IROPE

Stay Fit While onTravel…Jump Rope

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:50:49 +0000

Staying with your fitness program can sometimes be a challenge when you are traveling for business or even while on vacation. Faced with a number of obstacles ranging from being in an unfamiliar place, limited workout facilities, and limitations on space and equipment you might be tempted to wait until you get back home. Aside from safety concerns, waiting until you return home does not have to be an option.

Stay fit, unstressed and on target by packing your jump rope. Remember, it’s compact, it’s portable, and jump roping can be done just about anywhere and anytime. Traveling from coast to coast several times a year, I have learned to adapt to my “new” surroundings whether in a big city or in Small Town, USA. Make your trip more enjoyable by planning ahead. The following tips can be useful in maintaining your fitness while you are away.

· Begin planning your workout before leaving home; call the hotel where you will be staying and ask if it has a fitness center or has visiting privileges for its guests at a nearby health club.

· Pack your jump rope along with the appropriate workout clothing and shoes. Don’t forget about your SAFETY!!! Pack reflective or highly visible clothing if you plan to workout in the early morning hours or after the sun sets. It’s never a bad idea to even pack a small light that can clip onto your clothing or an arm band.

· Check the weather conditions for the time you’re going to be away

· Use the internet to identify running or walking clubs in the area where you will be staying. Most running clubs have web sites that contain a wealth of information about the best and safest places to workout, as well as valuable tips on the area itself.

· Check with your local running or walking clubs for suggestions of other clubs that they may be associated with in the town or city that you are going to visit;

· Identify nearby parks, jogging trails or high school or college tracks as well as their hours of operation or use; · If you have special dietary needs, research area restaurants and grocers that may cater to healthier food selections. Making unhealthy food choices should never be an excuse just because you’re not home. Once you’ve arrived at your new destination, what’s next? Usually after I’ve checked in at the hotel, if I’m not too tired or it’s not too late, I like to drive around just to get a lay of the land. I use this opportunity to get a feel for the community, identify a running or walking course and measure the round-trip distance to and from the hotel. Here are a few additional tips you can use when you arrive: · Locate the staircases in the hotel. I’ve never been a big fan of elevators, so I often use the stairs anyway. Using the stairs can sometimes become an integral part of your workout especially if the weather is bad or it’s too late when you return to your room at the end of the day. Make sure the stairwells are well lit and safe. Exercise caution and WALK up and down – don’t run;· Ask the concierge about workout suggestions, he or she may be able to suggest nearby clubs, fitness trails, or even special running or walking events that may take place during your stay at the hotel; You can also check the tourist information kiosk or pick up the local news papers for fitness events and activities. I once visited a city in the Northwest and found a 5K race at a nearby university. It happened to be the inaugural race for an annual event that was used to bring community awareness to a scholarship program. What I did not expect was that the event was FREE!· Contact the local running or walking clubs that may be near your hotel. Sometimes, club members get together for early morning or evening walks or runs. Running or walking with club members allows you to workout with a group that is familiar with the area and can be a useful resource for other fitness activities that may be taking place during your stay;

· Once you arrive at your place of business your colleagues may also be able to provide you with the best places for a good workout and may also give you a couple of names of workers who may also workout;

· If you drive around to mark off a workout course, make sure the area is safe for pedestrian traffic especially during the time of the day when you plan to exercise. Usually the most pedestrian trafficked areas are the safest (parks, fitness trails, etc.) Try to avoid any secluded or remote trails or areas.

Now that you have a pretty good idea as to where and when your workouts will take place, you can unpack your jump rope and begin your jump rope travel program. Whether I plan on exercising in the hotel or going outside I always start with a 5-10 minute warm-up routine. Usually I begin with some very light stretching exercises for my shoulders, neck, arms, legs and back. I also incorporate exercises to strengthen my core muscles as well as my feet. We sometimes forget about working the foot muscles as part of our routine. Although using the IROPE Fitness Program jump rope techniques are extremely low impact, if you’re not jumping properly it won’t be hard to disturb the hotel guests in the room below yours. So to make sure everyone remains happy and undisturbed, for a starter, warm-up with doing about 15 heel lifts and then, standing on one leg rotate the elevated foot in alternating directions and switch legs. Do about 10-15 repetitions for each leg. If I plan to jump rope outdoors, I like to do 2 or 3 sets of stairs and then a very short walk. Everyone has their own way of warming up. What you do is not as important as how you do it. Your warm-up should complement what you’re going to do as your core workout. Always make sure you are using proper form and breathing techniques for all of your exercises. Here are a few jump rope tips to try when jumping rope outside your hotel:

· Identify a safe workout spot on the hotel parking lot or grounds. Scope the parking lot for vehicle traffic;

· Locate an area of the parking lot that is safe and away from parked cars. Using one parking space usually provides adequate space to practice both stationary and multi-directional jump rope drills. If you have an Optimum Performance Achievement Kit by IROPE Fitness you can use the markers to practice various stationary and mobile agility drills. If not, there is never anything wrong with a little imagination and creativity. The painted line space dividers provide an excellent reference point for drills like jumping jacks, lunges, and lateral movement.

· Rope Walking a few laps around the hotel parking lot is always a plus if you’re not comfortable leaving the immediate area. Again, use the sidewalks if available and always watch for vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

· After you’ve worked out for at least 30 or 40 minutes, don’t forget to do your cool-down stretches and re-hydrate. Don’t put your fitness on hold because of travel. Use these easy tips to make your next business trip or vacation your healthiest.

For more information on the IROPE Fitness Program please visit www.irope.com.

Jump Rope with a New Direction: The IROPE Fitness Program

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:51:10 +0000

If you have the desire to improve your health through physical activity but do not know where to start or are confused about how to choose between the latest fitness crazes, fads, “must have” state of the art exercise equipment and exclusive health club memberships, then try something simple. Try jump roping. But this time do something a little different and give the IROPE Fitness Program a chance to give you a fresh new perspective on that “old childhood toy”.

Breakthroughs in fitness equipment are introduced to the public every year, more and more people, especially those of us striving for a healthier life style, find ourselves asking; “Which piece of equipment is right for me?” And sometimes only by trial and error do we find that perfect match - something that we really enjoy doing. More often than not that match is not made until we have spent a good deal of money, time, and sometimes even suffered through an injury or two in the process. At the end of the day we usually find ourselves discouraged and disappointed with a collection of gadgets and equipment that seem to be good only for collecting dust.

You probably jumped rope even before you were able to ride your first training wheel free bicycle. Remember the fun, the games, and the rhymes? Jumping rope was so much fun that it wasn’t even thought of as exercise. That “childhood toy” of yesteryear can once again be the answer to your fitness needs for today.

The IROPE Fitness Program offers something totally different than what’s been offered by other jump rope fitness programs. In fact, it’s been described as a radical and revolutionary way of using the jump rope to condition the entire body without tricks, gimmicks and additional state-of-the-art equipment. And guess what? You don’t even have to be super coordinated or train like a boxer.

What’s so different about the IROPE Fitness Program? It’s the direction in which you twirl the rope. As you know, today’s fitness experts are still teaching jump roping the same way it has always been taught. “Twirl the rope with your wrists using a forward twirling motion”. Unfortunately not even the experts with the latest information on exercise physiology, biomechanics, and other scientific data have bothered to investigate a more efficient and effective use of the jump rope for total body conditioning. In other words, because nothing has changed in the world of jump roping, until now, you’ve been missing the extraordinary fitness that jump roping can provide!

Today’s experts often teach jump roping to an older audience the same way they would teach 10 year old children. If you recall the last time you picked up a jump rope as an adult, you probably put it down almost as quickly as you picked it up. The major reason for this is that you tried using the same jump roping technique you learned as a child with the body of an adult. As you get older your body goes through changes that don’t permit you to do the things you once could when you were much younger. So, today you must be selective of the types of physical and recreational activities in which you participate.

The IROPE Fitness Program introduces you to the most efficient and effective use of the jump rope as a way to condition your entire body without having to spend a lot of money. And we know how important that is in these tough economic times. There are several key points in why the IROPE Fitness Program provides an all around better workout for the individual who is being re-introduced to the jump rope. Unlike traditional jump roping, the IROPE Fitness Program teaches a totally low impact way of jumping. This is very important especially for those concerned about impact to their ankles, knees, and lower back. Next, the backward twirl provides a greater range of motion of upper body muscle groups; and by incorporating multi-directional movements while moving through the arc of the rope, both upper and lower body muscle groups are conditioned simultaneously. Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of using the backward twirl is that the upper body assumes a neutral posture with the shoulders square and the chest open. This is very important because unlike using the forward twirling technique where the chest cavity is naturally somewhat collapsed for the beginner, the backward twirl allows the chest cavity to remain open and breathing is unrestricted. Unrestricted breathing contributes to jumping with more ease as well as jumping for longer periods of time. Simply put, by combining a joint friendly technique with greater range of motion for the muscles and unrestricted breathing, one can jump rope for longer periods of time, be more creative with the workout, and ultimately burn more calories for greater opportunities for weight maintenance and weight loss.

If you want to improve flexibility in your workout, reduce the stress to your ankles knees and lower back, overcome the boredom of doing the same thing over and over again, promote a healthier self image and enjoy life more each day, then pick up a jump rope and begin to experience the new twirl in fitness.

For more information on the IROPE Fitness Program please visit: www.irope.com

Keeping the dream alive

admin — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:55:41 +0000

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:33:33 +0000

As we enter 2009, I would like to thank you for your continued interest in the IROPE Fitness Program. I hope your fitness goals in 2008 were met with much success and that this year’s goals are met with even greater success. Please feel free to share with us how the IROPE Fitness Program helped you reach your goals or how you plan on using IROPE to take you to a higher level of fitness.

Wishing you the best in 2009,

Carlos

Delight the world with kindness, grace, and compassion.

Welcome

admin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:40:22 +0000

Finally, WELCOME to the IROPE Fitness Program blog. I hope this blog can serve not only as a vehicle to talk about the benefits of jump roping (the IROPE way of course) as an alternative exercise to Improve flexibility, Reduce stress, Overcome boredom, Promote a healthy self image and Enjoy life, but also to engage the community in a healthy discussion to bring about solutions that will improve the health and lifestyles of all of our visitors regardless to whether visiting from near or far.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities. On the closing day of the summit, the attendees were asked the following question: In the context of health disparities, if you were to advise the new administration regarding health care reform, what would you advise?

On April 9, 1962 John F. Kennedy addressed the National Children’s Bureau and is quoted saying: “There is nothing, I think, more unfortunate than to have soft, chubby, fat-looking children who go to watch their school play basketball every Saturday and regard that as their week’s exercise”. What is most unfortunate, is that 46 years later, with all of the “studies” and advances in technology, borrowing a term from one of the panelist at the summit, we have suffered from “mural dyslexia” (the inability to read the writing on the wall). So just out of curiosity, in the context of addressing the issue of childhood overweight and obesity, what would you advise the new administration to do?