My Plan For Health

On the Chapman hike, right about the time of the tick incident. Photo by Earle Holland.

Last week, I took a geology tour with scientists who came to Ohio State for the AGU Chapman Conference on Abrupt Climate Change.

We traveled just north of Newark, OH, to the edge of what was once the Laurentide Ice sheet. My boss, Earle Holland, and I escorted two visiting science writers as we all took a light hike through the woods to a creek that marked the edge of the ice 20,000 years ago.

I was woefully unprepared for the trek, and Earle suggested that a refresher on outdoor safety might be in order for the blog — especially since many people head outdoors for fun and exercise in the summer.

For instance, as we exited the woods, Earle declared that we all needed to do a “tick check” before returning to the car. I thought he was kidding, but he assured me he wasn’t. Just then, one of the reporters pointed to Earle’s sleeve and asked, “What’s that?” A tick had indeed latched onto his shirt (but not his skin, thank goodness).

I realized that I had forgotten bug repellent, as well as the other essentials of outdoor hiking.

So here is a list of the basic things to bring along as you trek into the great outdoors:

1. Water

2. Sunscreen

3. Bug repellant

4. A knowledge of what poison ivy looks like (courtesy of OSU Extension)

Trailhead of the Heritage Trail, in downtown Hilliard

If you’re looking for a good place to walk around Columbus, check out the Rails to Trails Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting local communities in converting unused railroad corridors into community trails. Many of the trails are paved, and they are all easily accessible from roads with convenient parking. A search engine will help you find a trail near your home.

My favorite is the Heritage Trail, a six-mile paved trail that runs from downtown Hilliard all the way to Plain City. I’ve never walked the whole thing at once, but according to the folks at MyPyramid.gov, doing so at a moderate pace would take about two hours and burn more than 500 calories. (A more realistic outing would be about half that long).

Just today, I registered on the Rails to Trails Web site, and took the “Burn Calories, Not Carbon!” pledge.

With FSFP’s water aerobics program over for the summer and only one week left in my belly dancing class, I have to think seriously about what I’m going to do fitness-wise between now and September (aside from going to the gym, that is). I can’t just go to the gym every day, and I miss being in the pool!

Currently, I’m looking for places to do water aerobics on my own, and have bought a pool membership from Hilliard Recreation and Parks. FSFP instructor Ya-Ting was kind enough to share her lesson plan with me. I’m going to laminate it and take it with me to the pool!

As to belly dancing, it was fun and challenging, and I plan to continue practicing at home. I’ve recorded many episodes of Shimmy, and discovered another show — All Star Workouts on FitTV — that has a belly dancing episode. While Shimmy has excellent production quality, I’ve decided that the All Star Workouts show is easier to follow, since it offers a more traditional classroom experience.

Some of the girls in my class at Habeeba’s have commented that they don’t know where to find belly dancing music for practice at home. So I put together a list of songs that I especially like. They are all available through Amazon (most via MP3 download if you want) and most of them are probably avialable via iTunes:

Marco Polo — Loreena McKennitt

Maris — Stellamara

Nahan – Niyaz

Hayati Inta — Natacha Atlas

Moi Et Toi – Abdel Ali Slimani

Dari — Zachary J. Mechlem

Gayatri Mantra Shuffle — Adham Shaikh

One new class I’m going to try this summer is Zumba. RPAC is offering it — here’s the description:

Zumba - Tired of the treadmill? Zumba is a high energy, heart pumping, dance-inspired workout that fuses traditional Latin rhythms such as Salsa and Meringue with hip hop. Each class will feature simple yet incredibly fun routines that will help tone your body and get your heart rate up! Dance experience is NOT required - Rachel will work with the group to ensure the best results. Best of all, you will be having so much fun you’ll forget you’re even working out!

Upper Arlington is offering it as well. And last Saturday I took a Zumba class at EquiVita in Grandview, which is offering free class trials for the month of June. I think most people don’t know about EquiVita yet, because I was the only student in the class! I got lots of personal attention, as you can imagine.

I think I’ll try several different Zumba classes to see what I like best. If I decide to stick with it, I’ll have to put together a Latin dance playlist!

The new Lunch & Learn list is out — sign up now to reserve a spot in summer classes.

Fitness instructors Marla Musyt and Shelly Dembe are offering their usual mix of yoga, pilates, and walking, but with a renewed emphasis on low-impact exercise that’s very welcoming to beginners. So if you’ve never tried any of their classes before, this summer might be a good time to start.

Meanwhile, there are some intriguing one-time classes, such as “A Healthy Grocery Store List” and “Knowing Your Medicines: How to Be an Effective Consumer.” I’ve already signed up for both of those, and some others on stress reduction. So expect reviews of them after the fact.

Normally, these classes fill up very fast, so register now!

It’s finals week, so all the recreational facilities on campus are open for free, including the RPAC. With a valid university ID, anyone can use the gym or aquatic facilities. New hours are in effect, so check the Rec Sports Web site for details.

Fitness classes are also available for free, and you do not have to be an RPAC member to take them.

RPAC Summer Quarter fitness class schedule

This may be a change from last quarter, when I phoned RPAC for info and was told that anyone could use the gym or aquatic facilities for free during finals week, but only RPAC members could take the classes for free (normally, even RPAC members have to pay an additional $45 to have full access to fitness classes for the quarter).

But the updated fitness class page clearly states: “Fitness classes are FREE to all Recreational Sports members and non-members during finals week, so bring a friend to try a class.”

While you’re there, you might want to check out the Summer Quarter Fitness Schedule, which includes a new Zumba class!