Three years ago Ivan Kahana was driving from the Millenia area over to Winter Park just to get in a good game of tennis. It was around this time he heard of the website Meetup.com, a social media site that allows members to find and join groups unified by a common interest.

“I just thought, ‘there’s obviously got to be a tennis Meetup,’ but there wasn’t,” Kahana says. “There were well over 70 people in the Orlando area interested in tennis, but no one had taken the initiative to create a group. So I did.”

Social media websites like Meetup and Facebook have made getting a group together and getting active easier than ever in East Orlando.

With Meetup, it’s as simple as searching for a sport or activity you’re interested in, and entering your zip code. Then Meetup provides you with a list of groups in the area that share your common interest and all you have to do is join them. On an average week, there are about 500 Meetup groups gathering in the Orlando area to participate in their various activities or interests.

In the case of Kahana’s group, South West Orlando Tennis (SWOT), the group has become a melting pot of different sexes, races, religions, ages, skill levels, career goals, and family lives. The unifying characteristic is that every member of SWOT has a love for tennis.

“You don’t have to be some fantastic player to be a SWOTTER,” Kahana says. “You just have to have a passion for the sport and for meeting great people.”

This type of diversity is rarely found in sports leagues, but is a common theme in Meetup groups.

Glen Duke’s Meetup Ultimate Frisbee Group started about four years ago and welcomes various types of players.

“We have all skill levels,” Duke says. “It’s not like if someone doesn’t play well we shun them. Anyone that needs to get their frisbee fix is welcome.”

Nicholas Johnson, creator of a year-old kickball Meetup group in Orlando, appreciates how easy Meetup makes it for adults to connect.

“If you’re not in school, and you’re just a working adult, you can’t just wander into a park and find a group of people playing sports and join in,” Johnson says. “Meetup makes it possible.”

Johnson’s group is co-ed and ages range from 18 to “grey hairs.” While there is a core group of about 30 people, Johnson says there are always new people who will find the group and join in.

Facebook is also a great tool for gathering groups, as Mario Erazo learned two years ago when he first began to discover social media and created his Central Florida Soccer Facebook group.

Erazo’s group is co-ed and ages range from 18-40’s. Erazo separates the games in his groups into three categories - recreational, semi-competitive and competitive - so no matter the skill level, there’s a game for anyone who wants to play.

“Social Media is so simple - it’s wide open,” Erazo says. “I just create an event, invite people, and it’s done. Everyone is welcome and everyone has a good time.”

Kahana’s SWOT group has over 100 active members, and plays twice a week. Kahana has effectively created a network of players that can meet through SWOT’s Meetup page, and then setup good days and times to play together.

SWOT is Central Florida’s #1 social tennis group. It’s helped its members begin to exercise more, helping heart conditions and weight issues. It’s mended relationships, and started them. For many SWOTTERS, getting together for a game of tennis is the highlight of the week.

“It’s a community offering,” Kahana says. “It’s about giving back to the community by offering friendships rooted in a mutual love.”

Article by Katelyn Schmidt

The beginning of every year always brings an influx of people to the gym with one thing on their mind -this is their year to exercise more and get in shape. But in the mad dash to get fit as quickly as possible, it’s easy to fall into the trap of over-exercising, which is detrimental to your body and makes all that sweat and effort futile.

Heather Stella, a personal trainer at Fitness Together of East Orlando, has a Masters from UCF in Applied Exercise Physiology as well as eight years of experience in fitness. Stella has noticed in her years as a trainer that over-exercising can usually be seen in individuals shortly after New Years and before vacations.

“Working out too hard can cause fatigue and loss of motivation to continue a fitness routine,” Stella says. “It can also lead to potential injury and stress to the body. This can occur when a person may be unaware of how to design a program and they start going to the gym and pushing hard every time.”

According to Stella there are some simple physical indicators that let you know your body is being over-worked. Extreme fatigue, loss of concentration, continuous soreness beyond the normal two days and a loss of appetite are a few symptoms. She points out that there really isn’t “good pain” - just pain, and soreness.

“Pain is never something that should be felt,” Stella says. “Many people can misinterpret symptoms and think that they must be in pain to get a good workout. Soreness for one to two days is a normal occurrence when exercising. Pain is when an area hurts beyond normal soreness in the muscles that were worked. ”

One of the best ways to insure you’re getting the most use of your workout time is to warm-up before a workout to prepare the body for what’s coming. It’s also a good idea to plan out your routine before you start, as it helps you utilize your time efficiently.

During the actual workout, it’s important to be aware of the way your body feels and reacts to a new program.

“Having a trainer can help with this because the program can be monitored and changed as the trainer sees progression,” Stella says. “Knowing when to add weight to your fitness routine to create a challenge or when to go longer on cardio sessions is an important part of success. To progress, you must create a challenge for your body without injuring yourself.”

You should also be aware of how much time you’re spending doing certain workouts. Spending hours in front of a mirror watching yourself lift weights is actually more counterproductive than it seems.

“When it comes to resistance training, more isn’t necessarily better,” Stella says. “Training your muscles past 50 minutes can place excessive stress on your muscles preventing you from achieving the results you are looking for.”

Most people that make the resolution to get fit typically workout the entire month of January, half of February, and then usually find themselves back on the couch by the first day of Spring. If this is going to be your year, it’s best to pace yourself.

“Three times a week is often a good number and can provide sufficient rest in between workouts. Cardiovascular fitness can be performed everyday but a good start is three days per week with activities you find enjoyable. This will help you stick to it and look forward to your workouts,” says Stella. It’s also important to know that anything that will get you moving and interested will help you stay committed and provide motivation to make more time for fitness.

Once you’ve completed your workout for the day, it’s a good idea to stretch and help calm the body. This also stretches the muscles that have been contracted while you were working out.

Once your workout is over, the next step is staying motivated to come back and do it all over again.

“It is important to make fitness and health part of a lifestyle and not a short term commitment,” Stella says. “Knowledge of exercising and having a plan is vita; in addition, you must understand that long-term results take time and require dedication to your routine.”

Article by Katelyn Schmidt

What: 2nd Annual Community Kickball Challenge
Where: Avalon Park
When: January 29, 8am-1pm
Cost: $400 donation
Contact: 407.382.5660 OR www.CommunityKickball.com

Description:

It’s that time again – on January 29 Central Florida residents will again make history as they turn Avalon Park into the kickball capital of the southeast to benefit a local nonprofit.

Hundreds of players on 32 teams will be participating in the second annual Community Kick Ball Challenge to benefit Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (which focuses on leading-edge research in cancer in diabetes in the “Medical City” in Lake Nona). To learn more visit www.CommunityKickball.com.

Ever wonder why some people get great results from their workouts or their eating routine? What makes them so different from you? How do they do it? While there may be many reasons for their success, more often than not, such success usually boils down to  one or two simple, but extremely powerful, habits.

Making a Habit of Living Proactively

In life, we all experience challenging situations that we have little control over. Unfortunately, the more challenges we face in which we sense a lack of control, the greater the tendency we have to allow those situations to influence that which we do have control over. If we are not careful, our lives end up being directed by things we perceive as “happening to us” rather than “happening by us.” In effect, we relinquish our personal power to direct our lives. If you’re like me you’ve probably traveled this road a time or two in your life.

Making a habit of accurately assessing what we can and cannot control in our lives results in a proactive (not reactive) way of living. And living proactively, not reactively, is habit #1. Let’s look at how proactive living relates to exercise and proper eating.

You see, when it comes to regular workouts and healthy eating, many people feel they have barriers which prevent them from being able to do the things they want to do or reaching their goals. Common barriers include work schedules, the need for more time with family, long commutes, personal injuries or illness, caring for elderly patients and even boredom and fatigue. Some of these can’t be helped, that’s for sure; but with the proper perspective, and a little planning, they don’t have to prevent you from implementing positive changes to secure a long and healthy life.

For example, I knew a nurse who said that her challenge was eating cake at work. With 40 fellow staff members, seldom did a week go by without a cake or party celebrating a birthday, wedding anniversary or birth. What did she do? She found a few charities that the staff could get behind and at every party they decided to donate $1 in that person’s name instead of buying and eating cake. At the end of the year they had over $1,000 for charity and celebrated an end to eating cake!

Making a Habit of Living Productively - One Little Step at a Time

Being busy doesn’t necessarily translate into being productive. In many cases, it’s just the opposite.  In my life I have found that my productivity is negatively affected when I try to do too much too fast.

For example, completely changing how you eat overnight can be overwhelming, but by making one or two small changes each and every day it will be only a matter of time before the way you eat is completely transformed. Eating  ½ a sandwich instead of a whole at lunch, reducing fried foods or soda and eating one piece of fruit per day are all examples of small daily changes you can make that, over time, will transform your life.

There are indeed things that you can control in 2011 that will make you healthier, and ultimately, happier. Start by living proactively and productively, one little step at a time, and you will create the change you desire most.

Article by Glenn Beard, PT, Owner of Fitness Together East Orlando

While the holidays can be a joyous time of the year, they can also be disastrous for our fitness and healthy eating routines. ¢Tis the season for shopping, cookie baking, decorating and parties - lots of parties, with rich food everywhere. Do you ever wonder how some people manage to stay vibrant, happy and fit over the holidays, appearing to let holiday stress roll off them like the rooftop icing on the gingerbread cake? What if I said that you too can be one of these holiday fitness success stories? Here are some simple tips to add sparkle to your holiday cheer by giving yourself the gift of health this season.

Three Tips for Sticking to Your Fitness Routine

During this oh so hectic time of year, a personal trainer can be very supportive.  You can make a contract with a trainer to plan and be accountable for your fitness routine using a triple-pronged approach: daily cardio; strength training at least three days a week; and eating healthy, eating light and eating often. Let’s take a closer look at the three pieces of a good fitness routine and see how you can work them into your holiday schedule:

1.  Daily cardio. Set a regular time every day to get those sneakers on and get out there and move a little! No marathons required. Just a thirty-minute dog walk, a few flights of stairs or an extra few loops around the shopping mall will make a huge difference in balancing out your calories and shaving off stress. Your daily cardio will also give you energy, which will help keep your holiday demeanor bright.

2. Strength workouts. If sticking to your regular workout regimen during the holidays seems daunting, think of it this way: carving out that time for you (and just for you) will not only help keep you healthy and fit, but it will also bring back routine into a time of year that lacks routine - often with negative health consequences. By making a commitment to keep your fitness level up, you’ll benefit both physically and mentally. Impress your family and friends by looking and feeling your best this holiday as a direct result of maintaining your workout regimen and staying accountable to your trainer.

3. Nutrition. The holidays are not a good time to try and lose weight! A much more realistic goal is to simply maintain your fitness level and body weight. You can accomplish this goal by planning ahead to enjoy small portions of your favorite holiday treats while eating healthy and light most of the time. Balance out those extra calories by maintaining your daily cardio and strength workouts so that you can partake in the holiday festivities without any deprivation.

Make a plan to stay accountable during this “dangerous” six-week time period and when the New Year rolls around, you’ll have given yourself and your family the gift of staying vibrant, happy and fit over the holidays, which is ultimately the best gift of all-the gift of good health.

Article by Glenn Beard, PT