Charity

DWTS Champ J.R. Martinez Gets Ready for His First Marathon

September 13, 2012 at 12:16 pm
By Colleen Moody

If you’ve read the Fit Stop for more than 30 seconds, you know that here at FITNESS, we are quasi-obsessed with all things Dancing with the Stars. So when we heard that Season 13 winner J.R. Martinez would be running the 2012 ING NYC Marathon this year on behalf of Timex, we had to catch up with him. Read on to see how training is going with a newborn, his goal time and how you can train with him in your city!

This is your first marathon, but have you ever done any type of distance race before?

Never! I am definitely outside of my comfort zone here, but I’m so excited. This announcement comes at the perfect time, because 10 years ago I was sworn into the U.S. Army, and now 10 years later, I’m committing to something else. I am especially stoked to be doing this with Timex, because I get to test out the Ironman GPS, which is a big help for me since I’m always traveling for speaking commitments. On the road it’s hard to figure out how far you’re running, but I love that I can track my heart rate, distance and calories no matter where I am. I’m also excited to do this to help raise money for the New York Road Runners Youth Program. I’ll be starting dead last the day of the marathon, and for every person I pass Timex will donate $1 to the organization.

What’s your training been like so far?

I’’m very lucky because I have a running coach who helps me plan out my weeks. Right now I’m running five days a week, with Sundays being my long run days. Every week I up it another mile, so right now I’m at 11 miles. On the other days I mix it up–I’ll do 45-minute slower jogs or 5-10 minutes of jogging followed by five, 60-second sprints with a 1-minute recovery. On top of that I do a lot of planks to strengthen my core as well as strength training for my legs and calves. And I’ve recently discovered the foam roller when stretching, that thing feels so good! Read more

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Shop and Tweet for the Ta-Tas: PUMA’s Project Pink

August 29, 2012 at 10:58 am
By FITNESS Intern

Written by Deanna Cioppa, editorial intern

If there’s one thing we like better than shopping for new workout clothes, it’s taking part in a worthy cause. Now entering its third year, PUMA’s Project Pink has kicked off ahead of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month with the sale of its Project Pink line of clothing at Shop.PUMA.com, Soccer.com and other retailers. The brand has pledged 100 percent of profits (up to $120,000) to a breast cancer charity that YOU get to help choose.

Now through September 21, visit puma.com/projectpink to nominate a breast cancer charity close to your heart. Then, starting September 24, cast your vote for the winner, to be announced in October at the Project Pink Charity Soccer Game in Los Angeles. Last year, Project Pink donated over $100,000 to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation. There’s money to be made for “the girls” here, so start nominating (and shopping!) today.

Looking for other ways to contribute? Hop on Twitter and use #projectpink in your tweets. PUMA will pledge an additional dollar for every tweet with the #projectpink hashtag. And check the calendar at puma.com/projectpink for Project Pink soccer tournaments with partner clubs around the country. Now at least you have an excuse to buy yet another pair of cute running shorts.

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Spotted: FITNESS’ Fitness Editor on The Real Housewives of New York!

August 22, 2012 at 3:05 pm
By Colleen Moody

I’d rather let you look in my middle school diary before letting you scan through my DVR. I’ll be the first to admit–it’s embarrassing. Living with my boyfriend has resulted in a complete TV monopoly, where suddenly it seems the only channel we get is ESPN. So needless to say, when the tube is up for grabs I do some serious reality TV damage, especially in the form of the Real Housewives series. I’m on a first name basis with all the gals–LuAnn, Tamra, Lisa, Gretchen, the whole gang!

So you can imagine my excitement when I actually knew someone on the show! That’s Jenna Autuori-Dedic (above), our fitness editor and SoulCycle-addict, who was attending a charity class at the studio for the One Step Ahead Foundation, an organization that helps kids with physical disabilities build self-esteem through athletics. Housewife Aviva Drescher is a spokeswoman for the foundation, as she became an amputee when she was just 6 years old after getting her leg caught in a conveyor belt. The class that Jenna attended along with the RHONY ladies raised enough money to give a boy involved with One Step Ahead his first set of prosthetic running legs, definitely a tear jerking moment for all who watched!

Jenna not only looks intrigued by the ladies in the class (hopefully none of them stole her bike!) but very ready to get her SoulCycle on. We basically have a celebrity on staff now, and Andy Cohen will be calling us any minute to do a spin-off–I can feel it!

 

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Boxing Superstar Laila Ali Shares Her Triathlon Secrets

July 24, 2012 at 3:55 pm
By FITNESS Intern

Written by Lisa Turner, editorial intern

Blessed with beauty, brains and athletic ability, undefeated boxer Laila Ali is a woman who knows how to stay fit and inspire others. She makes the most of her gifts by giving back to others – this summer, she’s taking part in Stars Earn Stripes, a reality show series that helps raise money for military charities. She also heads up the Women’s Sports Foundation, which helps girls and women from all backgrounds get involved in sports.

With her undefeated boxing record behind her since 2007, Ali was ready to face her next challenge, so she teamed up with Aquaphor to participate in the Aquaphor NYC Triathlon (in between a busy filming schedule!) and finished in 3:06! After all of the swimming, biking and running, Ali sat down with FITNESS to share her training secrets and what surprised her most about the race.

Why did you decide to do the triathlon?

Aquaphor asked me to be an ambassador for the brand and participate in the race, and I’m always looking for a challenge so I had to say yes!

How did you fit training into your schedule?

I’m always looking for new ways to stay fit, but it’s harder and harder with two kids and a busy schedule. With boxing, I had to stay fit because it was my job, but now I have to make the choice to take the time to do it. Usually, exercise is the first thing to go when life gets in the way, but with the triathlon, it became a priority again, as boxing used to be. And I’m doing it publicly, too, so I couldn’t just go out there and do it any old kind of way.  As an athlete, I pushed through the pain, kept going, and always had that inner coach telling me to keep working hard.

What surprised you most about training?

I learned a lot more about myself. Before, I was kind of ignorant about triathlons and wondered why anyone would do them. But then I realized, “Wow, this is fun.” Just biking in my neighborhood, finding new roads that I never knew were there, or riding past a new restaurant I’d never seen before. It feels good to just get out there on the bike, relax and get away from the cell phone.

Did you swim beforehand?

No. I knew how to swim but I wasn’t a swimmer. I didn’t realize how much of a swimmer I wasn’t until I had to go do laps. I knew how not to drown, that’s what I knew about swimming! I had to learn all the techniques. It was encouraging to see how my endurance increased day to day, and it happened quickly.

Read more

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Celebrate the Anniversary of Title IX With Your 14-Year-Old Self

June 22, 2012 at 3:01 pm
By Colleen Moody

Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of Title IX, where women were given access to the same federally funded athletic programs as men. Though we’ve come a long way, there’s still more work to be done! According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, recent stats show that by age 14, girls drop out of sports twice the rate of boys. That’s why WSF has teamed up with Gatorade to launch the nationwide PSA Keep Her in the Game. Check it out below and go to keepherinthegame.org to learn about programs you can get involved in and how to donate to help give girls access to sports programs nationwide. And to celebrate Title IX tomorrow, change your Facebook and Twitter pictures to a photo of your 14-year-old self (or younger!) and tell your followers why you’re glad you stayed with sports. Use the hashtag #KeepHerInTheGame to track how sports have changed others lives all day!

More from FITNESS: Run the World (Girls!) 3 More Ways to Celebrate the Anniversary of Title IX

 

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A Sweaty—and Sweet!—Way to Kick Off Summer

May 22, 2012 at 12:53 pm
By Karla Walsh

There’s little we love more in the world than a workout that benefits a good cause. Knowing that someone or some group is counting on you is just the extra dose of motivation you need to get out the door and get sweating! That’s why we were excited to hear about the sweet way Flywheel and Dylan’s Candy Bar are teaming up to officially start summer this weekend.

This Saturday, Flywheel co-founder Ruth Zukerman and Dylan’s Candy Bar CEO and founder Dylan Lauren (who also happens to be Ralph’s daughter) are hosting a charity cycling ride in the Hamptons to benefit the Monmouth County Shelter for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA). Both Lauren and Zukerman love sweets—in moderation—almost as much as they adore animals, so their event coming up in the Hamptons is a match made in heaven. And the cause has special meaning to Lauren, who adopted her own Collie-Labrador puppy from MCSPCA earlier this year.

Riders can donate $30 to participate in the 45-minute candy-themed Flywheel class (a favorite of celebs including Sofia Vergara, Katie Couric and Hilary Swank), with proceeds going to the MCSPCA. After the ride, the feel-good high continues at Dylan’s Candy Bar, where participants will be treated to some of the lighter options, like the 100-Calorie Belgium Chocolate Bars.

If you’re interested in participating in this Memorial Day weekend event, email avividor@fullpic.com to RSVP.

More from FITNESS:

• Get a Killer Cycling Workout at Home With This Calorie-Blasting Plan
• Are You Tough Enough for America’s Hardest Workout Classes?
• 5 Things to Never Do During Indoor Cycling Class

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Give Back With the K-Swiss Stand Up To Cancer Line

May 17, 2012 at 12:08 pm
By Karla Walsh

Many of us have been there: One of our family members or loved ones have been diagnosed with a chronic disease and given a grim prognosis. We feel an urgent desire to assist them, but can feel helpless against the powerful disease. Enter cause-based races, events and products, which offer an opportunity to support research and education so that future generations will hopefully experience fewer of these moments than we do.

One of our recent favorites? The K-Swiss/ Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) partnership. The new SU2C line from the brand is about more than cute gear (although that is surely included)—it focuses on accelerating research projects that hope to bring a cure. K-Swiss is donating $5 for each SU2C product purchased through the end of 2013. And if your spiffy sneakers have you ready for a new challenge, you can join Team SU2C, which helps individuals or groups raise money for the charity by participating in sporting events around the country, like Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathons and Ironman triathlon events.

To learn more, click here or watch the video below.

More from FITNESS:

• Run, Walk, Get Fit For a Cause
• Team NARS Completes Triathlon, Raising $100,000 For Charity
• 4 Charity Races On Our Bucket Lists

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FCancer: Not Your Average Non-Profit

May 7, 2012 at 11:28 am
By Colleen Moody

Warning: Once you hear about Yael Cohen, 25, you’re probably going to feel a little lazy. In 2009, after watching her mother recover from breast cancer surgery Cohen heard the phrase “F Cancer” in passing, except it really stuck with her. “It’s just a sentence, but the sentiment is so natural and brave at the same time,” she told us at a visit to the FITNESS offices last week. In witnessing her mother’s experience with cancer she was shocked to find out that 90 percent of cancers are curable if caught in Stage 1. So she set out to found FCancer, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Generation Y to learn and teach their parents about early detection. You read that right, the kids teach the parents this time around. “All kids think they know more than their parents,” said Cohen, “and with our site we give them the tools so that in this instance, they actually do.”

Cohen’s site, letsfcancer.com uses social media (which 99.9 percent of Gen-Yers are already on) to spread their digital campaigns like The Cancer Talk, where celebrities from Sophia Bush to Adrian Grenier made YouTube videos of their experiences of having The Sex Talk with their parents, how to give your parents The Cancer Talk and the importance of early detection.

Read more

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Don’t Throw Out Those Used Sneaks! How to Recycle Old Fitness Gear

April 10, 2012 at 7:00 am
By fitsugar

Exercising regularly means going through lots of fitness gear. Instead of just tossing out old kicks or a worn-out yoga mat, do something good for the Earth. Here are ways to recycle or reuse old workout gear.

Sneakers

• Donate: You can toss them in a Goodwill bin, or send them to an organization that’ll put them to good use. Soles4Souls‘s tag line is “Saving the world — one pair at a time.” This organization takes your tired, but “gently worn,” sneakers and finds needy feet to fill them. They strongly suggest organizing shoe drives and mailing all the pairs to one of their three warehouse locations. Another organization, One World Running, has been serving runners around the world since 1986. Through collection programs, they are able to provide shoes for needy runners across the world. Check here for drop-off locations.
• Recycle: Turn your old shoes into something new. Nike Reuse-A-Shoe takes all brands of sneakers that are beyond “gently worn” and turns them into a recycled product known as Nike Grind, which is used to make tracks, indoor basketball courts, fields, and playgrounds. Just drop off your retired sneakers at any Nike store, or check here for drop-off locations.
• Reuse: Keep an old pair of sneakers around for days when you’re running or walking in the rain or on muddy trails. Some people even use old shoes as plant potters. Fill a disinfected shoe with soil and grow some basil or cilantro on your deck or windowsill.

Clothes

• Donate: When you buy newer gear, pass on your old gear to friends or siblings, or donate them to Goodwill, a homeless shelter, or other charity store.
• Recycle: Patagonia accepts all its products back for recycling. Either mail them to Patagonia or drop them off at a retail store.
• Reuse: Used fitness clothes make excellent old rags for cleaning. Cut them up and store them in a bag under the kitchen sink.

Keep reading to find out what you can do with your old fitness equipment and yoga mats.

More from FitSugar:

Put a Spring in Your Step With These Seasonal Running Essentials
3 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint With Your Workout
This Shoe-Tying Technique That Will Change Your Life

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One Child Dies Every 20 Seconds From This—And How You Can Help

March 15, 2012 at 11:37 am
By Karla Walsh

Every 20 seconds, one child dies from consuming contaminated water. It’s easy to forget—with such easy access to bottled H2O and clean water flowing from the tap—that more than one billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water. But the startling facts remain:

• Unclean water leads to more deaths each year than war and causes 80 percent of the world’s diseases
• Those in regions without clean water may need to walk as many as six miles each day to obtain the 40 to 80 pounds of water needed for their family
• All of this water-gathering time, which adds up to about 10 years of life, can’t be spent at work, school or caring for family

This weekend, Positive Community Impact (PCI) is hosting their fourth annual 5K Walk for Water in San Diego, California to help raise money for this important cause. Free on Sunday at 10 a.m.? Register to spend a bit of time walking in the footsteps of all of those in water-deprived regions—money from the student-run event supports important projects in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa. (One PCI staff member traveled to Tanzania last year to help build a well for residents.)

If you can’t make it to the walk, here are five “steps” you can take today to start conserving water:

1. Shorten your shower…Save 2.5 gallons/minute
2. Wash only full loads of laundry…Save 15-50 gallons/load
3. Replace your old toilet with a low-flow model…Save 2.2-3.8 gallons/flush
4. Install flow-restricting aerators on faucets…Save 4.7 gallons/day
5. Turn off the faucet while washing dishes or brushing teeth…Save 2.5 gallons/minute

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