NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jacobs Ladder, a moving, angled, climbing machine, may be named after the Biblical stairway to heaven, but it packs such a challenging workout people have dubbed it the stairway to hell.

Fitness experts say users of the fitness machine, which is a favorite among Army Rangers, Navy Seals, and "The Biggest Loser" television series, reap total body, calorie-busting rewards.

"It's a great and tough cardio piece," said Neal Pire, an exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine. "Picture a step mill that combines the lower and upper body, and you have Jacobs Ladder. Except instead of steps, you have rungs."

Because the user climbs with arms as well as legs more muscles are working and more calories are burned.

"As a rule the more muscle mass you utilize during any activity, the greater the oxygen consumed, which is directly correlated to the calories you consumed," said Pire, president of Inspire Training Systems, in New Jersey. "Unlike stair climbers, you can't hold on to the sides."

Jacobs Ladder was invented by Steve Nichols, a fitness champion who injured his knees and back, according to Bob Palka, president of Jacobs Ladder, LLC.

"He wanted to come up with a good workout that didn't impact back and knees." said Palka, who bought the patent and assets from Nichols in 1994.

"Effectively it's just climbing a ladder," Palka said.

People using the machine are placed at a 40-degree angle to put the spine in a more neutral position, relieve the back of stress and engage core muscles.

Palka said on Jacobs Ladder the person's body weight is lifted over a 12-inch (30.5-centemeter) step for fuller range of motion than the eight-inches of a step mill.

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Jacobs Ladder climbers reap tough fitness rewards

Adults now worry more about children not getting enough exercise than about childhood obesity.

Eleven-year-old Jacob Landis, left, and his brother Alex, 10, participate in swim practice Monday at the Athletic Club in West Manchester Township. Many local gyms are offering more physical activity for children through new classes and programs. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- JASON PLOTKIN)

Nine-year-old Holly Jacobs practices swimming Monday at the Athletic Club. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- JASON PLOTKIN)

Inactive children who don't get enough exercise rank higher than worries about childhood obesity for the first time, according to a recent national poll.

Thirty-nine percent of adults rated "not enough exercise" as their leading concern for children, according to the poll from C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. "Childhood obesity" was a close second, with 38 percent of adults rating it as a "big problem" in 2012.

York County health and fitness experts aren't surprised. A reason they cited for the shift in concern from obesity to exercise included kids spending more time playing with smartphones and video games instead of playing outdoors. Experts say parents are turning to local gyms for classes and special training to get kids physically active.

Busy parents struggle to find time for simple activities like walking around a block in their neighborhood with their families, according to Kate Harner, YMCA of York County's director of development and communications.

"As we have a new generation of parents with kids that are school-age, many of those houses are two-income households, two parents with careers," Harner said. "There aren't as many parents who can stay home as there were in the past. Now we aren't as attentive to taking care of people as we are about taking care of things."

Rise in medical problems

Doctors and healthcare providers are changing how they talk about kids' health and parents are responding to it, Kelly Marsteller, a registered dietitian at Memorial Hospital said.

Read the original post:
Inactive kids? York health and fitness experts tell how to get them moving

A new health-tracking product called larklife wants to be the everyperson's fitness monitor. The company's CEO and founder Julia Hu said she sees a flaw with devices that use social competition to motivate people.

[More from Mashable: 15 Brilliant, Spooky, Hilarious and Creative Cinemagrams]

"The problem is that that type of motivation is actually incredibly demotivating to the 95 percent of us who are not hyper athletes," she said.

Lark, the company that made the device, launched its latest product, larklife on Monday. Larklife is two wearable wristbands that track your fitness, diet and sleep through a free iOS app. Rather than focus on big goals like "lose 20 pounds" or "run a marathon," larklife focus on smaller milestones.

[More from Mashable: U.S. Military Tackles High Rate of Suicides With an App]

"For us, we believe that the power of wearable health is not in its ability to just track everything about you, but rather motivate and empower you to feel great and be happier, healthier, and more productive," Hu said. "We're taking the world's best experts in fitness, dieting, productivity, stress and sleep, and putting them in the palm of your hand to give you personalized, real-time advice."

There is one waterproof wristband for day and a cozy, soft wristband to wear while you sleep. These health trackers are similar to other fitness and life-tracking devices like the Fitbit and Nike FuelBand, but have a few key differences.

To encourage users to change their behavior, Hu and her team tapped health experts and developed a complex algorithm to provide recommendations to wearers throughout the day on the wristband's sleek screen. The Lark team thinks you'll be more likely to take the recommendations from experts with a little encouragement from the in-app coach. In fact, Lark wants users to develop a relationship with their device, which will make them more accountable. (It does encourage you and celebrate victories just like a good friend would.) The virtual coach "chats" with you throughout the day on the wristband's screen. It also passively monitors sleep, diet and lifestyle.

For instance, she told me if I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 6 a.m. for a run, my wristband might explain to me in a message that I should eat a protein-fueled breakfast due to the fact I didn't sleep much and also burned energy running.

By reminding users of small goals and milestones, those big goals don't seem so intimidating. Hu says the average person will be more motivated to continue on their quest for a healthy lifestyle.

See original here:
This Wristband Knows When You're Eating, Running and Sleeping

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVjt-fzbVIQ

08-10-2012 11:06 The mayor and Interim Interim Police Chief Chester Logan discuss the future of the department following Ralph Godbee's departure. Detroit — Embattled Police Chief Ralph L. Godbee Jr. retired Monday amid a scandal surrounding his alleged relationship with a subordinate female police officer and an investigation into whether he used police resources to spy on her. "It hurts me a great deal it has come to this," Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said. "I told him what my expectations were. He didn't live up to those expectations." From The Detroit News:

Link:
Bing announces Detroit police chief's retirement - Video

Residents at some retirement homes are upset because they could soon be on the hook for additional costs caused by new provincial legislation aimed at making the homes safer.

The Ontario government passed the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) in 2010 to keep homes maintained at a certain standard.

Retirement homes in Ontario must also now have a licence to operate, which could amount to an extra fee of $10 per month for each resident of a retirement home starting in November.

Some homes say they are covering those costs, but others are forcing residents to swallow the extra fee.

"I mean, the other option is to cut services and I really think residents come to a retirement home to gain those services," said Sharon Henderson, a spokeswoman for Chartwell Seniors Housing.

"To have those activities, to have the socialization, the nutritious meals, the housekeeping services, all of those things help make lives better."

Chartwell, which runs 80 retirement properties, now expects its total costs to increase to about $1 million per year. The company said it would pass the cost down to residents.

Residents at one of its homes in Ottawa were mixed on the idea.

But the government believes the cost, which was kicked off with $7.5 million of Ontario taxpayers' dollars and is now a self-funding model, is worth it to help prevent abuse and neglect to residents.

"It's going to bring protection to them (homes) in the long run. There have been homes that have been burnt down. There have been inquests into abuse situations. There have been people that have been living in conditions that are not good," said Mary Beth Valentine, CEO of the RHRA.

Read more here:
New Ontario retirement home rules hike costs

LEXINGTON, Ky., Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Central Baptist Hospital is one of only 164 hospitals nationwide to receive the American College of Cardiology Foundation's NCDR ACTION RegistryGet With The Guidelines Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2012.

The award recognizes Central Baptist's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients, and signifies that the hospital has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

To receive this award, Central Baptist consistently followed the treatment guidelines in the ACTION RegistryGWTG Premier for eight consecutive quarters and met a performance standard of 90% for specific performance measures. Implementation of the treatment guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of heart attack patients.

"We have assembled a team that is always ready to provide the very best cardiovascular services with a personal and caring approach," said Central Baptist Hospital President & CEO William G. Sisson. "We continue to focus on improving the quality of our cardiovascular care because our patients deserve the best and because the number of acute myocardial infarction patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing incidence of heart disease and a large aging population."

ACTION RegistryGWTG is a partnership between the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association with partnering support from the American College of Emergency Physicians, Society of Chest Pain Centers and the Society of Hospital Medicine. ACTION Registry-GWTG empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for understanding and improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease, specifically high-risk STEMI and NSTEMI patients.

Originally posted here:
Central Baptist Hospital Receives Platinum Performance Achievement Award for Heart Care

RELEASE UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL OCTOBER 8, 2012 @ 1800

Olympic gold medal success celebrated with rowers awarded new Audi Q5s by BankLink together with Giltrap Group

Auckland, 8 October 2012: BankLink, principal partner of Rowing New Zealand, together with the Giltrap Group today presented Rowing New Zealands Olympic gold medallists with the keys to new Audi Q5s in recognition of their outstanding achievements at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Single sculler Mah Drysdale, coxless pair Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, and the heavyweight double scull duo including Joseph Sullivan each received the keys to their new cars at a private ceremony hosted at the Giltrap Audi Showroom on Great North Road in Auckland. Sullivans crewmate, Nathan Cohen, who was unable to attend, will be presented with his car at a later date.

Richard Reese, BankLink General Manager of Operations, said; BankLink is a long-time supporter of Rowing New Zealand and we wanted to recognise and celebrate the exceptional success of our Olympic gold medallists.

Watching our rowers compete in London clearly showed once again the effort and dedication of these athletes. We believe it is important to formally recognise and reward their achievements at a personal level and to hopefully provide an incentive for them to continue on to Rio 2016 and replicate their success.

BankLink, together with Giltrap Group, has gifted the gold medal winning rowers the use of the Audis for two years or, as an incentive to stay on in the sport until the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, for four years if they continue with rowing.

Sir Colin Giltrap, Executive Chairman of Giltrap Group Holdings Limited, added; The presentation of these Audi Q5s is an acknowledgement of the hard work and hours these rowers put into their sport every week. Our rowers have achieved some of New Zealands greatest sporting successes in recent years and were proud to be able to show our support of these amazing athletes in this way.

CEO of Rowing New Zealand, Simon Peterson, added; BankLink is an incredibly supportive and hands-on principle partner for Rowing New Zealand. Having a sponsor that not just provides funding to our programmes, but that goes the extra mile to support our athletes at a personal level is invaluable.

Our rowers spend a great deal of time on the road each day travelling to training sessions and events and being able to get there in the comfort, safety and style of an Audi Q5 is something that I know will be appreciated by all of our gold medallists.

Link:
Olympic gold medal success celebrated

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) - A commercial cargo ship rocketed into orbit Sunday in pursuit of the International Space Station, the first of a dozen supply runs under a mega-contract with NASA.

It was the second launch of a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab by the California-based SpaceX company. The first was last spring.

This time was no test flight, however, and the spacecraft carried 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms) of key science experiments and other precious gear. There was also a personal touch: chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream tucked in a freezer for the three station residents.

The company's unmanned Falcon rocket roared into the night sky right on time, putting SpaceX on track to reach the space station Wednesday. The complex was soaring southwest of Tasmania when the Falcon took flight.

Officials declared the launch a success.

In more good news, a piece of space junk was no longer threatening the station, and NASA could focus entirely on the delivery mission.

NASA is counting on private business to restock the space station, now that the shuttles have retired to museums. The space agency has a $1.6 billion contract with SpaceX for 12 resupply missions.

Especially exciting for NASA is the fact that the Dragon will return twice as much cargo as it took up, including a stockpile of astronauts' blood and urine samples. The samples - nearly 500 of them - have been stashed in freezers since Atlantis made the last shuttle flight in July 2011.

The Dragon will spend close to three weeks at the space station before being released and parachuting into the Pacific at the end of October. By then, the space station should be back up to a full crew of six.

None of the Russian, European or Japanese cargo ships can bring anything back; they're destroyed during re-entry. The Russian Soyuz crew capsules have limited room for anything besides people.

View original post here:
Comm’l Space Cargo Ship SpaceX Dragon Capsule Launch A Success

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Thousands of people turned out in the rain Sunday morning for the 5th annual J.T. Walk and Beach Party and what a party it was.

The weather could be a little bit better, but I like it a little bit chilly, and if it werent for the rain, it would probably be just right in my opinion, walker David Jeffers told WAVY.com.

Peopled seemed to take the weather in stride and Governor Bob McDonnell showed up to kick off the walk. The focus was not the weather but the cause itself, ot walk for others who might not be able to do so themselves.

My friend Jenn said she had a group coming out here to do the walk and wanted me to come join and donate, and I figured it was for a good cause so why not? Jeffers said.

The walk was also personal for Casey Hartneck.

I know personally a lot of people affected by the disease, she said. I just want to be here in support.

Its even more personal for Bruce Thompson.

Whatever money we raise this year we put right back into the community this year and next year well start with zero, Thompson told WAVY.com.

But perhaps the highlight of this years walk was when the Childrens Hospital of the Kings Daughters received the keys to a new mobile pediatric intensive care unit funded by last years J.T. Walk and Beach Party.

Thus far weve raised $1.5 million and that will be the seed money for a fully accessible park for kids with disabilities and a special section dedicated to our wounded warriors, Thompson added.

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J.T. Walk & Beach Party a success

PHOENIX, Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Unemployment continues to be a huge problem in the U.S. despite there being more than 3 million available jobs open and unfilled in America today. To help bridge the gap between education and employment, University of Phoenix is introducing a variety of new tools, services and resources aimed at helping students receive the education and skills required to help fill the roles that companies need most. The movement is anchored by the new Let's get to workSM national advertising and marketing campaign that launched on Sept. 23.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121003/LA85714LOGO)

"University of Phoenix is committed to serving the best interests of its students and giving them the tools and resources to not only graduate in their chosen course of study, but also help prepare them for and link them to jobs after graduation. We are going to do this by bringing the career planning conversation forward, starting with pre-enrollment conversations," said Dr. Bill Pepicello, president of University of Phoenix. "We are hoping to shift the conversation to the natural link between 'a quality education' and 'a fulfilling and challenging career.' We're excited that University of Phoenix is leading the effort."

The Let's get to workcampaign focuses on the link between a quality education and a fulfilling and challenging career. Tony Award-winning actress and singer Phylicia Rashad is the voice of the University in the new advertisements, which will engage consumers through multiple media channels including TV, radio, outdoor, online and social.

"For the new campaign, it became clear that the conversation around higher education needed to change, to focus on a critical issue to students and alumni, and that is jobs," said Arra Yerganian, chief marketing officer for University of Phoenix. "With more than 750,000 alumni and more than 300,000 students, plus nearly 30,000 faculty, the University feels it can leverage its scale to impact this important issue facing America."

The new campaign is just the beginning of how the University is helping to address the jobs problem. New enhancements to the student experience will roll out in the coming months, including programs to address the cost of higher education, as well as a proprietary user experience to help students align their current skills, interests and career aspirations with an appropriate University of Phoenix degree program and then with employers looking to hire the University's students and graduates. University of Phoenix is committed to serving the best interest of its students and is implementing several initiatives including:

To learn more about University of Phoenix's efforts to bridge the education and job gap, visit http://www.phoenix.edu.

About University of Phoenix University of Phoenix is constantly innovating to help students balance education and life in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, challenging courses and interactive learning can help students pursue personal and career aspirations without putting their lives on hold. As the flagship university of Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL), University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world. For more information, visit http://www.phoenix.edu.

See original here:
University of Phoenix Renews Commitment to Student Success with Focus on Connecting Higher Education and Employment