Mike Cola

About Bedford, NY taken from BedFordNy.info:

On December 23, 1680, 22 men from Stamford, Connecticut, founded the Town of Bedford when they purchased, fur coats, blankets, wampum and cloth, a tract of land three miles square known as the “Hopp Ground” from Chief Katonah and several other Indians.

These “proprietors” from Stamford were New England Puritans who promptly set about to plan their new settlement providing for a meetinghouse, gristmill on the Mianus River and burying ground. Today’s Village Green is one-third its original size but the graveyard and surrounding principal streets remain substantially as they were originally planned in 1681.

Bedford was part of Connecticut in 1697 when a patent fixed the boundaries as a six-mile square and it wasn’t until England’s King William issued a royal degree in 1700, to settle a boundary dispute, that Bedford became part of New York.

The Town’s importance grew during the Colonial period and served as the wartime Westchester County seat during the Revolutionary War after the Battle of White Plains and until Bedford was burned by the British on July 11, 1779. After the Revolution, Bedford became one of two seats of County government, alternating with White Plains until 1870. The Court House in Bedford Village, built in 1787 and renovated in the 1960s, is Westchester County’s oldest government building.

Bedford Village

The original 1680 Bedford settlement was in Bedford Village in the southeastern portion of the Town, with its Village Green and historic buildings dating to the 18th and early 19th centuries. Among these are the 1787 Court House and several homes built after the British burned the village during the Revolution. In 1972, the Bedford Village Historic District was established by local ordinance and is listed on both the New York State and the National Register of Historic Places. The burying ground, established in 1681, was apparently still in use after the Colonial period as the latest headstone dates to 1885. A museum in the Court House is open to the public.

Best – Mike Cola

About Mt Kisco taken from Mt Kisco Chamber of Commerce

Mount Kisco is located about 36 miles north of New York City. The village has been described variously as the “commercial hub of Northern Westchester,” “the shopping capital of Northern Westchester,” and “the healthcare capital of Northern Westchester.”

Mount Kisco is all of these and more. Mount Kisco is truly the heart of Northern Westchester.

Living in Mt Kisco

Mount Kisco is a Village/Town with some 9,983 residents spanning the full spectrum of income levels and living accommodations. Residents buy, rent and sublet in a variety of neighborhoods and in a variety of homes. Condominiums, cooperatives, apartments, single-family and multi-family homes and luxury estate houses happily co-exist in Mount Kisco.

In Mount Kisco, home means more than an individual residence. Home is inextricably entwined with the neighborhood in which you live. There are several distinct neighborhoods within the 10549 zip code and many of them celebrate their closeness with annual block parties.

About Mt Kisco taken from MountKisco,org

Mount Kisco was founded in 1850 shortly after the arrival of the railroad. It included two small settlements called Kirbyville and New Castle Corners. Kisco is derived from an Indian word –either kiskamenahook meaning “settlement near a brook” or cisqua meaning “a muddy place.” Mount comes from the 623-foot hill northwest of town.

Since 1875, Mount Kisco has been an incorporated Village under the Village Law of the State of New York. One half of the Village laid in the Town of Bedford, and on half laid in the Town of New Castle. In the mid-seventies, the administrations of the two Towns agreed to support the Village’s effort to “secede” from the Towns. Mount Kisco emerged from the Town of Bedford and the Town of New Castle as a coterminous and independent Village/Town of Mount Kisco effective January 1, 1978.

There is a statue named “Chief Kisco” in Mount Kisco. There never was a real person with that name. David F. Gorham gave the statue to Mount Kisco in 1907 as a decorative top to a water fountain. On the base of the pedestal are the words “God’s Only Beverage For Man and Beast.” Chief Kisco rules over the village from his perch at the intersection of Routes 133 and 117.

Mount Kisco comprises 3.25 square miles and has a population of 9,983 (2000 estimate). It includes 3,993 households as per the 2000 census.

Best – Mike Cola

Mike Cola

Business is Good for Personal Training in Westchester County, NY

Business is good, says Mike Cola, a personal trainer who specializes in weight loss and muscle building. Mike just opened a new personal training studio in Mount Kisco, NY.

While the economy is struggling, people in Westchester County are still spending money keeping their selves looking and feeling good. Mike started out in Bronxville, NY in 1989 and has seen personal training grow into a viable business that has lasted the test of time.

Mike Cola Fitness Studio

I’ve been through a number of down turns in the business cycle over the last 20 years but have still found a way to make a solid living as a personal trainer, says Mike Cola. “I deal with mostly high net-worth individuals who value my training services and can afford them”.

“When the economy got bad a couple of years ago I was concerned and started to diversify my personal training business with a number of health and fitness blog sites” said Mike. One of the sites FitnessContrarin.com took off and is now generating a small monthly income. “While personal training is still my core business, internet marketing in the fitness niche has endless possibilities”.

Fitness can be a great career for anyone who likes working with people and truly finds satisfaction in helping people reach their fitness goals.

Mike Cola Profile:

Mike Cola has well over 35,000 hours of hands-on personal training experience. He started his own personal training studio in 1989, Mike Cola Fitness, which is located at 84 Lexington Ave Mount Kisco, NY 10549 . Mike has advanced certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine and other National certifying bodies. In addition, Mike is a Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist and has a BA with studies in exercise physiology, nutrition and biomechanics. Mike started Fitness Contrarian, a health and fitness web site, in 2009.

Mike Cola Fitness

Http://www.MikeColaFitness.com

Chair flexion stretch

You have to be very careful when choosing stretches for lower back pain. Sometimes stretching the lower-back can be the worst thing you can do. If you have the type of back pain that hurts when you sit or flex your spin (round your back) then doing some of the most commonly prescribed stretches for back pain can actually make your back worst.

Probably the most common type of back sufferer is people who have backs that are flexion intolerant. Whenever they round their back too far it hurts. This type of condition is typical for someone who has bulged or herniated discs that protrude posterity from the lower-back. The discs in the spine are rubbery like plates with a jelly center that go in-between the vertebraes (bones) of your spine and act like shock absorbers; these help keep the spine flexible. Whenever a flexion intolerant back bends forward too far the pastier damaged discs can push against a nerve and cause pain or just get aggravated or inflamed and cause pain.

Bad Stretches for Lower Back Pain:

Knees to chest

L hamstring stretch

If you have a flexion intolerant back, don’t stretch it out in a flexed position. Avoid all stretches that round the back and put you in a vulnerable position. I know you always hear people say that when you hurt your back you have to stretch but many of the most popular stretches are inappropriate for the back sufferer who is in pain when they try to touch their toes. These include: the V stretch, knees to chest, the seated L hamstring stretch, and the chair flexion stretch. All these stretches round and or flatten the back and can put you in the weakest and most vulnerable positions if you have a flexion intolerant back. I know the objective of these stretches are to increase the flexibility of your hamstrings, and lower back muscles (spinal erectors) but the risk of further injury is just too great to do them.

V stretch

If you have back problems, my advice is to get evaluated by a professional and come up with a proper rehab program. If you want to try to rehab your back yourself, avoid any movement that will cause pain and condition your back in a neutral position. Stretching for lower back pain may not be the right move.

Come back for a future article about how to strengthen the lower back in a neutral position.

Let me know if you have ever hurt your lower-back stretching it.

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Best – Mike Cola

Best – Mike Cola

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