Discover More from This Category: Columns

Reducing your sugar intake can make you feel better

June 4, 2015
(StatePoint) You may not realize it, but your sugar consumption has likely increased over the last several years. Beyond what you add to your coffee or the occasional sweet treat, you may be getting hidden sugar from an array of processed foods, such as ketchup and salad dressing. Even conventional baby food contains added sugar.…

Coach’s corner: Education first, then action!

June 4, 2015
By Beth Roberts of Killington Bootcamp At the start of each Challenge we do an evaluation through a series of measurements, questions and tests. As their coach I start forming an individual plan for each of them. Many factors are taken into account. Schedule restrictions, knowledge of fitness and nutrition basics, and motivation level are…

Young at heart

May 28, 2015
By Dom Cioffi For as far back as I can remember, I have had a persistent need to win. It didn’t matter if it was baseball, darts or a game of Go Fish, my mindset has always been focused on the top of the podium. And this competitiveness didn’t stop with sports. I had to…

Coaches corner: Body Transformation Challenge push to Independence Day

May 28, 2015
By Beth Roberts We are back with a new group of challenge participants with new goals and obstacles to overcome. Over the next six weeks we will individually help them transform their lifestyles just in time for Independence Day. Beginning this Tuesday, May 26, three males and three females from the area will embark on…

Transformation, defined

May 28, 2015
The meaning of transformation is simple, yet interesting, especially when applied in the contest of our Body Transformation Challenge. “Transformation” is a noun with synonyms including: change, alteration, mutation, conversion, metamorphosis, transfiguration, remodeling, reshaping, redoing, reconstruction, rebuilding, reorganization, rearrangement, reworking, renewal, revamp, remaking, remake. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines transformation as “a complete or major change…

Four self-motivating mind tricks for a fitter, healthier you

May 28, 2015
By Amy Lewis, Fusion Fitness Are you struggling with self motivation? Having a hard time getting yourself to your regularly scheduled workouts? Finding more and more reasons to cheat on your healthy diet? You’re not alone! A healthy dose of motivation coupled with determination will get you almost anything in life. So how do you…

Coaches Corner: The power of the before picture

May 28, 2015
By Kyle Finneron Many people have approached me and are frustrated that they have just started a new program and they are not seeing the results on the scale they want, or they feel like they are not getting any stronger. The first thing I usually ask them is “Have you taken a before picture?”…

The sky is not falling despite planetary trines

May 27, 2015
By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Virgo Moon, in the wake of a series of aspects that have led more than one person to write and ask me if the “Sky is Falling:” No kidding. Evidently, there are a number of astrologers…

Slap squish slap squish slap squish

May 27, 2015
Courtesy of Brady Crain Crain in 1997 at 235 pounds. “#$%@#$ *#$% God @#$*%^& stupid @#$*% East Mountain Road!” After my big run last Friday, I did a bunch of basic recovery stuff, hiking, biking, and skiing. Sunday I went for a run on Superstar. My legs betrayed me, and I crossed my tips and…

Calculating mischief

May 27, 2015
By Daris Howard I was a junior in high school when the first calculators came out, and they did little more than add, subtract, multiply, and divide. By the time I graduated from college, Hewlett Packard had advanced calculator technology a lot. The testing center at the university I was attending was given some calculators…

The Outside Story: Eat your weedies

May 27, 2015
By Michael J. Caduto In the early 1960s, Euell Gibbons wrote “Stalking the Wild Asparagus” and introduced millions of North Americans to the virtues of harvesting wild foods. Since that time, gathering wild edibles has become increasingly popular, and in our region, woods-grown delicacies such as ramps and fiddlehead ferns appear in grocery stores each…

Cars and Conveniences

May 27, 2015
The conveniences and safety factors in today’s cars were not in effect when I was growing up back in the 1950s. A friend and I were reminiscing about car trips when we were kids. There were no seat belts and the cars I rode in did not have air conditioning. When you wanted air flow…

Subtle dangers of lower-case letters

May 27, 2015
Have you noticed that, in national news articles, reporters increasingly tend to quote statements that emerge from the Twitter pages—rather than the actual mouths—of public figures? I’m not writing to complain about this. Twitter is a popular medium for trivial and nontrivial communication alike. Most politicians and celebrities use it. Tweets can be important; they…

When the well runs dry

May 22, 2015
By Dom Cioffi There are certain things in the developed world that are easy to take for granted: the relative safety we experience, the medical care available to us, and the food we have access to. But the one thing we always count on without much thought is water. In this country especially, we turn…

Altitude sickness: too hot and tired to cry

May 20, 2015
By Brady Crain The view from Deers Leap looking out to Route 4 and Pico Mountain. One of the perks of running trails is view like this! It’s been an interesting week of training. Last week I did an 18.11-mile run (a loop through Plymouth and Bridgewater on Routes 4, 100 and 100A, with approximately…