hat's A Lot of Hot Air?

There are lots of retirement communities that promise to
fulfill your every need, from help with housekeeping, to
meals and transportation. They'll even throw in BINGO
at 6. Ho-hum. And they wonder what you're waiting for.

At THE FOUNTAINS, we believe life is about much more
than fulfilling needs; it's about fulfilling dreams. THE
FOUNTAINS offers community style living for people age
62 and better. We offer national award-winning services
and programs to meet your individual needs and
aspirations.

Come, see how THE FOUNTAINS is raising expectations of
what life can be. While you're here, enter our summer
raffle for a chance to win a free ride in a hot air balloon!

28301 Franklin Road • Southfield, Michigan 48034
(248) 353-2810

*a full-service community offering a continuum of care to people age 62 and better.

Equal Housing Opportunity © 1997 Fountains Retirement Communities of Michigan. Inc.

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•EWNEWS88

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Address

THE

FOUNTAINS

City/State/Zip

AT FRANKLIN

Phone

Send this coupon to 28301 Franklin Road • Southfield, MI 48034

... And Never Worry About
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Dr. Ozdaglar has successfully treated patients for over 20 years. You can
be treated on an out-patient basis and be back to work the same day!
Our clinic is the original. Dont trust your legs to anyone else!

M.D., F.I.C.S— senior Member of American

Phiebology Society

Pi)(iViOUTH •

1

S. Main St'

13 459

)

Telegraph:

(248).642-021,

T H E D E TRO

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106

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LARRY ARONOFF

Load Up Weights

When Walking

JACK WILLIAMS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

very time she steps out the
door for a power-walking
workout, Debbie Rocker
packs on the pounds.
Not that it shows.
Rocker, a lithe West Holly-
wood fitness pro, hides the
weight, up to eight pounds of lead
cylinders, in her custom-made
pockets.
Progressive resistance walk-
ing, she calls it: an alternative to
attaching weights to the ankles
or hands in the name of a high-
er heart rate.
Rocker, 39, talks the talk of a
former competitive en-
durance athlete who is
training for the longest
event of all: life.
She walks the walk of
a woman who ran, cycled
and swam too hard for
too long.
"I worked each sport so
hard that I burned out
and didn't want to ever
do it again," she said
recently.
These days, she in-
vests much of her energy
in teaching, motivating
and marketing.
While meditating
more than three years
ago, Rocker conceived
what she calls the
Walkvest. Why not
create something. with
pockets, she thought.
Something to carry and
evenly distribute small
pieces of lead and replace
all the cumbersome para-
phernalia she was carry-
ing on her morning
walks.
"I looked like Rambo
at 6 a.m. with my ban-
doleers," she said.
Five prototypes and thousands
of strides later, she had the
Walkvest: lightweight black cot-
ton, with snap pockets, buckles
and ventilating mesh.
You may see her pitching the
Walkvest any day soon on the in-
fomercial circuit. Meanwhile, it's
available with four half-pound
weights and two instructional
audio cassettes for $69.95.
"You can wear it when you go
to the market, walk the dog,
wash the car, on the treadmill or

Jack Williams writes for Copley
News Service.

walking outside," she said.
The benefits, while not scien-
tifically documented, could range
from enhancing bone density,
muscle mass and burning calo-
ries to reducing body fat.
But this is far from the first at-
tempt to take walking for fitness
and firmness to a new level.
In the early 1980s, Pittsburgh
psychiatrist Leonard Schwartz
introduced Heavyhands, one-
pound handles that can accom-
modate from one- to 10-pound
dumbbells.
Weighted gloves and ankle

weights are additional options.
And there's the hiker's favorite
functional baggage, the back-
pack.
All— save, perhaps, the
Walkvest— carry the risk of al-
tering the natural gait, straining
the back and leading to orthope-
dic injury depending on the load.
By placing the weighted cylin-
ders in a vest and swinging the
arms without hand-held weights,
you're likely to go farther faster
because the arms won't fatigue
so quickly.
"If I'm doing a fast 40 minutes,
I'll use between six and eight
pounds," Rocker said, who has

been certified by the American
Council on Exercise.
"Sometimes I walk with my
mom, who has long legs and
walks very quickly. But we'll talk
and I'll carry four or five pounds.
"A good starting point is one
pound or even a half pound, then
add weights as you progress. I
say, give me 30 to 40 minutes of
your time and let me take you for
a workout on the treadmill or
outside (her motivational and in-
structional tapes in tow).
`Then you're done, free to com-
pletely relax for the rest of the
day because you need
to fully recover for the
next day."
Which may in fact
be a rest day. "Every-
body needs a total
day off," she said, "to
recover emotionally,
physically and men-
tally. And two days
off are wonderful.
"Take a break af-
ter two or three days.
If you have a rigorous
work and family
schedule, you might
need three days off."
Rocker says she's
introduced the
Walkvest to such
Hollywood clients as
Rachel- Hunter and
Rod Stewart, who
also take her spin
classes on the sta-
tionary cycle (a prac-
tice she started years
ago in partnership
with spinning pio-
neer Johnny G).
A former triath-
lete, 3:05 marathon-
er and world record
holder in transcontinental tan-
dem cycling (from Huntington
Beach to Atlantic City), Rocker
professes an understanding of
two mindsets: the driven athlete
and the sloth who would sooner
sit than sweat.
"It's enormously difficult to do
everything in life and get moti-
vated to exercise your butt off,"
she said. "Most of us aren't train-
ing for a 10K race or an en-
durance swim.
"But we should all be training
for an endurance event called life.
For getting up in the morning,
having enough energy for our
kids and our job." ❑