tends to increase in mass so it deposits more calcium and other minerals faster than it uses it.  

As people continue aging, bone mass can keep increasing until the age of about 30 when they reach maximum strength and density.  Then between about 30 and when women go through menopause, the body tends to maintain the amount of bone but once women begin going through menopause, women can go through a significant amount of bone loss but it slows once they’re post-menopause.

There are several factors that can effect the amount of bone loss experienced by individuals. 

1. Sex and Race. - In general men have better bone density than women and men start losing it later than women.  In general it is considered that women can experience significant bone loss by age 50 and men by the age of 70.  If you are an African American woman you are more likely to have better peak bone density than a white woman.

2. Hormonal Factors - When women are younger, their levels of estrogen are high which helps the body increase bone density.  In addition, if a woman is on some sort of oral contraceptives with estrogen, they tend to have higher bone density.  On the other hand, if a female’s period has stopped due to either too low a weight or they are extremely overweight, they may go through bone loss and it may not be made up once their period starts again.

3. Nutrition - It is well known that calcium is essential for good bone health.  If young people do not get enough calcium as they grow, they may not put on enough bone which can lead to weak bones later in life.  There is a study out there that found women who drink three or more cola based sodas per day tend to have at least four percent less bone density than those who do not drink that much soda.  It is thought that women who drink this much soda per day, do not make up the loss of calcium.  Furthermore, it is important to get enough calcium and Vitamin D in one’s diet or the bones lose density.

4.  Physical activity - It has been found that those to regularly exercise or work out tend to have better bone density.  Furthermore, regular exercise composed of weight bearing and resistance activities are the best to prevent bone loss. If a person has a sedentary lifestyle with little to no exercise, they are then at risk for bone loss and osteoporosis.

5. Lifestyle behaviors - Research has shown that certain lifestyle choices can cause bone mass loss.  For instance, smoking as an adolescent can contribute to loss of bone mass and it can lead to fragile bones if the person keeps smoking as they age.  If a person continues smoking, they are at increased risk of Osteoporosis.  In addition, the consumption of alcohol can also increase the possible loss of bone density. 

6.  Diseases - Certain disease such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, chronic liver or kidney disease or diabetes can contribute to the decrease of bone density.  

These are all factors that can impact a person’s level of bone mass.  Many of these things can be addressed so the amount of bone loss can be decreased. If you are older, there are still things that can be done to limit loss but if you are younger, start now to prevent osteoporosis.  I regularly exercise, take supplements to make sure I get enough calcium and vitamin D.  Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear.  Have a great day.

What Was Operation Manna, Operation Chowhound?

Imagine if you will a country starving to death in winter because it’s been in the middle of war for several years.  In September of 1944, the Dutch Queen in exile encouraged her subjects working for the railroad to go on strike as a way of helping the Allies.  In response, the Germans blocked all food and fuel delivers and tore open the dikes resulting in the flooding of farmlands and they blocked all food deliveries. In addition, it was an extremely cold and brutal winter with little food available.

People were reduced to making soup out of hair and what ever else they could find. 

In addition, the Dutch Royal Family living in the United Kingdom appealed to the Allies for help in March 1945.  By April of 1945, it was estimated that half a million Dutch citizens were on the verge of death due to starvation. 

 General Dwight D. Eisenhower came up with the idea to airlift supplies to the Netherlands in response to the Dutch Royal Family.  On April 28th, the first test run, two British planes took off for Operation Manna to take relief supplies to the Netherlands with the understanding the Germans had agreed not to fire anti-aircraft artillery but Eisenhower did not acquire agreement until four days later, two days after Hitler committed suicide.  The name “Operation Manna” came from the biblical reference to manna falling from heaven. In the end the British made 

The British notified the Dutch of the test run and they scrambled to set up landing places and methods of moving the food.  In one location, the horse drawn carts could not get to the drops so they arranged for men to be available to move the food from the landing place to the carts.  Since the Dutch were afraid someone might get hurt during the drops, they set up first aid stations for that possibility. The British began flying regularly on April 29th when 242 planes carried 542 tons of food on the first official day.

The Americans started running flights to Holland.  Both the British and Americans had no idea what they faced because they had to fly as slowly as possible, between 300 to 400 feet above the ground.  These pilots were used to flying faster and higher so it was a challenge. Within a few days, Eisenhower was able to come to an agreement with the German officer in charge of the airspace associated with the corridors these planes flew through.  The agreement required the Germans not to fire the anti-aircraft artillery so the planes could fly safely.  

Over the next two weeks, from April 29 to May 8, 1945, the British and Americans made around 5,500 flights to the Netherlands to deliver 10,000 pounds of food. They dropped 

chocolate bars, margarine, coffee, milk powder, salt, cheese and flour on airstrips and racetracks across the country. The Dutch marked the location of the drop with a huge X made out of bedsheets. Furthermore,  the Dutch looked forward to these delivers, waving handkerchiefs and flags when they happened.

At the height of the operation, the Allies had 900 planes flying each and every day. During the whole operation, only one plane crashed due to a mechanical problem which caused 11 airmen to die.  

Osteoporosis - The Why and How.

Osteoporosis is when the body loses too much bone or is not able to make enough bone.   In reality, bones are porous to begin with but if someone has osteoporosis, those spaces become bigger causing the density of the bone to decrease and eventually, the bone could break.

It is thought that one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 suffer broken bones due to osteoporosis. The breaks are most likely to occur at the hip, spine, or wrist but can occur in other places. Unfortunately, osteoporosis can also lead to permanent pain, becoming stooped or hunched, and possibly loose height.

In addition, it can limit mobility and about one fifth of the seniors who break a bone due to osteoporosis, pass away within one year due to complications of the broken bone, or the surgery to repair things.  Many people end up in long term care.  

The problem with osteoporosis is that it can sneak up on people.  The only "symptoms" most people experience before they break a bone is they start stooping and lose height.  Other than that, there are no real symptoms which is why osteoporosis is referred to as a silent disease. Furthermore, women are more likely to get osteoporosis than men, especially white and Asian women.  The risk increases after menopause because estrogen helps protect bone density.  If one of your parents have broken a bone or you have a smaller frame size, your chances are increased for suffering osteoporosis.

It may sound like doom and gloom but there are things a person can do to slow down and prevent osteoporosis.  First, make sure your diet has enough protein, vitamin D, and calcium.  Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium so if you live in places where you might not get enough vitamin D via the sunlight, take supplements.  Calcium is is one of the building blocks of bone and you want to get enough but too much can lead to kidney stones.

One of the best ways to slow osteoporosis is through exercise, more specifically weight bearing exercise.  The weight bearing exercise could be either low or high impact because it helps stop the loss of bone and can even help build it. Furthermore, add in some strength exercises to help build and keep the bone density up in your arms and upper spine in addition to building muscles in the same area.  

To build strength, look at lifting weights, using elastic exercise bands, use your own weight such as in pushups, or rise and lower yourself on our toes. In addition, suggested weight bearing exercises include dancing, walking, high-impact aerobics, jogging or running, hiking, climbing stairs, or tennis.  Tai chi and yoga are considered good exercises for building and maintaining balanced.

 Although osteoporosis usually strikes after the age of 50, it is strongly recommended men and women begin exercising when younger to make sure your bones are strong and stay strong as you age.  This is because up till the age of 25, your body is making bone, between the ages of 25 and 50, your body needs to maintain the balance between losing bone and making bone so bone density remains stable.  Once you hit 50, losing bone tends to outpace bone building and if you don't do anything, osteoporosis can occur.

So if you are under 50, exercise, eat well, and make sure you have enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet so you slow down any bone loss and keep your bone density up.  I took responsibility to make sure I began exercising regularly beginning when I hit 30 or so because I wanted to make sure my weight didn't get out of control and in the process I've been doing some good things for my body.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

"Cats"

I know I look like I should be in "Cats" but I'm not.

I'm Not Ready To Get Up Quite Yet!

I'm not ready to get up.  I'm too comfortable.

Circuit Training vs Interval Training

 

I have been looking at some new routines to add into my daily routine and I came across some labeled circuit training while others were labeled interval and wondered if and what the difference is.  

Circuit training is defined as as alternating among five to ten exercises which focus on specific muscle groups. An example might be an exercise focused on lower body, then one for the upper body, followed by an exercise for the core and repeat the areas but with a different set of exercises.

The idea is to work sets of different muscles in a time period so as the person targets one muscle set, the others have the opportunity to rest but one keeps moving from exercise to exercise.  Circuit training produces cardio respiratory activity so this exercise can be classified as cardio.  Furthermore, if one uses weights to the point of fatigue throughout the circuit training, it develops muscles and strength. In addition, one can move past working on muscle groups into series of movements to accomplish better health.

One type of circuit alternates strength with  cardio to create a better overall workout.  In this version, a person does 1 to 2 repetitions of a resistance exercise followed by a short segment of cardio exercise which is repeated. Another type of circuit alternates strength with endurance.  All exercises are focused on muscle groups with little rest between sets.  Circuit training usually lasts 30 to no more than 60 minutes as one becomes more advanced.  In addition, each exercise can last anywhere between 30 seconds and 5 minutes.   

Interval training alternates moderate or high intensity exercises with periods of active or passive rest.  It is often anaerobic exercise which helps build speed, strength, and power while circuit training is usually aerobic.  Interval training does not rely so much on what exercise as the intensity of the exercise.  It is possible that one routine can be classified as both circuit training and interval training if it rotates exercises that hit different sets of muscles while having active or passive periods of rest in-between.  

As for benefits, it can vary.  Since circuit training involves a variety of exercises, the benefits one receives depends on the exercises chosen while interval training can increase the metabolic rate of the exerciser and it is possible to lose more weight as long as interval training includes a high intensity segment.

Circuit training does not need any special equipment and due to the vast number of exercises involved, a person is less likely to get bored.  In addition, it is possible to do one exercise a bit longer or shorter based on the needs of the person.  The interval training, especially if it is HIIT, require more overall effort and can require specialized equipment such as a stationary bike. 

If a person is a beginner, circuit training is suggested over HIIT since it is not as demanding.  It is also recommended people alternate circuit training with interval training each week. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day. 

Interval Training vs HIIT vs Tabata?

 The other day, I was doing one of my regular workouts which was a short HIIT (High intensity interval training) and the instructor kept interchanging the two terms: Interval training and HIIT so I wondered if they were different, the same, or what?

Let's take this all step by step.  Interval training is defined as alternating periods of low and high intensity exercise.  The level of high intensity is quite high and the periods of rest are low intensity.  This alternating of the two levels of exercise help the heart muscle, provides a cardiac workout while increasing aerobic capacity and allows the person to workout for longer periods of time at higher levels.  Interval training is just alternating levels of intensity but may not have the super high levels of intensity as HIIT or Tabata.

High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT is also known as High Intensity Intermittent Exercise (HIIE) or Sprint Interval Training (SIT) is a form of interval training with a burst of maximum intensity training followed by a short lower intensity exercise and repeat again until tired.  This type of exercise session usually doesn't last more than 30 minutes.  

HIIT routines usually have alternating sections of 30:30 or 60:30 seconds rather than the 20:10 seconds.  If you are a beginning you might begin with 60 seconds of low intensity alternating with 30 seconds of high intensity but as you get in better shape, switch to the 30:30 ratio and then 60 seconds high with 30 seconds low.  Just know that the longer your session goes, the harder it is to maintain the higher levels of intensity. In addition, it is important to have those periods of rest for HIIT to be effective.

Tabata is a form of HIIT set in a specific pattern.  Tabata is composed of eight rounds of super high intensity exercise for 20 sections alternating with a lower intensity exercise for 10 seconds. The whole workout takes less around four minutes from start to finish.  In addition, this workout is designed to push your body to the absolute maximum.

Tabata was introduced into the exercise seen in 1996 when Dr. Tabata who tested a high intensity workout done by Japanese speed skaters on college age male athletes after noticing the speed skater's performance improved significantly.  The results were quite impressive but they were done in a very specific controlled situation.  This lead to the Tabata routine taking off even though not all routines were created the same. The routines with the best results will have high knees, squat jumps, skaters, and sprint intervals. So if you want to follow this path, you need to look for routines that have all of these exercises in them.

So Interval Training is the umbrella over HIIT which is more intense and requires more effort and Tabata when properly done is even more intense, demanding your all.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Low Impact vs High Impact

The past few days I've been observing quarantine so I've increased the number of times I've been exercising everyday.  During one of the DVD's the leader commented that some impact is good for you which lead to wondering what the differences between low impact and high impact.   

I just discovered there are some exercises such as swimming that are classified as no impact because you are not having any type of impact between your body and something else.  Thus the low and high impact refer to the amount of impact between your body and say the floor.  In high impact, the feet end up off the ground at the same time such as with jumping, running, or knee highs where as the low impact usually  have one foot on ground such as with cycling, elliptical machines, hiking, yoga, and dancing.  Low impact is defined as fluid motion that is easy on the joints and places less stress on the knees and joints.

There are certain circumstances when high impact exercising is better.  If you want to lose weight more quickly, high impact is better because they require you to use more energy which leads to the increased burning of calories.  Furthermore, these exercises tend to be more demanding and if you are willing to put in the time and energy, it helps you get in better shape faster.  On the other hand, if you are getting ready for a competition such as a boxing match, or a marathon, high impact exercise prepares you better since these exercises are more efficient overall.  In addition, high intensity exercises are good for building bone density especially if you are older.  Finally, this type of exercise can cause a higher level of injury so if you are prone to injury, high impact is not recommended.

As far as low impact goes, it is good to use if you have been injured and need to recover without exasperating the current injury.  If you've undergone joint replacement, or suffered an orthopedic injury, low impact helps you recover faster and better. In addition, if you are sore from exercising, the soreness indicates you might have stressed the area and low impact gives joints a break.  Low impact exercises help improve alignment and balance because this type of exercising focuses on strengthening, stretching, balancing, and body alignment over serious calorie burning.  Just because it is low impact, does not mean you won't get a good cardio workout. 

Alternating high and low impact exercises is good because you are still exercising but giving your body a chance to recover from the stress of high impact.  In addition, low impact builds strength and flexibility around the joints to protect them from the stress of higher impact exercises.  When you stretch or do yoga at the end of a high impact session, it helps you recover better and can help build better core strength.  

It is highly recommended you alternate the high and low impact exercises for the best results but if you are a beginner, have arthritis, osteoporosis, older or are pregnant, it is recommended you stick with low impact but if you are healthy, not susceptible for injury, and want to help build bone density, mix the two by alternating them.  I try to alternate most days.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Not One More!

I will not chase another ball! Period! I'm too tired!

Is it? Is it? Is it???????

Is it a world record?

Drive - Ins, and Carhops Predate Drive Throughs!

Most of us are familiar with the drive though because we use them regularly.  We need a quick lunch so we hop in line, order the meal, pay for it, pick it up and we're off.  Before this phenomena, there was the drive in where you drove in, parked, ordered your meal via a speaker placed at the parking spot.  The meal would be delivered by a car hop, then you paid and ate the food.

The first drive-in opened on the Dallas - Fort Worth highway in October, 1921.  The founder named it the Pig Stand due to it's barbecue menu but he did feel people in cars were lazy.  This stand appealed to drivers so they could stay in their car, get a meal, and never leave it, especially if they were traveling.

When a car drove into the Pig Stand, a young man dressed in a white shirt with a black bow tie ran out to jump on the running board before it even stopped.  The young men took the order for Texas Barbecue and coke, ran in to get it, brought it out on a tray that attached to the car window and were paid.  These young men were called carhops and the idea was so popular the owners began franchising the Pig Stand with it's slogan of "America's Motor Lunch".  By 1934, there were about 130 Pig Stands spread over 9 states.  F 

Around the same time, a World War I veteran learned about root beer and opened a small stand on a corner in Lodi, California.  Within a couple of years, his stands expanded across California offering full carhop services and eventually began offering everything. Today it is known as A & W.  The nice thing about drive-ins was they required less staff, less inside dining space, and often cost less.  The drive - in became so popular that you could find one or more in most towns.  

Other drive-in chains opened, some of which are still around today.  One of the ones' I'm aware of is the Sonic drive-in which started in Oklahoma in 1953 as a root beer stand offering root beer, hot dogs, and hamburgers.  Originally, he named his chain "Top Hat" but his lawyers informed him that name was already taken so he chose "Sonic".  His drive-in differed from most others of the time because the parking spaces had speakers where people ordered their food which was delivered by carhops.

Then in 1948, just after the end of World War II, something new hit the scene in Baldwin Park, California.  A small 100 square foot "In-n-Out" opened.  In side there were five cooks who made meals for motorists who drove up, ordered, received and paid for their meals.  It was not a drive-in, nor was it a sit down restaurant.  It only cooked and delivered meals through a window and the driver didn't even have to shut down the car.  Eventually the other major chains such as Jack-in-the-box, and Wendy's used the drive trough but McDonalds didn't adopt it until the 1970's.

As you noted earlier, the term carhop came because the first waiters would hop on the running board of a car.  Females began replacing males as carhops beginning as early as 1931but by World War II held own a significant number of positions as carhops.  Before 1940, it was standard practice for carhops to work only for tips while the drive-in would charge them for their uniforms but in California, the head of the Division of Industrial Welfare, ordered drive-in owners to pay the women minimum wage of $16.00 per week or face arrest.  Many drive-in owners went to court over this demand because their workers were already earning between $25 and $70 per night and the judge granted the injunction the owners requested.

In Texas, carhops faced a totally different issue.  Members of the public felt the carhops wore uniforms that were too short, too revealing, and much too indecent.  This lead to many drive-ins changing uniforms from majorette outfits to proper blouses and skirts, or blouses and long pants.  It was pointed out that carhops received better tips in the "skimpy" outfits than the new modest ones.  

As more and more drive-ins competed for customers in the 1950's owners tried to speed up service by placing speakers for cars to order so the carhop would only deliver the food, to eliminating the service completely so customers had to walk up to the window, order the food themselves and walk back to their cars to building drive through windows which are used by so many customers in today's world.  I hope you enjoyed this little bit of history.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Has Roller Derby Always Been This Way?

I remember watching roller derbies on television when I was young.  My grandmother loved watching the battles that took place during the matches and cheered quite loudly when someone got thrown out of the rink. She loved the "good" girls and booed the "bad" ones who tried to win by any means.  The drama kept her coming back for more.

I know it is still around because Alaska has a couple of roller derby teams.  How do I know?  Well, I taught with one teacher who did it for a couple of years and they usually participate in the Golden Day's parade. 

After I saw an episode of Murdock where his wife skated in a roller derby match, I wondered if it existed at the turn of the century.  Although it was written into the show, roller derby didn't actually premier until August 13, 1935 at the Coliseum in Chicago.  Remember, this is at a time when too many people were unemployed, the dust bowl hit, and people were willing to do almost anything to earn a bit of money. An event promoter, David Seltzer who wanted to find something that was more exciting than walkathons, so he read that over 90 percent of the people had roller skated at least once, and the rest was history.

He premiered the first Transcontinental Derby where two person teams skated around and around the Coliseum roller rink.  Each team had one male and one female member who were to complete 57,000 laps around the rink.  Twenty-two thousand people showed up for this three week event. Throughout the event, there was a map which showed the position of each team so the audience could keep track of things.  The team that came in first place skated 2,700 miles or the same distance as one would travel from New York to Los Angeles.

Since watching people roll around a track for hours at a time was is not the most exciting thing, Seltzer got together with a sports writer to create the rules for the new sport of roller derby and included options for full body contact, the same as we see today.  They set it up for each match or bout that five skaters for each team would be on the track.  One member on each team won the role jammer whose only job was to lap or pass members of the other team while the other four would block and prevent the other team's jammer from getting through.  To become the jammer, the skater had to be the one who ended up in front of the pack.  The team with the most laps wins.  This sport is one where both men and women competed using the same rules, same drama, and same excitement but the only difference was in the pay.

Using these new rules, the sport  grew took to the point that in 1949, roller derby matches could be found across the nation with  had it's stars the public followed. By this time, roller derbies developed the drama using the "good" and "bad" personas to keep the audience following various teams. It was so popular that ABC in New York televised matches three times a week.  In addition, Hollywood released the 1950 movie "The Fireball" staring Micky Rooney and later in the same year the short film "Roller Derby Girl" was nominated for an Academy Award.

Within a few years, the excitement of Roller Derby faded and David Seltzer moved his operation from New York to California. His operation included training camps to recruit new players for the sport.  In 1959, he retired and turned control over to his son who began videotaping matches, he licensed use of to local television stations.   This one move, built up interest in roller derbies around the country so that the roller derby championship in 1965 returned to Madison Square Gardens after an absence of 13 years. The event attracted over 13,000 fans and by 1971, the numbers rose to almost 20,000 fans.  

Unfortunately, by the mid 1970's the roller derby leagues had gone belly up and basically disappeared until 2001 when a group of women resurrected the sport in Austin.  It caught on enough teams formed the Women Flat Track Derby Association and today and there are 463 leagues spread over 33 states. It is not yet at the numbers of attendees as before but it is a growing sport.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Roller Skating Has An Interesting History.

Over the weekend, I attended a wonderful presentation on the clothing women wore when out involved in sports such as riding, ice skating, tennis, fencing, or roller skating from around 1800 to 1960.

The presenter showed us the photo they used as a guide for the clothing displays.  They found real period garments from head to toe.  One photo showed a woman from the 1930's or 1940's who was into roller derby.  Her uniform and skates were donated for one display.  Another card or advertisement showed "inline" skates from the late 19th century and were cool.  This lead me to wondering how long roller skating and derbies have been a part of our society.

It is said that the first skates first appeared in Holland in the early 1700's when someone decided to nail wooden spools to act as wheels to a piece of wood he attached to his shoes so he could "ice skate" in the summer. These dry land skates acquired the name "Skeelers" Then sometime in the 1700's between 1735 and 1760, one Joseph Merlin attended a masquerade party wearing metal wheeled boots to show his invention off.  Unfortunately, he chose to play the violin as he made his entrance, lost control, and ran into a mirror, breaking it.  

The next big development took place in Berlin when 1818, when a German ballet substituted roller skates in for ice skates because it was impossible to create ice on the stage.  The roller skates allowed dancers to flow across the stage. About one year later, in 1819, Frenchman Monsieur Pettibledin became the first one to patent the roller skate.  His roller skate was more like the inline skate of today with between two and four wheels made of copper, wood, or ivory laid in a line but with no way to turn.  Five years later, a Londoner patented a roller skate with single row of 5 wheels all in a line attached to a boot or shoe but again, the skater could not turn.

By 1840, a beer tavern in Germany has it's waitresses wearing roller skates to cover the huge beer hall.  By 1857, public roller rinks in England opened so everyone could enjoy skating.  Then James Leonard Plimpton redid the basic roller skate so it had two wheels under the ball of the foot, two wheels under the heel parallel to each other. In addition, he added rubber springs to make the ride smoother This design change made it possible for skaters to pivot and make turns.  Furthermore, he toured skating rinks, offering lessons to people who wanted to learn but much of the money he made off his invention was spent fighting over 300 copyright infringements.

In the 1880's someone invented pin ball bearing wheels which were used in roller skates to make them lighter and more maneuverable. Over the next few decades, more roller rinks opened such as the Coliseum in Chicago which attracted over 7,000 people on opening night in 1902.  Skating continued to gain in popularity as it branched out into dancing, roller derby, speed skating, polo skating and recreational skating on both indoor and outdoor rinks and eventually just after World War II many drive-in restaurants began having their waitresses also known as "car hops" use skates to deliver food faster to cars.

By the 1960's with the advent of plastic, changes were made to roller skates to make them lighter.  Roller skating continued to grow in popularity with the influx of disco roller rinks in the 1970's and 80's.  Furthermore, Hollywood helped with the growth of this when it released numerous disco roller movies.  Then in 1970, two brothers stumbled across a pair of the original inline type skates and redesigned them using the original idea but making it with modern materials thus giving birth to what we know as inline skates.  

People continued to make changes to inline skates, making them safer while eliminating some of the original issues.  Recently, people have been returning to the four wheel design made popular by Plimpton. Over the years, people have worn the heavy skates attached to the boots or used the lighter ones that you could attach to your tennis shoes so you didn't have to spend tons of money to enjoy the activity.  This is the type my family had because all of us kids could share one pair among us.   Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

We're off

We're off!

Stay Close Everyone!

Stay close, don't get lost!