Exercise of the Month: August

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH: BOSU Push-Up Burpees

The traditional burpee is great for those seeking a single move that burns big calories and offers a full body workout with each repetition. 

The BOSU push-up burpee is a new spin on this classic exercise that should become a part of your regular routine.

How to:

• Pick up BOSU ball with soft/round side facing away from your body. Hold it with a firm grip.
• Bend forward at the knees and waist to place the soft side of the BOSU down on the ground.
• Immediately hop both feet into a plank position and perform a push-up with your hands gripped on the side of the BOSU ball.
• Quickly hop both feet towards the ball then stand, lifting the BOSU ball up to chest.
• Repeat 10-12 times.
• Beginner/Intermediate Option: Hold plank
  
  position 

Benefits:

Balance, power and core strength

Muscle Group:

Core, chest, arms, quads, glutes and hamstrings

Note: The information presented here is not a substitute for medical advice. Consult a physician before starting any exercise. We suggest that you discontinue exercise immediately if you feel you are exercising beyond your current abilities.

Putting the "work" in workout

by JCC Association and Club One

The workday for many consist of mostly sitting, which can have many negative impacts on overall health and wellness.

But even when there's not time to hit the gym, there are opportunities to make exercise a part of your day at the office.

Here are some ways to get up and out of your chair at work: 

Create walking trails at your office

• Take the longest route to the bathroom, the printer, the fax machine, etc.

• Walk to a coworker’s desk instead of calling or messaging them

• Conduct your informal meetings while walking

Take the long way home (or to the office)

• Cycle to work

• Walk or run to work

• Take alternative transportation that requires you to walk, cycle, or run part of the way

Take the path of most resistance
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator

• Park farther away from your office door

Give yourself a break

• While on the phone, stand up to talk or stretch

• Every 30–60 minutes, stand up to stretch and/or walk

Now you don't have any excuses for letting fitness take a back seat to your office work!

Savor the Small Pleasures

by Richard Kordesh

What a difference eighty-four days can make! 

That’s how long it took our pole beans to unfold from sprouts poking out of the ground into seven-foot vines sprinkled with flowers. 

After twenty-three years of gardening, I still feel a little awestruck each time I see the tiny seed go into the ground, disappear for a few days, and then upset the dirt as an irrepressible, green offspring, reaching for sun, the single star that gives it life.

Pole bean plants extend for a while until tendrils appear that enable them to grasp the objects that the plants will climb. Up they surge for another period of weeks; then their flowers burst forth. 

Pole beans in the garden

This summer, those blooms display as red and white. Each flower will convert quickly into a long, jade-colored fruit. The harvest will follow. A bed with a dozen plants can generate hundreds of juicy beans.

Along another vein, what a difference sixty-one days can make!  (Plus nineteen years give or take.) 

That’s the time that elapsed between our son, Greg’s, birth, and last Tuesday, when his mother and I left him at the university to begin training as a Resident Assistant. 

He’ll soon be guiding freshman business students through their own early steps into college life. 

Yesterday, he and his colleagues learned in pairs another essential use of water as they practiced aiming high-pressure fire hoses at imaginary fires.

Our kids grew up with our gardens: After twenty-six years of fatherhood, I’m still captivated by their unfolding too, reaching for the stars that will inspire them.

Guest blogger Richard S. Kordesh is the author of Restoring Power to Parents and Places and has worked professionally in the community development field for 35 years. Visit Richard's website for more. 

What happens in Mosaic Class

by Lisa Freeman

I am constantly amazed by the many ways that people choose to express themselves creatively.

Some artists choose to work in solitary spaces and places, but many often choose the company of others to stimulate and nurture their creative spirits through the sharing of ideas, techniques and vision.

There is a group of women and men who come together on a weekly basis to take part in what is referred to as “mosaic therapy” by one student.

The instructor of this class is well-known and acclaimed artist, Suzy Friedman. She opens up the doors to her home studio to a large group of folks who support one another, offer suggestions and help praise and critique each other’s work after each class.

Suzy makes this class easy to take part in thanks to her patience, wisdom and subtle ability to teach about shading and depth. Suzy’s style allows each student to find his or her sense of creativity.

I’m told that the camaraderie that takes place in this group is amazing as support is given and friendships are made.

Together, they go beyond just gluing pieces of glass to an object and making art. “What happens in Mosaic stays in Mosaic” is an oft-quoted theme that carries throughout the three precious hours spent creating. 

On Thursday, Aug. 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., I hope you’ll want to join us in the JCC Art Gallery for an opening reception and light refreshments as Suzy and her mosaic students share what all the fun and creativity is about!

Plus, the group’s amazing artwork will be on display and for sale.

Author’s note: Special thanks to Lori Moss and Lori Schankerman for sharing their thoughts about the mosaic class.

More about Lisa Freeman