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couple of years ago, I was trying to place the entire fitness industry on the arc of feminism, with my friend whos an aerobics teacher. What does it mean, if were all dropping a load of time and money trying to hone our glutes? Is it straight objectification? (Must look better to fit societys view of female form! Must be best self to maximise market value in a neoliberal frame!) Or is it a story of emancipation and strength? (I dont need a man I can push over a car using only my thighs.) She said, Youre partly looking at an aerobics class full of women who no longer do their own housework. The amount of physical activity is the same in a class, its just that nothing gets any cleaner. So really it was more of a Marxist question than a feminist one, but never mind that now.

What Ive been ruminating on recently is the question: is the amount of energy you expend cleaning the same as an aerobics class? Well, one: only if you plan it to be. Two: there will be gaps in the workout, but you can fill those with bodyweight bolt-ons. Three: cleaning demands craves music, because it otherwise drops to a sedate pace. Id even suggest making some 20-minute 160BPM playlists. (Ive got a musicals playlist, and everyone hates it: my mister because he hates musicals, the children because they say every time they hear The Greatest Showman, they know Im going to be in a really self-righteous mood. This doesnt deter me, as I am possessed by my own righteousness.)

Oh, and it helps if you have stairs. Do five minutes in four different rooms, rather than one room at a time, and run the length of your stairs between each one. If you live in chaos, you can get a decent cardio-only workout just by tidying, moving things at speed off the floor of one room and into a drawer in another. Hoovering, mopping, even dusting will all do something for your arms, but if you want to reach your legs, you need to concentrate on your posture, turn graceless leaning into lunges.

Dont fixate on the dirt, is my advice. Im with Adam Smith on this: even if you get it all done, itll be back again tomorrow. I have never engaged in any domestic activity that did anything for my core; so tack a plank on to the end.

Stationary activities chopping, stirring, hell, maybe you sometimes do polishing can be beefed up with resistance bands, then you can do leg extensions (note: not if youre sitting down). Ive tried this but I cant cut a carrot and extend my leg at the same time. People on the internet swear by it, though.

Give up on dreams of measurement and progress: youre not going to become an elite vacuumer. Youre just trying to kill two birds with one stone, and maybe in the process gain a bit of enthusiasm for both birds. But I read yesterday that the reason none of us is completing our grand lockdown plans is that all projects need a future to project into; so its possible that some living-in-the-moment fitness will suit the mood of the times.

Calories-per-minute estimates for most activities are online, but are pretty bogus. If unmeasurability is destroying your morale, get a Fitbit and set a raised-heartbeat target.

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Fit in my 40s: is cleaning as good as a fitness class? There's one way to find out - The Guardian

INDEPENDENCE, OhioBusinesses and restaurants have started to re-open in the state of Ohio and Independence is following suit by reopening their Civic Center to residents.

The Civic Center will be reopened on June 1, but with new guidelines and regulations for those who visit. Only Independence residents with Civic Center passes will be allowed in the facility, meaning no outside guests may use the fitness equipment or indoor pool.

Recreation Director Tom Walchanowicz outlined what areas within the center will be available to residents and which facilities will remain temporarily closed. The indoor pool, lap pool, and whirlpool will be open as well as the weight room, track, and cardio equipment area. Aerobics classes will also begin again on June 1. Walchanowicz said that according to state guidelines, the gymnasium, sauna and steam room, showers, atrium, and racquetball courts will be closed until further notice. Other extras that will not be available include the billiard tables and video game machines.

While the workout equipment will be usable, to follow social distancing guidelines some machines may be closed because of the proximity to other machinery. The weight room will have a maximum capacity of 12 people and Walchanowicz said the department is encouraging people to call ahead to reserve a lane in the indoor lap pool. Outdoor baseball diamonds must also be reserved ahead of time either for Independence teams or residents.

Walchanowicz hopes that everyone who visits the center will, Have patience. We are doing everything we can [to follow] guidelines from the Governor. At least the facility is open at this time.

Now that the Civic Center is open, employees and residents will have their temperature taken upon arrival to ensure they are not running a fever, which is a symptom of the COVID-19 virus.

To help in ensuring the new safety protocols are followed, the Recreation Department is planning to hire extra part-time staff members. During the citys Strategic Planning meeting on May 19, Mayor Greg Kurtz said that the part-time employees would be given a pay increase because, they have a different layer of responsibility.

Walchanowicz said that in addition to disinfecting equipment, staff would monitor the pool and workout areas to keep people socially distant while they use the recreation facilities. While the department is unsure how many new staff members it will take on, Walchanowicz said they are looking for more custodians and lifeguards.

During the strategic planning meeting, Finance Director Blaze said that the city would be able to budget for new staff because of the long delay where no wages were being paid due to the shelter-in-place orders. He also said the new staff would not be working for the length of a typical season.

Kurtz said during the planning meeting that if people do not follow protocols, they will be given a warning and if the misbehavior continues, the offender will be asked to leave the area.

As far as other summer activities are concerned in the city, Community Services Director, Marilyn Senick said in the planning meeting that she and her staff are working on planning summer camps and summer playground. The anticipated start date is sometime after July 4. She said that around 120 children registered for summer camp and 115 children registered for summer playground, an abbreviated version of summer camp for younger children.

This is another area where Kurtz said, It will take more people than we traditionally utilize. There can be no more than ten people in a group at once, so Walchanowciz said the registrants will be broken down into groups of eight children with two staff members.

Little League will also continue, but there will be no travel leagues this season. When games do begin, spectators must sit six feet apart and the players will also be spaced accordingly within the dugouts. Walchanowciz said the players will have to purchase their own helmet and bat and if there is a financial issue for the player, the Recreation Department may assist on a case by case basis.

Finally, the Recreation Departments goal is to have the outdoor pool open by June 15. During the planning meeting, new protocols for the pool were discussed including markings on the ground to maintain social distancing at the diving boards and special hours for the senior citizen community. Walchanowicz said, The most we can put in the entire outdoor pool complex at one time is 200 people.

Kurtz said facilities will open, on a measured basis initially to work the bugs out of these safety protocols. He continued, saying it was too soon to determine the status of the annual Independence Day firework display and Home Days celebration.

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Independence reopens Civic Center while summer programs are still in the works - cleveland.com

TALLADEGA -- The walking track and swimming pool at the Spring Street Recreation Center will reopen Monday, June 1, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to a press release issued Friday by City Manager Beth Cheeks.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines will be observed, she said in the announcement. The swimming pool will be open for adult lap swim and water aerobics only Those using the walking track are expected to practice social distancing The gym, tennis courts, playgrounds and park restrooms are still closed.

The pool will be open for adult lap swim, with one swimmer per lane (up to six at a time) from 8 to 9 a.m., noon to 1 p.m., 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and 3 to 4 p.m.

Water aerobics classes for up to 12 people will be from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. and from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. in the shallow end of the pool. The pool area will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each activity.

CDC guidelines state that there will be no showers, Cheeks said. There will only be one at a time in the restrooms, and the restroom must be sanitized after each person. As you can see, this is a very labor intensive process for the employees.

Cheeks added, These restrictions are subject to change as new guidelines are issued by the CDC and the Governors Office.

Those wishing to use the pool will have to sign up for a specific time slot. To reserve a slot or for more information, please call the Talladega Parks and Recreation Department at 256-362-0514.

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Spring Street Recreation walking track, pool will reopen Monday - Anniston Star

Over the past 60 days, I have not touched my stack of presidential biographies or baked a single loaf of sourdough bread. Nor have I acquired new muscle definition, signed up for a 12-week Russian course or embarked on the slow but fulfilling process of practicing a new hobby.

I dont have the fortitude or patience for any of that right now.

In the midst of this pandemic, with my days split between work and Zoomschooling, I can barely manage to keep everyones schedules straight, let alone learn how to trim a bonsai tree. I need quick wins these days, not focused concentration on a new skill that may require weeks or months of my time in order to achieve competence.

While advice columns have urged us to find respite in deep study or passion projects, Ive gone in the opposite direction. Rather than devote my sliver of nightly leisure time to a single, purposeful activity, I have instead taken on 1,000 of them. Im channeling my listlessness into activities whose outcomes mean absolutely nothing to me, but which give me a small sense of accomplishment. I want to try everything and master nothing.

Since early April, Ive sowed seeds in the cold spring that were meant to be planted in the hot summer. Ive cooked recipes with little regard for the ingredients, substituting ricotta for parmesan depending on whats in the fridge. Ive run a trivia night for friends in which I awarded points at whim. I dusted off old programming skills to build something truly pointless: an animated digital robot whose arms rise and fall in panic.

I commit to nothing; I am wildly promiscuous in my tastes. I signed up for a community-supported agriculture program and canceled it the moment brussels sprouts appeared in my delivery box. I made a face mask with honey and yogurt and ended up eating it instead. I played exquisite corpse with an artist friend and cheated halfway through (Sorry about that, Matt!).

Through it all, I suffer no physical or mental strain. I skip past the 1,000-piece, single-color jigsaw puzzle in favor of an easy, 300-piece Map of the United States, half of the pieces still assembled from a previous pass. I do online fitness videos on YouTube that I abandon around the 20-minute mark, just when I am starting to sweat. Why should I work that hard? No one is going to see my abs for another 18 months.

Only the most generous judge would award me a participation ribbon for these feats; nowhere on my tombstone will I be recognized for my green thumb, cooking skills, athletic ability or sharp engineering talent.

But at the same time, these quick, one-off projects have all kinda, sorta worked. Half of the seeds have sprouted. The food Ive been cooking is wildly off but still edible. The panicked robots arms dont properly connect to its torso, but instead wave urgently from its head. I may not have a six-pack, but dance hall aerobics do provide a nice rush of endorphins.

Im not learning any new skills; there is no self-improvement happening here. There is no exciting, frustrating or meaningful experience of grappling with something truly new and unexplored. In fact, I rarely do the same activity twice.

Perhaps such a distracted approach would feel emptier in more normal times. Or maybe doing something aimlessly with no intention at all is the very definition of leisure, and its leisure, not focused projects, that some of us need right now.

Whatever the case may be, Ive been pleased by my short-lived, fruitless endeavors. My projects if one can even use such an ambitious word to describe them are fun and quick. They may be sloppy half-wins, but they are activities with a start and an end. They make me feel productive at a time when all the normal and truly important stuff can feel slow-going and difficult. Unlike my children or my job, I can abandon them at a moments notice with little consequence or feelings of guilt.

The nation may need a collective therapy session when all of this is over. (Ill probably need an individual one to address my ever-present need to feel occupied.) But in the meantime, for those of you who arent making any headway on writing your pandemic novel or reorganizing your closet, I encourage you to remember this: All those projects will still be there when all of this is over. So rather than punish yourself with a slow and meaningful undertaking that will transform you into a better and more fulfilled individual, why not instead just spend 10 minutes learning how to kind-of-not-really-sort-of do a roundhouse kick?

Jessica Powell (@themoko) is the author of The Big Disruption: A Totally Fictional but Essentially True Silicon Valley Story.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Why Have One Pandemic Hobby When You Can Have 1,000 of Them? - The New York Times

The Big Brother Australia reboot will premiere on Channel Seven in early June.

AndMelbourne-based Zoe George, a well-known blogger and creator of website The Subtle Mummy, was the latest housemate to be announced on Wednesday.

She will join the likes of AFL prankster Daniel Gorringe, raunchy model Chad Hurst, Think Tank star Mat Garrick and 80saerobics icon Marissa Rancan in the house.

The 38-year-old brunette has two kids and is a woodwork teacher from Melbourne.

If you havent had things under your nail and, like, wondered if its Nutella or poo then youre not a mum! Kids have changed my life, Zoe says.

Zoe documents her home life with kidsAri and Ambrosia and husband Bob to her 17,700 Instagram followers and on unfiltered blog,The Subtle Mummy.

She says shes as subtle as a brick in the face and aims to show people shes fun.

The 30-year-old has been dubbed the shows outback tradie after filming his promo in Broken Hill, focusing on his country lifestyle in far west New South Wales.

However, he failed to mention his year as a panelist on ABCs Think Tank from 2018 to 2019.

My beautiful fiance Jess is the best thing thats ever happened to me. Its a bit of a running joke that Im Don Bradman and bat above my average with Jess, he says.

When asked how hell go in the house, Mat says: I hope Im a pretty likeable guy. Got to keep my wits about myself. Some people are conniving and backstabbing.

Housemate Daniel, 27, retired from AFL in 2017.

Since then hes amassed 76,000 Instagram followers by stripping naked for bizarre stunts, as well as taking part in some very questionable comedy skits.

One of his longest-running gags involves placing random items down his trousers. In past videos, hes wedged a lemon between his buttocks, and a golf ball.

Marissa Rancan was announced as a housemate for the reboot earlier this month.

The 61-year-old makeup artist from Sydney found fame in the 1980s as one third of aerobics icons The Rancan Sisters with her twin siblings, Adele and Lisa.

We were the first three to bring aerobics to Australia. It started back in 1983 and we were known for our morning TV appearances, Marissa says of her showbiz past.

The 27-year-old splits his time between photo shoots in Los Angeles, and working as a roofer in Sydney.

While Chad boasts about appearing in Vogue Australia in his promo for the show, he forgot to disclosethe X-rated full frontal nude shoots he did back in 2013.

I think Ill be able to adapt to most personalities in the Big Brother house. Ill be weaving my way in there, seeing whats going on, he says.

Sophie is hoping her good looks will help her win the Chanel Seven reality show.

After being announced as a housemate on Saturday, the 25-year-old from Darwin said: Using my looks will be one of my strategies.

The glamorous brunette is a former gymnast who now works as a part-time grid girl and makeup artist while studying at university.

She fractured her back at the age of 13 while trainingfor the Olympics in London. It was all over. I was out of the sport overnight, she says of her sad past.

Feisty Angela, a 37-year-old events manager and mother from Perth, says she wants to be the last one standing and that Big Brother has met its match with her.

She claims shell sweet talk housemates during the day, and vote them out at night.

I came from Africa with nothing but a suitcase. My family is everything. At home, Im a mum. At work, Im a boss. I can be all of that and more, she says.

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Big Brother 2020 line-up: All of the confirmed housemates so far - Brinkwire

Being stuck at home is great for some people, but those who like to live an active lifestyle are definitely feeling the pain. With most gyms and workout centers closed until further notice, and many parks getting closed thanks to people, not social distancing, working out at home is the only option.

If you dont live in a huge house though, thats asking a lot. Sure, you can do push-ups and weight lifting, but if you prefer cardio, how do you do that? Simple: Zumba. The whole reason Zumba classes exist in the first place is to mix up your cardio routine, and give you some new dance moves with it.

So if youre in a smaller space, and need a fun cardio workout, Zumba is the way to go. Of course, you need a great instructor to lead the way to dancing fitness. These online Zumba classes are perfect for all skill levels and to get you moving.

For those who enjoy the HIIT workout style, Zumba offers a version of that called STRONG by Zumba. This YouTube channel, run by Zumba, has certified instructors offering 7, 20, and 30-minute workouts.

Whether youre a HIIT master and are looking to do an hour, or just getting started and might not make it through the 7 minute, you have options. Plus, youll be ready to take on the full hour-long class at your local workout center when it reopens.

If you follow Popsugar, you know theyre regularly putting out new fitness workouts for you to try at home. But one of their specialties is dance workouts in the style of Zumba. These 30-minute videos get you up and moving.

Short on time? Theres also 15-minute videos you can do to get yourself a short burst of energy during your lunch break. Whether youre looking for hip-shaking Latin dancing, or breaking it down to some hip-hop, theres a variety of musical workouts on their YouTube channel and on their fitness video service Active.

This Zumba instructor has been going at it since 2011, and on top of teaching a full class, he posts his routines on YouTube for you to learn at home. Taking on the top hits, he creates routines for nearly every type of music.

On top of that, he also has specifically kid-friendly routines as well! If you want to get the whole family active, you can pop on one of his Zumba Kids routines to make it easier on them. Throw his routines into a playlist, and make your own one-hour class!

Lets move on from YouTube and to Amazon Prime. This 70-minute video is an international dance fiesta for you to party with at home. Whether youre into Bollywood style or Latin dance, these 16 routines will give you what you like, and introduce you to something new.

If you have Amazon Prime, you can flick it on and learn these moves from the man who created Zumba himself, Beto Perez. Give it a shot and see how long you can last.

Not everyone is super familiar with Zumba, and a lot of these routines may be a lot for a beginner. While this is advertised as a series meant for older people getting into Zumba, its also perfect for those unfamiliar with Zumba in general.

With three episodes available on Prime, you can work your way up to mastering the basics of Zumba. Take your time, have some fun, and shake those hips as you learn a variety of Latin dance moves.

Seriously, Amazon Prime is a treasure trove of those old Zumba DVD workouts. This one does require the Zumba Rizer, but if you just get a step stool or something else to step up and down on, youll be fine.

Mixing it up with step aerobics, this workout has a focus on tightening your legs and glutes, to give you delicious legs. But dont worry, youll still get some of the dancing you know and love in there too.

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Staying toned from home? Here are the best online Zumba classes ever - Film Daily

The home workout first emerged in the 1950s, flexed its biceps on videotapes in the 80s and, in the age of global lockdown, still appears on TV today.

Take a neon trip through history and find outexactly when television stopped being just for couch potatoes.

Image: Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

The TV workout craze dates back to 1954, with the release of Jack LaLannes self-titled US fitness show. The San-Franciscan fitness buff also made television appearances until his death in 2011, featuring in The Simpsons and the Addams Family, among others. LaLanne was crowned the Godfather of Fitness in a 2015 documentary.

The 1980s saw an eruption of home aerobics, from Jane Fondas bestselling workout videos to Olivia Newton Johns sacred 1981 tune Physical. The trends unfurled into the realm of fashion and music, and fluro leotards, scrunchies, and leg-warmers were unknowingly fixed as the uniform of the decade.

Shortly afterwards, apassionate fusion of jazz music and aerobics called Jazzercise roared its colourful head.Adopted by The Grinch and seen in Futurama, the catchy name and unique energy gained mass interest and classes still run today. The clip below is a particularly thrilling exhibition of scat-singing and deep squats.

In the 90s came a pumping swarm of energetic instructors with a lifestyle TV edge. Instructors like Richard Simmons, who lunged into the scene with Sweatin to the Oldies and Mr. Motivator, who ran matinee fitness lessons before Power Rangers in the UK, gained global attention.

Simmons and Mr. Motivator made coronavirus comebacks earlier this year with a series of follow-along videos. At 67, the latter is still sporting eye-watering neon spandex and hip-thrusting on the BBC.

Home workouts have seen their fair share of glory on programs for younger audiences. In the early 2000s, Sesame Street broadcasted an exercise video led by Grover, fusing techno-samba beats with synchronized puppet aerobics. Icelandic seriesLazyTowns stars Sportacus, an action-health hero played by the athlete Magns Scheving. That show boasts some serious backbends.

Recent times have seen online broadcasts of Zumba, yoga, and circuit classes rise in popularity with isolation laws keeping the public home-bound.

So how have home workouts held up for so long? If youre still asking, you probably havent tried Jazzercise.

Heres what everyone else has been getting up to in isolation (in-between aerobics classes, of course).

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Spandex, scrunchies, and fluro: the adrenaline-fuelled relevance of the home workout - Happy Mag

2. For substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (one hour and 15 minutes) to 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Preferably, aerobic activity should be spread throughout the week (30-90 minutes per day).

3. Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond the equivalent of 300 minutes (five hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity a week.

4. Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity and that involve all major muscle groups on two or more days a week, as these activities provide additional health benefits.

The website http://www.verywellfit.com recommends more than 30 minutes of continuous physical activity daily to lose weight for the following reasons: During the first 30 minutes of exercise, your body is burning sugars stored as fuel. These are used up after about 30 minutes. To keep going, your body releases fat from your fat cells and burns it for fuel. This stored fat is exactly what you want to lose, and it's a good reason to build up your walking endurance so you can walk for more than 30 minutes at a time.

Here are some examples of moderate physical activity recommended in the Physical Activity Guidelines: walking briskly (2.5 miles per hour or faster), recreational swimming, bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour on level terrain, tennis (doubles), active forms of yoga (for example, power yoga), ballroom or line dancing, general yard work and home repair work, and exercise classes like water aerobics.

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Buchberger: It's vital to stay active during 'shelter in place' - The Citizen

The Queen of the Universe, Jane Fonda, is now on TikTok. Which means anyone who doesnt have the app needs to download it ~immediately~ because this is content the world needs right now.

She an incredible actor, a top-class philanthropist and a boss b*tch activist. And now: A TikTok star.

Jane posted her first vid of her reviving her notable 80s aerobics workouts, with a PSA at the end.

During this isolation period, we can get right into our glute with Jane OR we can join her Fire Drill Friday that sees the activist stand up to politicians on climate change each week.

Its gotten her arrested a couple times for protesting (hell yeh!), but her efforts in urging US politicians to end fossil fuel consumption has had buzz around the world with many other celebrities have jumped on board.

Even though were stuck at home, 82-year-old Jane is still doing her part to tackle the climate crisis. And so should we.

So, whip out your leg warmers and leotards and get stretching because theres still a battle to be fought as Jane holds her Fire Drill Fridays!

- Tait McGregor

Main Image Credit: Licensed by Getty

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Jane Fonda Reviving Her 80s Aerobics Workouts To Save The Climate Is The Reason We All Need TikTok - MTV News Australia

Do you remember the little Richard Sandrak? Perhaps you remember him better by his nickname Little Hercules. The photos of this child who with just 6 years was able to lift more than 80 kg of weight they went around the world more than 15 years ago and, today, they have become viral.

This was Richard when he was 6 years old.

Richard was born in Ukraine in 1992. His father, Pavel, was a world champion in martial arts, and Lena, his mother, was an aerobics instructor. The family moved to the United States when Richard was just 2 years old.

Started by stretching and exercises aerobics, but before long I was already lifting weight.

The Sandraks hired a coach personalFrank Giardina, so that his son would become the strongest child in the world. And they did it.

Unfortunately, Richard did not have a childhood of which he is proud. His father was very demanding of him, he was never allowed to eat sweets, ice cream or junk food and he lived under the pressure of having to improve every day.

When the little boy turned 11, his father was imprisoned for assaulting his wife. Thats when Richard left bodybuilding.

Now exercises cardiovascular to keep fit and he also has an awesome job. Richard does dubbing in films from action from Universal Studios Hollywood. Still he confesses that he does not regret his past.

We leave you a video of Richard as a child:

The crisis caused by the coronavirus has put us in a few days in a situation that nobody could imagine. The threat to everyones health must be our first concern. And then, the social and economic consequences that are already hitting our community hard. But our commitment to you and to all of our readers is stronger than ever.

Producing this content you are reading costs money. The money that allows writers, editors, and other staff of MMA.UNO can support their families. We do not close our content like other media do, because we want everyone to be able to read it.

But we do ask those who can collaborate with us to help us. For this we include a voluntary donation button, We are going to allocate this money to our editors and improve our content.

People who can collaborate with us in the short future will be able to read our content through advertising.

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Do you remember little Hercules? This is how he is now! - Explica