Jumping Rope for Exercise: Learning the Ropes - WSJ.com

Peter Nestler, who jumps rope for a living, recently executed an extended double dutch sequence for Adam Sandler's next movie, "Jack and Jill," as Mr. Sandler's stand-in. When he was finished, Katie Holmes, the film's co-star, approached Mr. Nestler, he said, and told him it was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen.

I know the feeling. I jump rope out on the street in Astoria, Queens, for exercise, observed by my coterie of elderly Eastern Europeans.

"When's the fight?" one asked recently.

Traditionally the turf of the boxing ring and schoolyard, jumping rope is nearly perfect exercise in terms of conditioning, cost-benefit and convenience. It's just you, a rope, a pair of shoes and the ground.

It is a kind of complete physical engagement that few other activities offer. And once you catch the "swing," it's pretty satisfying stuff: a personal lyricism that jogging and other aerobics will never have.

"To coordinate that kind of rhythm, the whole body has to be in sync—core, shoulders, legs," said Brian Nguyen, the actor Mark Wahlberg's personal trainer. Mr. Nguyen trained with Mr. Wahlberg for his role in last year's film "The Fighter." "It's a very intense movement for the body," he explained.

Jumping is also gentler and kinder, though. "You're getting the most bang for your buck, because you're working almost every part of your body, but there's not the impact of running, because of the way the foot lands," said Alexis Colvin, an assistant professor of sports medicine in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan.

THE PURIST'S SPEED ROPE

F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, styling by Anne Cardenas

Many pros use uncomplicated, inexpensive plastic ropes—sometimes simpler is better. Orange Crush, $8, punkrope.com

John Snow, the manager of Trinity Boxing Gym in Lower Manhattan, has basic pointers. He has me jump in place, without a rope, practicing my arm movement: elbows to my sides, turning the wrist and bending and rolling the elbow, breathing through my nose, setting a pace, staying focused and loose. Mr. Snow called it "controlled relaxation," an eloquent attitude towards life, as well as rope jumping.

Tim Haft, who leads the Punk Rope class at the Greenpoint YMCA in Brooklyn, stresses the importance of sizing the rope you use. Most ropes can be adjusted by making knots next to the handles. "Stand on the middle of the rope with one foot," he said. "The handles should come up to just below your shoulders."

Mr. Haft uses an inexpensive plastic-cord "speed" rope with simple handles. Ropes with ball-bearing handles are also available and can facilitate your swing. Weighted ropes will give your arms and upper body more exercise; plastic-bead ropes are sturdier for outdoor jumping on harder surfaces, though you should be using a giving platform like a pliant wooden floor, a mat or grass. Cotton-cord and leather ropes look great; no one except stylists use them.

Shoes are important too. Wear something flat, like a cross-trainer or a wrestling shoe, not a running shoe. When you jump, land on the ball of your foot, not your heel.

Like most trainers I spoke to, Frank Powers of Serpico Powers training studio in Manhattan bases his rope routine with clients on a boxer's three-minute round: three one-minute rounds, with a 30-second break between, then three two-minute rounds, then three three-minute rounds.

"When you can jump for 10 minutes comfortably, you're at a decent fitness level," he said.

But for me, it's all about the "swing," casually watching the cars go by on 28th Avenue, the steady exhilaration of the light-footed step and sailing repeatedly up into the air. Michael George, an ex-boxer who has trained Julianne Moore and others, likened it to a dance—that's exactly what it is.

—William L. Hamilton

THE ERGONOMIC ROPE

F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, styling by Anne Cardenas

The Ergonomic Rope

Fancy handles mean you'll be able to workout more comfortably, longer. Harbinger Trigger Handle, $11, amazon.com

THE HIGH TECH ROPE

Photographs by F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas

The High Tech Rope

The handle's swivel bearings help eliminate tangling and friction. Aero Speed, $39, buddyleejumpropes.com

THE WEIGHTED ROPE

F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, styling by Anne Cardenas

The Weighted Rope

Go for this heavier kind of rope to give your arms and upper body a more intense workout. The Beast, $20, punkrope.com

How To: Do a Criss-Cross Jump

Illustrations by Bruce Hutchison for The Wall Street Journal

via online.wsj.com

Good stuff.

PGATOUR.COM - Ishikawa to give 2011 golf earnings to Japan victims

TOKYO (AP) -- Golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa says he is giving all of his tournament earnings this year to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in his native Japan.

Kyodo News reported Wednesday that the 19-year-old Ishikawa also is pledging money for every birdie he makes. If he plays similar to last year, Ishikawa could wind up giving more than $2 million toward relief efforts.

He was No. 3 on the Japan Golf Tour money list in 2010, making just over $1.8 million, which includes his earnings from the majors and World Golf Championship. He led the Tour by making 341 birdies last year, which could amount to another $400,000. His pledge was for 100,000 yen for each birdie.

Ishikawa won his first pro tournament as a 15-year-old amateur, and already has won nine times in Japan.

via pgatour.com

Good for him.

VP Biden’s Office Apologizes for Confining Reporter in Storage Closet During Fundraiser | The Blaze

This is one of the more bizarre snippets to come out of the political/media axis in awhile.

Fox News:

The vice president’s press secretary has apologized to a local political reporter after he was kept in a storage closet during a Florida fundraiser.

Scott Powers, a reporter with the Orlando Sentinel, was relegated to the storage space during a fundraiser Wednesday for Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., apparently to prevent him from speaking to people before Vice President Biden showed up.

The Sentinel did not make a big deal about the incident when it first happened, publishing a somewhat lighthearted account on their political blog:

Not looking for sympathy here, but the life of a political reporter isn’t all champagne and canapes. Consider our man Scott Powers…

But the story took on more extended life when the Drudge Report featured it prominently with in a “flash” report:

Reporter Scott Powers was the designated “pool reporter” for the vice president’s Wednesday visit to the massive Winter Park, Fla., home of developer and philanthropist Alan Ginsburg. The veep hadn’t arrived yet but most of the 150 guests (minimum $500 donation) had. They were busy noshing on caprese crostini with oven-dried mozzarella and basil, rosemary flatbread with grapes honey and gorgonzola cheese and bacon deviled eggs, before a lunch of grilled chicken Caesar and garden vegetable wraps.

Not so for Powers. A “low-level staffer” put Powers in a storage closet and then stood guard outside the door, Powers told the DRUDGE REPORT. “When I’d stick my head out, they’d say, ‘Not yet. We’ll let you know when you can come out.’”

via theblaze.com

Huh?

Even BPA-Free Plastics Leach Endrocrine Disrupting Chemicals

Plastic containers and linings often leach chemicals into the surrounding environment.  And some of those chemicals, like the endocrine-disrupting bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates, may be harmful to your health.

Manufacturers have even begun advertising some products as "BPA-free." But a recent study found that most plastic products leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals even if they're labeled "BPA-free!"

The scientists found that 70 percent of common plastic products tested positive for estrogenic activity, and that number rose to 95 percent when the products were subject to real-world conditions such as dishwashing or microwaving.

Time Magazine reports:

"BPA is particularly worrisome simply because it is so common. Nearly every American has some amount of BPA in his or her body, in part because plastics are so ubiquitous."

via articles.mercola.com

Uh oh!

Will Glenn Beck Jump Ship — a $200 Million Gamble?

According to street buzz and a story by the New York Times' Brian Stelter, Glenn Beck is considering a business startup to complete his media empire. The emoting host’s contract ends at the bottom of this year, and he would then be free to head up his own enterprise, a Beck owned and run television network.

But networks don't come cheap. Or easy. Discovery is reported to have sunk more than $200 million into OWN, which started broadcasting Jan. 1. And in February, only about 135,000 people were watching OWN, a number down 10 percent from Discovery Heath, The New York Times reported. The network has already had to shuffle its programming.

It sounds as if Beck has given the idea some deep thought. The Times said that the host has “been contemplating a cable channel of his own for more than a year.”

Glenn Beck

If anyone can pull it off, Beck can. Other than former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, no other media figure can raise the blood pressure of those on the left like Fox News host Glenn Beck.

There are other signs indicating a Beck cable channel possibility. He has been busily expanding the off and on-air personnel of his Web TV venture and his independent media company.

The Times cited reports, including one from the Mediate Web site, which named a senior Fox News executive, Joel Cheatwood, as a key player who “would soon join Mr. Beck’s growing media company, Mercury Radio Arts.”

Sources also indicate that Beck’s business relationship with current employer Fox News is less than cozy, partially due to a significant number of sought after advertisers who have dropped his show. David Carr, another New York Times writer, recently cited anonymous Fox News officials who “are looking at the end of his contract in December and contemplating life without Mr. Beck.”

Owning a network isn't Beck's only option. A Beck network could include the acquisition of an existing cable channel or expansion of his subscriber-based Web content business, “Insider Extreme,” which takes in roughly $4 million a year.

Observers of media personalities and contract renegotiations view the story with a dose of cynicism, questioning whether or not Beck’s camp is merely engaging in positioning for his upcoming contract renewal.

Forbes’ Marc Babej is of the opinion that this is precisely what is going on.

“Talk of a Glenn Beck TV network might have its origins in a contract negotiation tactic. As a major programming concept it would be a nonstarter,” Babej wrote.

Starting a network from scratch involves significant risk, particularly since the effort requires an abundance of advertisers. Beck’s ratings are unprecedented for his cable time slot, hitting about 2 million viewers a day and outdrawing all of his competition combined.

These kinds of numbers may induce Fox News to bury the Beck hatchet, much like CBS is reportedly in the process of doing with sitcom star Charlie Sheen.

If Beck actually attempts to follow in Oprah Winfrey’s footsteps and goes forward with his own network, it may signal a new media trend, one that may serve to increase the leverage media personalities have with respect to their employers.

That's if — and it's a big if — the network is successful.

via newsmax.com

Interesting.

Glenn Beck Could Launch His Own Channel

Conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck is considering leaving the Fox News Channel to launch his own TV channel, The New York Times reports. Beck has been contemplating such a move for more than a year, sources told the Times.

Beck has a contract with Fox the ends in December, and he issued a statement Tuesday night that did not directly address his future broadcasting plans: “Roger Ailes has built the most important voice in America today — Fox News — and it is an honor to do my show there every night. I have no intention whatsoever of doing the show I am doing now on Fox anywhere else.”

Speculation on Beck leaving Fox has heightened since his media company, Mercury Radio Arts, started adding new staff and generating new content.

via newsmax.com

Interesting... any truth to this?

Business Insider: Former SEIU Official Reveals Secret Plan To Destroy JP Morgan & Crash The Stock Market | The Blaze

A former official of one of the country’s most-powerful unions, SEIU, is detailing a secret plan to “destabilize” the country.

Specifically, the plan seeks to destroy JP Morgan, nuke the stock market, and weaken Wall Street’s grip on power, thus creating the conditions necessary for a redistribution of wealth and a change in government.

The former SEIU official, Stephen Lerner, spoke in a closed session at a Pace University forum last weekend.

The Blaze procured what appears to be a tape of Lerner’s remarks, many of which many Americans will no doubt sympathize with. Still, the “destabilization” plan is startling in its specificity.

Lerner said that unions and community organizations are, for all intents and purposes, dead. The only way to achieve their goals, therefore–the redistribution of wealth and the return of “$17 trillion” stolen from the middle class by Wall Street–is to “destabilize the country.”

Read the rest of the Business Insider analysis here.

To watch the video click here.

via theblaze.com

Scary stuff.