Weekend plans? Cure your fall fever

Fall fever: You caught it this week, do something about it this weekend.

Coast

There should be a law that during the first legitimate week of fall weather — which would be this week — you get to take a day off from work. What the heck, let’s just assume there is such a law and you have elected to start the weekend early and take Friday off. Good move, for that means you can head to the coast and take the Alligator River Canoe Tour conducted by the Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society. The three-hour tour (9 a.m. to noon) explores blackwater canals and Milltail Creek, touching on the history of the area and searching for the refuge’s abundant wildlife (which includes Alligator River Wildlife Refuge’s namesake critter). It’s an exceptionally scenic area, an exceptionally rewarding paddle. All gear is provided: $35 for adults, $20 for kids 12 and under. read more

Instant Recess

Imagine this: You’re at your desk, toiling away when suddenly the boss appears in your cubicle farm, blows a whistle and yells, “All right, people! Time for recess!”

Recess, which was abandoned in our grade schools about the time EOCs began dominating the academic landscape, is being pushed as a key way to help a sluggish, overweight America get its supersized butt in gear. The notion of Instant Recess, which is embraced by the recently formed U.S. National Physical Activity Plan,  activity during the workday is better than staying parked in your ergonomic chair for 8 hours. Thus, employers are being encouraged to conduct 10 minute recess sessions where workers can gather and elevate their heart rates in a healthy way. It’s creator, Dr. Toni Yancey, a professor in UCLA’s School of Public Health, is confident Instant Recess will take hold. read more

Moma Nia! A body friendly exercise?

It is what folks looking for a workout magic bullet have been hoping to hear since Jane Fonda first implored her legginged followers to “feel the burn,” since we heard our first coach scream the phrase, “No pain, no gain!”

“You want to create that sensation where your body says, ‘Ah … thank you!” I heard that phrase this morning from instructor Julie Ihrig during the cool down of my first Nia workout at the Cary Senior Center. It had been preceded by a string of other phrases that would have made a litany of aerobics instructors, boot camp leaders and personal trainers throughout the land wince: read more

Celebrate (?) Childhood Obesity Month

We now have a month dedicated to the childhood obesity epidemic. And the observance comes none-too-soon, considering it appears our kids may be even bigger than we realized.

As Take A Child Outside Week draws to a close and as we segue into National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month comes the disturbing news that the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic may be even worse than the numbers suggest. First, to recap those numbers: Nearly 20 percent (19.6) of the nation’s kids ages 6-11 were considered obese in 2008 (up from 6.5 percent in 1980), while 18.1 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds were obese in 2008, up from just 5 percent in 1980; In North Carolina, more than a third of our kids are either obese or overweight. read more

Weekend plans? Fall color drops to 4,500 feet

October? Already?

Coast

It’s Big Sweep Day across the state, the day each year when paddlers hit their favorite waterways and rid them of the styrofoam, the basketballs, the milk jugs and assorted other detritus that accumulates along the banks. You can find a rundown of events statewide at the North Carolina Office of Environmental Education & Public Affairs. Events such as Big Sweep Columbus County, where a ranger-led canoe caravan will scour the banks of this Carolina Bay beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday. Only two requirements: 1) You must register in advance (by calling 910-646-4748), b) You must know how to swim. read more

Explore the outdoors, discover yourself.