R & R with Rachel (Rants & Raves with Rachel): I got into the NYC Marathon!

A lot has happened since my last entry in which I talked about training for the upcoming Spartan Race at Citifield. The bad: I was diagnosed with arthritis in one of my knees. The good: I GOT INTO THE NYC MARATHON for November 2018!!!

I had been trying for years to get into the NYC Marathon with the lottery and lo and behold this year I did! This news was both exciting and terrifying.

Training for the marathon is now my priority. I still plan on participating in the Spartan Race which is in two weeks, so fingers crossed that I don't get injured. Performing tons of box jumps in preparation for the Spartan Race brought to light the fact that I have bad arthritis in my knee (this was discovered after a trip to the orthopedist for the knee pain and then an MRI). So, after a two week plus hiatus from any exercise I am following a 30 week marathon plan. I have taken all jumping and major strenuous activity (Spartan) out of my daily exercise as again, I DON'T WANT TO GET HURT! I am not bailing on the Spartan Race, I just plan on having fun and enjoying the day.

What have you all been up to? Have you been doing any interesting exercise routines? Email us, we would love to hear from you! And don't forget to save the date to come and cheer me on: NYC Marathon, November 4th 2018!

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): Exercise Like a Spartan

On Saturday, February 10th I attended a 2 hour class given by the Spartan group. They were calling it the Spartan Strong Workout. It took place at the Lifetime Gym in Garden City. About 100 participants did many, many burpees, jumping jacks, lunges, planks, push ups, squats and more. My wife was observing the class and told me afterwards that some members left after about 45 minutes. It was quite intense but I held my own and made it the full two hours! I could hardly move for the next 2 days but if the class was offered again I would definitely sign up!

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): I'm Running a Stadium Spartan!

Happy New Year everyone! It has been awhile since I have posted. With the New Year, I have a new goal. I will be participating in my first Spartan Race.

A Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 miles to marathon distances. I am going to be running the Stadium Spartan at Citifield on April 21. It consists of a 5K race with about 15 obstacles. Two of my cousins who have run Spartans before asked if I would like to join them. I am assuming they asked me because I am so buff and tough (lol)! Their team for this event consists of ten members. There is one other woman on the team (a friend of mine). I am the eldest in the group by 5 years.

Some of the obstacles in the past included monkey bars; a spear throw; skips with a massive, heavy, rope; box jumps; a sandbag carry; a rope climb; a traverse wall and a wall climb. Every time you can't complete a task you need to do burpees. I think I might have to do tons of burpees! There are also many, many stadium stairs to climb! Can you believe I willfully signed up for this?!?

During the next few months I am going to keep you updated on my training plan for this event. Who wouldn't want to follow along with my progress?!? For example, yesterday, in addition to running 3 miles on the treadmill I also did the exercises found on the poster below. I know that on the bottom of the poster it indicates that "level 1" should repeat everything 3 times but to be honest I only did everything once. I did have to go to work afterwards and I didn't want to be totally spent!

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): Stop Eating That Halloween Candy!

Believe it or not the above picture is from just one of my young relatives haul of Halloween candy. While I am not saying we should not partake in collecting or eating any candy on Halloween obviously consuming all the candy pictured would not be a good thing!

The average American will consume 3.4 pounds of candy during the Halloween season. As with every action in the universe, there must be an equal or opposite reaction. In the case of the action of eating candy, the reaction is EXERCISE! In other words, don’t lay a finger on another Butterfinger, lest you wish to do a LOT of exercise!

Below is a chart that shows you the number of calories of some of the popular Halloween candy, along with their calorie count and various exercises a person must perform in order to burn off eating a fun size piece of candy.

The following chart lists the calories on more of our favorite candy:

Only 17 more days until we all overindulge on Pumpkin Pie and other Thanksgiving delicacies. Keep exercising my friends!

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): Join Me For A Kickboxing Class?

Hello Everyone!

I honestly have no idea where our readers are from. I am assuming there are many from our local area. Therefore I am putting out an invitation to meet you while also getting in a workout!

Now that our town pool is closed for the season and our softball league is almost over some friends and I have decided to try kickboxing. We are fortunate to have an I Love Kickboxing franchise in Port Washington. Starting in October, a few of my friends and I will be attending a Wednesday evening class. If you aren't familiar with Kickboxing it is an aerobic form of exercise that helps strengthen and condition your body. It is also a martial arts sport. When done regularly it provides health benefits, such as reduced body fat, increased flexibility and a strengthened heart. Kickboxing is also known to help improve your balance and build body strength. When we went to sign up for our class we saw others kicking, sparring, doing burpees etc.. so you should be prepared to really work up a sweat.

So I am calling you out! Come kickboxing with me and try out a new way to exercise! (BTW-If you do decide to join we got a great deal on Groupon to take the class).

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): A Delightful Afternoon at Old Westbury Gardens

What better way to get in some exercise than spending an afternoon on the property of Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury, NY?

I must admit that although I have lived on Long Island for 40 years I think I have only been to Old Westbury Gardens once or twice before. And, to be perfectly honest, I am not a big museum goer anyway. I would always choose to be outside rather than walking around a stuffy museum. Old Westbury's current exhibit, “Experiencing Art in the Landscape," was a perfect fit for me. My wife and I went this past Wednesday to see the Seward Johnson sculptures that are temporarily on their property. The sculptures depict Johnson’s love of nature and French impressionism. If you haven't seen them you must go! The exhibit has been extended until September 24th. Most all of the more than 30 lifelike sculptures are on their grounds (a few are inside the mansion). Following a map we were able to find all the sculptures and ended up walking 4 miles without even realizing it!

After having had such an enjoyable experience at Old Westbury Gardens I must now go visit and revisit some of our other local public gardens/museums. I don't know where all our readers are from but we are lucky to have many such landmarks on Long Island. I plan on checking out the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River, the Bailey Arboretum in Lattingtown and the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay (I haven't been there in many years). There are also a few that we have been to many times such as the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn and of course the Sands Point Preserve in Port Washington. I know we have a few New Jersey readers so here's a shout out to you -- I hear that the Monmouth Battlefield State Park is a great place to spend the day.

Here are some of the pictures from our day at Old Westbury Gardens:

Looks like a good book!

Wow did you read that? The Mets won last night!

I agree, this is a great place to take a nap!

Skipping is hard work!

Some young friends of ours recently enjoyed the sculptures as well. Can you tell which are real children and which is a sculpture?

Do you have any favorite places that you go to that incorporates culture and exercise? Let us know and we will share it with the rest of our readers! And, if you plan on going to any of the museums I listed don't forget to check with your local library to see if they have free passes!

R & R with Rachel (Rants & Raves with Rachel): I Love My Job But Are These Companies Hiring?!

I originally set out to write this post about Nike's new headquarters in lower Manhattan. Their new 150,000 square foot, 6-floor office space, houses a 4,000-square-foot basketball court that is available for Nike employees, high school teams, community partners, and local leagues. Although I don't play basketball I thought this was totally amazing. They also have wellness rooms, food and beverage areas, a library, two terraces, a fitness studio and more.

Basketball Court at Nike

However, when I started to do some research about Nike's new location I found many other companies that also had very cool, exercise encouraging spaces. These companies realize the importance of exercise and their employees well being. Perhaps they have even read the numerous studies indicating that mingling work and fitness can boost productivity, aid in collaboration, and improve ones overall mood.

The businesses that follow are just a few that go above and beyond. They believe in a workplace that considers its employees' health, happiness, and work life of major importance. They also have an understanding that this is a vital part of the success of their business.

1-800-LAW-FIRM has their headquarters in Southfield, Michigan. It is designed for interaction and collaboration. The work space reflects their "forward-thinking, out-of the box approach. Instead of a hallway, they have a walking track where you can stretch your legs or have “walking meetings” with your colleagues." Ari Kresch, Founder and CEO of 1-800-LAW-FIRM said, “We wanted an environment that kept our team energized, healthy, productive, creative and connected, and a space that visitors were eager to spend time in.”

1-800-LAW-FIRM

Google: In addition to a really great gym Google headquarters offers "on-site physicians and ready to assist nurses, medical services, and comprehensive health coverage to help keep you healthy and happy." They also have a gym that offers yoga, pilates and other classes.

Google

Rodale: Although you may not recognize their name, they are probably my favorite of the companies I am listing because they blend my love of reading and exercise. They publish all kinds of exercise and wellness books and magazines. Some of the magazine titles that you might be familiar with are Women's Health, Runner's World and Bicycling. In addition to the great materials that they publish they have an entire training center for their employees called the Rodale Energy Center. It features full weight machines, cardio, spin classes and more.

Rodale

SAS: With a commitment to overall health, SAS provides stress-reduction workshops and classes, unlimited sick leave, three weeks of paid vacation, free healthy-living seminars, and a recreational and fitness center with access to yoga and massage studios.

SAS

Zappos: Known for their quick shoe delivery and free returns, they encourage employee fitness with a fully equipped gym complete state of the art machines, as well as numerous recreational areas throughout their campus. Their headquarters are in the former City of Las Vegas Hall Complex, in a space that was once a jail. Although I think this is a slightly odd decor to encourage exercise, they incorporated a jail theme into their Fitness Center. They reused the jail bars preserved from the original jail and incorporated additional elements such as jail house rules, a pay phone and jump suits.

Zappos

There are many other companies that I haven't listed who also encourage exercise while on the job. I found numerous articles on the subject. Here is a link to one of them: 44 Healthiest Companies to Work for in America

Oh, and by the way, a lot of these companies had job openings!