MIAMI HERALD FITNESS CHALLENGE

I win! I win! A week into the Miami Herald Fitness Challenge, and I"m the only one who hasn"t thrown up after a workout. I merely feel like I"ve been worked over with a sledgehammer. Some victory!

When my fellow Miami Herald staffers Andrew Richardson, Lisett Araujo (well, Lisett"s not a fellow, as you can see from all those unfairly cute pictures, but you know what I mean) and I agreed to a 12-week contest of dieting and exercise to see who could get into better shape, we all knew it was going to be difficult. If losing weight was easy, we wouldn"t have gained it in the first place.

But I don"t think anybody expected it to be quite this bad. Why is it that something that"s so good for me makes me feel like -- uhhh -- OK, can"t say that word in the paper?"" wonders Andrew.

Andrew"s inelegant eructation occurred early last week after his first trip to the South Beach branch of Equinox, the gym where he"s working out.

His last drill of the day -- a torturous alternation between a stair-climbing machine and a stationary bike -- left him feeling a little queasy. By the time he was in the elevator headed for the parking garage, a little"" had become a lot.

I could barely get out of the elevator to a place where nobody could see me,"" Andrew said. But, my God, everybody on the whole block heard

me. "" Oh, well. There are probably lots of deaf people on South Beach that you"ll still be able to date, Andrew.

I haven"t talked to Lisett, who"s been out of work with a non-Fitness-Challenge-related illness for a couple of days. But Andrew confirms that she, too, had a tough first workout that ended in digestive boomerang. Frankly, if I had Lisett"s schedule, I"d be throwing up before

the workout: She has to get up at 5 a. m. to make it from her Pembroke Pines home to South Beach in time for her 7 a. m. sessions.

Andrew knows all about this because he and Lisett sit next to one another at the office.

We"re really bonding over every groan and crackling bone,"" Andrew says. Bonding,"" I"m pretty sure, is their euphemism for conspiring against Glenn"" -- remember, this is a contest, where readers will vote for a winner at the end, so there"s all kinds of treachery and backstabbing going on, sort of like an episode of Survivor: Fat People . And if Andrew and Lisett think I don"t know who"s planting all those rogue packs of MMs in my office, they"re sadly mistaken. Also, I checked on Wikipedia and chocolate eclairs can not

be made from soy and wheat germ, you liars.

You might think this is just paranoia, but on my first day at the Coral Gables branch of Equinox, my personal trainer Jason Raynor told me: Wow, everybody told me how sorry they felt for me being assigned to you. They said, If you can get that

guy to lose weight, you"re a hell of a trainer. " "" Yeah, we"re one big happy fat family here at the Herald.

Anyway, Jason -- a former Virginia Tech defensive lineman who later worked for the Washington Redskins strength and conditioning staff -- is giving it his best shot. At my first workout, he gave me a battery of tests that he used to administer to Redskins players at the start of training camp. Anybody who scored less than 14 wasn"t allowed on the field. I got an 8, which I guess means my plans to make spare money on the weekends as an NFL linebacker are temporarily on hold.

So most of my exercises so far have been aimed at increasing my flexibility and agility rather than maximizing weight loss, which probably explains why I"m sore as hell but haven"t tossed my cookies yet. (Just an expression

, Jason; I promise, no cookies. ) As Jason so diplomatically put it, Your body is like creaky old house in disrepair. Before we can get to major repairs, we have to make sure the foundation isn"t going to collapse. ""

I don"t know. Foreclosure is starting to sound good to me.

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Sol Campbell close to Arsenal return after playing for reserves

Sol Campbell reappeared in an

shirt this evening when he played 45 minutes for the club"s reserves at West Ham. The defender is now close to a return to the first team, having nearly reached agreement on a contract until the end of the season.

The 35-year-old, who left Arsenal for Portsmouth in the summer of 2006 after five successful seasons, has been without a club since he walked out on a lucrative deal at the League Two club Notts Country in September. He was prohibited from joining another club by football"s transfer regulations. Campbell has since trained at Arsenal"s London Colney headquarters in a bid to maintain his fitness but he is now to get his ticket back to the top flight. "It felt great to be out there tonight," said Campbell, who came through unscathed. "Forty-five minutes was probably enough for me after four months out."

ArsГne Wenger, the Arsenal manager, who was among the 300 or so hardy souls at Upton Park, has problems in central defence, where he has lost faith in Philippe Senderos, while Johan Djourou has a long-term knee injury. Alex Song, the midfielder who can deputise in the position if necessary, is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon and, most alarmingly, there are fitness concerns over William Gallas. He has played with a back problem of late and, while Wenger has Thomas Vermaelen and MikaГl Silvestre, it was the need to find cover for Gallas that prompted him to enter the transfer market.

After careful consideration, he saw the solution on his doorstep. Campbell"s age makes him an atypical Wenger signing. And the manager is generally sceptical about the January

, viewing it as a time for panic buying, but he came to the conclusion that the defender, who won 73 England caps and played at two World Cups, would bring leadership to his side both on and off the pitch.

It has long been suggested that Wenger"s young team might benefit from the know-how of a vastly experienced professional who has won trophies. Wenger almost made a move last summer for Patrick Vieira, another of his Invincibles from 2003-04, only to decide against re-signing the 33-year-old, who last week joined Manchester City. But Wenger has taken the plunge on Campbell, and the player could not be happier.

"I cannot tell you how much I"ve missed playing after being out for so long since leaving Notts County," Campbell said. "I need a couple of reserve games at least before I can start looking any further ahead. I am signing for Arsenal until the end of the season. "There are still a few technicalities to iron out, but I have signed for Arsenal until the end of the season, and it"s fantastic, great, marvellous. The old enthusiasm is back. I"ve got to tell you it seems as though I have never been away. I"m ecstatic really to be back at Arsenal, and I have worked bloody hard to get there."

There was an element of irony to Campbell facing West Ham again in an Arsenal shirt. The last time he did so, in February 2006, he left Highbury at half-time, having suffered a severe crisis of confidence. Neither Campbell nor Wenger has ever properly explained what went on in the dressing room that night.

"ArsГne Wenger has been an inspiration," Campbell said. "He has watched me closely after letting me train at Arsenal for nearly two months now. He"s not stupid в he wouldn"t have taken me back if he didn"t like what he has seen, and I have worked and worked. I do believe I can contribute. I really have my confidence and fitness back and believe I can make a big, big contribution. There is fantastic quality all around the pitch within this Arsenal team and I want to be part of it, and I will make a big push to try to do that, but it"s little steps at a time. First step is at Upton Park; the next step is more football."

YP opens unique fitness studio

Jennifer DOvidio grabbed the glistening gold pole and seductively swayed her body while whipping around her golden blonde hair.

But this isnt what you think. XPolseacute;, owned by DOvidio, is a fitness pole dancing studio in Fairport for women of all ages and shapes. The studio is feminine, with pink and white tulle fabric adorning the ceiling, a fuchsia refrigerator and a fireplace and black leather chaise. But the main event of the studio, obviously, is the seven gold poles.

Opened Jan. 2 in Fairport, XPolseacute; is the realization of DOvidios dreams to own her own dance studio. The 26-year-old Henrietta resident and Rochester Institute of Technology grad tried her hand at different careers, but kept coming back to her performance roots (DOvidio has performed in a number of local theater productions).

The further and further I got away from anything that dealt with the performing arts, the more unhappy I was, she said. I could stay with it and struggle for the next X number of years or I could take life by the reins and take a chance for once.

Investing an estimated $8,500 to start the business including the cost of materials and advertising DOvidio had few reservations about opening a business during a down economy. And with confidence in her product, shes positive about XPolseacute;s future.

Talking with the owner of Pole Play, a similar studio in Buffalo, DOvidio learned just how lucrative her business could be.

I thought Rochester could support one that was totally dedicated to this type of fitness and be able to survive, she said. And nobodys stepped up to the plate to open up a pole dancing studio here.

Other local fitness studios like the Goddess Hour in Brighton and The Evocative Woman in Macedon (where DOvidio taught briefly) include pole dancing on their schedules, but XPolseacute; is the first local studio strictly dedicated to pole fitness dancing classes.

Although its still early in the game, DOvidio says she has plans to branch out to a second location within the next two years.

One of the hard lessons Ive had to learn in starting a business is dont start too big and take it in steps, she said.

Christina Moulton, 25, an instructor at XPolseacute;, says its an activity shes seen women get excited about.

Its fun, its something different than your everyday aerobics workout and people get addicted to it, she said.

Popular in larger cities, fitness pole dancing is finally making its way into smaller cities like Rochester, with everywhere from Los Angeles to Des Moines having studios dedicated to the craze.

Some of the benefits to pole dancing include increased upper body and core strength, burning calories and, says DOvidio, increased self confidence. The whole point of why Im doing this is to help people feel better about themselves, whether its to lose weight, bring something back into their love lives, or just to have fun, she said.

Gabrielle Lange, who attended a Girls Night Out party at XPolseacute;, said she had a blast learning to pole dance. XPolseacute; is a unique and different atmosphere that allows women to kick back and have fun with the girls while learning new dance moves that are fun and sexy, said the 28-year-old Corning resident. Jennifer has a very high energy, and is a great teacher.

But DOvidio wants to make it clear there is absolutely no stripping at XPolseacute;. All classes are taken fully clothed in workout attire and sensible footwear frequently even bare feet. I dont want to make it like Im not teaching exotic dance here, because I am, said DOvidio. But we also have the athletic part. I couldnt eliminate exotic dance completely its just too fun.

For more, including class schedules and registration, visit.

Carson recreation department ending longtime fitness programs

Jerry Vance, a fitness instructor for the Carson City Recreation Department for 34 years, has been given notice that her contracts will not be renewed.

Vance said she has until the end of January to wind down her 16 weekly classes.

It just doesn"t seem right to turn people away from functioning classes. I"m just so frustrated, I"ve turned it over to my attorney, Vance said. They"re within their legal rights to cancel contracts, but I"m out of the legal loop. All I want to do is teach the classes.

Recreation Director Roger Moellendorf said the department wants to open the door to new fitness opportunities for the community and will seek proposals, which Vance is also welcome to submit.

One of the Board of Supervisors" goals is to have an actively engaged and healthy community, so we decided it was time to take a look at how we could improve the services we provide through the recreation department, Moellendorf said.

He said the hope is that they will receive proposals for more diverse classes that appeal to a wider segment of the population.

The goal is to get more people into the facilities with the result of having more healthy people. We"re hoping to get some new ideas, he said.

Vance teaches the Sweat Shop, a one-hour co-ed fitness program providing aerobics, Pilates and yoga, 13 times a week at the Community Center. She also teaches Wet Sweat, a water fitness program, three nights a week at the Carson Aquatic Center.

Vance said each class averages 12-16 participants.

Charlotte Schmidt, 66, has been attending Sweat Shop every day for the past seven years.

She said the class includes people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, but younger people come in at night or during their lunch hours.

Some people in our class have been coming for 25 years. We have two people who are cancer survivors who are there every day. And it"s helped me to feel good. I love it, and I feel cheated if I don"t go for some reason, Schmidt said.

It"s a public recreation facility and they"re making it so we can"t use it. Where else can we go and get aerobics for $18 a month? Nobody has complained, so why do they need to change something that"s good? Why try to fix something that"s not broken? she said.

Moellendorf said he is aware that some people aren"t happy with the recreation department decision.

We are cognizant that she has a small but very loyal group of people who think her classes are worthwhile and find value there. We"re just hoping to offer classes that will appeal to more people, he said.

Vance said she feels frustrated for herself as well as her students.

I"m 70 years old, and I"m tired of fighting, she said. I also teach at the senior center and at an assisted living center. I"ve taught in schools and at the hospital. I"m teaching people"s grandchildren now. It"s not just retirees there are a lot of young people in my classes, too.

Schmidt said class members have a signed petition they plan to take to the board of supervisors protesting the decision to cancel Vance"s classes and requesting that her contracts be renewed.
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Health and Fitness Expo

Health, fitness and nutrition were the hot topics sunday at the Meridian Mall.

"It"s an opportunity to demonstrate the activities that people can do to get into better shape," said Steve Roehr, Events Director for the Mid-Michigan Radio Group.

The event - sponsored by the mid-michigan radio group - featured athletic demonstrations, fitness classes and other well being services. But it was the personal testimonies that got the message across.

"I lost 150 pounds and knowing how that changed my life, I just want to do the same thing for others," said Jona Stoute.

Stoute promoted programs from the wellness organization Ardyss International through her own experiences.

"We want people to realize how important it is for them to take control of their health and well-being for themselves and their families," Stoute said.

"I was in denial," said Jerry Cullen.

Cullen also spoke from events in his life. He recently underwent surgery after stress-related heart problems. One month later, Cullen along with his physician Dr. Aajay Shah focused on the importance of awareness of your body and health.

"We"re going to make sure our Mid-Michigan community gets healthy, learn as much as they can, because in this economic time, people can"t afford to get sick," said Shah.

Expo organizers say education of fitness and nutrition is crucial to make a change in leading a healthier lifestlye.

Dr. Shah also stressed the importance of learning CPR to save lives. He says only 5 out of 100 people know how to properly perform it. For more information, visit http://amcprtraining.com/