Big Troubles really caught me off guard at the end of 2010 with their Olde English Spelling Bee released debut album Worry, a sharp blast of shoegaze leaning pop songs that hit all of the right spots for me. The melodies were strong and simple, but the delayed fuzz added enough of a contrarian edge to the tracks that a critical scrooge like myself was able to really get lost in the album. Despite not entering my radar until late in the cycle, it cracked my year end top 10 and actually has gotten more constant spins in the subsequent year than most of the albums that landed in higher spots. All of this led to my great anticipation for their Slumberland released sophomore LP Romantic Comedy, and probably also played a part in my gigantic disappointment.
Looking back, I shouldn’t be that surprised about this change of heart from the band. I first heard them was doing really simple and easy going pop songs on two guitars in a bathroom. I actually was very surprised by the sound they forged on Worry and was convinced that the fuzzy, shoegaze pop was the real epicenter of the bands sound. Now I am thinking the inoffensive, clean and glossy sounding pop of Romantic Comedy is more likely where the band really are coming from. Either way, Romantic Comedy is a disappointing follow up to an album that has consistently blown me away for the last year and a record that even without those high expectations falls squarely on its face with its by the numbers formula and flat delivery. One can only hope that LP3 is a return to the sound on Worry, otherwise it will start looking like their debut was just an exciting anomaly for the band.
Operation Mom.
Good Housekeeping January 1, 1999 | NEPORENT, LIZ How a self-proclaimed chocoholic learned to love the treadmill, with a little help from her daughter. Follow her journey from fat to fit–and share her secrets of healthy living.
Feel my muscles.” Now there are three words you’d never expect to hear from your mom. Especially not mine. My family had always considered my mother, Arlene, fitness-proof, even though I’ve been an exercise physiologist for more than 15 years, and my dad is a cardiologist devoted to healthy eating and regular exercise.
An avid smoker and a self-proclaimed chocolate lover, Mom had always resisted our efforts to improve her health. One year we bought her a health-club membership, but she went only once, even though it’s located less than a block from the travel agency she owns and operates. Another time, we got her a cross-country ski machine. Nice clothes hanger. To quit smoking, she’d tried hypnosis, a nicotine patch, group counseling, and going cold turkey. All efforts went up in smoke.
When she turned 62, Mom’s lack of fitness began taking its toll. She couldn’t walk more than a few blocks without stopping to rest, or climb a flight of stairs without becoming breathless.
In a last-ditch effort, I offered her a total “makeover”–the magic word in her mind, as it turned out. What it involved was evaluating her fitness level, hiring a personal trainer to show her the ropes, and overhauling her eating habits with the help of a registered dietitian. When I approached her with the idea of “Operation Mom,” I thought she’d reject it out of hand.
Her surprising response? “Sure, let’s do it.” And so began a new chapter in our lives.
Facing Up to the Truth: The Fitness Evaluation Before we could get started, Mom had to get a checkup from her physician because of her age and family history of heart disease. He gave her the green light to start exercising. (In fact, he was thrilled.) The next stop was to see Barbara Murray, a Kingston, NY-based fitness consultant certified by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). To evaluate Mom’s physical fitness–or lack thereof–Murray pinched the back of her arm, her thigh, and her stomach with a caliper (a device that looked like ice tongs to Mom) to determine her body-fat percentage. Then came the hard part: push-ups and sit-ups to measure strength, a series of stretches to gauge flexibility, and a ten-minute ride on an exercise bike to monitor heart rate and blood pressure. this web site lower back exercises
The results? Mom’s body fat measured around 36 percent, far higher than the 16 to 26 percent most experts recommend for women her age. She was also 50 pounds heavier than her ideal weight. It wasn’t surprising to me that she scored below average on all the endurance tests, but it was a shock to Mom! She had known she was out of shape but had never realized how far out.
Welcome to the Workout World Mom reported to her local gym, Fitness Unlimited, in Kingston, NY, for her first session on a Monday morning. Her initial impression was that the treadmills looked about as fun to operate as farm machinery. But those young, in-shape bodies around her were even more intimidating.
Her trainer, Charlie Cherny, who is certified by ACSM and the American Council on Exercise, started her on the treadmill at a pace far brisker than her normal “from the car to the door” stroll. Within ten minutes, she was thoroughly exhausted.
“At first, I was embarrassed, because everyone else seemed able to work out much harder and longer,” she recalls. “But then, I noticed they were so involved in their own routines that no one really paid any attention to me.” Still, she felt awkward–especially during the weight-training exercises. When she tried to position herself on the Nautilus machine, she smacked her head on the frame. Then she barely managed to complete eight repetitions.
The personal attention from Cherney kept Mom motivated. They finished up with abdominal crunches, lower-back exercises, and stretches. Although her limbs felt like overcooked spaghetti and her pride was hurt, she was determined to succeed. “By the end of that first workout, I knew I wanted to make it,” she says.
Food Snafus As for eating, Mom’s philosophy had been “anything goes,” so working with Chris Esola, a registered dietitian, opened her eyes. The main problem? Mom was a hit-and-run dieter, starving herself during the day, then overeating at dinnertime. The solution? Eating small meals throughout the day, filling up on fruits and vegetables. Healthy snacks kept her from feeling deprived. A small dish of frozen yogurt took the place of her usual giant bowl of ice cream; a few Gummy Bears became a sweet low-calorie substitute for a package of Ring Dings.
The bottom line? “He made me realize that a healthy diet and exercise go hand-in-hand,” Mom says.
The Payoff After a month of working out an hour a day for an average of five days a week, the pounds began to peel off, at a rate of one to two pounds per week. That seemed glacial to her, but as Cherny explained, it’s about right if your aim is permanent fat loss. (When you lose weight any faster, you risk slowing your metabolism, which makes it more difficult to continue losing weight.) Eight weeks into Operation Mom, she had dropped about 12 pounds.
She also made improvements in her physical strength. Now she was able to do at least 12 repetitions with heavier weights on every weight machine.
Her ultimate turning point came when a woman got on the treadmill next to her and said, “Oh, good, you’re here! I love being next to you, because you always set such a good pace.” That same day she traded tips on how to use the triceps machine with a bodybuilder and, to top it off, another gym member complimented her on her shapely calves. Pretty good for someone who previously couldn’t walk a mile or lift a ten-pound weight. this web site lower back exercises
Still Going Strong More than a year later, we’re at the point where my Mom is flexing her arm for me and I feel a muscle! She’s dropped 25 pounds, and her body fat has dipped below 30 percent. She’s definitely more energetic: We went window-shopping the other day and I was practically jogging to keep up with her.
But she has a way to go. Her recent fitness test shows she still needs to drop a few more body-fat points and hit the weight machines even harder to make further increases in strength. Her flexibility is improving, but unfortunately, her lower back is on the tight side. Nevertheless, her hours at the gym have truly paid off, and she’s stopped smoking.”I’m definitely committed to sticking with my routine and going all the way with this,” she says often.
And, of course, like everything else, Operation Mom has its minor drawbacks. We worked out together the other day, and she began nagging me to sit up straighter on the bike and to be more careful with the weights! Just like a mom.
Snack Switcheroo Little changes in your diet can add up to big calorie saving at the end of the day
Instead of: Switch to: Savings:
Butter, Whipped butter, 35 cal/ 1 tbsp. 1 tbsp. 4 g fat 100 cal/11 g fat 65 cal/7 g fat
Yellow cake Angel food cake 261 cal/ with icing, with low-fat whipped 11 g fat 4 oz. topping, 2 tbsp.
399 cal/12 g fat 138 cal/1 g fat
Superpremium Fat-free frozen 64 cal/ ice cream, yogurt, 12 g fat 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 178 cal/12 g fat 114 cal/0 g fat
Croissant, Raisin bread, 94 cal/ 3 oz. 2 slices 10 g fat 231 cal/12 g fat 137 cal/2 g fat
Coffee with Coffee with 29 cal/ half-and-half, skim milk, 3 g fat 2 tbsp. 2 tbsp.
43 cal/3 g fat 14 cal/0 g fat
Chocolate chip Gummy 20 cal/ cookies, candies, 9 g fat 3 medium-size cookies 28 pieces 150 cal/9 g fat 130 cal/0 g fat
Popcorn, Popcorn, 25 cal/ microwave, air-popped, plain, 6 g fat 3 cups 3 cups 100 cal/6 g fat 75 cal/0 g fat
Tortilla chips, Pretzels, 29 cal/ 1 oz. 1 oz. 6 g fat 142 cal/7 g fat 113 cal/1 g fat NEPORENT, LIZ
