A great spread of fitness articles in the weeklies:

Famous, Page 66: High Tech Workouts

Basically an article about ditching the traditional gym workout for some new, allegedly groovy ideas. iPod personal training, virtual bike riding, Nike shoes which combine with an iPod training program, and fat busting video games are all on the agenda. Hmm, interesting ideas, but I think what this article is forgetting is it isn’t enough to download training programs onto your iPod, it’s still up to you to break a sweat. Hi-tech, low-tech, nothing’s going to get you fit unless it involves hard work. If you’re not motivated to work out, I honestly don’t think any of these things will get you there. Great for people who travel, or who can’t make it to a gym, but for most people, these things won’t be used anymore than the old school exercise bike sitting in the corner of the living room.

Interesting, but nothing to write home about. ☆☆☆

NW - Page 72, Get Bikini Ready

Some options on how to maximise your calorie burn either during your workouts, or just while you talk on the phone. Some good ideas including heading to the beach to run on sand (a killer workout), and dancing with your friends. Also has some ideas for avoiding bad snacking at work, and a couple of other nutrition tips. ☆☆

OK, Page 84 - Paris Hits the Gym

Excuse my sniggering, but these have to be the least convincing pictures of a workout I’ve ever seen. Teddy Bass, an A-list personal trainer is whipping Paris into shape for 60-90 minutes a day, up to five days a week. Wow, now if only he could get her to stop tilting her neck to the side for the cameras, maybe those workouts would be better. The rundown on what he’s got her doing is fine, but she’s missing any kind of resistance training for her back, so it’s unbalanced as far as upper body goes. If the main picture shows her squat technique (it’s hard to tell what’s really going on here), please don’t replicate it at home.☆ (hilarity value only)

Bye Bye Baby Weight, Page 30

Small article on Katie Holmes’s rigorous exercise regime. It includes a rumoured daily routine of 200 sit ups. I bet Katie’s paying a heap of money for a trainer, and if they’re getting her to do 200 sit ups a day, the she should sack them right now. Happily, she’s also doing some Pilates - hopefully not with the same trainer, or you have to question their understanding of the quality versus quantity ideas Joseph Pilates had - which will at least give her some functional abdominal strength.

I know I’ve said this before, but anyone who’s had a baby needs to do exercise to involve functional muscles, in slowly incremented amounts, not zillions of repetitions of a predominantly useless exercise. ☆☆ (second star added because of Pilates)

Woman’s Day, Page 74, Star Workouts

Yay, star workouts! A rundown of who’s doing what in the who’s who of Hollywood.
Broken down into four parts - resistance training, yoga, Pilates, and running, and the kilojoules burned per hour. Interesting article, but I think the closeness of running and resistance training kJ’s burned has to be a misprint. Definately building lean muscle mass via resistance training helps burn fuel, but burning k’s while doing it shouldn’t really be the main aim.

The best way to view this quartet of styles is as four parts of a balanced routine. Pilates for core strength and postural awareness, resistance training for an awesome buff body, running for cardio and fat burning, and yoga to keep yourself limber. No one type of exercise can deliver everything you need, so it’s important to remember that while you might really enjoy doing one particular thing, you’ll get more benefit if you add variety.

☆☆☆ Good content, would be better if balance between styles was suggested, and less focus on burning kJ’s. Move more + eat less = kJ’s burned without having to count.

On the same page is a small article by Dr John Tickell where he blasts fad-diet fixes. I totally agree with what he says, but this is mainly a plug for his book. Doesn’t make the information any less truthful though. ☆☆☆

New Idea, Page 71, Hype vs Health

Article on Hollywood stars and their dietary quirks by Dr Tim Crowe, who is a dietician and lecturer in nutrition at Deakin University. I like this article, because finally someone is saying egg white omelettes are totally unnecessary, and missing integral vitamins which are found in the yolk. Also under the gun is Nicole Richie’s favorite pasta with lemon juice, chewing gum, and protein drinks. Sensible and interesting information. ☆☆☆☆