According to Wikipedia: “Leptospirosis (also known as field fever, rat catcher’s yellows, and pretibial fever among other names) is an infection caused by corkscrew-shaped bacteria Leptospira. Symptoms can range from none to mild such as headaches, muscle pains, and fevers; to severe with bleeding from the lungs or meningitis. If the infection causes the person to turn yellow, have kidney failure and bleeding it is then known […]

It was 1986 when Marilyn Price was bicycling up Mount Tamalpais near San Francisco when she realized that the inner city kids she was working with, had never seen the city from above, never done much physical activity and were constantly stuck in a concrete jungle. She wondered how these kids might be able to […]

If you are going for a walk, take your trekking poles along and make it a Nordic Walk. Nordic walking, a term first defined in 1979, adds upper body exercise to normal walking through the proper use of trekking poles or specially designed poles just for Nordic walking. The special poles typically have a strap […]

November Project™ is a free fitness movement started by Bojan Mandaric and Brogan Graham in Boston.  The movement involves loosely knit groups of people from all walks of life and all physical conditions that get together to exercise.  A 60 minute event might involve warm-ups, calisthenics, running, jogging, walking, stair climbing and more, all presented in a […]

I seem to be continually finding outdoor activities I didn’t know existed.  Tightwire walking is common in the circus, but becomes an extreme sport when practiced between skyscrapers.  We hear about these events from time to time, but slacklining is new to me, although I suspected it was just walking on a not-so-tight wire.  Not  quite. […]

Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the #GimmeFive challenge as part of the fifth anniversary of Let’s Move! Ms Obama is challenging everyone to #GimmeFive things they are doing to eat better, be more active, and lead a healthier life. The White House has already seen people from across the country join in — from eating […]

Arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat is extremely common, generally harmless and tends to occur more often as we age. However, if these irregular heartbeats become severe or continue for long enough, they can deprive the body of oxygen leading to all kinds of complications – including death.

Multi-generational playgrounds provide spaces for people of all ages to gather and enjoy the benefits of healthy physical activity.  In the past playgrounds have been for kids – with perhaps, a swing an adult could use.  Multi-generational playgrounds incorporate activities for adults beyond just a swing or two.  Most commonly these playgrounds include basketball and tennis […]

The May issue of the Townsend Letter included an article titled What Causes Heart Attacks by Dr. Thomas Cowan.  Using a broad array of research Cowan explains why artery blockage is not particularly related to heart attacks and that heart attacks are more related to the function of the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system.  The parasympathetic system, among a […]