Frightening Body Fat Facts

Justin Renninger

Staying at — or continuing to get closer to — a healthy weight is hardest at the holidays. But remembering why it’s so important as those holiday party invitations start to pile up may help you avoid a five- to 10-pound gain by January 1st.

Here, a little healthy holiday inspiration in the form of some very frightening facts about body fat.

•  Right now, some 60 percent of American adults are overweight, and about 25 percent are obese—which puts them at serious risk for many different diseases.  In fact, the problems related to obesity make it the second leading preventable cause of death after smoking. Making a lifelong goal to stay outside of this group may help you make it to the gym despite your hectic holiday schedule. (more…)

60 Seconds With Preston & Steve

Click here to listen.

Hear PRESTON & STEVE weekday mornings on 93.3 WMMR.

Philly Gym Slobs: Are You One of Them?

Lauren Reichert, 23, dresses sporty without being overtly sexy. // Photo taken by Rebekah Borucki at Optimal Fitness in Burlington

Every Halloween, it seems like most women only make two choices for their Halloween getups: sexy or scary. And this trend has made its way out of the costume shop and onto the treadmill. I work out in several gyms and yoga studios in the suburbs of South Jersey, inside Philadelphia’s city limits and New York City. There are two common themes: a bizarre effort to look as sexy as possible while breaking a sweat or the “just rolled out of bed and forgot that I  was going to be seen in public” look. Walking into almost any area gym, you would think that you passed through some sort of vortex and somehow ended up on another planet populated by joggers in pajamas and  Hawaiian Tropic girls on spin bikes. (more…)

60 Seconds With Preston & Steve

Click here to listen.

Hear PRESTON & STEVE weekday mornings on 93.3 WMMR.

Dark Fields Star Abbie Cornish Uses BWP’s PT Expert!

On the set of "Dark Fields"

When a casting agency called Excel Physical Therapy and Fitness two Mondays ago looking for a physical therapist to assist Australian actress Abbie Cornish (best known for her role in Candy, opposite Heath Ledger) on the film set of Dark Fields, I quickly volunteered. I had seen the movie being filmed up by Callowhill Street in March and knew Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro were Abbie’s co-stars. A couple of weeks earlier, Abbie had fractured her ankle while performing martial arts with her personal trainer and was placed in a “walking boot” to protect it while it healed. My job, along with my boss, co-owner of Excel, Joe Ruhl, was to make sure we managed her pain and alert the producers if we believed her ankle would be compromised while filming. (more…)

John Veasey’s Life After the Philly Mob

Illustration by Jason Mecier

Click here to listen.

Click here for a preview of Ralph Cipriano’s story about John Veasey’s life after the Philly mob. Read the full story in our November issue, now available on newsstands.

Hear PRESTON & STEVE weekday mornings on 93.3 WMMR.

7 Life-Saving Tests Every Woman Needs

Illustration by Justin Renninger

The pink ribbons, races and charity events that come around every October have one primary goal: to  improve early detection of breast cancer. Why? The sooner the disease is caught, the greater chance one has of surviving it.

As science and medicine have advanced over the last several decades, diagnostic tests have improved – making it possible to identify and treat many conditions before they become life-threatening.  Unfortunately,  many women fail to take the simple steps needed to safeguard their health.

So, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and women of all ages, shapes, and sizes, I’ve put together the health assessments and tests every woman—yes, YOU—should be getting at each stage of life. Print it out, tuck it into your planner, and email this list to all the women in your life that you care about. It could very easily save a life. (more…)

60 Seconds With Preston and Steve

Click here to listen.

Hear PRESTON & STEVE weekday mornings on 93.3 WMMR.

60 Seconds With Preston & Steve

Click here to listen.

Hear PRESTON & STEVE weekday mornings on 93.3 WMMR.

60 Seconds With Preston & Steve

Click here to listen.

Hear PRESTON & STEVE weekday mornings on 93.3 WMMR.

More Energy, Better Sex

Illustration by Justin Renninger

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sometimes lifestyle isn’t enough to treat andropause (aka, male menopause), particularly when hormone levels have gotten too low, as was the case with Steve (read his full story in our first installment on male menopause in The Disorder Doctors Miss, and learn natural ways to reverse andropause here).  For such cases, there are now excellent testosterone therapy options that have become available in recent years. Previously, men had only the option of oral testosterone, which has many unwanted side effects. There also was the option of frequent, inconvenient injections. We now have ways of giving testosterone through the skin (gels, creams and patches), and there also is the option of slow-release pellets that are placed just under the skin. Steve’s testosterone levels were that of an 80-year-old man’s, so I knew he would need some replacement therapy to feel better. (more…)

60 Seconds With Preston & Steve

Click here to listen.

Hear PRESTON & STEVE weekday mornings on 93.3 WMMR.

Three Male Vitality Boosters

Illustration by Justin Renninger

Yesterday we discussed the signs you (or your loved one) may be suffering from andropause, also known commonly as male menopause, in the post “The Disorder Doctors Miss.” Today we’ll be discussing the best possible ways to treat it. The good news is that many men can affect their testosterone levels through lifestyle. Of course, this also is the bad news for some, in that an unhealthy lifestyle can contribute to testosterone deficiency and other andropause-related problems.

Poor diet and too much stress can negatively affect testosterone levels, and a big belly can turn testosterone into estrogen. For men suffering from the signs and symptoms of andropause, the first line of defense is a set of three lifestyle modifications that are proven to help stave off testosterone deficiency and its associated effects.

(more…)

The No-Duh Diet Plan

Oprah viewers are known to sometimes experience “ah-ha” moments, little flashes of enlightenment that are triggered by an event, a phrase, or a bit of wisdom expressed by one of her guests.  When I watch the news lately and hear an anchor rattling off that latest findings of a million-dollar study on health or diet or fitness in America, I experience something a little less illuminating that an “ah-ha” moment.  I call these moments of frustration my “no duh” moments.

Let me give you a couple examples.  Exercise makes you feel good.  No duh.  Eating processed foods will make you fat.  No duh.  And now, with the release of a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that predicts that 75 percent of Americans (the fattest people on the planet) will be overweight or obese by 2020, I have to wonder if I’m all alone in my “no duh” moments.   Maybe what I thought was common sense about health, diet, and exercise isn’t so common at all. (more…)

The Disorder Doctors Miss: Male Menopause

Illustration by Justin Renninger

Steve is a 51-year-old sales manager who has been married to his wife Lisa for almost 25 years.  Born and raised in Philadelphia, he has been a huge sports enthusiast all of his life and played on both the baseball and football teams of his high school.  For the past six months, however, he has become less interested in sports—or really much of anything for that matter.  He has been “going through the motions” at work, feeling overly depleted when he gets home and then mostly sleeps.  He stopped working out, “I wasn’t getting anything out of it anyway,” he relayed, and he described his mood as “low” but there was no particular issue he was feeling sad or upset about.  He and Lisa had become more distant over these few months, and their physical relationship had waned to an occasional peck on the cheek. (more…)