1 ort In over-trileg sabotage your Mims progr Knight Ridder Newspaper (KRT) Is there such a thing as too much exercise? Believe it or not, the answer is yes. Ramping up your fitness program too much can result in over-training, a con that leaves you tired, sore and uninterested in exercise. Although over-training is often associated with serious athletes, it can happen to anyone. People susceptible to over-training tend to be those who are trying t• improve their fitness. Often, they increase the frequency, intensity and duration of their workouts without giving their bodies enough time to recover. How do you know if you're over-training? Some symptoms include: _ muscle soreness _ difficulty sleeping at night _ depression _ anger _ increased resting heart rate _ decreased performance during exercise _ more frequent bouts of illness _ little interest in your workouts If you experience any of these symptoms, the solution is simple - back off. But that's easier said than done for many exercisers. You can combat over-training with the following strategies, offered by Judi Sheppard Missett, founder and CEO of Jazzercise: Eat a well-balanced diet that provides enough calories. Try for a low-fat diet that's high in complex carbohydrates. Make changes slowly. Make incremental changes in the intensity and duration of your workouts. A 10 percent increase is a reasonable weekly target, many ex say. Keep a training log. When your exercise activity, what you ate that day and how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally between workouts, you may b to see patterns in your workouts and recovery. Try mixing milder workouts into your weekly fitness program. Look for activities that challenge your muscles in different ways. ONLINE: wwwjazzercise.com SOURCE: Health and Fitness News service Edited and compiled by Phyllis Stone (c) 2003, Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit the Star-Telegram on the World Wide Web: www.star-telegram.com Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Through the looking glass By Mike Pingree (KRT) TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE In an effort to lure gullible men in front of the camera for a comedy pilot, TV producers in England set up "auditions" for a phony reality show called Lapdance Island, the Sun newspaper reported. Would-be contestants were told that, if they were chosen, they would be taken to a tropical isle where they would be required to complete tasks while being distracted by scantily clad, buxom women. More than 20,000 men applied. AN EXCELLENT SUMMER JOB A teacher in Oakland, Calif., was arrested for prostitution. She told the police that she turns tricks to earn extra money during the summer. WELL, IT LOOKED LIKE A GIANT BEAVER Panicked residents of Weiner Neustadt, Austria, called the police to report a giant beaver was cavorting in the town square. It turned out to be an escaped kangaroo. Apparently, Austrians don't see many kangaroos. SO, WHERE DOES IT HURT, EXACTLY A man with an earache in the waiting room of a clinic in Montes Claros, Brazil, thought his name was called when it wasn't. He went into the doctor's office and was given a vasectomy. He said later that he didn't ask any questions when he was being prepared for the surgery because he assumed that the doctor believed the infection from his ear had migrated to his testicles. CLASS IS DONE; TIME TO PAR-TAY The University of Colorado marching band completed an alcohol awareness program as required in an effort to discourage underage drinking. The next night, 21 of them were arrested at a party for underage drinking. A LETHAL COMBINATION Authorities in Hanoi, have ordered a crackdown in public urination, a common practice throughout the nation and even in downtown areas. They have ack edged that it will be an uphill battle, as there are almost no public toilets, a Vietnamese love to drink beer. LOOK! UP IN THE SKY, IT'S ... CHOMP! Giant gerbils have infested a huge area of cropland in far western China Officials there have deployed eagles to address the problem. LET THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME A guard at a county jail in Springfield, Mo., was asked to resign after he ; on a roof and urinated onto inmates below who were playing basketball. A then sentenced him to 15 days in jail and ordered that he scrub toilets duri PEOPLE WERE GETTING SUSPICIOUS The headmistress at St. John Rigby College in south London embezzled n; $BOO,OOO in school funds to embark on a luxurious lifestyle of shopping, fi dining and theater in the West End. As a result of her extravagant purchases such things as an $ll,OOO shoe collection that "would have made Imelda M proud," the school's janitors were not paid, and the library was full of empt shelves. CAN I PUT YOU ON HOLD A MINUTE? A woman in Amsterdam switched on her cell phone and started to make a when it suddenly burst into flames. She suffered minor burns to her face an neck. (Mike Pingree is a columnist for the Boston Herald. Read a secon "Looking Glass" column on the Internet at www.pingreeslookingglass.com (c) 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
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