The joke at our house (at least I think it’s funny) is that when the latest “O” arrives, I exclaim with mock surprise, “Oh, look! Oprah’s on the cover.”
This morning, the February 2010 issue showed up on the kitchen table. I was waiting for the coffee to finish, I didn’t feel like going out in the rain to fetch the Sunday paper, so I started thumbing through. Here’s what I learned:
Thursday looked like it was going to be yet another day that I would shortchange myself on working out. I’d been in the latter stages of a book deadline crisis for the past three weeks, my every moment occupied with writing or fretting over why I wasn’t writing. My ability to get out for a ride, to take a long run, to go for a night hike or to hit the climbing wall had suffered. Driving back from a meeting in Durham I felt the pull of the deadline yanking me away from yet another workout. I was cranky.
Another reason to exercise: It’s good for your brain. That’s hardly a revelation. Anyone who exercises knows, for instance, that even a short 30-minute workout can boost your mood for the rest of the day. But just how extensive the relationship is between exercise and your brain may come as a surprise. That relationship is the subject of “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain,” by John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, $24.99, Little, Brown and Company. In addition to being a mood enhancer, the book explores how exercise can among other things, relieve stress, diffuse anxiety, help you focus, regulate hormones and grow brain cells. (The book isn’t new; it’s been out nearly two years. It’s just new to GGNC.) Haven’t gotten a copy yet; I will and will report periodically on what I learn. You can reviews in August 2008 issue of Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, and at Blogcrtics.org.
Not sure about you, but sometimes when the temperature isn’t supposed to get much above freezing I need a little extra incentive to get out and get going. Like Saturday’s “Kickoff to a Healthy New Year” event planned for the American Tobacco Trail in southern Wake County. They’ve got all sorts of events planned to keep you warm. Rex UNC Health Care will offer free health screenings, nutrition advice and — this is the part that’ll keep you warm — exercises. Wake County Parks will lead guided nature walks, the Triangle Off Road Cyclists will lead guided bike rides, Harmony Studios in Apex will lead a Yoga demo (alas, not Bikram), the NC Geocachers will lead a search and discover mission — all kinds of ways to keep … well, from freezing.
The temperature in Raleigh just hit 40! Woo-hoo! Alas, this heat wave isn’t expected to last. Light snow is predicted for Thursday, it’s barely supposed to get above freezing over the weekend. Thus, we bring you more tips — in the form of recommended reading — on exercising in the cold.