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About Yoga For Vets Yoga For Vets is a nonprofit organization that exists to welcome home war veterans and help them cope with stress of combat through yoga instruction. The Yoga For Vets website lists studios, teachers, and venues throughout the country that offer four or more free classes to war veterans. Most locations offer four free class but some offer more (ask them when you call or stop in). Presently, Yoga For Vets’ mission is straightforward: allow veterans to see the benefits of yoga with four free classes. In the future, however, Yoga For Vets hopes to support veterans in yoga by offering scholarships for teacher trainings and workshops.
Supporting our troops with four free yoga classes in their community
Please Visit Our Website to Locate Classes in your area.
www.yogaforvets.org 30
Miami-Dade/Florida Keys
CYCLES OF SPIN Returning to its Heart-Healthy Origins by Janet Osen
L
ike many newly minted sports, “Spin” has at its center a nearmythical figure: its creator, Jonathan Goldstein—better known as Johnny G—by most accounts a unique eccentric with an unheralded passion for cycling. In 1987, while training for the renowned The Race Across America bike event, a mega-marathon 3,100mile race from Los Angeles to New York, Goldstein was struck by a car and nearly killed. It produced an epiphany: Building an indoor bike simulating the outdoor experience would create a novel workout that would incorporate cardio training and emphasize a mindbody connection. With the formation of Mad Dogg Athletics in 1994, the Spinning craze began rolling. Rolling Stone magazine named it the newest hot exercise and by 1996 there were 1,000-plus Spinning centers in 30 countries.
True to Form Conceived as a form of cardio biofeedback, the activity keyed on training the heart muscle aerobically using a www.namiami.com
heart monitor. The original goal was to provide an “aerobic base” by working at 65 to 80 percent of one’s maximum heart rate, making the heart a more effective pump and increasing oxygen levels throughout the body. The Spin program follows the principle that participants will train aerobically for six to 12 weeks prior to a “Race Day”—a special ride performed at a steady anaerobic threshold generally at 85 to 95 percent of maximum heart rate. Anaerobic threshold, or AT, is the point at which the body accumulates lactic acid in the muscles faster that it can be removed. “Aerobic base building creates a strong foundation for increasing one’s lactate threshold,” explains Lorey Pro, a master Spin instructor and assistant director of fitness and wellness at Louisiana State University. “Riders can increase their tolerance for anaerobic exercise.” “The metabolism’s foundation is strengthened by aerobic base building. Without it, the body will fall apart if the athlete moves right into anaerobic threshold training,” explains Shannon