Kimberly Garrison

It is important to drink water regularly. During the dog days of summer our hydration needs increase. However, most people don't stay properly hydrated and research has shown that if you are 2% dehydrated, you can lose 25% of your mental and physical capacity. Instead of a caffeine jolt – maybe you need some H2O instead.

Daily News column for August 3 edition

IT WAS A PURE delight to watch "Coach Beth" Kligerman and "Coach Matt" Jaffe work out with 3-year-olds on their Fit Kidz Bus, an innovative way to bring fitness to kids.

Besides being the proud parents of a beautiful son, Jaxson, 18 months, Kligerman, 41, and her business and life partner, Jaffe, 37, are cutting-edge innovators in children's fitness.

Their bus - filled with mats and exercise equipment - simply pulls up in front of day care centers and schools, and the children are escorted directly onto it for half-hour classes that combine games, movement, songs and more traditional exercise. The couple also do birthday parties.

Kligerman, a Wyndmoor native, is a fitness powerhouse with more than 13 years of industry experience. She teaches aerobics, does personal training and coordinates aerobic programming for several health clubs. She began her career in fashion, but soon realized that fitness was where her true passions lie.

"Coach Matt," as the children affectionately call him, was a bodybuilding and power-lifting competitor at age 16. He was a collegiate athlete and has a bachelor's degree in physical education from Glassboro State University.

After college, Jaffe began a personal training business working with adults. Over the last five years, he's concentrated more on kids' fitness, developing a mobile fitness program he took to day care centers and schools.

Within the last six months, though, he decided to customize a gym bus - the Fit Kidz Mobile Gym - that could move from facility to facility.

Kligerman - aka "Coach Beth" - leads classes with him.

A few weeks ago I met with the dynamic duo at the Kids Academy in Cherry Hill to talk about fitness, kids and entrepreneurship.

Q: What inspired you both to pursue fitness for kids?

Jaffe: [Having kids] "has inspired me to instill a healthy lifestyle not only in my own children but in other children as well. Children are so pure, they have no ulterior motives. What you see is what you get."

Klingerman: "Matt is incredible with all of the kids. He can get right down to their level, he makes them laugh and his knowledge of fitness is adaptable to all ages. He works incredibly hard for that half-hour class, making sure everyone has a good time."

Q: Where did you get the idea to do fitness with kids on a bus?

J: "I had the opportunity to work on a mobile gym, which led me to purchase the converted school bus. The idea originated in Europe with an Olympic athlete who saw the need to promote fitness in schools."

Q: That's cool. What's the latest research on kid fitness and health?

According to a research study conducted earlier this year by the ACE (American Council on Exercise) the popular “Curves” workout has limitations.

The study concluded that Curves 30 minute workout burns approximately 184 calories which is less than the calories in 2 slices of dry toast - 200 calories. It qualifies as a moderate-intensity program for someone not very active.

Additionally, researches were concerned about the hydraulic resistance machines, which are not adjustable. They also found that many of the participants were doing more chitchatting than working out.

Ultimately, you’ll need to increase the variety and intensity of your workouts to continue progressing. Read the full ACE study here
http://www.acefitness.org/media/media_display.aspx?NewsID=219

We may live in the wealthiest nation in the world but the fittest and healthiest are in Japan. That is Okinawa, Japan to be exact. The Okinawans are the world痴 healthiest, longest-lived people. Across the board they have significantly less heart disease, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer when compared to Americans. What do they know that we don稚? To find out, read more at http://okinawaprogram.com/.

Daily News column for August 10 edition

JUST FOUR short months ago, ABC "World News Tonight" anchor Peter Jennings shared his lung cancer diagnosis with the world. Sunday, the 67-year-old smoker died.

I was a Jennings fan, and like many, I'm saddened by his death. Ironically, he had quit smoking 20 years ago but started again after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

On a personal level, Jennings' death hits home when I think of the smokers whom I love and hold dear to my heart and the very serious health threats created by this addiction.

I have always been a big fan of whole grains. Whole grains are an excellent source of fiber and nutrients like selenium, potassium, and magnesium. If weight loss is one of your goals avoid refined grains. The fiber in whole grains will make you feel fuller faster with less. Check out the anatomy of whole grains at the Mayo Clinic site.

I love a good pair of jeans and was simply delighted to hear that the trend this fall are jeans with a higher waist. I'm sure many women with full hips, butts, and thighs will be celebrating too. According to Inquirer Fashion writer Elizabeth Wellington, there will be "no more tugging at our lowriders to ensure our booties are still covered when we stand up. The peakaboo thong - gone!" Read the whole story in the SundayPhiladelphia Inquirer.

EVERY day before he leaves for work, and again before he goes to sleep, my husband gives himself a 30- to 60-minute dose of laughter.

Without fail, he looks at some comedy program or cartoon. He laughs himself silly on his way off to work and, at night, falls blissfully asleep with a smile on his face. Intuitively, he knows what the experts have confirmed: Laughter is healing.

Years ago, I remember reading the astonishing works of Norman Cousins, the late editor of the Saturday Review and best-selling author of "Anatomy of an Illness." In "Anatomy," he showed how conventional medicine and his own laugh therapy helped cure his ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by crippling arthritis and severe pain.

Cousins amazed his doctors with a miraculous recovery in just eight days. Every day, he watched humorous shows such as "Candid Camera," or comedic performers such as the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers. Doctors had given him little hope for recovery, but with the healing power of laughter, Cousins won not only the battle but the war as well.

Healing power of humor

Recent studies have proven that laughter is one of the healthiest things you can do!

In their best-selling book, "The Okinawa Program," based on an ongoing study of elderly people on the Japanese island of Okinawa, Dr. Bradley J. Wilcox, Dr. Craig Wilcox, and Dr. Makoto Suzuki wrote that "during laughter, muscles throughout your body tense and relax in a way that is strikingly similar to stress-reduction techniques. Laughter keeps muscles supple as well as relaxed. It also has been shown to stimulate the immune system."

If you're taking a daily dose of non-aspirin painkiller then consider this. New research suggests that Women taking daily amounts of non aspirin painkillers like extra-strength Tylenol are more likely to develop high blood pressure than those who don't.

Read the full story at the
lSt. Peters Times.

Writing about our thoughts and feeling reaps health improvements says the experts. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder have discovered that writing effects the writers health, illness, and recovery. Read more at Medical News Today.

THANK YOU for the e-mail comments, suggestions and questions. This week's column answers some of your most frequently asked questions.
The secret to fit abs

Q: What is the secret to getting sexy abs? I do a series of abdominal exercises for 30 to 45 minutes for four to five days a week and still I don't see so much as a ripple.

- John W.

A: Ahhhh... the abs, America's most coveted body part. Well, John, I've got good news and bad news. The bad news first... you'll never get the six-pack or lose those love handles doing ab exercises alone. There is no single exercise to give you a slamming six-pack.

The secret to getting awesome abs is multifaceted. First you must consider your genetics. Are you apple- or pear-shaped?

You're an apple if you primarily gain your weight in the upper body and tummy area. If you gain primarily in the hips, buttocks and thighs, you're a pear with a naturally small waist.

Generally speaking, pears have the natural upper hand (having the smaller waist) but pears can lose their advantage and turn into an apple when excess weight is gained.

Even when you factor in genetics, which accounts for about 20 percent of your appearance, you still have a full 80 percent of which you control.

Secondly, you must study your diet closely. Eating either too little or too much will sabotage your success. Eating small frequent meals throughout the day will keep the metabolic furnace burning and aid in whittling away the fat.

Thirdly, be sure to get sufficient cardiovascular and resistance training to burn off fat and shape lean muscle.

So, there you have it! The secrets to a six-pack are a combination of strength training, proper nutrition, and adequate cardio.

Weight loss woes

On Wednesday, a Texas jury awarded $253.4 million to the widow of a deceased man who took the prescription painkiller Vioxx .
The Vioxx scandal should serve as a wake up call for consumers everywhere. Merk has been found guilty of deliberately withholding information about the fatal side effects of Vioxx. It certainly appears as though company profits, not health care, is their main motivation. To read more Gainesville Times.

Americans consume entirely too much salt. On average Americans are consuming between 8000 to 10,000 mg. of sodium per day. The dietary guidelines recommend a teaspoons a day which is the equivalent of 2300 mg. Even 2300 mg is high. Consider this, our ancestors took in about 700 mg. per day.

Eating too much salt can cause a vareity of problems and bone loss is one of them. The more salt you consume the more calcium you lose. The more calcium you lose the more you increase your risk for osteoporosis.

THE TRAGIC ending to LaToyia Figueroa's life was not of her own making.

To the contrary, her death is yet another example, though all too common, of the No. 1 threat to pregnant women's health - men!

Every single day around the globe women of all ages, races, religions, and from all social-economic backgrounds, are victimized and murdered by men they love.

Domestic violence is therefore both a public health and human rights issue. Where is the public outcry and rage over these countless victims?

According to the National Organization for Women, "Domestic Violence is one of the greatest dangers to a woman's life in the United States. Homicide is the 10th leading cause of death for women under 65."

Furthermore, about 30 percent of American women report being physically abused by husbands or boyfriends and every year more than 300,000 American women are forcibly raped and more than 4 million assaulted, according to the Family Violence Prevention Fund, a national nonprofit group dedicated to preventing domestic violence.

Globally the statistics are more disturbing. Here are some of the deadly acts of violence inflicted upon women by romantic partners, according to the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the Pan American Health Organization: