2010 Summer Kick-Off Boot Camp: Begins June 21st!

Boot Camp will run for 4 weeks: meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7AM

Sessions to begin promptly at 7AM and end on time at 8AM.
60-minute, high energy and FUN exercise session
-Led by SPARK Physical Therapist and Wellness Consultant: Elizabeth Polis, PT

Each participant must bring:
-yoga or stretching mat
-towel
-water
-a positive attitude and your best effort!

Exercise session to include: warm-up, flexibility training, full-body strengthening and toning exercises, targeted core strengthening exercises, cardiovascular conditioning and cool down.

All workouts will take place in the ‘quad’ area in front of the Carlyle Club:
411 John Carlyle Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-6817

Max 20 participants

$99 per participant for entire 4-week program

Registration closes on June 17th

R.I.C.E.

Now that we are all getting more exercise we need to be able to take care of ourselves when we get dinged-up.

Rest: Take it easy for a few days. Avoid movements that make it hurt.
Ice: Apply ice to the injured area for up to 20 minutes as often as you can tolerate for the first 72 hours.
Compression: ACE wraps work great for this. This will provide the muscles with a little more support while they heal.
Elevation: Keep the injured area above the level of your heart to encourage inflammation to leave the injury.

If injuries linger for more than just a week or you continue to injure the same body part the issue might be more serious than you pre piously thought. Seek a physical therapist to get you back to your best.

Childhood Obesity: PLAY!!!!

More and more children are battling obesity every day! While many of us were playing outdoors with our friends, a culture of sedentary behavior and horrid eating habits was gaining momentum.

Remember when we were growing up? Bored? Call your buddy. Ask your girlfriend to take a walk to the mall. See if Mom or Dad could play catch or help you build or create something. Doesn't this happen anymore???? What has changed? Are we so busy as to overlook the evolutionary NEED to play, compete and rid ourselves of pent up energy?

Thankfully, our leaders are bringing these and other childhood obesity issues to the forefront. http://bit.ly/bU12jQ

Here's a great take home message: GET OUTSIDE. Play with your children. Go play with your friend's children. Teach each other that time spent running around outdoors is more fun than time spent in front of the TV or computer.

If we all take responsibility for each other we will all win.

How important is your BMI?

BMI stands for 'body mass index' and uses your height and weight to give us very rough estimate of your overall health and risk for many types of disease.

Here is a link that will help you determine your BMI: http://bit.ly/cOtBzc

Your BMI along with your body fat percentage, blood pressure, HR, total cholesterol and a number of other health metrics, can give us a good indication about how you are doing in your wellness program.

Would you like to discuss concerns about your health status? Post them here or feel free to contact SPARK for help.

Food as Fuel!

There is much confusion about ingredients, portions and calories. There are some resources out there to guide us along the path of real wellness. However, the best are still those professionals who have made it their life's work to spread the word of wellness.

I happen to be more of a do-it-yourselfer and so I found a great link that I thought I would share. http://bit.ly/75zOd6

This will likely answer many questions about how you can make good decisions at the grocery store. Take a look and share your experiences with us!

Your wellness is not a passive thing. Make health happen.