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Staying Fit as You Age: Advice From Olympic Gymnast Dominique Dawes
Tweet Share on Facebook September 20, 2010 Comment (1)Wearing high heels and a rhinestone-spangled "President's Challenge" T-shirt, Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes dashed across the blacktop at Maury Elementary School in Washington D.C. last Wednesday in a relay race with students. Not exactly the kind of workout that keeps the 33-year-old former gymnast in shape. She was there as co-chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, a group that's trying to implement Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" initiative to prevent childhood obesity. While the grade schoolers sprinted past her in sensible sneakers, she told me what she does to maintain her svelte physique now that she's no longer doing double backflips.
[How to Avoid Losing Muscle as You Age]
"I went through a tough stage at the end of my gymnastics career," she admits, "where I put on that freshman 15." Now she does yoga and pilates several times a week because she says they're "good for my mind as well as my body." She also enjoys taking a "boot camp" class at her gym that uses military-style training techniques—think pushups and a lot of yelling. And she's got a secret for her neighbors who hire lawn service companies: To burn calories, she mows hers herself. Her next step is to incorporate planting and weeding into her workout routine, but she first has to learn some gardening skills. "I'm going to get some tips from Michelle Obama the next time I visit the White House garden," she says.
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CoolSculpting and Zerona: Body Sculpting Without Surgery
Tweet Share on Facebook September 17, 2010 Comment (7)I've lost 7 pounds since June, probably from exercising more and eating a little less. Yet despite the fact that I'm at a healthy body weight, I've got a little stomach pouch right under my belly button that runs the length of my lower abdomen—a permanent remnant of my three pregnancies. While I'd love to have a tummy tuck like other moms I know, I don't want to undergo the risks and pain of surgery for something cosmetic. So I was excited to hear about two new body-contouring options that don't involve incisions and got approved by the Food and Drug Administration this week. The first, called CoolSculpting, freezes away fat cells, and the second, called Zerona, uses a laser to zap fat; both work above the skin.
