Tabura - African Dance Fitness Workout

"Tabura, a high-energy class that pairs West African dance

 moves with military-style punching, jabbing and kick-

boxing drills, is one of the newer hybrids "

_ TimesofMalta

I have been wondering why with the likes of ZUMBA and 

etc...why someone had not come up with a fitness video 

inspired by Makossa, Coupe decale, Azonto etc?

For a while, every time I will attend a "cultural event" with 

"West African dance" performers, I never recognized what

 they were dancing. And being from west Africa, I know 

what to look for.

Am not saying they are "wrong" because I havent lived in 

all the western countries in Africa, nor am I familiar with all

 their traditional dances. However, I feel like if the

 performers cannot even incorporate the well known cross

 borders dances like makossa, azonto, coupe decale, then

 they didnt do their research.

And after asking around I always come to 3 realizations


1. They are no Africans on the said "dance team"


2. The dancers and affiliates are basing their knowledge on 

the dances performed by the slaves here in America.


3. They studied or are interested in "African Studies" but 

have actually never been to the continent. And most of 

their information is based on material from the 70s, 80s 

and OLDER, instead of present day africa.

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Okay, now that am off my soap box, lets go back to talking about the fitness components of this new workout routine.

The pop-up fitness company behind Tabura is called KIWISWEAT.

They are a fitness business based out of New York. However, am pretty sure this new dance will become popular and start having classes in other major US cities.

The components seem to be :

1. High Intensity Cardio

2. Plyometrics

3. West African Dance Drums

If you are looking to try something new, to spice up your routine or take a class that is "fun" but you also get a workout at the end of the day, this seems to be a great option based on what I saw on the Youtube video

I  think people who like any form of dance classes like Zumba or plyometric/dance fitness routines like InsanityFitness  will enjoy this program. I wish they had a class in Boston so I could try it out. But since am always in New York, perhaps I can squeeze in a visit to their studio. If that happens in the future, I will blog about it so you know my first person POV of the experience.

Smiling Stiletto Shoe Club : Step into Spring Fashion Show (Benefits Charities)

I attended a Spring Fashion Show hosted by Smiling Stilettos, an organisation here in Boston for shoe addicts like me. They organize events with the goal of raising funds for different charities in the new England area. Proceeds from this event  will go on to benefit Project Smile and the SimonYouthFoundation

 

Some of the pictures are courtesy of the event's photographer  Pino Domineco

Starting off with the different catering options available, I was blown away. Everything was delicious and I loved that you had several options including vegan, all natural, and organic appetizers.

The fashion show itself was great and highlighted the trends for this season such as the mint green. I definitely left with ideas on how to spice up my ward robe for spring and summer.

FITNESS FOR KIDS : ACSM Active Voice: Daily Step Count Targets for the Early Years

Active Voice: Daily Step Count Targets for the Early Years

By Brian W. Timmons, Ph.D.

Viewpoints presented in SMB commentaries reflect opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of ACSM. 

Dr. Brian Timmons is research director of the Child Health & Exercise Medicine Program at McMaster University and associate professor in the Department of Paediatrics. Brian is an ACSM member and his research involves the health effects of physical activity during growth, with a major emphasis on the role of physical activity during the early years.

This commentary presents Dr. Timmons’ views associated with a related research report that he and his colleagues presented in the February 2013 issue of ACSM’s Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise® (MSSE). 

Early childhood is a critical time for the development of active living. Our society has assumed that preschoolers are “active enough,” but some research suggests this may not be the case. One of the limitations to our understanding of preschooler physical activity has been an incomplete understanding of “how much is enough.” New Canadian physical activity guidelinesrecommend that children aged three to four years should accumulate at least 180 min. of physical activity, at any intensity, spread throughout the day, including progression toward at least 60 min. of energetic play by five years of age. 

One of the best ways to measure physical activity is to use an accelerometer – a small pager-like device worn on a belt around the waist. An accelerometer isn’t for everyone because it can be expensive and requires complex software for data analysis. We wondered if simply counting the number of steps taken by a child could be another way to identify who is meeting physical activity recommendations. The purpose of our study, as recently reported in MSSE, was to determine thresholds for daily step counts in preschool-aged children, with reference to these new Canadian guidelines. Specifically, we determined the number of children meeting at least 180 minutes of physical activity at any intensity, and the number of children who were engaged in at least 180 minutes of physical activity at any intensity and which included at least 60 minutes of energetic play. The latter we defined as moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). 

We asked 133 preschoolers to wear an accelerometer for seven consecutive days. Every three seconds, the accelerometer recorded and stored information about both physical activity and step counts. The physical activity information was then analyzed to determine how many minutes were spent at different intensities, including energetic play, using published thresholds developed specifically for preschoolers. We then compared the number of steps children were taking with the amount of physical activity they were getting. With this information, we could determine how many daily steps were equivalent to meeting the new Canadian physical activity recommendations. 
We found that the number of daily steps equivalent to achieving 180 min. of physical activity of any intensity was 6013. The number of daily steps equivalent to achieving 180 min. of physical activity of any intensity, including at least 60 min. of energetic play (or MVPA), was 6191. We then conducted more analysis to determine what the best single step count should be. This value was 6000 steps per day. 
In the last five years, physical activity recommendations for preschoolers have been prepared by three countries – Australia, the UK, and Canada – demonstrating the high degree of scientific interest in monitoring physical activity behaviors during the early years. Finding an easy, inexpensive way to determine whether young children are meeting current physical activity guidelines should be of benefit to health practitioners. Our study found that preschoolers who achieve at least 6000 steps every day are likely to be meeting the new Canadian physical activity guidelines of 180 min of physical activity at any intensity, including at least 60 min. of energetic play. 

For more information on physical activity and health in preschool children, please visit

http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/chemp/newsletters_bulletins.html 

to download the latest issue of Preschooler Focus.

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MapetiteNiche Commentary: As an exercise instructor who has taught in elementary schools, I cannot stress the importance of physical activity. This is the time to teach kids lessons about healthy lifestyle choices. I strongly believe in exercise as preventive medicine and this also applies to kids. The rate of child hood obesity is unbelievably high and instead of looking at pharmaceuticals as the solution, Physical Activity should be the first choice of dealing with this epidermic.

Additional efforts should be made to educate parents and communities because they are responsible for the care of the child.