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Our lives change, jobs change, interests change, family dynamics change. One consistent thing about life is, it changes.

This statement, by Trent Svenningsen, a physical therapist at South Edmonton Physical Therapy and Sport Rehab, isnt to declare the obvious. Its to remind us of the natural process of wear and tear in joint tissue and loss of muscle mass as we age, and the aches, pains and stiffness that go with it.

In her study of a sample of Canadians aged 70+, published in Disability and Rehabilitation in July 2009, Rhonda J Scudds reported almost 60% of the women and 48% of the men having some kind of pain within the previous month. More women than men said pain was at least moderately interfering with physical functioning such as moving about, recreational activities and sleep. Not surprisingly, it also lowered mood and enjoyment of life.

As for males, health professionals note the weekend warrior syndrome, when older men run into problems because they dont recognize their bodies are not as resilient as they once were.

But with stretching and exercise, and a realignment of attitude, this doesnt have to be our forecast.

As each decade passes, we need to be more patient with ourselves and spend more time laying a foundation, says Svenningsen.

Our body is a wonderful machine . . . the better its maintained, the longer it will run and the better it will perform.

Among the most common areas that develop pain in our 50s are shoulder, lower back, and knees, for a variety of reasons. They include tissue changes around the joints, microtrauma of overuse, habitual positions and postures, and the cumulative effect of past injuries.

Svennignsen notes this is happening at a time when cartilage is starting to lose its fluid content, making it less resilient.

Tendons are becoming less able to withstand tension, due to poorer blood supply to a tissue that doesnt have a lot to begin with.

In the spine, loss of water in the discs leads to thinning and less flexibility. This puts more weight-bearing load on the joints in the back, leading to chronic back pain.

We also lose muscle mass as we age, starting as early as our 30s.

This places greater strain on the supporting tissues in the body that stabilize the joints, namely the ligaments around the joints and the cartilage that acts to reduce shock to the joint surface, says Svennignsen.

And since we typically dont challenge our balance and flexibility as much as in our youth, were more vulnerable to sprains and strains when we do something out of the ordinary, like tossing snow after a summer spent at the desk.

But there is good news.

We need to keep in mind our body also maintains a tremendous ability to adapt and change no matter what age, says Svennignsen.

As we adapt to post middle age, maintaining strength and toning cant be emphasized enough. In fact, cardiovascular conditioning and light intensity exercise programs has been shown to be one of the only consistently positive interventions for this type of problem, says Svennignsen.

Another is building core strength. Not only the abdomen, but muscles of the hip, back and even shoulder and thigh play a role here.

If the central muscles that stabilize you cannot absorb and withstand the pull of muscles that move you, then other structures have to bear this load, advises Svennignsen.

Core strength is also key in having good balance, which in turn improves agility for all those moves that make up a normal day.

Finally, working on your flexibility keeps joints moving to their potential. It also reduces the likelihood of overstretching a muscle and is important for joint surface nutrition, says Svennignsen.

Often because of the way muscles attach to or around joints, the joints are vulnerable to abnormal or unequal forces applied to them by muscles that pull too hard for too long, just as much as muscles that dont pull hard enough.

One option that can reap rewards is visiting a physical therapist, who can suggest the proper exercises for better movement and relief of pain. And while over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen may help, Svennignsen recommends not using them for more than a few days without your doctor's okay.

Its always a good idea to consult your doctor . . . or physical therapist if you have a specific area that is giving you trouble before you start, to get pointed in the right direction, he advises.

As for regular activity and exercise to stay in shape, the most important thing is to do something you like, urges Svennignsen, as youre more likely to stick with it.

Next month, we explore the best exercises for beating lower back pain, and more.

AlbertaPrimeTimes.com

See more here:
You can find a way to fight aches and pains - St. Albert Today

Veteran broadcast journalist Shaun Robinson

This article is part of an ongoing series The Secrets of Successful Women. Articles focus on providing valuable career advice targeted to women professionals in particular but certainly valuable for all.

To say Shaun Robinson is an accomplished trailblazer is an understatement. In the impossible-to-penetrate world of entertainment and broadcast journalism, success is merely a pipe-dream for many, but Shaun Robinson beat the odds to establish herself as an accomplished veteran. She is celebrated by generations of viewers - whether as a staple on the red carpet conducting celebrity interviews, hosting Access Hollywood for 16 years or hosting Tell All specials for some of TLCs most celebrated shows including 90 Day Fianc. More recently, Shaun has leveraged her success to diversify and expand her reach into areas that fully complement her range of philanthropic and professional interests including founding the S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls, and expanding her acting chops by joining the cast of BETs Games People Play. More recently shes transitioned to the role of executive producer (alongside Bishop T.D. Jakes and Senior Vice President of TDJ Enterprises, Derrick Williams) with the launch of an upcoming Lifetime Network series Seven Deadly Sins based on Victoria Christopher Murrays anthology. Shauns list of credentials and achievements is awe-inspiring without a doubt and her generosity is equally compelling. In the midst of a hectic work schedule, she graciously carved out time to share her secrets to success.

Career Advice Big Ideas

1.Dont be afraid to reclaim your power

Early in Shauns career she, unfortunately, experienced the first of several me too incidents when she had to fend off unwelcome physical advances from a station owner during her early days in her hometown Detroit. After rebuffing his advances, she was abruptly removed from the popular talk show that shed created (Strictly Speaking) and demoted to street reporting. She recounts, There was no recourse for me - no HR department you could report to. While that type of traumatic experience could have easily derailed her dreams and more fundamentally eroded her sense of self, she instead decided to reclaim her power. Robinson explains, One day I just left for lunch and never came back. Working in an industry known for scarce opportunity, she willingly stepped into the unknown. Indeed, she took the brave step of honoring her personal values and boundaries knowing that she had the grit, determination and skill to start over and succeed.

2.Dont listen to detractorsinstead persevere

Once Shaun left the Detroit station where shed been unceremoniously demoted after rebuffing the owners advances, she found a new job in Flint, MI as an anchor/reporter. She reflects, I wanted to bring more positive stories about black communities in the area because the media focus was usually centered around crime. It always seemed to be a battle. After only 2.5 months at the station, the news director told Shaun that things werent working out and she had two weeks to find another job. Disappointed but not defeated, she pressed on and continued to look for broadcast journalism work. While browsing a broadcast industry magazine, she saw a classified ad for a medical reporter at a television station in Milwaukee. She sent the station a resume tape, and they flew her out for an interview. She reflects, While I had no medical background, they wanted someone who could connect with the audience and deliver complicated and often confusing health information in a clear and interesting way. Needless to say, she got the job and spent the next 3.5 years of her career as an on-air medical correspondent with that station. Reflecting back, she acknowledges that a key to her success having received so many rejections was the determination to not listen to her detractors.

Ive always had detractors people in my ear telling me that what I wanted to achieve was out-of-reach. They told me Id NEVER land a job with a national television show. Some people are well-meaning because they dont want you to be disappointed. Whatever the motivation, Ive learned to drown out the noise, stay centered and persevere! Sometimes its a game of whos the last one standing. Youve got to just keep trying!

3.Be willing to move if necessary

Its easy to get comfortable in a city, but being flexible willing to move around (particularly during the early career stages) can make a huge difference. In many industries certain opportunities and experiences are only available to those who are willing to uproot and pursue them, and the broadcasting/media and entertainment space is no different. Shaun clearly prioritized opportunity over comfort in her pursuit of building a credible bio that would help her land her dream job national entertainment television show correspondent. When she saw an opportunity, location didnt matter. She knew she would make the best of it, and that job would become just one thread in the tapestry of her soon to be illustrious career.

4.Be prepared

Determined to pursue her dream as a correspondent for a national entertainment program, she submitted an audition tape to Access Hollywood and was flown out for an interview. In 1999 before the ubiquity of cable television and 24 hour news, there were very few national entertainment television programs, and the competition for anchor roles was beyond steep particularly for black females who were glaringly underrepresented. Shaun didnt just get the job. She became one of the longest running entertainment show anchors in network television history having anchored Access Hollywood from 1999-2015. For a whopping 16 years she not only served as an on-air personality covering breaking news, interviewing celebrities, and building a relationship with viewers across the country, she became a staple on the red carpet for Hollywoods most prestigious events including The Oscars, The Golden Globes, The Grammys and other renowned awards shows. Reflecting back on her experience, she credits much of her success and longevity in a brutally competitive industry to her relentless focus on being prepared.

Having an academic background in journalism paired with solid in the trenches broadcast journalism experience was invaluable. During breaking news situations like the deaths of JFK Jr. and Michael Jackson, I wasnt just a talking head. I actually used my journalism skills...It takes skill to ask questions of one celebrity on the red carpet while a producer is telling you in your ear who is coming up next on the red carpet. There is no substitute for preparation and hard work.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 11: TV personality Shaun Robinson attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe ... [+] Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)

5.Make time to give back

After leaving Access Hollywood Shaun says her top priority was establishing the S.H.A.U.N Foundation for Girls.Serving on the advisory board of the United Nations Foundations Girl Up adolescent girl campaign and previously serving on the national board of Girls, Inc., - the national girls empowerment organization - Shauns been dedicated to empowering girls and women for decades. The S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls nurtures and supports under-served and underrepresented girls and young women in the areas of:

STEM

Health

Arts

Unity

Neighborhoods

Shaun clearly believes that giving back, mentoring and helping others is a key ingredient for long term success, not just for her but for the broader community.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - NOVEMBER 19: Shaun Robinson attends the 2014 Girls Inc. Los Angeles Celebration ... [+] Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 19, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

Career Advice Practical Tips

1.Prioritize self care

As a correspondent on a national network entertainment show, Shaun often endured a grueling schedule of personal and professional commitments. She learned early that self care is priority #1. She shares, You have to find time to refuel. Find time to get centered, eat right, and exercise. Her regimen includes starting the day with a healthy breakfast. Some of her preferred breakfast options include.

Oatmeal with blueberries

Power quinoa

Avocado toast with a mixture of avocado, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, garlic salt and pepper on vegan bread

Kale smoothie

Chicken apple sausage (a couple times a week)

Shauns Kale Smoothie Ingredients

Kale

Spinach

Carrot

Banana

Apple

Ginger

Water

2.Develop a healthy rhythm to your day

After leaving Access Hollywood, Shaun, not only, worked on building her foundation, but also immersed herself in multiple television projects. At the end of the day, I had accomplished a lot, but still felt like I was missing something important. I started thinking about what would get me back to my center and more fulfilled. Shaun says she now tries to check four boxes every day:

1.Sharpen the saw (take a class, read a book, etc.)

2.Enhance my health (take an exercise class, monitor eating, etc.)

3.Help someone else (mentor a girl, attend an event for her foundation, etc.)

4.Pure enjoyment (meet a friend for lunch, watch a guilty pleasure show, etc.)

She insists that she doesnt beat herself up if she misses a category on a particular day, but the intentional design helps keep her in balance overall.

3.Use timers to keep yourself on track throughout the day

Virtually everyone struggles with time management, and Shaun is no different. But Shaun has a great technique for keeping herself on track. Throughout the day she sets a timer to alarm 10 minutes before she needs to leave for her next appointment. In fact, as we started our interview, she warned me that she was setting a timer for ten minutes before she needed to leave to help keep herself on track for her next commitment. Its such a simple but powerful technique and given the fact that virtually all phones these days have timers, its such an easy practice to implement. So instead of being habitually late to meetings, appointments, etc., start setting timers to give yourself a 10 minute warning.

Emmy award winning journalist, author, actor, producer, and philanthropist Shaun Robinson long ago silenced her detractors. By any measure, shes not just succeeded but slayed in the cut throat world of media and entertainment. True to form, she shows no signs of slowing down and instead insists that her most impressive accomplishments are yet to come.

Stay tuned for a follow up article to learn about how Shaun dared to leave her dream job and reinvent herself!

Professionalism Matters, Inc.

Original post:
The Secrets Of Successful Women: Broadcast Journalist Shaun Robinson - Forbes

PHILADELPHIA Weight loss diets are rarely easy. In pursuit of the perfect beach body, or perhaps just a few less pounds, dieters do their best to stay away from sweets, treats, fried foods, and carbs. Exercise is, of course, another integral aspect of getting in shape, but the debate surrounding exercises influence on dietary habits has raged on for quite some time. Some believe working out leads to an increased appetite, while others say it helps regulate appetite and reduces overeating. In a win for exercise enthusiasts the world over, a new study finds that physical activity helps dieters stick to their rigorous meal plans.

Researchers from Drexel University tracked a group of people participating in a weight-loss program, and exercise proved to be a protective factor that enabled the dieters to persevere through their reduced-calorie regiment and avoid overeating.

Almost all behavioral weight loss programs prescribe exercise because of its health benefits and because it expends energy or burns calories, comments lead author Rebecca Crochiere, a graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences, in a release. Interestingly, our study suggests that exercise may also aid in adhering to a reduced-calorie diet, perhaps through improved regulation of appetite or eating behavior. It adds another reason to engage in exercise if one is seeking weight loss.

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When study participants didnt exercise on a particular day, they had a 12% risk of overeating over the following hours. However, when they engaged in at least one hour of exercise, that risk percentage dropped by more than half to just 5%. For every additional 10 minutes of exercise, that risk percentage decreased by another 1%.

In total, 130 dieters took part in the research. Their eating and activity habits were tracked via a number of methods, such as surveys and hip-attached exercise trackers.

These findings can help researchers to better understand when participants who are seeking weight loss are at risk of overeating, Crochiere adds. It can inform the development of treatments that prevent overeating and facilitate weight loss.

Researchers noted that the studys results suggest exercise may have more a prominent influence on eating habits depending on the intensity of the workout. Light exercise actually displayed the strongest protective effects against eating too much.

In the future, the studys authors would like to investigate if exercises influence on eating patterns fluctuates from individual to individual.

The study is published in Health Psychology.

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The rest is here:
Exercise Makes It Easier To Maintain A Healthy Diet, Doesnt Cause Increased Appetite - Study Finds

About a year and a half after the United States left the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement is nearing collapse. For months after U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to depart, the remaining parties to the JCPOA tried to keep it alive. But it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to do so.

One sign came on Jan. 14, in the form of a joint statement from three European signatories to the JCPOAFrance, Britain, and Germany. Together, they announced that they had formally activated the deals dispute resolution mechanism, the process through which a complaint about a potential violation of the deal would be resolved. According to the text of the JCPOA, the dispute could end up at the U.N. Security Council, which could decide to place international sanctions back on Iran. The whole process takes about two months.

During this two-month period, the dispute could resolve itself in a few different ways. Iran could decisively return to its commitments under the JCPOA or the three European countries could backtrack on taking the case to the U.N. Security Council. At present, there is no indication that Iran or the European countries will back down. Iran has repeatedly stated that it will uphold its nuclear obligations only if it starts seeing the economic benefits the agreement promised. It has called on Europe for guarantees that the continent will continue buying Iranian oil and grant Tehran access to the revenues. On the one hand, Iran knows that Europe is unable to meet these demands because many large European firms, automakers, and big refineries that used to buy Iranian oil have extensive commercial and financial relations with the United States and do not want to put their commercial interests at risk under the U.S. sanctions. European governments have no way to force them to change their minds. On the other hand, the three European countries can point out in turn that the JCPOA is on the brink of collapse and that if they cannot convince Iran to reverse course, the Iranian nuclear case will inevitably return to the U.N. Security Councilwhere things are sure to get much worse for the country.

There could also be a third scenario, in which Europe repeatedly extends the one-month deadline for the JCPOA Joint Commission to look into the case before taking the file to the U.N. The commission could bide time as it waits to see how Iran responds, tries to cajole the United States and Iran back into negotiations, looks to the results of continuing inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Iran, and perhaps tries offering the country some economic incentives. European Union foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell has already indicated as much. He has announced that the timeline for the dispute mechanism could be extended indefinitely, although he has not specified a time for the extension.

For now, although Iran has resumed uranium enrichment at the Fordow nuclear site and walked back on its commitments regarding uranium enrichment, research and development, and the amount of enriched materials it will stockpile, its nuclear program still has a long way to go before reaching the capacity it had the year before it signed the JCPOA. So long as Iran does not go beyond the latest infractions, it makes sense for Europe to try to kick the can down the road, especially if there are signs that United States could come back to the negotiating table for fear of possible Iranian blowback.

Tensions between the United States and Iran are as high as ever. In May 2019, on the one-year anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and reintroduction of sanctions, Iran first started taking gradual steps away from its commitments under the deal. In its fifth and final step, on Jan. 5days after the United States killed Iranian military commander Qassem SuleimaniIran announced in a statement that it would observe absolutely no operational limitations on its nuclear industry. Tehran also vowed that, from now on, its nuclear program would be developed solely based on its technical needs.

It is worth taking Iran at its word. Consider how, in the pre-JCPOA era between 2004 and 2012, Iran developed its current nuclear doctrine. In 2011, it successfully completed the nuclear fuel cycle, meaning it could handle all stages of exploration, extraction, enrichment, reactor operation, and ultimately the destruction of radioactive waste. Soon, Tehran started enriching uranium to 20 percent as a bargaining chip at future negotiating tables. As many as six Security Council resolutions and the imposition of tough sanctions did not deter Iran from its pursuits.

After bringing nuclear facilities online in Natanz, Arak, and Fordow, Tehran reached the conclusion that it did not want to pay any additional costs for its programit was ready to talk. In 2015, the JCPOA, which recognized Irans right to enrich uranium and preserve the core of its nuclear program, was signed. In exchange for the lifting of sanctions, Iran gave up on 20 percent enrichment, shipped the bulk of its nuclear stockpiles out, stopped uranium enrichment at Fordow site, and agreed to redesign the Arak heavy reactor.

Iran is again in a position similar to that of the pre-JCPOA era. With the United States decision to leave the JCPOA, the reimposition of harsh sanctions, and the killing of Suleimani, Iran has had reason to reconsider the deterrent aspects of its nuclear program. In this regard, Irans prime motivation is leverage in future negotiations.

Beyond continued recognition of its right to enrich uranium, Iran hopes that by ramping its nuclear program back up, it can also get European countries to intensify their efforts to secure the economic benefits that were meant to flow to Iran as part of the deal. European countries argue that they have lived up to their obligations under the JCPOA and even launched the Instex financial mechanismwhich enables European firms to get around U.S. sanctions to do business with Iran. But since the inception of the Instex in early 2019, Iran has continued to insist that it has not benefited from the JCPOA at all since it is still unable to sell its oil.

As long as pieces of the JCPOA stay intact and the dispute is not kicked over to the Security Council, it is unlikely that Iran will drastically change its nuclear doctrinefor example, by fully pulling back from the JCPOA, putting an end to IAEA inspections, and resuming uranium enrichment at levels above 20 percent.

But if the Security Council does reinstate its resolutions against Iran and if the United States continues to insist on forcing Iran to make more concessions on its missile capabilities and network of proxy militiasincluding Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories, and the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forcesthat may change. Iran has repeatedly declared that reexercising Security Council resolutions crosses a red line because the resolutions are issued under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which paves the way for serious measures against Iran such as a war, and thus pose a military and security threat. Beyond that, Iran will not negotiate over its missile program or efforts to exercise its influence in the Middle East; it considers those programs to be essential parts of its national security and deterrence. Tehran has never conducted any negotiations on these issues, and it is very unlikely that it will do so in the future.

If pushed, Iran may put an end to the IAEA inspections and deny inspectors access to its nuclear facilities and activities. It might also take leaving the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) into consideration, which would make its nuclear program even less transparent. Iran has made clear that it would be within its rights to leave and has invoked Article 10 of the NPT, which states: Each Party shall in exercising its national sovereignty have the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of this Treaty, have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country.

In such circumstances, the line between war and negotiation will be thin. If Iran and the West fail to reach an agreement through talks, the risk of a military conflict would increase. And there is little reason to be optimistic. When the JCPOA was first signed, U.S. President Barack Obama agreed to separate Irans nuclear program from its missile capabilities and its regional activities. By contrast, Trump insists that those are grievous flaws in the JCPOA, indicating that he isnt likely to back off either.

Read the rest here:
Europe Puts What Remains of the JCPOA in Limbo - Foreign Policy

Loretta Ritter is a manager, Rehabilitative Services at Atlantic Health Systems Hackettstown and Newton Medical Centers and David G. Scott is a manager, Rehabilitation & Physical Medicine at Atlantic Health Systems Hackettstown Medical Center.

Q. What is cardiac rehabilitation and who is it designed for?

A. Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised wellness program designed to help you improve your heart health as you recover from a heart attack or surgery, and to assist you in lessening your risk factors for heart disease. Also referred to as Cardiac Rehab, the programs at Hackettstown and Newton Medical Centers will customize your exercise and education to meet each individual participants needs.

Cardiac rehabilitation is led by registered nurses and exercise physiologists (i.e. specialists) who coordinate your exercise session, provide emotional support, and educate you and your family about lifestyle changes to reduce your heart disease risk, such as eating a heart-healthy diet, keeping a healthy weight and quitting smoking.

The goal of cardiac rehabilitation is to establish an individualized plan to help you regain strength, confidence, reduce your risk of future heart problems and improve your health and quality of life.

Don't let your age hold you back from joining a cardiac rehabilitation program. People of all ages can benefit from cardiac rehabilitation.

Research has found that cardiac rehabilitation programs can reduce your risk of death from heart disease and reduce your risk of future heart problems and reduce the risk of mortality by 54%. The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology recommend cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Cardiac rehabilitation is designed for people with many forms of heart disease. In particular, you may benefit from cardiac rehabilitation if your medical history includes:

Heart attack

Heart valve repair or replacement

Coronary artery disease

Pulmonary hypertension

Heart failure

Heart or lung transplant

Peripheral artery disease

Angioplasty and stents

Chest pain (angina)

Coronary artery bypass surgery

Cardiomyopathy

Certain congenital heart diseases

Read more:
What is cardiac rehabilitation and who is it designed for? - New Jersey Herald

After his junior year at Grace Community School, Gabriel Craig was on top of the world.

Not because he stood 6-foot-4, and while on the mound looked a foot taller and made a baseball look like a dart.

He was on top of the world because he was 17 and would grow another inch to 6-foot-5. He had a frame for a pitcher and the velocity on his fastball that had colleges around the country taking notice. Craig was rated as the 113th best right-handed pitching prospect in Texas and ranked with Perfect Game.

As the summer was winding down after his junior season, the arm was tired. He pitched his way as a starter through countless high school and travel ball games and it caught up with him.

Fortunately for Gabe, it was only stress to his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and not a tear. The remedy for healing was rest.

This meant missing his senior year of baseball.

But there was something else.

There were no more days of sorting through junk mail to find recruitment letters. Missing a season and potential arm issues scared the scouts away.

Gabe wasnt thinking of his future. He was thinking about the present. He wanted 2019 to be the season for Grace Community School.

My sophomore and junior years we made the playoffs, and it seemed just a few things didnt go our way or we had a chance at winning a title, Gabe said. I was looking forward to helping the team my senior year reach our goals. It was frustrating, seeing my teammates playing and not being able to help them and pitch.

While the public saw Craig (who was also an above average hitter with power) sitting on the bench and not playing, they didnt see what he was doing in the gym for 11 months while he was not throwing a baseball. He trained, he ran and he strengthen his arm.

It was time to slide that familiar cowhide over his hand, smell the distinct sweet smell of a baseball glove and grip a baseball.

He started some light throwing, then regular catch. He started his long toss program.

Something felt good. He knew he could throw 87 miles per hour on a good day, but he felt very strong.

But still, no interest from colleges.

The Tyler native has an advantage over a lot of baseball players. He lives in the same town as one of the best junior college baseball programs in the nation, Tyler Junior College.

And there is a reason Tyler, with a population during the workday of 250,000, is called a small town.

TJC head coach Doug Wren attends church. And at church, he knew the Craig family.

The recruiting process was different with Gabe, Wren said. I had some baseball guys contact me and say he was back, and he was throwing. So, we wanted to see him.

I knew his brother, I know his family and we all go to the same church. So weve had a history with the family as well, Wren continued. They are a great family and solid people. It was easy for us, we knew he was a great kid.

Having great kids is the foundation for a successful sports program. Its the bottom of the pyramid in the Coachs Bible from Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

But you also have to be great to make the TJC Apaches spring baseball team.

Before school started, Gabe had a one-man try-out. The coaches sat in the chair, the catcher got set and he wound up and threw.

He no longer threw in the 80s.

With three months of therapy, going through the pitching workouts from the TJC coaches and getting stronger, the 18-year-old freshman hit a new number on the radar gun.

I know his high school coaching staff and I knew fortunately he only had a few complications and was shut down for his senior season, said Wren. We waited, had him throw in August when he was ready and then it was an easy no-brainer for us.

While Gabe is topping out at 92, it does not guarantee playing time on a top-notch pitching staff like TJC, where up to a dozen kids can do the same thing on the gun.

However, he continues to work off the field and hopes to help the team as a closer.

I feel myself getting stronger. I have a lot of strength and exercise program in the weight room, said Gabe. Throwing also helps with keeping my arm in shape and improving my velocity.

Gabe is working on impressing the coaching staff enough to be a closer at TJC.

Currently, TJC is ranked No. 1 in the country after six games in NCAA Junior College Division III. Gabe has thrown two games, pitched three innings, struck out three, allowed two hits, no walks and a perfect 0.00 earned run average.

I love being a closer, come in and throw an inning as hard as I can, he said. Being a closer is an adjustment. Coming out of the bull pen, you dont know exactly when you are going to pitch or what game or what inning you are going to pitch.

A starter has the luxury of running poles in the outfield, stretching and preparing mentally all day for a game. Not a closer.

You have to be able to get warm quick and be ready to go when they need you, he said. When you are a starter you have more time to get ready to pitch. You need the mentality to be able to pitch when they need you. When you make that adjustment its a lot easier and you get to pitch more often.

For many high school kids, going to college means moving out of town or out of state to experience the country. Gabriel Craig says for two years, theres no place like home.

A first it was weird being from Tyler and going to the same school where I grew up, but then you realize its a blessing to be able to play here, he said. Its a really successful program (six national championships) and Im really excited to play here.

Hitters sitting on his well-placed fastball are now trying to adjust to a changeup and a slider. Mastering those pitches is just one goal.

I want to have a successful season and help the win a few ball games, he said.

Hes a big kid, the ball comes out of his hand well and hes around the zone, said Wren. He has a feel for some secondary pitches, so there was a lot to like there. Plus, knowing his character, his background, his family. You put all those pieces together and its an easy decision.

As for being one of the closers, Wren said Gabe has to work into high-leverage status on the pitching depth chart.

He has been very consistent for us, he has good stuff and I think he will have a chance to pitch in some high-leverage situations, said Wren. We will see. But hes been a really good addition and a great kid.

John Anderson is the editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph and a longtime sports columnist. He can be reached at janderson@tylerpaper.com.

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After missing his senior season at Grace, Tyler's Gabe Craig now pitches for the nation's No. 1 baseball team, TJC - Tyler Morning Telegraph

The unusual Meristem project in Northern California offers a structured curriculum of craft, the ... [+] practical arts, and working the land: all aimed at assisting youth on the autism spectrum transition into adulthood.

Falling off the cliff is the term often used by worried parents and family members when young adults with autism and other developmental differences turn 18. For most of these youth, the wide range of educational and behavioral services provided by their local school districts ends abruptly.

The numbers of these youth are growing rapidly: just among youth with a diagnosis of autism, 750,000-1,000,000 are projected to turn 18 over the next decade. In response, a new industry oftransition programs is emerginghundreds of transition programs nationwide aimed at integrating these youth into employment and the broader society. While most of these programs are based on current ideas of college inclusion and technical education, a few are drawing on older intellectual traditions regarding transition, emphasizing the land, practical arts and craft.

The Meristem campus is set on 13 bucolic acres outside of Sacramento: a series of cottages spread among a working farm, woodworking and metal shops, a bakery, walking trails and orchards. Its design and curriculum are based on the Ruskin Mill Trust, founded in England in 1987 to serve young adults with mental health and learning disabilities, rooted in the ideas of the nineteenth century art critic turned social advocate, John Ruskin.

Though Ruskin (1819-1900) first achieved public prominence in the 1840s and 1850s with a series of art histories and criticisms, by 1860 he had turned from art criticism to trying to remake Victorian society. He criticized industrialization and its division of labor as the degradation of work, and called for a return to the land and the practical arts. Receiving a large inheritance upon the death of his father in 1864, he put his ideas into practice, funding through his Guild of St. George, businesses that employed workers in hand producing cloth goods, textiles and fresh foods.

In the mid-1980s, the founders of the Ruskin Mill Trust discovered in Ruskins ideas on land and craft what they believed to be a transition path for youth with disabilities. Over the past thirty years, the Trust has succeeded in building land-and-craft based transition centers throughout England and Wales. Prominent Sacramento philanthropists, Marc Turtletaub and Maureen Curran-Turtletaub, visited these centers, and inspired, established Meristem in the Sacramento suburb of Fair Oaks, with a first cohort of students in 2015.

The Meristem curriculum is a structured one, combining classes in farming, the crafts (metal, wood, baking and the culinary arts), work skills, physical exercise and movement. Accompanying the training, the Meristem students also work in the businesses that Meristem has established Meristem Bakery, Meristem Herbal products and Meristem Model Bed and Breakfast.

Meristem officials envision that only a few students will pursue careers in farming and the crafts. The training is aimed mainly at other values: self-confidence, shedding of anxieties, self-advocacy, social participation. More than technical skills, these are the values that might overcome the isolation and marginality common in the past to adults with autism and other disabilities.

Edmund Knighton, Meristem President, has spoken in detail on the relation of craft and autism. Through craft, young adults practice discipline and persistence, with an emphasis on results.Referring to one student, Ben, with a withdrawn and remote demeanor prior to Meristem, Knighton explains, Ben receives objective feedback from the materials he sculpts or hammers or weaves. When successful, the product has value for others and the world because it is functional. With practice, students discipline themselves to persist through boredom, conflict with themselves and with others, and fatigue. As they are supported by instructors and peers to work through these challenges, their work becomes not only more functional but also more aesthetic.

Beyond craft, the connection to the land and natural environment is meant to reduce anxieties, provide grounding, and sharpen the ability to see things whole. Knighton details this connection to the land and farming in the following terms: Students experience the full cycle of organic/biodynamic plant life, from spouting the pastel to planting and weeding and watering and harvesting it. Then they clean it and use it as an ingredient in our bakery or caf to serve to the community. Experiencing the full cycle of a food substance that grows and then allows us to grow provides a deeply satisfying wholeness to our students, in contrast to so much in life that feels disconnected or in conflict. Lunch is a time where all staff and students sit down together and share a meal from the garden.

Along with craft and land, physical exercise and movement is the third of the Meristem pillars. Meristem co-founder Maureen Curran-Turtletaub believes movement is vital, students start each day with movement activities, and are encouraged to develop an exercise and healthy eating regimen.

Meristem has grown from a few students in 2015 to a cohort of 45, with a waiting list, and ideas of expanding to other locations in California. Students are becoming involved in the local Sacramento community, through taking classes at America River community college and other local colleges. The Meristem businesses, especially the bakery, are venturing out to sell to the area residentspushing students to practice sales and executive skills. This year Meristem is even forming its own youth chapter of the Rotary Club.

Dr. Lou Vismara is a retired cardiologist, co-founder of the UC Davis MIND Institute, and former Meristem board member. While on the board, he would take time to meet with new Meristem students and follow their experiences, and writes of his findings: Upon enrollment, many of Meristems students manifested aloof and withdrawn behaviors, When I first met with members of the entering cohort, their anxiety, stress and detachment was pervasive and truly palpable. During the course of Meristems program, virtually all of the students demonstrated a great sense of identity, purpose and self-confidence.

We still have much to learn about the element of effective transition programs and processes for young people with developmental differences. Autism diagnoses began to rise in the 1980s, and the first cohort is now in their thirties and forties, and for nearly all of them transition has been an on-going process, not a point in time, with shifting challenges in the work places and social inclusion.

Even as our post-industrial economy evolves in America, with few workers producing a physical product, craft and the land continue to hold an allure for social thinkers. A growing genre ofbooks (Shop Class as Soulcraft, The Cliff Walk,The Craftsman, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, to name a few) celebrate a return to work with ones hands and craft. Meristems land and craft approach is in line with this broader intellectual movement. Though Meristem is still in its initial stage, there is reason to think it holds promise especially for youth with autism and other developmental differences.

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Autism Transition: Returning To Craft And The Land - Forbes

Heres one thing that rings true: If youre going to haul yourself all the way to the gym, you want your workout to be worth it. In terms of strength trainingaka a weight-focused circuitthe real gains, according to trainers, lie in the final minutes. Just when you think youve finished your sets, your trainer throws in that last cardio hit (read: hell). Its what they love to call the finisher, and there are a few reasons why its the key to an effective workout. Jennifer Lau, Nike Master Trainer and owner of Fit Squad in Toronto, explains why she uses it in her training programs.

A finisher in the literal sense is a short and intense exercise (or series of exercises) to complete at the end of a workout to test your mental toughnessyou think youve finished your workout, but its one more thing to push your body to the point of being finished. This helps burn extra calories, tests your mental strength, and makes you sweat even more. For example, at the completion of a strength workout (weight-focused circuit), a finisher could be one minute of high-intensity exercise, such as squat jumps.

A finisher in the literal sense is a short and intense exercise (or series of exercises) to complete at the end of a workout, Lau explains. Think one minute of squat jumps, or completing a 500 m row as fast as you can. Bottom line: Youre pushing through your comfort zone.

Lau says its important to add a high-intensity interval at the end of a weight-training workout for maximum effectiveness, versus executing one at the start of one. High-intensity intervals require a big energy output, and strength training takes focus. She says doing it at the end ensures your glycogen levels are not depleted heading into your strength workout.

Theres this little phenomenon called post-exercise oxygen consumption that occurs when you do an intense exercise. It uses up your stored energy and creates more damage to your working muscles (a good thing!), so when your body is in restoration and repair mode it uses up all that extra energy you have stuck in your cells.

Youll feel like youve worked out. Strength training doesnt have the same cardiovascular strain as a high-intensity workout does, so when you tack on some heart-pumping move, youll feel like youve done the work. Its a mental play, but it works. It will build mental toughness, Lau adds, because as the name would suggest, you should feel completely done after it.

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Is a Finisher the Key to a Better Workout? - coveteur.com

I'm a fairly athletic 31 year old woman who has been lifting weights on and off for a total of probably no more than a year or so. I'm currently in an "on" phase and hope to stay that way. Even though I'm pretty confident that I know how to do the lifts and I feel pretty good about my progression, I still feel like I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. I originally started with something like 5x5, but modified ad-hoc to use whatever equipment was available at my busy corporate gym.

I feel like I should be doing other stuff though? Should I be doing other stuff? Everyone else seems to be doing other stuff? People on instagram talk about muscle activation exercises, how do I know which of those to do and when? What is leg day? How much weight should I use for each set? What order should I do the lifts in? The one I do first is the one I'm most successful with, but then I lose track of whether the number I wrote down for one lift is from when I started with that lift, or when I did it last, and now I spend way too much time staring at the equipment and staring at my phone, wondering what the hell I should be doing. Do I need to just grow up and read a book? - Tessa

Ok, we should talk about Instagram. In general, I think Instagram has been a really good thing for fitness. For a really long time, established media properties, especially ones whose businesses relied on marketing products that enforce rigid beauty standards (workouts, diet pills, and drinks, clothes for painfully thin people) were wholly in the clutches of those beauty standards. Social media, broadly speaking, gave a platform people who simply loved working out and loved their bodies could share that directly with others. There was, and still is, a lot of purity to it that the feedback loop of bigger media properties cant touch. People with non-Victorias-Secret-model bodies who glossy magazines would never cover could finally get some airtime, like @mynameisjessamyn, @prettystrongbec, @jenbretty, or @maria_htee. Magazines may cover them now, now that they have painstakingly proved follower by follower and like by like there is actual interest in them and what they represent and have to say.

However, Instagram and other social media platforms have grown up quite a bit in the last few years. Influencers have their own sponsors and advertisers to answer to, which means they have principles they have to assert, aesthetics they have to maintain, in order to sell the products they need to. Part of this is making themselves eternally essential, like a personal trainer who never teaches you to work out and progress your training on your own, because if you could do things on your own, you wouldnt need him. Part of that involves talking about the latest moves or trying the latest trends, which can be fine but is confusing to people who are trying to figure out where even begin.

Health and fitness are ripe for marketing because its so easy to make people feel insecure about their health and bodies. People are very susceptible to personal guilt and insecurity, and there are few things they are less able to change than the fundamentals of what they look like. Even if we intellectually know this, it doesnt stop us from feeling bad about it most of the time. This is also what leads us to think anything a conventionally attractive person does is what made them conventionally attractive. Someone who quite clearly had butt injections can post a video of herself doing side-lying leg lifts will still get all the people wishing they had a butt like hers also doing side-lying leg lifts. She doesn't even have to explain how a side-lying leg lift gives you a bigger butt, or claim that that's where her butt came from; we somehow manage to make those connections all on our own.

So this brings us to how easy it is to see lots of people doing lots of different things on social media platforms, claiming it has this or that effect: donkey kicks for a bigger butt! Spider crawls for defined abs! Doing a little digging on many of these people often reveals that they dont really have the authority to claim these things, but theres no one to really stop them. Thats the double-edged sword of social media: it rewards always having something new and exciting to say, even if what youre saying has no real substance.

Per the above, theres a lot of real and useful information on Instagram, but it can be hard to separate (and a lot of times, the people with the most valuable things to say are not the ones with the most followers). I can say from experience, it actually takes a lot of time to even begin to learn who is worth listening to and who isnt, and Im really only just getting started. Even the actually helpful stuff is framed as if you have [such and such particular problem], but how do you know if you have that problem?

So this is a vote in favor of trusted resources, of which there are many and I almost hesitate to name any because theres no one true answer to which program should I do? But I can answer some questions: training programs are always written deliberately when it comes to number of sets, number of reps, and the order of exercises. When you pick a program, be it StrongLifts or reddits Beginner Routine or 5/3/1 for Beginners, you are meant to do them in the order theyre written, in the weekly rotation they are written.

You are also meant to stick with a program for long enough that it can pay off for you. Most knowledgeable coaches/critics, like Alan Thrall or Mike Israetel, say often that which very specific program youre doing, especially if youre a relative beginner, matters way less than being consistent, getting your rest, and making sure your form is good, and that throwing a bunch of random accessory exercises at yourself is not a lot more than a distraction. A lot of times, the target audiences for new trendy exercises are real gym rats who are bored after years and years of training and are looking to mix it up. This also isn't clear from social media video clips, but a lot of those accessory-type moves are tacked on at the end of a strength program mostly composed of bigger, fundamental movements (squat, bench, deadlift, row, overhead press), not an entire workout in and of themselves.

That doesnt sound like you! You sound like you want to get stronger and make progress, and maybe havent gotten that chance yet because you feel distracted or insecure about whether youre doing the right things. You should feel reassured that a basic program like StrongLifts 5x5 IS a whole program, and you dont need to mess with it. These programs are vaunted and popular because they do work. Even experienced lifters will return to them again and again if they are rebuilding after time off. if it feels like people maybe arent talking about these programs as much as the latest gluteus medius exercise, its because they feel like everyone already knows about basic stuff like 5x5, and they need something new to add.

All that said: These programs are designed to allow the people following them to get stronger fairly quickly, and in a straightforward beginner program, you add at least a couple of pounds to each of the major lifts (squat, bench, etc.) every session, or at least every week. if you are specifically worried about your body, such that you are getting hurt, or youre doing your very best on form and consistency and recovery and youre still not making progress, you may benefit from the help of a coach.

Finding someone local and in person who is able to coach you in strength (powerlifting coaches with CSCS certifications) would be the best case scenario. More and more gyms that are focused on lifting (powerlifting gym or strength training gym in google-search language) are starting to offer intro tutorials or limited-run classes in lifting, where the goal is to teach you skills and advise you, versus simply making you run around for 45 minutes. But another benefit of the internet is that many such people now offer online coaching, where they can talk to you about what challenges youre facing, watch videos of your form, and help you figure out how to achieve your goals. If you would benefit from activation exercises or particular targeted accessory movements, these are the people who would be able to tell you. There is a place for that stuff, and while I think we can be a little too apprehensive about trying stuff with our bodies, whichever activation and prehab/rehab-type moves we might see influencers do often come from someone's technical expertise.

Should you or can you just read a book? For sure there are books: Strong Curves, New Rules of Lifting for Women, Scientific Principles of Strength Training, and Thinner Leaner Stronger are a few that I have enjoyed (even as some of the framing in these is, in some ways, a little problematic). Only you know whether reading a book or trying to work with a coach or take a class will work better for you. (I should note, a coach can tailor their advice to you, while a book may involve some educated guessing as to what your challenges are.) Whatever you do, definitely write down what youre doing in the gym at each step, so youre not trying to remember what you did last time and what would constitute doing more than last time (or, if its a bad day, what would constitute going easy on yourself and doing less).

Just remember that you dont need to be aiming to take over the world by building the strongest body of all time, or doing the most accessories, or trying all of the latest stuff; incremental progress at it relates to yourself, and yourself only, will give you plenty to do.

This article originally appeared on VICE US.

Originally posted here:
All the Reasons You Shouldn't Bother With Trendy Instagram Workouts - VICE UK

The achievements of African Americans in the United States will be highlighted in a Feb. 15 program for school-age children at Willard Library in Battle Creek.

Young & Gifted: A Tribute to Black Heroes Past and Present will be presented at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at Willard Library, 7 W. Van Buren St.

Participants will learn about the achievements of African Americans in society. Past and present heroes will be highlighted in the areas of space, inventions and business, said Angela Maddox-Bonner, who works in Willards Youth Services Department.

The program, which is geared to children in kindergarten through fifth grade and their families, will feature heroes Mae Jemison, Garrett Morgan and Madam CJ Walker.

Jemisonis an Americanengineer,physician and formerNASAastronaut. She became the firstblackwoman to travel into space when she served as amission specialistaboard theSpace ShuttleEndeavour.

Morgan was aninventorand businessman as well as an influential political leader. His most notable inventions were the three-positiontraffic signalandsmoke hood.

Walker was an entrepreneur,philanthropist, and a political and socialactivist. Walker made her fortune by developing and marketing a line ofcosmeticsandhair-careproducts forblack womenthrough the business she founded, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Co.

I chose these three people because we hear about others such as President Barak Obama, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and tennis player Serena Williams, so I decided to highlight people who are not spoken of often, Maddox-Bonner said.

Activity stations will spotlight each persons contributions:

Willard Library programs are free and open to the public.

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Unsung Black Heroes in the Spotlight at Willard Library Children' - wbckfm.com

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