FUNCTIONAL TRAINING still seems to be driving a lot of new equipment in the fitness world, and for good reasons:

• 

  SOURCE: VALSLIDE.COM

  Many folks find that integrating exercises that strengthen core abdominal and back muscles can help recovery from old injuries and prevention of new ones.

• Movements that mimic the constant fluctuation between stability and instability of everyday activities feel more natural than isolating muscle groups on complicated machines.
• Plus, they’re often simply more fun.

A few recent ones that caught my eye from FIBO 2010, the world’s largest health and fitness event, held this spring in Germany:

• TRX Suspension Training uses a portable system of straps and grips for “leveraged bodyweight exercise” — often with one or both arms or legs off the ground.
• The Val Slide uses simple foot-sized pads for sliding exercises to strengthen the core as well as the lower and upper body.
• The TOGU Jumper in effect downsizes the BOSU to expand the possibilities on the unstable surface.
• Ropes Gone Wild proves that double-dutch rope-turners were getting a pretty good workout along with the jumpers.

Often, though, I’d like to forego the equipment altogether. A few years ago, I longed to do capoeira. Now (if it weren’t for the fear of likely sprains, breaks and months inactivity), I dream of join up with the kids doing parkour.

EVERY YEAR AS JUNE APPROACHES, I go through the same fire drill of figuring out summer activities for my kids. The older they get (ages 8 and 10), the less inclined they are to do any old summer camp.

SOURCE: iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

If given a choice, they prefer camps that focus on their favorite hobbies (by and large, sports-related) but, given the hefty price tag that goes along with most camps, our family budget allows for only two camps per child. That adds up to a whopping total of two weeks. Add a couple of weeks for family vacation, and that still means I have eight weeks to cover in the 12-week-long summer.

This year, a group of four mom-friends and I have devised a plan that kills yet another week. Our daughters are all school classmates and friends. We moms have become friends because of them. And so we decided, why not join forces to keep them entertained?

We’ve created the Mom-Led Fun Week (I know, we need to work on a more clever name). Each mom will take a day of the week to lead some sort of activity with all the girls.

For example, my day will include hitting tennis balls with the girls, then bringing them back to my house for ice-cream sundaes and a dip in the hot tub. Laura is taking them to the beach near her house, and helping them bake cookies. Leslie is coordinating a day of crafting. (Greta joked hers would be a nature day — where she would have the girls help her do yard work!)

The kicker of our plan is to meet up at the end of each day and have a much-deserved Mommy Happy Hour.

The things we do for our kids.

GLAMPING: BE IT CANVAS TENT, YURT, AIRSTREAM, rent-a-can or luxe-guided-expedition, “glorious camping” holds a definite allure for not-so-rustic women who want just a little sip of nature.

SOURCE: WILDRETREAT.COM

The travel and outdoor industry recognizes, thank goodness, that not every woman’s ready to embrace her inner Grizzly Adams. Sound familiar? Then check out some of these ways to make the outdoors a lot more fun and just a little more bearable:

• State and national parks often offer overnight digs that are rustic enough to satisfy camping-enthusiast-kiddos while pacifying the kind of mom who likes a door, a floor, a bed, some heat, a light.  Visit your state’s parks website to search for overnight accommodations and book now for popular summer months, as these affordable spots go fast.
• Skip the tent and do some Googling for other options in the region you’re looking to explore: the Vegas Strip via Airstream, perhaps, or California’s wine country in a retro Teardrop trailer, a yurt in Cape Cod or a tipi in New Hampshire.
• Champagne camping on a champagne budget. A gourmet sojourn in Montana is a luxury option for those foodie types while fly fisherwomen will swoon at Tofino, B.C.’s Clayoquot Wilderness Resort.

BOTH NEW-HOME CONSTRUCTION AND ARCHITECT-DESIGNED residential properties have certainly taken a serious body blow since mid-2007. Add in the foreclosure rate, and the fact is that many homeowner dreams have been reduced to rubble. However, there is one area of the building sector that has seen exponential growth — the model-home industry.

SOURCE: PLANTOYS.COM

No, we don’t mean those staged homes where real-estate agents hope that by creating a desirable though imaginary environment, a buyer can envision herself living a certain kind of life that captures a dream and inspires purchase. We’re talking about another type of imaginary environment that is built by the owner, modified upon whim and very reasonable in cost per square foot — or should we say square inch?

There are the Frank Lloyd Wright Collection Lego sets that take a playful approach to the master’s work, with renditions of both Fallingwater and The Guggenheim Museum. Lego even has building block kits for the Taj Mahal. While Lego may feel a bit more male-centric, there are dollhouse versions, too. The Emerson House is a mid-century modern with 2 frpls, 2 bdrms, solar panels and sliding glass doors. The Guiette House is made of basswood and can be painted or stained whatever colors you wish. With PlanToys you can choose to either build green or fashion a not-so-big traditional home perfect for the first-time homeowner.

You can buy ‘em for the kids, but why not allow yourself a chance to build upon a dream and discover the inner architect longing to break free? The mortgage rates are pretty good, too.

THE NEW HOME SELTZER-MAKER SAT ON OUR KITCHEN COUNTER for several weeks after we got it for Christmas before I opened the box. Maybe I truly was too busy (as I told myself). But maybe I was also a little pressured (sorry) by the prospect of dealing with the carbon-dioxide-filled cylinder.

© SODASTREAM.COM

When I could procrastinate no longer, I opened the box and discovered how easy it was:

1. Screw the cylinder into the compartment head and press into place.
2. Fill the accompanying hard-plastic bottle with tap water and chill.
3. Screw the bottle into the machine.
4. Press the carbonating button in short bursts until I hear a buzz; after three buzzes, stop (about 11 short presses).

And with that, my days of buying and hauling home 2-liter bottles of sparking water were largely over. Oh, I might need to buy some to bring to potlucks, or if we have folks over and I need a lot at once. And I already miss some of my old favorite flavors of commercially produced flavored, unsweetened carbonated water, but I’m game to experiment with new homemade ones.

In return, in addition to lightening my shopping load, I’m:

• Using tap water (ours runs through a carbon filter)
• Making fresh fizzy water as I need it (one liter at a time)
• Controlling the amount of fizz
• Reducing our consumption of plastics
• Storing our seltzer short-term in hard-plastic bottles instead of long-term in (perhaps harmful) soft bottles
• Reducing the cost to about 18 cents a liter (compared with 50 cents or more before)
• Avoiding a possible impending tax on bottled waters.

My only regret: I see now that there are machines that use glass carafes. Maybe next Christmas…

MY HUSBAND AND I STARTED LIVING ON THE FLOOR more than 25 years ago, when the small, squishy bed where we were house-sitting prompted us to try the thick Chinese rug alongside it ― and we quickly realized the rug was way more comfortable (and roomy) than the bed.

CELL OCCASIONAL TABLES BY SpHAUS

So when the house-sitting gig ended, we moved into a studio apartment, eschewed the Murphy bed and settled in with a comforter atop the carpet. Then we figured out that a 36-inch fiberboard round fit nicely atop our mini-trampoline; topped off with a standard 52-inch square tablecloth, it’s still our dining table.

For seating we tend to go with the basics, mainly the canvas-covered metal frame BackJack chair that I saw marketed first as a “TV chair”, then “video-game chair”, “meditation chair” and now as a “go-anywhere chair”.

Though the grandchildren like to tease us about having no furniture, they don’t yet know that if you do anything long enough, you’re likely to be trendy for a few minutes at least. So sure enough, “living on the floor” has been rebranded of late as “low-profile furnishings”, and upscale tables, for example, for floor-huggers are popping up from Italy to Australia.

You can almost hear them rolling their eyes in Japan, where centuries of floor living has resulted in a plethora of zaisu floor chairs, from practical to stylish. Solid wooden folding zaisu can even be a bit formal. But I’m partial to the bentwood zaisu, perhaps atop a tatami mat.

I’VE GIVEN UP ON FOOD SUBSTITUTIONS, for the most part. Quickly abandoned the carob-for-chocolate movement ― not much fun for me there. After original Fresca, never really hopped on board the artificial-sweeteners train ― don’t trust ’em. Eventually realized through the low-fat and low-carb trends that I feel better when I eat a variety of real foods. Get more satisfaction from indulging in, say, some great chocolate.

SOURCE: TRUVIA.COM

But two sweeteners have gotten my attention recently, because both come from natural sources and also might have less of an effect on blood sugar. With my family history of Type 2 diabetes, I try to pay attention.

The first is agave syrup, derived from a succulent native to Mexico. It’s sweeter than honey, and although its calorie and carb counts aren’t far from sugar’s, for some reason it doesn’t seem to make blood sugar spike. Manufacturers, naturally, offer sugar-to-agave conversion charts and recipes.

The second, and I think more promising, is stevia. Also known as sweet leaf, the plant native to Central and South America has a long and sometimes controversial history , in part because it was not until December 2008 that the Food and Drug Administration granted two stevia-based products, Truvia and PureVia, the prized “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) status for use in foods.

Stevia’s big selling points? Much lower in carbs and calories than other natural sweeteners, and little apparent impact on blood sugar. Drawbacks? Slight licorice aftertaste (to me, a worthwhile tradeoff in flavored waters), and adapting it to recipes.

Since one of Truvia’s developers is The Coca-Cola Company, and one of PureVia’s is PepsiCo, you can imagine that I’m not the only one who sees some promise here.

TRENDSPOTTING | by ALEXANDRA SMITH

YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE SPORTED ONE since that Batgirl costume in third grade, but capes, and their shorter capelet cousins, are quite popular in helping brave the cold this winter.

© iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

Hot as they may be, it doesn’t take an Anna Wintour to know that capes are hardly nouveau chic. Most of us can conjure the image of a turn-of-the-century gentleman in tweed cloaking (Sherlock Holmes anyone?), or perhaps think back even further to the sinister hooded capes of medieval Europe. In fact, it’s their very historical ubiquity that makes capes seem, at first blush, somewhat antiquated today.

Not so fast. There’s a reason this garment has survived so many centuries. Besides being ridiculously functional (what could be cozier, other than the Snuggie, but we won’t go there), capes are versatile, sophisticated and generally quite flattering. They pair well with evening and office-wear alike; they add polish to an otherwise casual boots-and-jeans ensemble.

Yes, capes are pretty easy to pull off. But there are a few things to keep in mind should you choose to wear one.

• First, an easy rule of thumb: The shorter the woman, the shorter the cape. If you’re under 5-foot-5, a capelet might be the better option.
• Second, stick with sleeker pieces underneath ― anything too bulky will throw off the lines of your cape. Skinny jeans or a pencil skirt, for example, would pair well with this look.
• Finally, unless you’re really looking to make a statement, keep the rest of your outfit ― particularly accessories ― minimal. Capes are powerful pieces (no wonder Superman wore one!) and can quickly become overpowering if one isn’t careful.

IN RECENT DECADES, A COAT HOOK, ROBE HOOK, OR BROOM HOOK wasn’t given much thought in the home. Didn’t everyone’s childhood home  have a broom stuck there, handy on a wall or door? And what about the ever-present back-of-bathroom-door robe hook? These utilitarian tools were installed on the wall or door, used every day and not given further consideration.

GUM HOOKS FROM CURIOSITE.COM

Fast forward to today, when the options are many and the uses are vast. With the growth of innovative retailers like Anthropologie who offer stylish home accessories, the accessibility of large home-improvement stores with their rising level of design sophistication like Lowes, and a return to historic designs by retailers like Restoration Hardware or Rejuvenation, there’s no hang-up in finding great hooks to fit your needs and style. Some favorites:

• You spent enough on that road bike, let’s call it urban loft-style art
• For the dog’s leash, their “doggy butler” bags plus a flashlight for nighttime walks
• The perfect spot for a row of house keys with lanyard key rings on the wall
• Your favorite scarves on display

SAY THANK YOU to “High School Musical” 1, 2 or 3, sing out and rejoice for “Glee” or tap a polished toe in appreciation for “So You Think You Can Dance?”: The whole country has found a song in their heart and has begun a dramatic shift from star-obsession to embracing the star-like qualities of the average individual ― even the misfit.

While on the surface this may seem to recall the idea of the infamous 15 minutes, the abundance and popularity of this particular type of programming is much more about the ability for her to dream about a different tomorrow and realize she is personally responsible for making the transformation happen. It’s Julia Roberts in “Eat, Love, Pray” (2010) not Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman” (1990). Thank goodness.

In other words, enough about Miley, Britney, Lady Gaga and Fergie. Forget Babs, Madonna and all the what’s-their-name women of Tiger.

In 2010, the woman you will count on is the one who was there when you needed her the most this past year: the mom, the sister, the BFF. They are the role models of choice.

In addition to “bringin’ home the bacon and fryin’ it up the pan…,” she’s also plantin’ the veggie garden, bakin’ the cupcakes and ready to hold your hand. Oh, and, she knits her own clothes, makes her own jewelry, and blogs to tell about it.

No, let’s be real ― she’s not doing all of the above, but she’s picking and choosing. The metaphor is the message here: She imagines creating a better life for herself and those she loves. One that is about substance, not just style.

Yes, she’s ready to dream again, but with her feet planted firmly on the ground.

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EXCERPTED FROM 10 INSIGHTS FOR 2010 by Lifestyle Insights.
For more information: robin@robinavni.com.

© 2009 robinavni | lifestyle topics, insights & trends llc. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be duplicated or redistributed in any form without written permission.

Edited by MOLLY MARTIN; image source: iSTOCKPHOTO.