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Articles by Kim Duke
Preston Personal Training Opens Second Location in Ellicottville
So who is Dave Preston and what is Preston Personal Training? Dave Preston is the owner and founder of PPT, a results-driven, private training studio based in Olean, New York. Since launching his business in 2017, he has built a reputation for delivering highly personalized coaching focused on performance, fat loss, and long-term client success. His approach is shaped not only by professional experience, but also by personal transformation.
Core Performance: How to Keep Your Bones Strong as You Age — Ellicottville Now
For men, a gradual loss in testosterone can contribute to bone loss, although the effect is less dramatic than the drop in estrogen for women. Lifestyle and diet choices can also significantly accelerate bone loss. Smoking, excessive alcohol, and inactivity/sedentary lifestyle leads to wastage and reduced bone formation. The good news is that regular exercise can make these skeletal components stronger and reduce your risk of fractures both now and later in life.
Core Performance: Essential Strength Training Exercises for Adults Over 60 — Ellicottville Now
The mistake most people in my age group make is not that they stop exercising, but that they are not focusing enough attention to training specific movements. Here are a few movements that I have been using not only for myself, but also for my clients of all ages. Single-leg sit-to-stand: This exercise builds quads and glutes and focuses on single-leg balance. Your goal is to keep one leg extended and stand upright from a seated position.
Why Skipping Rest Days Is Sabotaging Your Muscle Gains (Especially After 40) — Ellicottville Now
Plus, when you're over 40, this matters EVEN MORE. Our recovery is slower. Hormones are different. Rest isn’t optional - it’s strategic. Even if you feel fine the next day, your muscle fibers are still healing and rebuilding. Especially in older adults, connective tissue (tendons, ligaments) takes longer to recover than muscle. Push too hard and too fast… Hello injury and goodbye progress.
Core Performance: How Plank Exercises Deliver Big Results in Just 2 Minutes a Day — Ellicottville Now
Researchers have found that doing a plank routine totaling 30 minutes across 15 days (this equals 2 minutes/day) improves core endurance, waist stability, and midsection tightness. Consistency - not intensity - creates the biggest change. Traditional crunches only work the surface abs. Planks engage the deep core - the “corset muscles” that pull your stomach inward and create a natural slimming effect. A strong core lifts the ribcage, supports the spine, and reduces anterior pelvic tilt.
The Simple Fitness Formula: Activity, Intake, Rest | Core Performance — Ellicottville Now
Strength training is recommended at least twice a week with at least 1 set of 12-15 reps. Train major muscle groups to get the most bang for your buck - legs, chest and back, core. Suggestions: Wall sits (30,60,90 seconds), step-ups, split squats, back step lunges (hold onto a stable surface to keep torso upright). For chest/back: inclined push-ups, chest press, pull-ups. CORE! Always keep your core engaged, even while seated or at ‘rest.’ Brace like someone is going to punch you in the gut.
Strength Training and Menopause: How Lifting Weights Supports Women’s Health — Ellicottville Now
With menopause your period stops, bone loss speeds up, you lose muscle mass, your risk of heart problems increases, and your metabolism slows, according to research. Plus, you can experience symptoms like fatigue, muscle aches, and hot flashes. Lots of these effects are just plain annoying. Others can spell trouble for long-term health. Ready for some good news? You can prevent and mitigate many of the side effects of menopause with strength training. Read on to learn how.
Core Performance: How Purposeful Breathing Builds Strength, Stability, and Better Movement — Ellicottville Now
During workouts, do you think about your breathing? Or does it just happen in the background? Most people understand the importance of proper exercise form, yet they often overlook the significance of breathing technique. How and when you breathe during strength training directly affects muscle engagement, core stability, and power output, as well as the position of your rib cage, spine, and pelvis. Your diaphragm isn’t responsible only for moving air in and out of your lungs.
Back-to-School Nutrition Tips: Healthy Breakfasts and Lunchbox Ideas for Kids — Ellicottville Now
Fasting through breakfast can be a good idea for adults, but for kids, breakfast remains a meal to anchor the day. Cereal is not a "breakfast of champions," however. Even "stone-ground oats" are just a bowlful of starch that, upon eating, turns to sugar. Eggs, cooked in any style are perfect, especially with their price tag continuing to drop. Don’t worry about cholesterol in the yolks, either. That myth was disproven more than a decade ago - and in any case, never applied to children.
Ditch the Fads: Why Trendy Workouts Might Be Hurting More Than Helping — Ellicottville Now
Social media presents its own dangers with “influencers” pushing workout routines to get you in shape fast. What viewers do not understand is many of these programs are actually designed for people who already have a workout routine and may not be suitable for beginners. Influencers don’t know where you are starting from. Plus, the person on social media giving you advice doesn’t necessarily have any background in it other than their own anecdotal experience.
Form Tweaks for a Safer, More Effective Workout — Ellicottville Now
Substitute weights for resistance bands during your next workout. Resistance bands provide constant tension in your muscles to help isolate and tone your muscles. When doing a forward lunge, try to keep your weight through your heel on your front leg and sit your hips back like you're reaching for a chair behind you. This will lengthen the glute and make you feel more of a stretch in it. The bigger the stretch, the greater the load to the tissue - and the stronger you'll get.
What is Diaphragmatic Breathing? — Ellicottville Now
In my last article I wrote about core strength and how it is extremely important for everyday functioning. During any fitness session with me, I will also stress how important proper breathing is to activate your core muscles. Inhaling deeply through your nose and exhaling forcefully through your mouth will engage your diaphragm.
Daily Core Use - Ellicottville Now
You probably do not think about your “core muscles” unless you are participating in a workout. But I encourage my clients and readers to stay cognizant of your core by bracing/engaging these muscles at all times throughout your day while completing your most mundane activities. Think of your core muscles as the sturdy central link in a chain connecting your upper and lower body.
A VERY Lazy, No-Cook Supper That Has It All
I don’t care how much you love to cook – sometimes, you’re just having a crazy week and even a box of Kraft Dinner starts to look good. Many people make homemade pizzas and that certainly works, too. I even know strange people who eat only volumes of popcorn on nights they don’t want to cook. Popcorn. But for my husband and me? Indoor Picnic Night is what happens when we’re lazy and don’t feel like cooking.
Let Latkes Be Latkes - or Risk the Wrath of Your Grandmother
Why you should have a potato to pick with newish Jew-ish versions of a Hanukkah tradition Photo: PoppyB/Getty Images Ways to ruin Hanukkah: 1. Celebrate during a global pandemic that isolates you from your nearest and dearest. 2. Have a volatile, mostly holiday-agnostic toddler whose mood swings are improved maybe only 5 percent by the promise of presents. 3. Dance on your grandmother’s grave by making one of those newish, Jew-ish latke recipes floating around the internet.
Drills Are Multitasking in the Kitchen
More putzing than practical — but it’s the pandemic, so why not? Screenshot of Alexi Morrissey using a drill on a Japanese hand grinder to grind coffee. This far into the pandemic, boredom meets inspiration, and power tools are making their way into the kitchen. While we’re not seeing any mini-saws multitasking as bread cutters, the drill is coming into its own. Alton Brown, for example, is using a drill in seasoning his holiday rib roast.
The Secret to A Lazy Supper
Picnic night is one of the easiest things to prepare for. During the week I pick up a few fresh supplies like a baguette, thinly sliced pepper salami, cheese, and fruit. The rest comes straight from my pantry, fridge, and freezer. What do you need for your indoor picnic night? Please keep it simple. I drag out a couple of old breadboards and they hold the bounty. I don’t know why it is kind of fun to eat off of a breadboard — but it just is.
3 Delicious Vegan Soups
Borscht. Photo: Westend61/Getty Images This week, we’re gearing up for a potential snowstorm in the Northeast by pairing a creamy tomato soup — an iconic soup if there ever was one — with today’s grilled cheese options. Another seasonal soup, we also have borscht beefed up with beans that’s bright tasting — with a color that can’t be beat. And finally, there’s a favorite of mine, ribollita, a hearty Tuscan vegetable and bean stew served over a giant crouton. Makes: 4 servings. Time: 45 minutes.
Maybe You’d Like a Grilled Cheese for Lunch
The concept of griddling a sandwich isn’t exclusive to one cuisine. And you don’t need a fancy press to make a beautifully crisp and browned sandwich; the plate technique here does the job perfectly. Improve simple grilled cheese by adding your favorite dressing or using other fillings. Don’t be shy about splurging on ingredients. Makes:1 sandwich. Time: 10 minutes The concept of griddling a sandwich isn’texclusive to one cuisine.
3 Roasts for a Winter Weekend
Photo: Night and Day Images/Getty Images Whether you’re in the mood for one of these projects this weekend or you’re thinking about what to serve for Christmas or New Years', all three of Mark’s straightforward recipes deliver what will amount to a special meal. Each recipe is geared for a small crowd but if you’re being conservative this year and don’t even plan on that, you’ll have leftovers and you’ll be happy about it. Makes About 6 servings. Time: About 1 1/2 hours, largely unattended.
The Best Cookbooks for Gifting
A list that brings the joy Photo: David Loftus When it comes to cookbooks, I never know which kind of person I want to be: The streamlined one, with a few key cookbooks from which I get exactly what I need, or the romantic, with stacks of all different sorts of cookbooks scattered around sort of everywhere. (Can you tell?
A Canadian Landmark Hotel Inspired Me to Make an Incredible Mug of Hot Chocolate
Any of these 5 variations are worth your time Photo of Chateau Lake Louise courtesy of Travel Alberta Last year my friend Tina and I spent a weekend at the historic Chateau Lake Louise Hotel in the middle of February. The destination hotel was built as a vacation spot at the turn of the 19th century, where guests can enjoy stunning views and delicious food. On our visit, we accidentally discovered something else — the best damn hot chocolate in the world.
This Squash and Spaghetti Dish Will Become a Winter Weeknight Go-To
A most basic plate of pasta with one delicious addition Photos: Ed Schneider I cannot overstate the perfection of spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, and hot chile— aglio, olio e peperoncino — gussied up with only a handful of chopped parsley. Tinkering with perfection is often a case study for the law of diminishing returns. There are delicious exceptions: Pasta with clams, for instance, is built on that garlic-oil-chile foundation. And I think I’ve come upon another.
An Offbeat, Immune System-Boosting Miso Soup
To get us through the rest of winter Illustrations: Kaki Okumura It’s cold season, and so I’m doing whatever I can to not get sick this year. While I’m always mindful to get plenty of rest and have a large variety of whole foods, every time winter rolls around, I become more attentive to getting two key vitamins in particular: vitamins D and C. Why I pay attention to vitamin D and vitamin C in the winter.
(Fred’s) Top 30 restaurants in the World
(Fred’s) Top 30 restaurants in the World A friend asked me about my favorite restaurants in the world. I did not know how to respond and started working on this list. Criteria I used: unique food, great experience, value for money. I focussed on restaurants I ate at in the last 8 years as my taste probably got more refined over the years and something I was amazed by when I was 20 would probably be judged differently these days.
5 Solutions That Alleviate Food Insecurity in the U.S.
1. Establish bus stop farmers markets Farmers markets are nothing new, but a bus stop farmers market puts a new spin on where they are usually located. Bus stops, train stations, and other public transportation hubs are being used as the location for small pop-up style farmers markets in impoverished areas. The idea is to give people who work the opportunity to pick up farm-fresh groceries while on their commute home. Prices are usually discounted in many locations and food stamps are accepted.
‘Barbecued’ Brisket, Flourless Noodles, Matzo Ball Soup, and Garlicky White Beans
Shit! What’s For Dinner? What to cook this week Photo: Sam Bloomberg-Rissman/Getty Images This week’s picks start with a recipe for Hanukkah, brisket that requires low and slow cooking, with the final browning that can take as little as 10 minutes. Next up, Daniel’s flourless noodles that are fun to make every time. We’ve also got chicken soup with matzo balls, and a stick-to-your ribs white bean soup that you’ll be glad to have the leftovers for lunch. Makes: 8 or more servings. Time: about 3 hours.
We Need More Kindness Right Now
A month or so ago, my daughter picked my grandson up at school and took him to the pizza spot aroundthe corner. She stood outside in line; there was a cop there, waiting for his pizza. When he went to pay, he said to the guy working at the shop, “Yo quiero pagar por ella también” — “I want to pay for her, too.” And no: He wasn’t hitting on her. He was just being kind. And it made her happy for like two weeks straight, which is a lot right now (or any time, really!).
9 Dishes and Drinks To Conjure the Holiday Spirit
December Holidays In 2020, we could use all the help we can get Photo: kajakiki/Getty Images We don’t blame you if you feel like skipping this holiday season. With more pandemic-related challenges in front of us, perhaps we can turn to holiday dishes and drinks to lift our spirits, especially since we’re stuck primarily at home. Here are a few suggestions. Spiced nuts are more satisfying than you’d think, especially when you make them yourself.
Simply Satay
Satay, by now, is so much a part of American food culture that there’s rarely a wedding or other catered event that doesn’t feature some kind of bland chicken-on-a-stick appetizer served with peanut sauce. I’m old enough to remember when satay started becoming popular in the 1980s, with the rise of Thai and fusion restaurants. It quickly went from unknown to one of the most accessible, crowd-pleasing “Asian” dishes that Americans enjoy.
7 Steps to Fix the Model for Independent Restaurants
As the U.S. hurtles toward its first Covid winter, here’s a silver lining sentiment to temper the gloom and doom dominating the news cycle: Maybe, just maybe, all this devastation will expose the broken things in American society and create an opening to fix them. The Great Chicago Fire gave rise to the city’s iconic skyscrapers; the blizzard of 1888 prompted New York City to take its trains and power lines underground; the Great Depression spawned FDR’s New Deal.
10 Humble Food Hacks to Get You Through Hard Times
There they were in the grocery store: a perfectly shaped pile of cauliflower heads priced at $8 a pop. I took one look at them, rolled my eyes and laughed out loud. There was a snowball’s chance in hell that I’d ever pay that for a cauliflower. Especially one that’s been shipped 3,000 miles. Recently the news is full of stories about grocery prices going up from the ripple effect of the pandemic — well, I’m sure it isn’t a surprise after your last visit to the grocery store.
“If gatherings are dramatically smaller - or on Zoom - will anyone even bother with a giant turkey?”
“If gatherings are dramatically smaller — or on Zoom — will anyone even bother with a giant turkey?” One of America’s largest turkey producers is scrambling to prepare for an unpredictable Covid Thanksgiving. As David H. Freedman writes for Marker, Butterball — which sells a third of the holiday birds — surveyed 1,000 adults and found that 20% said they had “no idea” what their Thanksgiving plans were (25% expected smaller gatherings and 30% said they would keep it to immediate family).
Don’t Take Your 2020 Problems Out On the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
https://twitter.com/rockcenternyc/status/1327664872323211264/photo/1 Good lord. I just got here. Can you give me a minute to spruce up? Over the last 24 hours, Twitter has been ablaze with people deciding to have a go at me for no reason. Getting their aggressions out about a year gone bad on little ‘ol me… a tree from upstate New York hired to be the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Aren’t you kind. Do you talk to your friends like that?
Winter Is Coming! Get Your Root Vegetables Ready.
Photo by BBC.co.uk This simple French comfort dish works with all of them. It lightly snowed for the first time a few days ago in my neck of the Canadian woods and strangely, the first thought that popped into my head was, “I need to stock up on root vegetables.” What can I say? I root for root vegetables. I always have potatoes, carrots, beets, and onions on hand but I wanted more of my earthy favorites.
Roasted Tomato Soup To Die For
Gather Thy Weird Tomatoes. Let’s Start Roasting! First I preheat the oven to a rocking 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This kind of heat isn’t for sissies. Now some people like to make roasted tomatoes on low and slow heat. There’s a time and place for that if you want them simmered soft with loads of juice. But I don’t want loads of juice today. I want to zap those little gnarly buggers with high heat for 35 minutes or so. Why?
Fresh Cranberry Sauce Is 100 Times Better Than the Wiggly Canned Stuff
Many people think you only eat cranberries with turkey during the holidays. Well, certainly cranberry sauce is good with turkey but it is also delicious at any time of the year with pork, duck, chicken, and wild meat like venison. Sweet and sour meatballs made with cranberry sauce? Heaven. Buy several bags of them when they are in season as they freeze well and easily keep for a year. Why would you want so many?
The Hopefulness Of An Onion
Photo by fran hogan on Unsplash You have a simple, stress-saving secret in your kitchen. Over 50 years ago my mom received a bit of unusual advice from her grandmother. They were cooking lunch in my great-grandparents’ tiny home when Mom was 20 years old and a new bride. My great grandmother said, “Sometimes when you are running behind and you have people or your grouchy husband coming home for supper — buy yourself some time and fry an onion in butter and set the table.
Hey - Your Green Salad Should Be Green.
Photo by PHÚC LONG on Unsplash Please stop dumping so much crap in it. When certain people make a green salad — they add a bunch of stuff to the lettuce: radishes, green onion, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, and cauliflower or whatever else is hanging out in the fridge. They throw the entire works in a bowl and call it a day. And that is fine. If you like that kind of thing. Rainbow salad. For you and the leprechauns. Listen. I love all variations of salad.
How To Be An Urban Forager
Foraging is a growing urban trend When you are an urban forager, you tap into all sorts of free, beautiful, chemical-free foods. Cities that plant fruit-bearing trees and food forests for its citizens don’t fertilize or spray the fruit trees and bushes for one simple reason: The spray kills the flowers, and without flowers, you don’t have fruit. Thankfully, it is a growing trend.
You Might Not Know This Piece of Kitchen Equipment, But You Could Sure Use It
The fine-mesh strainer called a tamis is a genius multitasker The author’s 9-inch stainless-steel tamis. Photo: Bonnie S. Benwick Of ringed frame and steel mesh I sing . . . about the tamis, my versatile kitchen assistant. It strains, steams, separates, sifts, aerates and grates! Smart home cooks in America have embraced the silicone mat and scales that tare to zero, yet this simple piece of chef equipment is rarely at hand. The tamis (TAM-ee) deserves high praise, but highfalutin it is not.
All Your Favorite Foods Are Stuck in Transit
Small businesses relying on imported foods face new challenges amid rapidly changing pandemic restrictions and a postal service implosion The key to recreating the beloved street food of Ghana at BlackStar Kebab, a 5-year-old Seattle food truck, is a complex blend of 11 spices and groundnuts that owner Priestwick Sackeyfio has shipped from Ghana every few months. He can’t find many of the spices in Seattle and takes pride in supporting a vendor back home.
The Best, Out-Of-This-World Rice Krispie Square You’ll Ever Eat
Photo by author. Kids of all ages love this! Because this recipe is a life-changer. My husband called from the Pacific ocean, where he was on his annual fishing trip with a few good friends. “I had to call you — your homemade Rice Krispie squares are a huge hit with everyone! People moan and shake their heads when they eat it. We are rationing down to one square a day to make them last.” I laughed. He was catching 150-pound fish but he called me about a Rice Krispie square. I can hear you right now.
Pearl Barley Mushroom Risotto Is Perfect For Any Season
Photo by Seasons and Suppers Your guests don’t need to know it only cost you pennies to make. My father-in-law smiled at me across the dinner table and said, “Kim, I need more of that barley dish. I think it is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. I never thought barley could taste so good.” He dug right in for a second helping and then I sent some home with him too. And we still had some for lunch the next day. Yes — pearl barley risotto knows how to stretch itself.
Vineyard Vines Brings Spring/Summer Styles You are Going to Love
Are you ready for the new line for Spring and Summer from Vineyard Vines? The collection features fun, wonderful silhouettes and a pastel color palette that will have ready for spring and summer. The collection, inspired by the love of classic blush pink and white stripes and is simply a dream. It also adds pops of color that you can use to change things up.
I Used to Design Meals for Marriott Luxury Hotels
Now I make meals for those who need them most By Rainer Zinngrebe For the past eight years in my role as vice president of culinary for Marriott’s luxury brand portfolio, it’s been my job to supervise the designing of restaurants, bars, and event spaces for all newbuild hotels in the Americas. I have traveled roughly 250,000 miles a year. Those 250,000 miles came with more than 200 nights a year away from home — sleeping, breathing, eating, drinking, and talking about food and beverages.
The Original Japanese Meal-Prep Guide
Holidays should be for celebrating, not working. Enter osechi The table was lined with boxes, filled with colorful foods specially made just during Lunar New Year. The bright red prawns, still glistening from their sweet sake and soy sauce marinade, invited me to reach for them. My eyes scanned for the sugar-coated black soybeans and steamed shrimp dumplings, a favorite among my family and bound to be finished first.
Peoria Is a Pizza Destination
Take a pizza pilgrimage to Illinois, and see how a tough Midwestern town keeps cranking out the good stuff The pie at Larry’s Driftwood. Photos: Justin Glawe On a Saturday morning in Creve Coeur, just across the Illinois River from my hometown of Peoria, a server at Larry’s Driftwood walked back toward the kitchen window to talk to the man in a Carhartt jacket about a 19-year-old kid who was sentenced to 80 years for murder. “His grandma comes in here. It’s gotta be tough forher,” she said.
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