• The Basketball court will be CLOSED Friday, April 5th for Fight Night preparations.
• The Sporting Club will CLOSE on Friday, April 5th at 6pm for Fight Night preparations.

Besides just feeling really good, massages are really good for you! They can be a great way to combat anxiety, stress, muscle tension, and other physical pains. If you’ve started a new training or fitness regimen that has left your muscles sore, massages can be very helpful in reducing the muscle inflammation that causes soreness.

If you have trouble sleeping, massage may help you finally get the good night’s rest you’ve been waiting for. The benefits of massage can include improved sleep patterns and decreased sleep disturbance because it induces brain waves, known as delta waves, which are linked with deep sleep.

You can also boost your immune system with massage. If you’re someone who gets stuffed up when the seasons change, massage may be just the thing you need to keep your immune system healthy all year long. Besides promoting physical health, massage has been known to aid in mental health as well. The right side of the brain is active when we are feeling blue and the left side is activated when we are happy. Massage has been known to decreases activity in the right side of the brain while increasing activity in the left side – the happy side. This is one reason why people feel so wonderful after a massage.

The Spa at The Sporting Club at The Bellevue offers a full range of massages including Athletic Massage, Hot Stone, Revitalizing Deep Tissue, and more. Next time you feel like treating yourself, treat your body too, and check out all the luxuries available at The Sporting Club’s full service spa.

Zumba is a great workout option for all fitness levels and age groups because it’s easy to follow, effective, and you don’t have to be a professional dancer to keep up. Your Zumba instructor will likely show you modifications to the dance moves, so you can tailor your routine to your ability. Zumba is a full body workout that will keep all your major muscle groups engaged and moving. The dance party atmosphere creates a fun and motivating environment to get your heart pumping and burn tons of calories. A typical Zumba class is an hour long and can burn up to 600 calories simply from grooving and having a good time.

Give Zumba a try! It will give your mind and your body a great positive boost. The Sporting Club at the Bellevue offers 60-minute Zumba classes on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Any kind of fitness clothing is suitable to wear, but don’t be afraid to sport some bright colors to this very vibrant class! Check our schedule for group class times.

By Elizabeth Wellington, Inquirer Fashion Writer

From Philly.com

Sometimes no matter how slim you are, doing the downward dog means a paunchy pooch pops over yoga pants – unless you own a pair of Devigis.

The activewear brand, made and manufactured in Philadelphia courtesy of 43-year-old mom Nadine Gelberg, is designed for yogis – or any athletes, really – who like the slimming lululemon look but prefer a more forgiving silhouette.

The racerback tanks have a bit of slouch in the tummy area to camouflage jiggling bellies. Long-sleeve T-shirts are cowl-necked to inconspicuously hide below-the-chin wrinkles and “drape gracefully across the boobs.”

Available in blue, plum, and coral, the tops, ranging in price from $28 to $35, have bands at the bottom to stop them from creeping up. The über-fitted undershirts, both sleeveless and long-sleeve, come in pale pinks and smoky grays – perfect shades to layer under the jewel-toned tops.

It is the pants, however, that set Devigi apart, Gelberg said. Along with a zippered pocket in the back, the $89 pants have an inner waistband at the natural waist and an outer one that stops three inches below the belly button. So when a yogi wears the pants and shirt combo, she’s completely smoothed out south of the breastbone.

“When you look at the barriers to working out, a lot of it comes down to fashion,” said Gelberg, of Chestnut Hill, who spent 10 years as a product development consultant for sports companies before beginning her life in fashion. “Not to mention, when you look good and feel good you add more of a bounce to your step, and that bounce has real performance benefits.”

Isn’t that the truth?

“I loved the way they looked on a girl who was spinning,” said Teresa Pokladowski after purchasing a pair of black Devigi capris one recent Saturday morning. Gelberg has hosted a trunk show at the Sporting Club in the Bellevue every Saturday in February.

You might think those long-sleeve T’s would result in hot runs in the summertime, but Devigi pieces are fashioned from bamboo fabric, which is sustainable and temperature-controlling. That means no pools of sweat under arms, along the back, or under cheeks. After a workout, you can throw on a Devigi hoodie or shrug ($95) to pick up the kids, grocery-shop, or meet a friend for drinks.

This evolution of workout-and-wear gear is precisely why the activewear category is growing, explained Marshal Cohen of the NPD Group, a market research firm.

View original article here.

On April 7th, a biochemical leak will infest Philadelphia with brain-craving zombies. As you run the 3.1 miles through the once peaceful streets of your community park, hoards of the undead will compete for your brains. There’s nowhere to hide, so get ready to run. Crossing the finish line is your only chance of survival!

The Zombie Run

April 7th

www.thezombierun.com
Find a $5 Discount Code for Sporting Club Members on the Fitness Floor TV Screens.

Additional Info:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Zombie-Run/529812040380577
https://twitter.com/thezombierunner

Veggie Burgers

Veggies burgers can be a healthy alternative to a beef burger, but they can also be loaded up with unhealthy ingredients. Despite having veggie in their name, sometimes these pre-made burgers are filled with over-processed soy products and actually lack real vegetables.

The fix: Veggie burgers are easy to make at home, and you can control what goes into them. The internet is full of veggie burger recipes so find one that incorporates your favorite vegetables, legumes, and grains.

Granola

A bowl of yogurt, granola, and fruit may seem like a healthier alternative to a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast, but that may not always be the case. Granola is fine in moderation, but store bought granola is usually jacked up with sugar and fattening flavor additives. Many people don’t realize that a cup of granola can have up to 600 calories and 30 grams of fat.

The fix: Grab a high fiber cereal and sprinkle it on a cup of low fat Greek yogurt with blueberries, and drizzle it lightly with honey. The crunch and light sweetness alone will keep you satisfied.

Smoothies

The basic ingredients of smoothies are actually healthy – low fat dairy and fruit. Many fast food and chain restaurants that offer this ‘healthy’ alternative have altered it to the point of being detrimental to diets. The first issue is size. Smoothies aren’t intended to be a substitute for water or juice, they are a meal supplement. The second issue is that adding sweeteners like sugar, ice cream, or sherbet to smoothies raises their calorie content exponentially.

The fix: Be mindful of the serving size of your smoothie. If it is super sized, portion it out and pop the leftovers into the fridge for an afternoon snack. Look for healthy additives like ginger, flax, peanut butter or even veggies to give your smoothie a beneficial boost of flavor.

The amount of time you need to train for a half-marathon depends on you. Training schedules include a combination of steady running, cross-training, rest days, and they generally incorporate one long distance run per week. If you are new to running, or normally run shorter distances, you may want to try a longer training schedule, like a 16-week program. If you have a regular running regimen, 12 weeks could be enough time to get prepared. New runners may want to consult with a fitness professional, or a trainer at The Sporting Club at The Bellevue, to see what training schedule is ideal for them.

Think quality over quantity when it comes to training. It may be tempting to skip out on cross-training so you can log extra miles, but this can also increase your chance of getting hurt. Building up your leg and core muscles through cross-training will help you protect yourself from injury. If you feel pain while training, don’t ignore it. Pain doesn’t always mean that you should power though; in fact, often times it means you need to make an adjustment in your training. If you feel anything more than regular muscle soreness, take a couple days off and let your body heal before starting up your training again.

Let your first half-marathon be fun and don’t set goals that will put too much pressure on yourself. Completing your first 13.1 mile half-marathon is accomplishment enough. Save the big goals for when your comfortable with running longer races and ready to challenge yourself even more.

1. Grab your smart phone!
2. Film a 30 second snippet on why you “belong” to The Sporting Club
3. Upload your video to Facebook or YouTube
4. Send us your link!

Email your video’s link to mmichinock@sportingclubbellevue.com

*Contest runs from February 1 – March 25, 2013 and is for active members at The Sporting Club at The Bellevue only. Videos must be 30-90 seconds long. Voting will be done internally by Sporting Club staff. The video will be used in our next marketing campaign. (Contest is extended till March 25, 2013.)

Update: March 20, 2013

Contest Extended through Monday, March 26th at 11:59pm.
All video submissions sent prior to that date/time will qualify.