3 Reasons A Fitness and Wellness Regimen Can Empower Women
Celebrity Trainer Holly Perkins Says Women Should Look Great To Please Themselves, Not Others

From an early age, women have foisted on them images of the "ideal" female body, and self-esteem can plummet when they fail to measure up.

But celebrity trainer Holly Perkins says it's time women stop buying into those societal pressures.

"There's this perception that all women need to look like perfect runway models," says Perkins, a leading national weight-loss expert. "They can feel the anxiety building when they are trying to meet someone else's expectations. That's when the effort to lose weight or get fit can add to the stresses of life instead of relieving them."

Certainly, women should want to improve their health, get fit and look gorgeous all at the same time, says Perkins, who recently released a home-exercise system designed specifically for women called baladea (www.baladea.com), with regimens she developed to fuse fitness and wellness exercises.

But getting in shape needs to be something women want for themselves, and not an effort to mimic some airbrushed image on a magazine cover at the supermarket, she says.

Perkins realized several years ago that her clients met their weight-loss goals faster when she created programs that addressed both their fitness and wellness needs at the same time.

They also felt happier about themselves. So she incorporated yoga and other stress-relieving and relaxation techniques into the baladea program.

Perkins offers three reasons why the right fitness and wellness regimen can empower women and emancipate them from society's image pressures:

•  Because looking good makes you feel good. That's especially true when you're trying to look good to please yourself and not others, Perkins says. "There's this sense of empowerment when you exercise, eat a healthier diet and lose weight because it's what you want and not because of peer pressure or societal pressures," she says.

Self-esteem rises when you improve your image on your terms, she says, and as a result "looking gorgeous never felt better."

•  Because the science says so. Research shows that stress can keep you from losing weight and might even cause you to add pounds. Even if you eat well and exercise, an excessive amount of stress can counteract all your efforts. That's why meshing fitness and wellness works so well, Perkins says.

"Stress reduction and relaxation can significantly improve weight loss," she says. "That allows you to look and feel your absolute best."

•  Because while improving your look, you also become healthier. You will feel amazing not just because of elevated self-esteem, but because your body really is functioning better because of the diet and exercise, Perkins says. Your energy level will rise and "you will feel ready for anything," she says.

"You can look awesome and you can feel happy at the same time," Perkins says. "It's all about letting your true self shine."

About Holly Perkins

Holly Perkins is a national fitness expert and developer of baladea (www.baladea.com), a customizable fitness and wellness system for women. She holds a bachelor's degree in Exercise Physiology and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), one of the most prestigious certifications in the industry. She believes that making fitness a fun lifestyle is the best way to achieve true change. As one of the nation's leading weight-loss experts and a highly sought-after celebrity trainer, she has been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and on national TV shows.

DES MOINES, IA (04/07/2015)(readMedia)-- When it comes to our children, we all want the best for them and their futures. Watching them grow and develop, we observe them exploring with their imaginations and discovering the endless possibilities for success in life. Graduating with a college degree is a huge achievement, and one way to help set them up for that success is to save for their higher education. However, much like the April 15 deadline for taxes, the time to start saving for your children's college education is over before you know it, which is why I encourage you to take your 2014 refund and invest it in your children's future.

By investing your refund in College Savings Iowa you have:

1. Tax savings. 529 plans were designed to provide families and friends a tax-advantaged way to save for higher education expenses. Participants are able to withdraw their investment free from both federal and Iowa state income taxes when used to pay for qualified higher-education expenses.* Additionally, the state of Iowa allows Iowa taxpayers to deduct contributions up to $3,163 per account from their 2015 state income taxes.**
2. Flexibility. You have the ability to save for anyone: children, grandchildren, friends or even yourself. College Savings Iowa accounts may be used to pay for a variety of expenses, including tuition, books, supplies and certain room and board costs, at any eligible college, university, community college, vocational/technical schools and graduate schools.
3. Low minimum investments and low fees. Getting started is easy and doesn't have to be expensive! Enrollment is free. Accounts can be opened with a minimum of $25, and each additional contribution can be as little as $25. Investors have the option to contribute regularly or whenever it is convenient. College Savings Iowa also doesn't charge enrollment, annual, withdrawal or advisor fees or commissions, which other types of plans may charge. Your only expense is a low annual asset-based fee of 0.26%. That means that for every $1,000 you invest, you will only pay $2.60 in fees per year.

Although there are many ways to prepare a child for a successful future, none can bring greater lifetime rewards than a quality education. As I always say when discussing College Savings Iowa with families, by starting early, saving a little at a time and making smart investment choices, you can make your college savings work for you and get the most out of these precious years. They grow up fast; you will be glad you planned for their tomorrow today!

About the Author: Michael L. Fitzgerald is the state treasurer of Iowa. He started the College Savings Iowa program in 1998 as a way to help families save for college and earn tax breaks at the same time. To date, College Savings Iowa has over $4 billion in assets and has helped over 68,000 families pay for college.

*The earnings portion of nonqualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state and local income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.

**If withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income. Adjusted annually for inflation.

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Investment returns are not guaranteed and you could lose money by investing in the plan. Participants assume all investment risks as well as responsibility for any federal and state tax consequences. If you are not an Iowa taxpayer, consider before investing whether your or the designated beneficiary's home state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available for investments in such state's qualified tuition program.

For more information about the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan, call 888-672-9116 or visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com to obtain a Program Description. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are included in the Program Description; read and consider it carefully before investing.

More than 30 high school, college and university teams will launch student-built rockets during the 15th annual NASA Student Launch event April 10-11 near NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Middle school and high school teams will launch their rockets to an altitude of one mile, deploy onboard science experiments and land safely using a system of recovery parachutes. University and college teams will participate in either the Mini-Mars Ascent Vehicle (Mini-MAV) or the Maxi-Mars Ascent Vehicle (Maxi-MAV) divisions. Mini-MAV teams must use a robotic system to autonomously load a payload into their rocket, launch to half a mile and eject the payload during descent. Maxi-MAV teams, competing for a share of $50,000 in prize money, will attempt to meet more autonomy requirements before also launching to a half mile.

All launches will take place at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama. Maxi-MAV launches begin at 10 a.m. CDT and will run until approximately 5 p.m. on April 10. Mini MAV and middle and high school launches begin at 7:30 a.m. and run until completed April 11. In the event of rain, the event will move to April 12.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., April 9, students will participate in a Rocket Fair at Marshall's Activities Building 4316, where they will give technical presentations to, and get valuable feedback from, engineers and team members from NASA and Student Launch corporate sponsor Orbital ATK.

New to this year's Student Launch event is a partnership with NASA's Centennial Challenges, the agency's prize program for citizen inventors. The awards banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. April 10 inside the Davidson Center for Space Exploration at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center at 1 Tranquility Base in Huntsville. Real-time coverage of the banquet and awards presentation will be provided on the NASA Student Launch Twitter account @NASA_Launchfest.

Media interested in covering Student Launch activities should contact Angela Storey of the Marshall Public and Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. April 8. Media attending events at Marshall must report to the Redstone Visitor Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Rideout Road and Research Park Boulevard no later than 10 a.m. April 9 for escort. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. Journalists will need photo identification and proof of car insurance.

The Student Launch program challenges participating student teams to design rockets that address the research needs of different NASA missions. Student teams will share their research results, which may be used to design and develop future NASA projects.

The program is managed by Marshall's Academic Affairs Office and supported by NASA's Office of Education, Human Explorations Operations Mission Directorate, and Centennial Challenges Program at the agency¹s headquarters in Washington, as well as Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems of Promontory, Utah. Marshall manages the Centennial Challenges program for NASA¹s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington.

Student Launch is open to public viewing and will be aired live on NASA Television and Marshall's Ustream and Twitter accounts, at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc
https://twitter.com/NASA_Launchfest

For more information on Student Launch, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education/studentlaunch

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Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack will have a member of his staff in Clinton and Scott Counties for open office hours. Henry Marquard, Loebsack's District Representative, will be at the following locations. Marquard will be on hand to work with individuals who are having difficulty with a government agency, have suggestions for Dave, or would just like to share their concerns. Members of the public are invited to attend. Marquard holds regular office hours throughout Eastern Iowa.

If residents are unable to attend but have a concern to share with the Congressman, please call our district office toll-free at 1-866-914-IOWA (4692).

Marquard's schedule for April is as follows.

Tuesday, April 14

** Camanche City Hall

917 Third Street

9:00 - 10:00 AM

** Clinton City Hall

611 South Third Street, 1^st Floor

11:00 AM - NOON

** Bettendorf City Hall

1609 State St.

2:00 - 3:00