Fitness
As a teen with an eating disorder, Richard Simmons showed me I could exercise with joy and hope
After panning over New York City, swooping from bridge to train, the camera drops to calf-level, looking out from a shoe store shop display. On the sidewalk, a man pauses, raising a leg to try on the pair in the window. The leg is bare, tan, and toned, not poured into jeans; the shoes aren’t black leather, they’re blizzard-white trainers. It’s not “Stayin’ Alive” throbbing but a Gibbsian falsetto droning, “Get on down.”
The “Saturday Night Fever” homage continues, the man strutting into a Brooklyn home. He flicks through a closet’s rainbow of tank tops, picks out a halo of tawny curls, and enters a nightclub (Brooklyn Disco) to a chorus of “how you doin’s.”
By that point, not yet two minutes into the video, I was marching. Keeping time with the beat in my socks, a scant six feet from the looming media cabinet in our cramped living room. It was the only room with a TV, and for “Disco Sweat” I’d endure my self-consciousness about exercising a hallway away from my mom, in the kitchen. I was 15. Three years out from an anorexia diagnosis, post-relapse number two, any physical exertion was suspect. And was I going to exert! I’d boogie to “Boogie Fever,” clap to “Born To Be Alive” and sashay to “I Will Survive,” inches from shimmying into the La-Z-Boy or Travolta-armsing our Airedale. Reflexively, I smiled at the TV. I was about to spend 70 minutes with Richard Simmons.
Simmons, who died on July 13 a day after his 76th birthday, was as recognizable as the golden arches of McDonalds. There was no discovering him. When I was growing up in the ’90s, he’d already become an icon. The fusilli hair, the oiled skin (subject of familiar jabs about the source of his signature glisten…Pam?), the spangle, the voice. The voice! Gleeful, giddy, earnest and encouraging, adamant yet never authoritarian. It was a voice apart from others, flouting the dire, eroticized militancy of gyms like those then-ubiquitous ads for Bally Total Fitness (“Firm arms, rock hard abs, for less than a $1 a day”).
Richard’s voice was a reprieve from my dour, cynical toxic self-talk.
Simmons was a tonic to those who found those creatine temples intimidating or inaccessible. Who found that rhetoric overbearing or off-putting. Who didn’t want to build muscles while being belittled. Watch any of Simmons’ videos — and I watched all of them, borrowing them from the library again and again, pledging my allegiance to “Sweatin’ to the Oldies Vol. 2” (“Windy”!) over Vol. 1 (too slow) — and you’ll see a cast of real-life folks, people who’ve lost weight with Richard. At the end of “Disco Sweat,” those backup dancers run toward the screen, accomplishment quantified on screen: “David Jacobs, 107 pounds.”
As a teenager, anxious about three or five pounds, I jogged in place during those last minutes, sometimes tearing up, sometimes clapping. I never found these numbers triggering, never left “Disco Sweat” determined to outpace another’s loss. Instead, I left hopeful; someday, I might be as embracing, as joyous, as a light-hearted as Richard.
Perhaps because I was in the grips of my own eating disorder, I understood that that sunny affect must’ve been hard-won. It was. After spending approximately two hundred hours Disco Sweating, I read Simmons’ memoir, “Still Hungry—After All These Years.” Unlike the subjects of most eating disorder memoirs I devoured, Simmons had lived a varied, wanderlusty life. He was a musical theater nerd, an actor, a makeup rep and the most charismatic waiter in LA before becoming an entrepreneurial smash: actor, author, studio owner, teacher, infomercial sensation with products like Deal-a-Meal. But catch his cameo in “Satyricon”; you’ll see the haunted gauntness in his eyes and know that, for two decades, he was also killing himself with food.
What stuck with me was his recounting of the period he spent in Italy in his 20s. While working as a commercial actor, he receives an anonymous note (“RICHARD—YOU’RE VERY FUNNY BUT FAT PEOPLE DIE YOUNG. PLEASE DON’T DIE”) stuck to the windshield of his Fiat. He feeds lire into a public scale and, shocked by the number, embarks on a starvation diet so extreme he winds up passing out near the Uffizi Gallery. He wakes up in Santa Maria Nuova Hospital, having lost 112 pounds in less than three months. His organs were failing.
Who would want to be uptight when you could be irrepressible?
“I had been on both sides of the ruler,” Simmons writes. “I had been on the overweight, obese side, and then I had quickly seesawed to the very, very thin side—too thin. At this point in my life I was no better off, no more intelligent, and had no more knowledge than I did when I took that first diet pill in the sixth grade. Now it was time for me to try to find some balance, some middle ground, for the first time in my life.”
Balance. You couldn’t have said a nastier word to teenage anorexic me. Balance was for the undriven and the ordinary, people too weak to sacrifice everything in pursuit of their goal. Balance didn’t promise flat abs or jutting ribs. And yet, reading Richard, I wept. I couldn’t admit it yet, but I recognized it: my bleak, stupid mission.
I wish I could say that Richard Simmons fast-tracked my recovery from anorexia, but then that would be as cliché and saccharine as one of the skits in his workout videos, minus the camp. (And he was campy from the get-go, goofing and jestering: his first book titled, “Never-Say-Diet.”) Instead, Richard’s voice was a reprieve from my dour, cynical, toxic self-talk. Richard’s voice—so puckish and irreverent, singing “burn baby burn,” even talking about burning calories—was so unserious that it was infectious. Who would want to be uptight when you could be irrepressible? He was a cross between Puck and the Energizer Bunny, and yet he was an utter original. That’s the sort of thing David Letterman would say to him, when he made a late-night appearance, always using his name with that parental admix of bafflement and fatigue: “Richard.”
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His voice didn’t proselytize, either, and so I’m grateful that Richard was in the back of my mind, when the body positivity movement swept and seemed a new kind of dogma. I was grateful for Richard when I began doing another exercise video on repeat, one led by a frigid ballerina who never flubbed or joked. Yes, the Simmons oeuvre prizes weight loss but not at the cost of self-judgment.
In the last decade, Simmons retreated. He stopped leading classes at the Richard Simmons Slimmons Studio. He wanted to live a quiet life. There was speculation—was he being held prisoner, was he dying—but I prefer to imagine he had simply relaxed into existence, a state of satiation. Not worried about worrying about his fans (he was a compulsive fan-mail responder), not worried about numbers: likes, follows, revenue, pounds.
In the years I did “Disco Sweat,” I often forgot I was working out. Sometimes, babysitting my little sister, I roped her into doing the video, too. We laughed a lot: Richard’s cherubic smile, his costumes, his charms and puns. Unlike running or my herky-jerky stints on the Nordic Machine strider in the basement, there was no specter of calories. Who could know how many calories I burnt during those 72 minutes? Sweaty, happy, I’d rewind the tape.
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about Richard Simmons
Medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound have completely revolutionized the health space, helping people who have obesity or are overweight lose a significant amount of weight. But these medications have had shortages and can be incredibly expensive, making them inaccessible for many.
Now, research highlights a discovery that could pave the way for a new class of weight loss medications—and it’s linked to how your body responds to exercise. Here’s what the study discovered, plus what it could mean for the future of drugs like Ozempic.
Meet the expert: Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.
What did the study find?
The study, which was published in June in the journal Molecular Metabolism, analyzed mouse and human models to explore how the protein PGC-1α impacts exercise and its effects on the body. In case you’re not familiar with it (and why would you be?), PGC-1α is a protein that is involved in several processes in the body, including thermogenesis. Thermogenesis works to help your body efficiently consume energy in your muscles.
When you work out, more PGC-1α is expressed in your muscles and more energy is burned. But people who lose weight slowly when they do regular physical activity may be missing variants of PGC-1α that regulate the body’s metabolism and response to short-term exercise.
By targeting this protein, scientists think they can essentially help to rev up your metabolism. The researchers concluded in the study that increasing how much PGC-1α is expressed is “pivotal” for burning more energy and “essential” for regulating metabolism.
What does this study mean for fitness?
At this point, it’s hard to say. The scientists just discovered that it could be helpful to target this protein for weight loss, but the details and kinks of this haven’t been worked out just yet.
But it’s possible that people who already burn fat efficiently with the help of exercise wouldn’t be helped by a medication that targets PGC-1α, says Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. Still, it’s super early on in the process, making it tough to determine for sure.
What does this mean for weight loss drugs?
It’s not clear at this point. Again, this is in very early stages and there’s a lot that still needs to be explored. However, there is a chance that this could lead to a new class of weight loss drugs, giving people with overweight and obesity more options, Ali says.
Right now, Ali sees this as a potential additional tool to help with weight loss versus the only tool someone would use.
“The majority of weight loss is because of diet,” he says. “Exercise has a number of benefits, including enhanced weight loss, and it can improve cardiovascular health.”
If there’s a medication that could enhance how well you burn fat through exercise, “that would be an additional tool to use,” Ali says. But, he adds, “we’re a long way from that.”
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.
THURSDAY, July 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The Olympics are often described as a rare, once-in-a-lifetime shot at international sports glory.
That may be more true for Olympic track and field competitors than other athletes, a new study reports.
There appears to be a peak performance age for track and field athletes, who specialize in running, jumping and throwing events, researchers report.
It turns out that the peak age for these athletes is 27.
After age 27, there’s only a 44% chance that an athlete’s peak is still ahead of them, results show. That number drops every subsequent year.
What’s more, the average age of Olympic track and field athlete has remained remarkably consistent over the past three decades — just under 27.
“Because the Olympics occur only once every four years, track and field athletes must carefully consider when and how they should train to maximize their probability of qualifying for the Olympics while at their personal peak,” said lead researcher David Awosoga, a master’s student in data science at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
For the study, researchers analyzed year-by-year career performance data from every track and field athlete at the Olympics since the 1996 games in Atlanta. The team considered each athlete’s gender, nationality, event type and training level.
Researchers focused on track and field because for many of these athletes, the Olympics offers the best chance to display their prowess, Awosoga said.
“Unlike other Olympic sports such as soccer and tennis that have their own high-profile competitions outside of the Games, the Olympics is the largest stage upon which track-and-field athletes compete,” Awosoga said in a university news release.
However, age isn’t the only factor in an athlete’s peak, noted co-researcher Matthew Chow, an undergraduate economics student at the University of Waterloo.
Athletes tend to perform better, regardless of age, in years where they are competing for a place in an upcoming Olympics, researchers found.
For example, five-time Olympian Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies set a personal best in the 100-meter dash at age 40, researchers noted. Collins ran the dash in 9.93 seconds while competing for a spot at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“What’s really exciting is that we also found that knowing it’s an Olympic year actually helps predict an athlete’s performance,” Chow said.
Researchers hope their analysis can help athletes bring their best to the games.
“You can’t change the year of the Olympics, your genetics, or your nationality, but you might modify your training regimes to better align with these biological and external factors,” Awogosa said.
The results, published in the journal Significance, also provide an appreciation for how hard it is to make the Olympics, Chow added.
“When we watch track-and-field athletes compete, we are witnessing a statistical anomaly: someone who is both at the peak of their physical performance, while also benefiting from extremely fortuitous timing,” Chow said.
More information
The National Academy of Sports Medicine has more about athletic training.
SOURCE: University of Waterloo, news release, July 24, 2024
Los Angeles, has a thriving startup ecosystem with numerous accelerators, incubators, and programs designed to support and nurture new businesses. These programs provide a range of services, including funding, mentorship, workspace, networking opportunities, and strategic guidance to help entrepreneurs develop their ideas and scale their companies.
Techstars Los Angeles
Techstars is a global outfit with a chapter in Los Angeles that opened in 2017. It prioritizes local companies but will fund some firms based outside of LA.
Location: Culver City
Type of Funding: Pre-seed, early stage
Focus: Industry Agnostic
Notable Past Companies: StokedPlastic, Zeno Power
Grid110
Grid110 offers no-cost, no-equity programs for entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, including a 12-week Residency accelerator for early-stage startups, an Idea to Launch Bootcamp for pre-launch entrepreneurs, and specialized programs like the PledgeLA Founders Fund and Friends & Family program, all aimed at providing essential skills, resources, and support to help founders develop and grow their businesses.
Location: DTLA
Type of Funding: Seed, early stage
Focus: Industry Agnostic
Notable Past Companies: Casetify, Flavors From Afar
Idealab
Idealab is a renowned startup studio and incubator based in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Bill Gross, Idealab has a long history of nurturing innovative technology companies, with over 150 startups launched and 45 successful IPOs and acquisitions, including notable successes like Coinbase and Tenor.
Location: Pasadena
Type of Funding: Stage agnostic
Focus: Industry Agnostic, AI/Robotics, Consumer, Clean Energy
Notable Past Companies: Lumin, Coinbase, Tenor
Plug In South LA
Plug In South LA is a tech accelerator program focused on supporting and empowering Black and Latinx entrepreneurs in the Los Angeles area. The 12-week intensive program provides early-stage founders with mentorship, workshops, strategic guidance, potential pilot partnerships, grant funding, and networking opportunities to help them scale their businesses and secure investment.
Location: Los Angeles
Type of Funding: Pre-seed, seed
Focus: Industry Agnostic, Connection to South LA and related communities
Notable Past Companies: ChargerHelp, Peadbo
Cedars-Sinai Accelerator
The Cedars-Sinai Accelerator is a three-month program based in Los Angeles that provides healthcare startups with $100,000 in funding, mentorship from over 300 leading clinicians and executives, and access to Cedars-Sinai’s clinical expertise and resources. The program aims to transform healthcare quality, efficiency, and care delivery by helping entrepreneurs bring their innovative technology products to market, offering participants dedicated office space, exposure to a broad network of healthcare entrepreneurs and investors, and the opportunity to pitch their companies at a Demo Day.
Location: West Hollywood
Type of Funding: Seed, early stage, convertible note
Focus: Healthcare, Device, Life Sciences
Notable Past Companies: Regard, Hawthorne Effect
MedTech Innovator
MedTech Innovator is the world’s largest accelerator for medical technology companies, based in Los Angeles, offering a four-month program that provides selected startups with unparalleled access to industry leaders, investors, and resources without taking equity. The accelerator culminates in showcase events and competitions where participating companies can win substantial non-dilutive funding, with the program having a strong track record of helping startups secure FDA approvals and significant follow-on funding.
Location: Westwood
Type of Funding: Seed, early stage
Focus: Health Care, Health Diagnostics, Medical Device
Notable Past Companies: Zeto, Genetesis
KidsX
The KidsX Accelerator in Los Angeles is a 10-week program that supports early-stage digital health companies focused on pediatric care, providing mentorship, resources, and access to a network of children’s hospitals to help startups validate product-market fit and scale their solutions. The accelerator uses a reverse pitch model, where participating hospitals identify focus areas and work closely with selected startups to develop and pilot digital health solutions that address specific pediatric needs.
Location: East Hollywood
Type of Funding: Pre-seed, seed, early stage
Focus: Pediatric Health Care Innovation
Notable Past Companies: Smileyscope, Zocalo Health
Disney Accelerator
Disney Accelerator is a startup accelerator that provides early-stage companies in the consumer media, entertainment and technology sectors with mentorship, guidance, and investment from Disney executives. The program, now in its 10th year, aims to foster collaborations and partnerships between innovative technology companies and The Walt Disney Company to help them accelerate their growth and bring new experiences to Disney audiences.
Location: Burbank
Type of Funding: Growth stage
Focus: Technology and entertainment
Notable Past Companies: Epic Games, BRIT + CO, CAMP
Techstars Space Accelerator
Techstars Space Accelerator is a startup accelerator program focused on advancing the next generation of space technology companies. The three-month mentorship-driven program brings together founders from across the globe to work on big ideas in aerospace, including rapid launch services, precision-based imaging, operating systems for complex robotics, in-space servicing, and thermal protection.
Location: Los Angeles
Type of Funding: Growth stage
Focus: Aerospace
Notable Past Companies: Pixxel, Morpheus Space
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