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When you think of the library, words like running or fitness may not immediately enter your mind, but perhaps they should. After all, for 57 years our beautiful building was also home to a popular gymnasium not to mention the bowling alley! The gymnasium was closed in 1952 when the YMCA was built, but were still interested in finding new ways to encourage health and wellness through library resources and programs. This brings me to the Westerly Library and Wilcox Park Run Club, which is about to start up for its third year.

If the mere mention of the word run gives you heart palpitations, hear me out! The club is meant for beginners, and inspired by the immensely popular Couch to 5k (C25K) exercise plan that was developed in 1996 by Josh Clark. As the name suggests, the plan helps participants go from self-identifying couch potatoes to 5k distance runners in a couple of months and it has been very successful doing just that. Clarks plan requires just three workouts a week for eight weeks. During each workout, participants alternate between running and walking, slowly building stamina and increasing the time spent running while decreasing the walking periods. In no time at all, you find yourself running a full mile straight and then two, and then three!

The C25K plan on its own is great, but starting (and maintaining) a new exercise regime by yourself can be hard. Heres where the library Run Club comes in! Members will start the plan together and meet once a week for group runs, during which we motivate one another, hold each other accountable, and yes do plenty of commiserating together, too. We meet every Monday in April and May from 4-4:45 p.m. at the fountain in Wilcox Park for our run, which also takes place in the lovely park. There is no registration required, no fee for participating, and no previous running experience necessary. All you have to do it show up in comfortable clothes/sneakers, and we can get started.

If you want to know more, Ill be holding a brief information session via Zoom on March 25, or you can contact me at cskobrak@westerlylibrary.org. I hope youll join me for our first group run on April 4, where Im happy to share some running tips and tricks, act as cheerleader, and talk ad nauseam about food, cats, or the various running-related materials here at the library anything to distract you from the actual act of running and get you to the finish line. Im here for you!

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This Week at the Library

MONDAY 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Crafternoon To-Go This month, were making beautiful button art! Pick up your kit in Reference while supplies last; 6-7:30 p.m., Monday Movie Night Join us once a month in the auditorium for a free movie screening! This month, were showing an Oscar nominated film starring Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, and Jamie Dornan. No registration is required.

TUESDAY 10-10:30 a.m., Family Storytime Join us on Tuesdays in the Terrace Room for a family storytime! The program will be geared towards ages birth through 11 years when accompanied by a caregiver; 1-4 p.m., Community Resource Advocate Our volunteer Community Resource Advocate is available via email to help connect you with local services/resources. Contact her at advocate@westerlylibrary.org; 2-3:30 p.m., Virtual Tech Social We meet on Zoom every Tuesday to address your tech questions. Preregistration is required; 5:30-7:30 p.m., Knit and Crochet Club The Knit and Crochet Group is meeting on the 2nd floor of the library. Masks are highly recommended; 6-7:30 p.m., Active Bystander Training Join Managing Partner of Organizational Ignition, James McKim, for an interactive training that will give you the tools to help you respond effectively when you witness bullying or discrimination. This is a hybrid program, which you can participate in online via Zoom, or in person in the library auditorium. Please register online at http://www.westerlylibrary.org.

WEDNESDAY 6-7 p.m., Community Book Discussion | The Sum of Us Join the Westerly Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC) and Westerly Library & Wilcox Park on Zoom as we discuss The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. Copies of the book will be on hold at the circulation desk. Register at http://www.westerlylibary.org..

THURSDAY 4-4:30 p.m., Teen Book Club Join our Teen Book Club to chat about a book you are currently reading, and get recommendations from fellow teens on what to read next! Please email teens@westerlylibrary.org at least one day in advance to register; 5:30-6:30 p.m., Zumba in the Park and Library | Turn It Up and Tone - Please join us for a free Zumba class with Yvonne Brown and Tina Pagliusi; 5:30-7:30 p.m., Chess Club Want a chance to hone your skills against a variety of players, including two state champions? Drop by the librarys Old Main Reading Room for our weekly Chess Club. Players of all skill levels are welcome; 6-7 p.m., Health and Wellness Book Group Join us on Zoom for our newest book club! This month, were discussing 52 Small Changes for the Mind by Brett Blumenthal. Email cbadowski@westerlylibrary.org for meeting details.

FRIDAY 4-5 p.m., Couch to 5k Run Club: Information Session Our Couch to 5k Run Club is starting up for the 3rd year on April 4th! Join us for a brief information session on Zoom, which should answer any questions you have. Registration is required, and can be done at http://www.westerlylibrary.org.

SATURDAY 10:30-11:30 a.m., Zumba in the Park and Library Try out Zumba for a fun workout! Classes are FREE and will be held on the grassy area near the gazebo (weather permitting) or in the 3rd floor Terrace Room (in undesirable weather).

Cassie Skobrak is a reference librarian at the Westerly Library & Wilcox Park.

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At Westerly Library & Wilcox Park: Kickstart your fitness with the Run Club - The Westerly Sun

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Beachbody Company, Inc. (NYSE: BODY), ("Beachbody" or the "Company"), a leading subscription health and wellness company, today announced the launch of its much anticipated new nutrition and at-home fitness program developed by celebrated Beachbody Super Trainer, Nutrition Expert and best-selling author Autumn Calabrese, The 4 Week Gut Protocol and its companion fitness program 4 Weeks For Every Body.

And users are already calling it one of Beachbodys biggest innovations in its 23-year history, like returning your body to its original factory settings.

It was revolutionary to come up with an idea like P90X or 21 Day Fix and redefine the in-home fitness industry, said Carl Daikeler, Beachbody CEO and Co-Founder. Its something entirely different when one of our own Super Trainers confides with us about her very personal gut health issues and reveals that she has created a solution with a team of doctors and nutritionists that she wants Beachbody to introduce to the rest of the world. Thats something thats going to inspire and help improve the health of millions of people.

Gut health is a hot topic right now. In the US, a staggering 60 million people suffer from digestive issues or food sensitivities. Unaddressed food sensitivities can not only interfere with digestion, but also your energy levels, immune system, skin health and mood. Experts are realizing the quality of your gut health impacts the quality of your life.

I was struggling with severe digestive issues, gas, bloating, and dark moods I just couldnt explain. When I couldnt get clarity from my own doctor on my issues, I had to find answers and do something about it. Thats how Im wired, said Autumn Calabrese, Beachbody Super Trainer. I worked with doctors, experts, and PhDs on the issues I was dealing with and everything pointed to one thing my gut health. I spent years working with the best in the business until I had created a solution that finally made me feel better. Once I did, I invited other people to try it, and the results were amazing. Our gut protocol worked! Thats when I approached Beachbody and said this was going to be big, if we make it really easy to follow. And by combining it with a no-impact fitness program, Shakeology, probiotics and digestive enzymes, it would be everything people needed to help them get results.

Autumn worked with Beachbody to put it all together; The 4 Week Gut Protocol nutrition program, plus Vegan Shakeology formulated with prebiotics/probiotics and fiber all designed for gut health, plus an additional layer of probiotic and digestive enzyme supplements. She combined that with her fourteenth fitness program for Beachbody, 4 Weeks for Every Body.

This no-impact workout program was created with the latest studies showing the benefits of moderate exercise on gut health. The program is 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week for 4 weeks and offers modifications for each exercise to accommodate your individual range of motion and fitness level leveraging the powerful benefits of eccentric movement patterns and Autumns time under tension methodology to help maximize results.

The 4 Week Gut Protocol'' program helps transform your health through a step-by-step approach to nutrition, isolating the most common foods and ingredients that can cause gastric distress, and ultimately teaching you how to eat in a way that supports a healthy gut and helps rebalance its microbiome.

This combination of nutrition and fitness has been thoroughly tested by hundreds of women and men, some even reporting feeling better from day one and many seeing dramatic results within the first week. And the overall health, wellness, and weight loss results in 4 weeks are impressive.

The 4 Week Gut Protocol and 4 Weeks for Every Body programs are now available at special launch pricing exclusively from Beachbody. Visit 4weekgutprotocol.com to learn more.

About The Beachbody Company, Inc.

Headquartered in Southern California, The Beachbody Company is a worldwide leading digital fitness and nutrition subscription company, with over two decades of creating innovative content and powerful brands. The Beachbody Company is the parent company to the Beachbody On Demand streaming platform (BOD) with over 100 complete fitness programs, 4,500 individual workouts, multiple nutrition programs and the connected Beachbody Bike by MYXfitness. For more information, please visit TheBeachbodyCompany.com.

About Autumn Calabrese

Beachbody Super Trainer and nutrition expert Autumn Calabrese is the creator of the breakthrough fitness programs 9 Week Control Freak, 21 Day Fix, 80 Day Obsession, and others, and the portion-control weight-loss system Portion Fix, which has helped millions of people gain control of their food. Shes also the author of three bestselling books, FIXATE, FIXATE 2, and Lose Weight Like Crazy, Even If You Have a Crazy Life! Shes the host of the FIXATE healthy cooking show with her brother, Bobby Calabrese, on Beachbody On Demand. Autumn is a certified holistic health coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and has held certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), as well as the American Fitness Professionals & Associates (AFPA).

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Beachbody Breaks New Ground in GUT HEALTH Mega-Trend With New Program from Autumn Calabrese, Super Trainer, Nutrition Expert and Best-Selling Author -...

Four weeks before France votes in the first round of its presidential election, the campaign thus far has hardly been distinguished by the depth or precision of candidates programs. In this regard, Jean-Luc Mlenchon knows that he has a definite advantage and logically enough, hes emphasizing that this is the real battleground.

On Saturday, he organized an exercise in costing his program, a three-hour broadcast that could have been much longer. Each of the 694 measures in his program was individually costed, using a macroeconomic model to try to measure the impact of these measures on the economy and wealth distribution.

The show was clearly intended to establish the programs overall credibility. Several economists members of the parliament set up by the Union Populaire backing Mlenchons candidacy joined in the exercise, each in their own field. Decisively, the figures were calculated using the Banque de France modeling which Mlenchon considers most unfavorable to his agenda.

The message was clear: the point was to foreground competence and play up the campaigns financial seriousness. The term prudence was repeatedly mentioned, including when the costs spared by the proposed policies were not factored into the final calculations.

The purpose of such an exercise is understandable: to draw on your opponents weapons to emphasize your own programs credibility and foil the habitual accusations of unrealism and utopianism. Doubtless, the projections themselves can always be challenged, but this does allow for a contest on an equal footing with other programs, notably the neoliberals own. This changes the nature of economic-policy disputes, which become mainly about the philosophy behind the policy rather than the credibility of the program.

Such a costing exercise is not new to Mlenchon; there was a previous one in 2017. But the rationale behind it was quite different, this time around. After Emmanuel Macrons first term saw an economic rescue plan amounting to 240 billion (much more if we also include social security spending) in two years, added to a 100 billion recovery plan and massive central bank buyback policies, the traditional argument against left-wing programs the famous accusation of relying on a magic money tree no longer holds water.

As Aurlie Trouv, an economist who joined Mlenchons campaign, pointed out during the presentation, the scale of additional public spending 250 billion annually represents an overall increase of 18 percent over the next presidents five-year term compared to 2019. This is in between what Nicolas Sarkozy achieved (+15 percent) and what Joe Biden is committing to in the United States (+27 percent); what she called an ambitious but reasonable program.

Moreover, in terms of its historical rationality, we can say that this program takes note of the decay of neoliberal reality, which the various right-wing and far-right candidates refuse to accept, instead proposing a continuation of the methods of the past (tax cuts for capital or reforms to slash the pensions bill).

While market adjustments are showing their limits and are only viable with massive state support the Union Populaire program underpinning Mlenchons candidacy acknowledges this historical reversal and sees it as a justification for stronger action by the state.

This is all the truer given that its proposals are based on the needs left unmet by the policy course pursued for several decades. This explains the relevance of the programs slogan governing according to need. Identifying where public policies fall short of serving the general interest ensures that citizens really feel the effects of this policy. This would reduce the wastage repeatedly observed in so-called supply-side policies, such as the CICE (tax credits for employers) or even COVID aid.

In 2017, Macron could base his neoliberal reform agenda on a certain world order to which France had too long refused to submit. Five years later, this order has been shattered, and continues to fragment. The argument of neoliberal rationality can thus no longer be advanced. Mlenchon is trying to take advantage of this failure, presenting a program that is financially sustainable, but based on a demand-side policy. In other words, it seeks to break with the logic of trickle down.

The logic upheld by this program is clearly post-Keynesian, or left-Keynesian. The prevailing idea is that the economy can only prosper based on what consumers and businesses spend. As Mlenchon pointed out, public spending is not water absorbed by the sand, for it feeds the economic circuit and creates economic activity. In this framing, it is spending that creates savings, not the other way round. As one of the greatest (and forgotten) representatives of the post-Keynesian school, Micha Kaleckiargued, capitalists earn what they spend. This is the major difference with right-wing Keynesians (or neo-Keynesians) for whom supply creates demand and savings create investment. The states function is only to facilitate adjustments. The programs intellectual approach is thus in direct opposition to neoliberal logic.

The cornerstone of this calculation is the Keynesian multiplier, meaning, the effect on GDP per euro invested in the economy. The Union Populaire team have estimated this multiplier at an average of 1.18: so, one euro invested will result in an additional eighteen cents of wealth created. By comparison, the multiplier for the governments recovery package was less than one euro, i.e. it did not create additional wealth.

Obviously, any such calculation is uncertain and open to challenge, given its starting hypotheses. But here again, we must remember that this uncertainty weighs heavily on neoliberal promises, too. The results of the CICE tax credits and the reform of taxes on capital have been particularly lackluster. Moreover, despite particularly negative evaluations, these reforms have not been called into question. Here again, the neoliberals failure means that the post-Keynesian vision can no longer be presented as merely a nice dream for their dreams have already dissipated.

In total, therefore, the additional 250 billion in annual public spending is said to be offset by an estimated 267 billion in additional revenue generated. The public deficit could thus be reduced by this expenditure.

This is the old, long-forgotten recipe of Madame Rabourdin in Balzacs Les Employs: the mission of a minister of finance is to fling gold out of the windows. It will come back to him through the cellars! Such a recipe, it should be emphasized, is clearly more rational in a monetary economy of production that is now largely financialized, than a policy of protecting savings which will feed an evermore autonomized financial system.

How can we get to such a conclusion? First of all, contra Madame Rabourdin, the Union Populaire program does not intend to fling gold out of the window, but to concentrate spending on those who need it the most. Numerous studies have shown that the less wealthy people are, the more they use the money becoming available to them for expenditure that they would otherwise have to do without. The richest tend to save more, which limits the transmission to the rest of the economy of any spending that benefits them. This is another pillar of post-Keynesian thinking: inequality is harmful to economic activity, whereas redistribution supports it.

The Union Populaire program is strongly grounded in these two ideas of the multiplier and redistribution. Its first axis is thus public investment, planned at 50 billion annually over the five-year period and centered on two priorities: the ecological alternative and improving public services. In both cases, the unmet needs are obvious and thus the effect on employment and consumption should indeed be significant.

The program also provides for the recruitment of one million public employees over five years; their salary index point will be raised by 10 percent immediately and thereafter indexed to inflation. That costs 75 billion a year, though the key question is, what these people will do with the money.

The same applies to the vigorous redistribution measures envisages, firstly with the minimum wage hike to 1,400 net per month, but above all with the reform of the tax system. In line with the principles set out above, the program commits to a fiscal revolution aimed at halting the now-four-decade trend toward an anti-redistributive tax policy.

There are numerous reforms in this regard, on inheritance tax [taking everything over 12 million], but also with the greater progressivity of the CSG [social insurance contributions] and corporation tax, the VAT review, the end of various tax loopholes and especially the reform of income tax which will become universal, but much more progressive with fourteen different brackets. To this should be added the 1,063/month income guarantee for young people.

According to Union Populaire projections, the poorest tenth of the population will gain 14 percent in average living standards over five years. The gains gradually diminish and become losses from the richest 30 percent upward, but are concentrated on the very richest, who would see their standard of living fall by 6.3 percent. Here again, the coherence of the program is clear: redistributing wealth promotes popular consumption and employment, in turn ensures that this consumption level is maintained.

This circuit then ensures additional revenue for the state through employee contributions (35 billion more annually, given the 2.8 million jobs created), VAT and income tax (27 billion more annually), and above all tax revenue from the richest and corporations.

New inheritance taxes bring 17 billion, a new tax on assets nearly 30 billion, the elimination of polluting and inefficient tax loopholes 46.5 billion, while the new income tax scale will take in another 11 billion. Finally, a universal corporation tax, making it possible to calculate the real tax base and to fight tax evasion and optimization, should bring in 62 billion.

All this means a post-Keynesian virtuous circle. As demand creates supply and employment, growth could benefit. In the macroeconomic loop, the Union Populaire forecasts average growth of 2.7 percent, mainly concentrated in the first two years (5.5 percent in 2022 and 3.2 percent in 2023). This is the predicted effect of what Trouv calls a demand shock, in sharp contrast with Macrons famous supply shock.

In total, this policy, according to the Banque de France model, would lead to a 0.7 percent increase in private sector employment. Overall, the public deficit could fall by 2.6 GDP points for Trouv, a guarantee of the seriousness of the program.

Much could be said about the programs details. One might consider the inflation forecasts highly optimistic, and that such a policy and well return to this will invariably provoke a violent response from the capitalist camp. Thats not to mention the geopolitical situation. In truth, macroeconomic projections are only ever projections based on a priori hypotheses, set within models based on theoretical adjustments.

This costing is thus both a difficult exercise and somewhat in vain. Much the same applies to governments finance bills, which are often derailed by macroeconomic realities linked to external shocks or poor assessments of human behavior. What can be said is that, just as each government prepares a budget, this costing exercise is a necessary democratic step. But it is then a matter of defining the nature of the policy being pursued, rather than a real costing exercise.

What seems important, then, beyond the figures themselves, is to note that the post-Keynesian logic of this program is no more unrealistic than the policies usually considered reasonable, based on cutting deficits through support for (and spending on) business.

But this truth lies less in modeling exercises than in the concrete reality of neoliberal policy failure forcing the ruling neoliberals to alter their policies, sometimes to the point of openly contradicting their own discourse. Neoliberal policies have produced widening public and trade deficits; they have thus proven ineffective, and this alone ought to discredit them. Doubtless, they can draw strength from one essential argument: i.e. precisely because they are dominant, they represent a point of reference for all other policies. The realism of these alternatives is therefore to be measured by the neoliberals own yardstick. And the Union Populaire program ultimately seems to be seeking this kind of validation.

This was particularly clear in the phraseology used in the March 12 exercise. The search for seriousness went so far as to seek the blessing of the Banque de France model and of neoliberal institutes such as the Institut Montaigne which, remarkably, would be less prudent than the figures presented by Mlenchons team.

This leads to the central question of what justification there is for costing a program which also seeks a radical transformation of the economy. It is a form of concession to the dominant rationality, albeit one that undoubtedly serves an electoral function. It consists in showing that, according to the usual economic reference points, this program is feasible and credible.

But what actually is a feasible and credible program? It is one supported by a political will based on a deep popular movement. It is not a program that reduces the deficit and supports growth (even if through new means). For if that were the case, the neoliberal programs would be neither feasible nor credible.

This costing exercise is, without doubt, the best put together thus far by any candidate across the political spectrum. But this leads to a tension with the transformative character of Mlenchons project. This contradiction was palpable throughout the costing exercise.

The candidate spoke in terms of the will to transform. He criticized the logic of the commodity, and insisted that he would not govern with econometrics. But then, why submit to such an exercise in pure econometrics and have it implicitly validated by advocates of econometrics? Why insist on the reasonableness of his policy? What is the point of saying that growth will be higher and the public deficit reduced?

In this exercise, conducted with great seriousness, there is a kind of fetishism submitting to the measuring instruments preferred by your opponents, in order to show that you would do better than them even according to their own criteria. But if we remain within this logic, can we deeply transform society?

The heart of this tension lies in the starting point of this work: governing according to need. This simple phrase presupposes an entirely new economic logic in which needs are valued and central and economic policy is judged by its ability to satisfy a certain number of these needs. Such an approach strikes at the heart not only of neoliberalism, but moreover of capitalism itself. Economic organization is no longer intended to produce value but to fulfill social functions.

In this context, it is necessary to build the infrastructures necessary for this organization, in terms of public services, energy and ecology. But these investments are not intended to produce surplus value, and therefore growth, but rather to allow an escape from the need for growth. This is not just a rhetorical move; for by getting out of this necessity, we also get out of the need for financing through growth.

If we want to finance such a movement through the development of market activity via VAT, contributions, or other taxes, then this market activity must prosper. But with what will it prosper? What will it produce? Wont this production be at odds with the objectives of public policies? We thus find ourselves in a new tension, in the need to develop market activity in general in order to finance a policy that tends precisely to free society from market domination.

Mlenchon tries to get out of this contradiction by identifying a needs-led policy with a demand-led policy. But the two terms are very different. Demand is one of the terms of the market. In the post-Keynesian logic, it is a condition of supply. Demand is thus embedded in the market, which determines it to a large extent.

Therefore, if a needs-led policy is to be able to transform society and the economy, it is necessarily different from a simple demand-led policy and from the post-Keynesian logic presented on Saturday. For then, needs must be defined democratically and collectively and not by the market. What is at stake here is the content of demand. The ecological and social transformation of the economy cannot let the logic of value determine demand. It must also question and determine the content of this demand.

This is not just a theoretical question. The tension raised by this costing exercise conceived as the alpha and omega of credibility would have concrete consequences if Mlenchon came to power. For the first threat to the Union Populaire program is that of the capital strike, in other words, capitalists refusal to invest and hire. This was the situation that Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) had to face in the 1930s and which he circumvented by dividing the camp of capital to rely on the winners of the New Deal.

This is the strategy Mlenchon is also drawing on, as he tries to play on the internal struggle in the camp of capital between those dependent on the domestic market the small capitalists and the big corporations. For several weeks, he has insisted that he is the candidate of the order book and of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The latter will benefit from the increase in domestic demand and from an advantageous tax system. But these good capitalists must also extract value and make increasing profits.

It was precisely because Roosevelt satisfied the accumulation capacity of many employers that he was able to build a coalition to save US capitalism from itself. But todays situation is very different. For it is the tendency to accumulate, which is structural in capitalism, that is causing the rise in inequality and the climate disaster, via the structural fall in productivity and the race for growth. In other words, it is far from certain that such a compromise is possible, for it is far from certain that it is either possible or desirable to save capitalism from itself.

If this is not the case, it will be necessary to take up a frontal fight against capital or, on the contrary, to accept its conditions and thus to return to supply-side policies. This is, in another context, the problem that the French left faced when it came to power in 1981.

The only alternative, then, would be to act on the nature of demand and to completely reorganize the mode of production. The post-Keynesian logic will then no longer suffice. Mlenchons program has many tools to deal with this, notably planning, a reduction in working hours or a job guarantee (very limited, as it is reserved for the long-term unemployed). But, in this case, we must leave behind the fetishism of financing at the heart of this costing exercise.

Without doubt, the presidential campaign is not the right time to tackle these questions. The aim is to build a heterogeneous base of voters within a given framework. The costing of the program, which acknowledges the profound failure of neoliberalism, aims to build such a base. However, its political function should not obscure the future challenges that must somehow resolve this ambitious programs contradictions.

Read more:
Jean-Luc Mlenchon Has a Radical Program. Implementing It Would Be Far Tougher. - Jacobin magazine

Members of the St. Joseph County Commission on Aging Advisory Board on Wednesday approved COAs 2020 annual report.

Pam Riley was not yet executive director in 2020, but outlined the work of COA during the year.

In her report, Riley called 2020 a year we will never forget. COA closed its doors March 23, 2020, due to the pandemic and there was no indication of when it might reopen, she said.

COAs focus was to continue to serve the frailest older adults by receiving food and other help in the home. A plan was put in place to provide a weeks worth of frozen meals and other food items to those who take part in the Meals on Wheels program. This minimized contact between drivers and the older adults to whom they were delivering. COA was overwhelmed with generosity by area businesses who contributed to Meals on Wheels during this time, Riley said. These included Midwest Energy, John Carmichael of GT Independence and Jim Stuck of Fibre Converters.

In July, congregate take-out meals began to beoffered and, thanks to UAW Local 2093, Thanksgiving meals were given to veterans on the Meals on Wheels routes. L.A. Caf in Three Rivers began a buy a meal, give a meal program which resulted in the caf donating 20 meals per week to clients. In 2020, the nutrition department provided 148,000 home-delivered meals and 31,000 congregate meals, of which approximately 85 percent were to-go.

In-home aides were furloughed for a short period during 2020. COA was able to provide emergency services to its most vulnerable clients who were homebound and had no family support. One aide was kept on staff and served about 25 individuals on a weekly basis for personal care tasks. In-home aides returned to their duties in June.

The emotional well-being of members was an area of concern for COA staff during this time. Isolation and loneliness can contribute to a rapid decline in health, Riley said. COAs Life Enrichment team began working with fitness instructors to provide exercise classes on Zoom, Facebook Live and YouTube. The next step was to begin offering to-go craft kits, which was extremely popular, Riley said. Written instructions were given, and a demonstration video was available on Facebook. As the weather turned warmer, COA began to offer as many outdoor programs as it could.

COAs Kinship Care Support Group continued with about 250 hours of contact time with participants through phone calls while meetings were on hold. COAs annual holiday party could not be held in 2020, but the month of December included gifts, a hot breakfast to-go, fleece blankets and more.

Apartments at COAs Rivers Enrichment Center and Residence in Three Rivers had remained full in 2020, with a waiting list.

Continue reading here:
St. Joseph County Commission on Aging Advisory Board approves 2020 annual report - Sturgis Journal

GIFFORDMarch 18: NASA has chosen the Gifford Youth Achievement Center (GYAC) for its next In-flight Education Downlink. The email invitation from NASA In-Flight Education Downlinks reads - Congratulations! Gifford Youth Center is scheduled for an In-flight Education Downlink during International Space Station Expedition 67.

In-flight education downlinks are opportunities for students and educators to interact with astronauts aboard the International Space Station during a live, 20-minute question-and-answer session. Downlinks allow students to hear and see the crewmembers live from space. Because flight operations and crew member schedules are fluid, GYAC is tentatively scheduled for a downlink on July 6, 2022. Videos and astronaut responses will broadcast live on NASA TV and stream live on the NASA website at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.

We are honored to have been selected by NASA to participate in Expedition 67." said GYACs Executive Director Angelia Perry said. "This once in a lifetime experience will be a steppingstone for GYAC students to become future STEM leaders and will no doubt inspire them to reach for the stars."

Planning for the big day has officially commenced and will include a Living in Space, Preparing on Earth science fair, where students will create their own science projects that match the theme of the fair. State and local elected officials will be invited and representatives from aerospace companies including L3 Harris, RedWire Space and Lockheed Martin will be present to engage with and inspire students.

Last November during the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved GYACs request to write letters of support to accompany their proposal to take part in the In-flight Education Downlink. In addition, the Board approved the deployment of their IT staff to assist GYAC with technical support, if needed.

One month later GYAC submitted their proposal to formally apply for NASAs highly competitive downlink experience. Letters of support from Margaret Ingram, former 1988 Florida Teacher of the Year, Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education and CEO of the Science Institute of Discovery; Austin Jordan, Vice-President of Marketing and Communications at RedWire Space; and Indian River Countys Board of County Commissioners accompanied the proposal. GYAC finally got the good news on March 4th after weeks of hoping they'd be chosen.

This Downlinks program would allow GYAC students to ask questions directly to the astronauts and would be an exceptional learning experience, said County Board of Commissioners Chairman Peter OBryan.

The Gifford Youth Achievement Center is a a 501(c)(3) community center that opened its doors in 1998 with the sole purpose of enhancing the academic performance of children in Indian River County. In addition to year-round educational programs and activities for youth, GYAC provides activities for adults and senior citizens, such as exercise classes, bible study and educational training. The Center also hosts job fairs, health clinics, community gatherings and serves as an information hub for those in need of services.

Go here to read the rest:
GYAC Selected by NASA for In-flight Education Downlink - WQCS

Do you aspire to begin an exercise routine but don't know where to start? Looking for something that's low-maintenance and will save you gas money? It's never too late to rev up your physical activity -- whether it's on a daily or weekly schedule. While some people havelofty, yet realistic fitness goals, many are stuck in a sedentary rut. It's time to step it up.

Getting in shape doesn't have to be a drag, and technology makes it easier to form doable exercise habits. Want to rock out on a treadmill? Pump it up with dumbbells? How about training for a marathon?

Now you can tap into the power of streaming TV to help you achieve thosewellness goals. Rather than pay for a gym or yoga studio membership, you can attend classes right at home, for free, and work out in your living room.

Here are a few of the best places to start.

YouTube is the most obvious stop for fitness content. You'll find a variety of styles, trainers and niche fare; whether you're looking for weightlifting instruction, dance, yoga, full body workouts or cycling, there's something for everyone on YouTube. To help you navigate the scene, we suggest a fewchannels to check out.

Visit The Yoga Room or Yoga with Adriene for beginner yoga techniques. MadFit's video workouts can be done anywhere, Fitness Blender has multiple intensity levels and More Life Health Seniors features stretches and other exercises for strength and balance.

Head over to 305 Fitness for high-energy dance workouts with in-house DJs. Channels by Chloe Ting, Simeon Panda and Pamela Reif all provide at-home programs that focus on every part of the body.

Launched in 2019,FitOnoffers hundreds of free on-demand and live workouts that include strength training, HIIT, cardio, yoga, walking, dance, prenatal and circuits. Home to an array of high- and low-impact sequences, the app has routines that are tailored for individuals or entire families. You have the option to choose your intensity level, session length or target body area.

Follow along with professional trainers or celebrity instructors like Halle Berry, Lindsey Vonn or the Chainsmokers to experience martial arts, Zumba and body sculpting drills. And each day, FitOn offers up to 10 live group classes that you can attend without anyone seeing you. Now available to stream on Roku and Apple TV.

During the pandemic, CorePower Yoga began offering some of its online classes for free. While the majority of its content is accessible with a paid subscription, you can also stream its collection of free classes without being a paying member.

Ranging from 20 minutes to an hour, each of the seven sessions focuses on a different area. Keep in mind that in yoga, it's OK for beginners to follow one or more of the same routines daily as the body and mind become accustomed to the new practice. Download theCorePower Yogaapp on Roku, FireTV, Android TVs or Apple TV to stream the free classes.

Prime Video members have access to Amazon's free library of exercise videos covering Pilates, yoga, strength training, weight-lifting and other practices. The platform's Exercise & Fitness section houses fitness content for all ages. Among the highlights: You can stream workouts from Maggie Binkley, a 10-day yoga challenge with Chelsey Jones or Qigong instruction from Don Fiore.

Fawesome is known for being a streaming service that offers movies and TV shows, but the app also has dedicated fitness content. Users can stream videos under its Fawesome Yoga, Fawesome Pilates or Fawesome Fit You umbrellas where you'll find barre, cardio, yogalates, kettlebell, full-body sequences and more. And most of the workouts are short and sweet. Stream the Fawesome app on Roku, FireTV, Apple TV or your smart TV.

Looking for more? Netflix makes it easy to practice mindfulness with its Headspace content. Samsung's new smart TVs have a wellness hub, and Tubi users can tap into more than 100 free fitness videos (including Jane Fonda classics). You can also hit the ground running with these paid subscription services for your workouts.

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Skip the Gym and Stream These Workouts on Your TV - CNET

AMAC Exclusive By David P. Deavel

The Hunter Biden story appears to many as simply another political story of dirty tricks or perhaps bad journalists or big tech censorship. The story is all three but the most important aspect of it is that it hurts the common good of the country. That term needs some unpacking because a lot of people use the term pretty loosely to mean anything I likein a way similar to the way too many use the term constitutional. This article will begin an exploration of the understanding of the term from a Catholic and Christian perspective in order to think more clearly about the ills of our day and how to think about them. First, however, a quick recap of the Biden story.

Even the New York Times now is confirming that the Hunter Biden laptop storywith attendant legally and ethically troubling emails that would have been perilous to the election chances of Joe Bidenwas accurate. I was never sure exactly why the story was so unbelievable about it. As a number of people have noted, its not as if people with drug addiction problems are always careful about their own possessions, so the fact that Hunter might have left a computer somewhere and forgotten about it. But in a letter three weeks before the election, the story was labeled Russian disinformation by fifty intelligence agents who admitted they had no evidence other than gut instincts for their assertion. Other news agencies such as The Washington Post and Politico amplified this baseless assertion (the term they usually use for anything Donald Trump says that they dont like).

NPR famously tweeted the words of managing editor Terence Samuels concerning questions about why they had ignored the story that the New York Post had published, We dont want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we dont want to waste the listeners and readers time on stories that are just pure distractions.When they did mention it, they passed on the intelligence officers statementsomething they then had to correct in April 2021. Meanwhile, the New York Post, who had broken the story, were locked out of their Twitter account. Other social media companies shadowbanned or limited the distribution of the story.

We all know that Joe Biden (the big guy, as he seemed to be labeled in Hunters communications) won the election. And only later was it admitted that the intelligence officials view had no merit. Only finally in 2022 that the prestigious Times went on to verify the story.

Whats wrong with all this malfeasance is that it doesnt just affect an American election result, troubling as that is. It affects the trust of the country. And that trust is one main aspect of the common good as traditionally understood.

A classic definition of the common good was given by Pope John XXIIIs description of the common good in his encyclical Mater et magistra. The common good of any political community embraces the sum total of those conditions of social living whereby men are enabled more fully and more readily to achieve their own perfection. In other words, the common good is not simply about common goods such as oil or natural resources or material wealth, though they are very important to it. The common good includes those social conditions that allow people to flourish individually and together. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that responsibility for the common good requires the prudence of all, especially those who exercise the office of authority.

This note of the need for all to exercise prudence is important since many people interpret the common good as something like Rousseaus General Will, which ultimately stays at the level of abstraction and yet involves a kind of slavery in which personal interests are canceled out and the government might be obliged to stomp out the rights of the people, who do not actually have the proper desires.

Because the Democrats or Joe Biden are the people we want in power, they think, anything that keeps them in power is for the common good. My candidates and my party must be installed because they will make the big-picture decisions that affect us. And anything that gets my party elected is for the common good.

But in a democratic republic where people do not make all their decisions on their own through referendums but instead elect people to represent themnot rule them!having journalists who are not afraid, to tell the truth, or track down the story even if it hurts the candidate or party they support is a key part of this. And that is because one of the key aspects of those conditions of social living is that people can access information and have others who will ferret it out about our candidates and elected officials in order that they can make the best choices about who actually has the countrys common good in mind.

We need journalists to find this out about officials, candidates, and indeed policies and programs, for, as another document, the Catholic Compendium of Social Doctrine, puts it, truly seeking out the good does not simply require that [the individual] live with others at various levels of social life, but that he seek unceasingly in actual practice and not merely at the level of ideas the good, that is, the meaning and truth, found in existing forms of social life.

You may be a Democrat or a Republican. You may think your party has the best ideas for how to enact the common good, but we still elect individuals to use the levers of power. So knowing whether a politician is actually corrupt is an absolute necessity for the common good. So too, knowing what particular policies and programs actually involve is key. Have past programs gone to benefit those in charge of the common good instead of the common good? That is key information for an American trying to prudently vote for persons and policies. If there is a hint of truth to some of the information in the Hunter Biden emails, that is something that the American public had and has a right to know so that citizens can do their duty.

That those who serve us in intelligence spoke without any evidence about this matter, those who serve us as journalists failed to investigate the truth of the matter until long after citizens had to make decisions about it, and that media and big tech companies whose responsibility is to provide honest reporting and access to it refused to do their duty may have been decisions made with regard to a vision of the common goodbut it was not an understanding that took into account the real conditions for that common good. Those involve empowering people to make informed decisions about which candidate and which party really is more trustworthy. Those involve building trust by providing, verifying, and certainly not censoring that information.

There is no doubt that intelligence officials, journalists, editors, and tech executives have their own views on whom to elect and what to do. They are free to have those views and support them on behalf of their notion of the common good. But they also have duties to we the peoplewho also have the right and duty to seek out the truth about what actually promotes the common good and advocate for it ourselves.

The Hunter Biden laptop story is about people who may want the common good at some level but whose actions led them to some pretty common evils that were uncommonly harmful in breaking down American trust in our government and each other.

David P. Deavel is editor ofLogos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, co-director of the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, and a visiting professor at the University of St. Thomas (MN). He is the co-host of theDeep Down Thingspodcast.

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Hunter's Laptop and the Common Good - AMAC

One lesson weve learned over the past year: You can get a solid workout done without leaving home. And theres plenty of gear out there to add some spice to your sweat sessions and help take your fitness to new levels. Plus, lots of food options to fuel your every mile.

So we tested the products designed to give you an edge in your fitness, helping you get stronger, more powerful, and faster on your feet. Here, weve selected the best tools to support you through your training and across the finish line with a shiny new personal record.

Getting a cardio workout indoors has its perks. Of course it protects you from the elements, but it can also offer a safer way to exercise when winter hits and the streets get slick. Many machines also provide pre-programmed workouts and enthusiastic instructors to keep motivation high, and by mixing up your cardio method with equipment beyond the treadmill, you also reduce your risk of injurythe beauty of cross-training.

[Cross-training] is good for working the same large muscle groups you use when running, but in different ways, to create variety and better balance and to change the repetitive stress of running, says Brooke Carmen, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist at Whole Body Health Physical Therapy in Portland, OR. Many runners get injured from imbalances or overuse, and cross-training can help you mitigate those causes, Carmen says.

Dan Giordano, DPT, CSCS, chief medical officer for Bespoke Treatments in New York City, agrees, adding that activities such as rowing, stair climbing, biking, and using the elliptical all improve your cardio while taking impact off your muscles, bones, and tendons. Doing these other forms of exercise can also help you train different energy systems of the body, he says. You have to work on anaerobic fitnessor quick bursts of energyto improve aerobic. Translation: Speed intervals on the rower or bike could help you check off more miles on the road.

Snag all these benefits by buying your own cardio machine. These three stand out for their value and versatility, particularly for runners.

Courtesy Technogym

Technogym MyRun

$3,450.00

Dumbbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands have been go-to gear for home gyms for good reason: You can find them relatively easily (quality is similar across many brands) and at a reasonable price (especially resistance bands). Plus, you have tons of options for how to use them to build strength and power for better running. But if you want to add new challenges to your at-home routine (think: enhanced stability tests, more intense intervals, and next-level weight training), these three tools should have a place on your mat, stat.

Adam Hoff

FitFighter Steelhose [Weight : 5 lbs.]

$37.49

Adam Hoff

SMARTBAR & WEIGHT SET

$429.00

Adam Hoff

Crossrope Get Lean - Weighted Jump Rope Set

Crossropeamazon.com

Take these workouts with you no matter where you travel. Each app offers a particular specialty thatll keep you moving and getting stronger.

Best For Run Workouts

Nike Run Club

Let coaches and athletes lead you through intervals and tempo runs, and motivate you to work. (Free; iOS and Google Play)

Best for Strength Training

Peloton

Challenging moves, inspiring trainers, tons of varietyyou get it all. ($13/month; iOS and Google Play)

Best for Persoanl Training

FlexIt

Virtual personal training, right at your fingertips. ($40/30-minute session; iOS and Google Play)

Best for HIIT

WOD Generator

Endless options for bodyweight HIIT workouts, like AMRAPs and Tabatas. (Free; iOS and Google Play)

Best for Pilates and Yoga

Alo Moves

A mix of low-impact workouts in scenic locations with well-known instructors. ($20/month; iOS and Google Play)

Best for Meditation

Calm

Choose sleep stories, soundscapes, full programs, and more to relieve stress and rest right. ($70/year; iOS and Google Play)

Best for a Mix of Everything

Apple Fitness+

Meditation, yoga, strength, cardio, and beyond from a stellar class of trainers. ($10/month; iOS)

Turn your home gym into a full-blown fitness studio with equipment that provides both the gear and the instructor-led workout. These machines not only help you build strength and endurance through weight training and HIIT, but also offer up plenty of cross-training options, from yoga to Pilates. Find the one that fits your fitness level, your favorite workout style, and your budget.

When youre first starting out with weight training or looking to hit some PRs, its tough to know what weights to use. But Tonal makes it easyand more fun. Once you get the machine installed at home, youll go through a weight test that includes four exercises: seated lat pull down, seated overhead press, bench press, and neutral grip deadlift. This scores your upper-body strength, core, and lower-body strength based on how fast you move through the exercises, your range of motion and power output, and where you struggle. This test also determines the starting weight for moves across the platform.

Besides helping you get started with weight training, Tonal can also take your current training to the next level, thanks to smart features like eccentric mode, which adds more weight to the lengthening phase of a move. The device also has sports-based weeks-long programs, designed to help athletes like runners train for better performance. You can also choose one-off workouts aimed at improving your strength, endurance, power, or mobility on the run.

In addition to programs and on-demand workouts, Tonal also has live classes scheduled a few times throughout the day. Pick the type that motivates you most, or switch it up depending on how you feel that day. If you already started a program but want something new, the system also suggests workouts that complement what youre doing. ($2,995 plus an additional $495 for the smart accessories, including the handles, bar, rope, bench, roller, and mat; $49/month for Tonal membership)

Mirror incorporates personalization into its platform by offering up a weekly program based on your individual goals and preferences. In addition to live and on-demand classes, you also have the option to book a virtual personal training session ($40/session), which allows for two-way audio and video with a trainer who can then offer feedback on form and also feed you words of motivation to push you through your workout.

If competition drives you, Mirror also has a feature in which you earn points for hitting certain target heart rate zones. Aim to beat other Mirror members numbers or simply try to beat your own. This past fall, Mirror also introduced Mirror Weightsincluding dumbbells and ankle weightswhich pair with the device to count reps, offer up form corrections, and recommend the amount of weight to lift for each exercise. ($1,495 for the device, $50+ for the weights; $39/month for digital Mirror membership)

With the Vault, which links up with the iFIT-connected fitness platform, you get access to hundreds of instructor-led classes in disciplines like strength training, stretching, yoga, Pilates, and boxing.

If you prefer more structure to your weekly workout schedule rather than picking a different workout each day, the Vault and iFIT offer programs to follow day-by-day and week-by-week. From Strength Training 101 and Yoga for Beginners to Next-Level Strength Training and the Advanced HIIT Training Series, you get a full schedule tailored to your fitness level. That means you can also see your progress throughout the program and how far youve come by the time you complete that last workout.

While you dont get direct feedback on form like you will with Tempo or Mirror, you still see the instructor demonstrating moves on theVault, so you have a guide to mimic. ($1,999 for the device without gear; $2,999 for the device plus dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, and a mat; $39/month for iFIT membership)

You can still buy the Tempo Studio device, which includes a video screen, stand, and dumbbells ($2,495), but the Move is a much more wallet-friendly option. Opt for this digital home gym if youre searching for the smart training guidance that this type of gear provides, but without the high price tag.

With the Tempo Move, you get dumbbells (with a much smaller, portable stand to store them) and a plug for your iPhone XS/XR (or higher)all for under $500. Instead of using the Tempo Studio camera, the Move system utilizes the camera from your phone and then connects to your TV for a bigger display. Together with the smart weights, the Tempo Move offers feedback on form, counts your reps, and gives advice on whether you should go up or down in weight, depending on your pace through each lift. By pairing with the app, you also have access to tons of workouts to follow, so youre never lost on how to continue progressing your workouts. ($495 for device; $39/month for Tempo membership)

If youve already got the original Hypervolt at home, this newer model might not warrant splurging for an upgrade just yet. Still, this update brings subtle yet important tweaks. Hyperice reshaped the handleits no longer cylindricaland added a series of ridges along the neck. Combined with the lighter weight, we found that this makes for a more comfortable grip during extended sessions on tricky spots like your hamstrings.

Youll be able to squeeze about 60 more minutes of juice from the battery and also get a deeper massage from the longer stroke length. (The top speed now maxes out at a lower rpm, but the overall experience is punchier, since the head extends farther out from the device with each oscillation.)

The very best parts of the Hypervolt havent changed. The second version still has three speeds powered by a whisper-quiet 60-watt motor, plus five interchangeable head attachments, and it pairs fast with a smartphone. For in-depth guided recovery sessions designed by experts, pair the device with Hyperices app and follow along to personalized routinesitll even automatically adjust the speed as you go. ($299)

Adam Hoff

Nano X1 Pursuit Men's Training Shoes

The lightest version of the Nano, the Pursuit makes for a stable service underfoot while youre strength training, and it has plenty of room in the toe box so you can plant your feet or push off when you need to. The shoe also has enough flexibility for moves like box jumps or adding in sprint intervals. Keep in mind the shoe is sized for unisex, listed under mens on the site. ($150)

Best Fitness Tracker

Fitbit Charge 5

$169.89

The Charge blurs the line between running watch and fitness trackerand thats a good thing for those ofus who are just as interested in our weekly running mileage as our daily step count. Our favorite features in the fifth version include the built-in GPS (a must-have for most runners), a VO2 max estimator (though Fitbit calls it your Cardio Fitness Level), and an all-new Readiness Score to assess workout recovery. Plus, its still jam-packed with the goodies youve come to expect from Fitbit, like in-depth sleep tracking and contactless pay, plus a few extras usually reserved for higher-end smartwatches, like an ECG scanner. The battery life wont compete with the Garmins and Suuntos of the world, but the Charge delivers a truly impressive mix of powerful smartwatch, running watch, and fitness tracker features all rolled into one stylish slim band.

Best Smartwatch

Apple Watch Series 7

Certain Apple updates just hit differently when youre a runnertake iOS 10s addition of the new lady jogger emoji, for example. Runner-friendly changes we dig in the Series 7: the bigger, brighter screen, which makes it easier to check pace and mile splits, and a full QWERTY keyboardyes, all emojis includedto text your crew the deets on the group run meetup. The screens front crystal is twice as thick as that of the Series 6, so itll better withstand bumps and scrapes in the gym. Youll still need to plug it in for a charge on a daily basis, but the battery now goes from zero to 100 percent in just 75 minutes.

Best GPS Watch

COROS PACE 2

The Pace isnt Coross newest offering, but its one of the best values weve seen to date in a running watch. Its currently the only timepiece on the planet with a 30-hour battery and built-in power meter that costs under $200 and weighs just over one ounce. A favorite feature is the digital dial that lets you scroll through the menus easily with gloved hands or sweaty fingers. If it looks familiar, you might have seenit on Eliud Kipchoges wrist when hewon marathon gold at the 2020 TokyoOlympics.

Best for Tracking Recovery

Whoop Strap 4.0

Two main ingredients are necessary for becoming a better runner: putting in hard, meaningful training efforts, followed by real recuperation. Thats why we like Whoop. This membership platform distills the complexities of training into two simple, easy-to-understand scoresone for daily strain and one for recovery. Whoops new 4.0 sensor adds an extra three LEDs and three photodiodes to boost accuracy and capture skin temperature and blood oxygen levels. The sensor itself is smaller than the 3.0s, making it easier to slide inside compatible Whoop garments like boxers and sports bras. While the subscription wont appeal to everyone, it can serve as a reminder each month to stay committed to progressand prevent you from ditching the device.

Courtesy of Whoop

Best Simple Sleep Tracker

Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

$59.99

As runners, we can get caught up in numbers like pace, splits, and mileage. If adding more digits to your life with a sleep score or daily recovery percentage makes you wary of fitness trackers, check out the Google Nest Hub. Its helped us set healthier wake-up and bedtime routines, without feeling too plugged in. Unlike many trackers, the Hub sits on a bedside table so theres nothing to physically wear on your wrist. Ask Google to read you the weather forecast as you decide your layering strategy for a morning run, and pump in the sounds of chirping crickets or a rainstorm to help you wind down at night. Once you drift off, itll track your sleep by sensing noise and movement. But rather than curating an in-depth analysis of your hours spent in REM vs. deep sleep, the Hub just tracks your total snooze time and how restfully you slept. Take note that its designed to track one person at a time, so it may accidentally catch a pup snoring on your pillow, or your partner stealing the blankets.

Sydney Cummings YouTube Channel

NASM-certified trainer Sydney Cummings has tons of workouts that build strength in your upper body, lower body, and coreor everything at one time. Shell encourage you to pick up the heavy weights to get it done, but also give modifications for those who need em.

Each workout varies in length and intensity, often following circuit-style training, but Cummings always serves up what we want: upbeat motivation, creative exercises, tons of variety, and smart programming. And thats why we love her.

She often has programs that stretch through the month, but you can easily mix and match workouts on her channel, choosing whatever fits your schedule and helps you meet your goals. Challenge yourself to a cardio interval class or follow her through weight trainingeither way, youll finish sweaty and proud. (Free)

Yoga With Adrienne YouTube Channel

Adriene Mishlers voice brings instant calm when you press play on any of her sessions. And by the time youre done with her full flow, your body will feel like it finally got the self-care it needs.

In addition to offering yoga sessions that just feel good, Mishler offers tons of options, with classes ranging from under 10 minutes to over 40 minutes. You can opt for a 30-day yoga challenge (she has several of those to help you create a consistent practice), or go for single sessions with a focus on mental improvements like stress relief, forgiveness, or grounding. The best part: She also has plenty of sequences curated specifically for runners, whether you want to stretch it out before you hit the road or after. (Free)

Prehab Guys YouTube Channel

Every clinician curating workouts for the Prehab Guys has a doctorate in physical therapy and a certification in strength and conditioning. In other words, they know how the human body works and what exercises you need to be a stronger, faster runner while sidestepping injury along the way. Runners will definitely enjoy videos like the best warmup for athletes (and runners, specifically), the best exercises for runners to boost performance, how to deal with toe pain, plantar fasciitis pain relief, and exercises for piriformis syndrome (a.k.a. that literal pain in the butt). Press play to avoid aches when you feel them coming on, or when you just want some fitness knowledge. (Free)

Think of carbs as the first fuel choice, says Megan Robinson, RD, a sports dietitian and RRCA-certified run coach who suggests easily digestible options. This helps prevent your muscles from fatigue, as they run on glycogen, she says. Robinson also recommends cutting back on fiber the day before a long run or big race and eating about two to three hours before you start running. If you have more time to digest, go for a meal with a little fat and protein, too. But if youre running against the clock, focus on a smaller meal made of mostly carbs, or even just an electrolyte drink. You can also opt for something with a hit of caffeine. Granola bars will do, but here are a few upgraded grab-and-go options we love:

VERB ENERGY BAR for a quick hit of caffeine (it has as much as an espresso) and calories to perk you up right before a run (From $20 for 12 bars)

MUSH READY-TO-EAT OATS, made with whole ingredients and plenty of flavor options, and stored in a convenient package (From $39 for 6 servings)

CLEAN ENERGY SMOOTHIE, blended with a mix of fruits, veggies, and flaxseeds to give you important vitamins, minerals, and calories ($24 for 8 pouches)

MAURTEN DRINK MIX 320 for an easy-to-digest dose of carbs with a side of extra hydration and nutrients ($48 for 14 servings)

When youre running for more than 90 minutes, you need nutrition, so start fueling around the 30- or 45-minute mark, says Lindsey Elizabeth Cortes, RD, a sports dietitian and the owner of Rise Up Nutrition. Aim for about 30 to 60 grams of carbs per hour, she recommends, and try to take it in slowly. The products that will work for you midrun depend on your flavor preferences and what your body can handle while youre running, so its smart to test out a few options. If you feel like you cant eat on a run, try something and be patient with your GI system as you train it, Cortes says.

Some tried-and-true options many runners turn to include Clif Bloks, Nuun Sport electrolyte tablets, Honey Stinger chews or waffles, GU Energy Gels, and SkratchLabs drink mixes. But if you have a sensitive stomachor youre going the distance in an ultrayoull want to look for some other options. Our favorites:

SPRING ENERGY GEL for those who want real, easy-on-the-gut ingredients or those going for more than four hours and also need a hit of protein and fat ($8 for 2 packets)

UCAN EDGE FUEL TO GO for slower-acting carbs that are easier to digest and keep blood sugar stable ($33 for 12 packets)

UNTAPPED ATHLETIC FUEL made of pure maple syrup, with the option for extra sodium, plus raspberry or cocoa flavors ($10 for 5 packets)

Aim to get in both carbs and protein to refuel your muscles and help build them back up after a run. Robinson suggests grabbing a snack with a 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio (or as close to that as you can get) and having it within about 30 minutes of your finish. A glass of chocolate milk will do, but so will these delicious bars, all made of wholesome ingredients:

KATES REAL FOOD BAR for simple, tasty, organic ingredients ($30 for 12 bars)

PICKY BAR, featuring a mix of flavors and lots of nutrients ($28 for 10 bars)

KIND ENERGY BAR, which hits that ideal 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio ($14 for 12 bars)

More:
Fitness and Nutrition Awards | Best Fitness and Food Products - Runner's World

Training and eating for aesthetics have also been the route to success for professional wrestler and fitness coach EC3, who has the kind of Herculean physique rarely seen outside of comic books and Saturday morning cartoons. His Project Narrative workout app advocates for total personal ownership over your day-to-day habits, using nutrition and exercise as an extension of creating your ideal life. Its led to some of the most impressive body transformations for people in his industry.

You always have time to do the work, its just how you choose to use that time. Maybe thats waking up an hour earlier or going to bed an hour later. Maybe its putting off certain types of foods for other foods. But youre going to get what you put into it for the time you put into it, he said.

Im a psycho loner to get the results I have. It takes a lot. But the people Ive seen get the best results have used time management and accountability to get there, without neglecting whats most important to them. Whether its family or work. That is what impresses me the most.

I have tried and failed rapid transformation programs on at least a dozen occasions. It can feel sort of embarrassing. As a wellness writer, I have more information and resources than the average person. I set my own hours and live alone. Objectively, I am in a better position to achieve my fitness goals than almost anyone else out there. But despite having a heavy deadlift and respectable bench, abs have remained my white whale.

In the past, December meant planning something extreme to kickstart another attempt at a washboard stomach, worrying that any results less than a six-pack and plummeting scale number somehow marked a weakness in character. This year Ive been trying to reshape that mentality while I create my next programs.

With proper planning and realistic expectations, suffering is completely unnecessary to achieving fitness goals. In fact, for most people, suffering is actually going to stop you from getting the results you want at all. Geoff Girvitz, a personal trainer and host of The Dad Strength podcast, advocates for choosing a program that is sustainable and appropriate for your experience. Even still, exercise is only one component of the whole process.

"If someone hasnt jogged around the block before we wouldnt ask them to run a marathon on their first try. Many celebrity fitness programs or fitness challenges arent designed for a persons capabilities or experience. When they dont find success with those programs they think its a moral failing. But they werent setting themselves up for success in the first place, said Girvitz. When starting out, ask what are the easy wins you can accomplish inside and outside the gym. Master those first before putting things on hard mode.

So keep it simple. Any program which puts you at a caloric deficit and ups your movement is going to work for weight loss, at least in the short term, but there's still so much we don't understand about losing weight. But you know what we do know? A moderate amounts of exercise is linked overwhelmingly to better overall health. It will improve your moods. It literally makes you live longer. If you could put it in a pill and prescribe it, we'd all be taking it.

All it takes is consistently follow an exercise and nutrition plan youll actually do. (Even better if its something youll enjoy doing.) So follow whatever seems fun and exciting: maybe that's Couch to 5k or Starting Strength. Maybe there's a run club near you, or a weekly class at your gym. Casey Johnston's new Liftoff plan looks great. Whatever it is, find a way to make it sustainable: In the big picture, consistency is so much more important than any crash diet or heroic three-month stretch.

Pushing people on the idea of consistent training and diet, forever, is a harder sell than promising a six-pack in sixty days, but its a better plan than betting it all on some kind of quick fix. There is no reason to let ideas of perfection stop you from doing something good. This probably won't be the year you get abs. But it could be the year you get in the best shape of your life.

Walking is good for you, obviously. But can it whip you into shape?

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New Year's Resolutions: How to Make a Better Fitness Resolution - GQ

In a series of public hearings, Franklin County commissioners discussed including brewery and winery tours in the county zoning code.

They also looked at rules for temporary storage in the unincorporated county.

Commissioners were acting on recommendations from the countys planning and zoning commission. Final decisions are expected in several weeks.

No one from the public spoke on any of the countys proposals at the hearings.

Educational use for profit

The county is considering adding an educational use for profit land use classification. County Planning Director Scottie Eagan said this involves the use of buildings or land for group programs such as exercise classes, wine education and arts instruction.

Businesses designated educational use for profit would fall under multiple zoning designations, including W, which covers churches, convenience stores and parks and B, which includes larger mixed-use facilities like subdivisions, hospitals and hotels.

The changes would add tours at wineries, breweries and distilleries as an accessory use, Eagan said. Were getting more and more calls from these smaller microbreweries and wineries that we have in the county that want to give tours, and we never had a classification for it, she said. So we added that.

Animal training

While the countys planning commission unanimously recommended the measure, they questioned why the educational use for profit change does not specify animal training classes, Eagan said.

Second District Commissioner Dave Hinson asked if there is a specific classification for Purina Farms, which does pet training near Gray Summit.

Eagan said Purina Farms was classified under sales of service, which is only allowed in more commercial districts.

Presiding Commissioner Tim Brinker said he didnt see a need to change the new policy. Because, typically, if you have animal education, be it obedience or training, that lends itself to boarding/kennel type things, he said. If someones going to educate/keep the dog or cat or whatever animal, people are going to bring those animals to train and leave the animal.

Temporary mobile storage

The planning and zoning department, which works with the planning and zoning commission, also is proposing changes on temporary mobile storage. The changes would allow for temporary mobile storage up to a year in rail cars, cargo containers and semi-trailers if someone has a valid building permit.

The county currently lacks a policy on temporary storage, Eagan said.

The proposal would allow one container per lot of land.

Hinson said he knows of at least six farms in the county that store hay and straw in semi-trailers.

You like to store it off the ground, he said. Theyve probably been sitting there 20-plus years. What do you do about that?

Eagan said those trailers are technically already in violation, but, because code enforcement is complaint-driven, officials wont know about a potential problem until its reported.

The countys current plan calls for all existing temporary storage structures to be given a year before they would be in violation again, Eagan said.

Brinker suggested creating an exception for agriculture uses.

Eagan said most mobile storage complaints the county receives are on smaller lots in dense areas, while Hinson said the farms have 100 acres or more.

Somehow, weve got to be able to work that out, he said.

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County Commission considering beer and wine tours, other zoning changes - The Missourian

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