Search Weight Loss Topics:

Page 56«..1020..55565758..7080..»

Home » Exercise Programs » Page 56

MSUs ROTC program executed their Field Training Exercise (FTX) beginning Thursday, Nov. 19.

The FTX consisted of training exercises designed to provide new instruction and to test the training cadets have received throughout the fall 2020 semester and prior years. These exercises occurred over a four-day operation, with cadets sleeping on-site and training nearly nonstop from start to finish.

The exercise took place at Camp Crowder, a National Guard base near Neosho, Missouri. Approximately 61 students participated, including students from MSU as well as cadets who are in the Bear Battalion but are enrolled at Evangel University, Drury University, Ozark Technical Community College or Southwest Baptist University instead of MSU.

The FTX began with two UH60L Blackhawk helicopters landing in front of the battalions rappel tower on MSUs campus and transported the junior cadets to Camp Crowder. Upon arrival, the cadets began establishing living quarters and an operating center, according to Captain Peter Michalak, the battalions executive officer.

Cadets hit the ground running, climbing and shimmying on Friday with an obstacle course. Senior-year cadets provided instruction and safety measures to the junior cadets and underclassmen.

The purpose of the obstacle course is to build confidence through teamwork, both physically and mentally, said Cadet Wyatt Groves, a sophomore studying anthropology. Groves entered the program through the National Guards Simultaneous Membership Program, with five years of prior enlisted service, including a deployment to Qatar.

Its about overcoming mental barriers so when you come to a life-or-death situation, you know you can already do it, said Cadet Andrew Balkenbusch, a sophomore student who entered the program as the recipient of a three-year scholarship out of high school and is pursuing a degree in communications.

A senior cadet aids and instructs a junior cadet operating a M240B automatic machine gun. The senior cadet fills the role of assistant gunner by feeding the ammunition, providing feedback on targeting and clearing jams.

The M240B machine gun land navigation courses also occurred on Friday.

According to senior Cadet Sarah Butcher, the battalion commander within the cadet chain of command, the focal point of the FTX took place on Saturday as cadets participated in Situational Training Exercises (STX). Each squad of six to eight cadets carried out four different STX missions, each lasting about two hours.

The STX missions were organized in an operations center run by Butcher and her staff. Senior Cadet Laura Cox, Butchers executive officer, coordinated personnel, accountability, timelines and other mission-essential factors for the exercises from an operations center nearby.

These exercises are like the walk phase to prepare cadets for the spring FTX and for the juniors summer cadet training, which lasts four weeks and takes place at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Cox said.

In the field, the six squads rotated the position of squad leader between junior cadets, who were assessed on their performance by senior cadets after each STX mission. Cadets being assessed will attend the competitive Cadet Summer Training next summer at Fort Knox, KY, where their performance will affect which assignment they are given upon commissioning.

Mission types included ambushes, reconnaissance patrols and assaults on enemy objectives.

Each squads simulated enemies in the STX lanes were played by senior cadets who provided feedback on the squads performance from the perspective of the enemy. Cadets were armed for the exercise with low-velocity paintball guns and protective masks worn at all times.

While the FTX was the crescendo training event of the fall semester, the battalion will participate in a larger joint FTX with ROTC programs from Lincoln University and Missouri University of Science and Technology in the spring semester, according to Butcher.

The last major ROTC event in the fall semester will be the commissioning of five cadets on Dec. 11 as they are awarded their degrees and receive the rank of second lieutenant in the Army. The remaining ten cadets in their year group will graduate and receive their commissions in the spring semester.

Further information about the Bear Battalion and their exercises and events can be found by contacting the programs enrollment and scholarship officer Phillip Rob Roberson at 417-836-5793 or by email at proberson@missouristate.edu.

Follow Scott Campbell on Twitter, @ScottCa81380794

Subscribe to The Standard's free weekly newsletter here.

View original post here:
ROTC Bear Battalion finishes fall semester with culminating field exercise - Standard Online

Author Irene Richardson - November 30, 2020November 30, 2020Exercise is an important step in preventing type 2 diabetes. Photo via Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama (photo taken in 2019)

As we close out National Diabetes Awareness month, its important to remind ourselves of the risks attached to diabetes. By changing a few habits, you can prevent type 2 diabetes and manage it. We caught up with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabamas senior medical director, Dr. Anne Schmidt, to learn what resources are available.

One of the things that always stands out to me is when you look at national statistics from the CDC, they state if we changed diet and activity level along with peoples use of tobacco we could prevent 80% of type 2 diabetes.

You read that right80%. A 2019 report from the CDC states that from the over 34 million Americans who have diabetes, approximately 90-95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Lets look at how we can lower this statistic.

Diabetes isnt just about blood sugar. It affects kidney health and can cause higher rates of kidney failure and dialysis. Diabetes also affects blood sugar and how your body metabolizes fat. There are all kinds of different impacts of diabetes beyond just blood sugar. So, thats why its really important we help patients manage that.

Most people look at any lifestyle change as a daunting task. Even getting up 10 minutes earlier than your normal routine can prove difficult.

Its true that redirecting daily habits isnt always as easy as it appears on the surface. But, in order to prevent type 2 diabetes, these modifications wont require a complete overhaul of your life.

Incorporate changes into your daily life. We know if you lose 5-7% of your body weight and get 150 minutes of physical activity a week, it can make significant improvements.

This might look like finding ways to add in an extra green vegetable at lunch and dinnertime as you begin to develop new healthier habits.

In terms of exercise, its the same deal. You hear it over and over for a reasonuse the stairs, park a little further away, walk around the block on your lunch break.

When it comes to 20 minutes of exercise a day versus kidney disease, Ill side with the former. We even rounded up 19 trails in Birmingham you can enjoy while also staying socially distanced.

A common myth Dr. Schmidt says people tend to believe is that if diabetes runs in your family, youre doomed. Too often, people give up trying to prevent type 2 diabetes with the notion that their fate is already crystal clear.

Even if you already have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, its not unrealistic to manage it and live a comfortable life.

Its possible to manage diabetes. Some people who have relatives with diabetes might have a fatalistic attitude of, I might as well give up because Im going to end up like my aunt or dad or grandfather.'

While you cant prevent type 1 diabetes, BCBSAL has great resources like lifestyle management programs for living with type 1 diagnosis that well talk about later. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is avoidable. Prevention practices should take place as early as possible.

We are seeing Type 2 diabetes in elementary school-aged children now. Its never too young to start thinking about preventing the diagnosis.

Its really about exercise, in addition to your diet. Exercise changes the way your body processes the sugar that you eat.

Whether youre hoping to prevent diabetes or looking to navigate your condition, BCBSAL has many valuable resources for its members including myBlueWellness. This program provides important information about making better choices when it comes to managing habits and becoming compliant with a treatment plan.

BCBSAL offers chronic condition coaching programs. Type 2 diabetes is one of the diagnoses most prevalent in our state. We use clinical guidelines and offer educational materials and self-management support strategies for members.

If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, BCBSAL ensures youre on the best track to managing it.

If you manage your diabetes well, you can live a long and healthy life. BCBSAL can definitely help through diabetes prevention programs and chronic condition coaching. We also have lifestyle management programs.

Its also imperative you maintain routine doctors visits. If youre not comfortable heading into the doc right now, take advantage of BCBSALs telehealth services.

Related

See the original post:
Prevent type 2 diabetes with 5 tips from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama - Bham Now

Its a snapshot thats being replicated all over the world. Athletes at the height of their physical powers, training for the next Olympics. By turns, they are imbued with both a sense of anticipation and a sense of uncertainty. The goal is to stay conditioned and sharp, without peaking too soon.

Again and again theyve been assured that the Tokyo Games, delayed for 2020, will be staged next summer. But theyve also been warned that these Games will be like no other, and, as the clich goes, to expect the unexpected. Likely, there will be no fans in the stands. Maybe there will be no athletes village. Maybe the format for the competition will be altered.

David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated

In these ways, Siphiwe Baleka is like nearly all his fellow Olympic aspirants. A swimmer, he usually arrives for training early, 4:45 a.m. on this day; other times he arrives late at night. But each time he jumps into the pool and begins an hours worth of laps, his arms and legs working in synchronicity, his motion at once economical and extravagant. He is trying to stay in shape and bend time, shaving down his personal best. He is also cautious of rationing his energies, saving what he calls my best self for when he enters the pool in Tokyo the last week in July, 2021.

The comparisons, though, between this Olympic hopeful and thousands of others worldwide, effectively end there. For one, he represents the country of Guinea-Bissau, a West African republic with a population of less than two million, its Olympic profile so modest that it has never sent a delegation of more than five athletes to the Games and has never won a medal of any kind. Without the benefit of a federation to help fund his training, he has to work full-time, which, until recently, the former AllIvy League swimmer did by driving an 18-wheeler.

And theres this: the guy knocking off all those early morning laps in the pool? This upcoming April, months before the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo, he will turn 50 years old.

***

Baleka typically trains at Drury University in Springfield, Mo., near his home. Pool time is tight, which means he usually hits the water at 4:45 a.m.

David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated

A native of Oswego, Ill., in the early 90s, Tony Blakeas he was known thensliced through water faster than all but a small handful of college swimmers. At 5 8 and 148 pounds, Blake was a sprinter but he would also train in distance lanes. At Yale, he would swim the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle, the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke anda bit of symbolism for the fiercely singular competitorthe 200-meter individual medley.

As a sophomore, Blake finished fifth in the Eastern Seaboard Championship and became the first Black swimmer to be named First Team AllIvy League. Then, as a junior, he entered the 1991 U.S. Open Swimming Championships with hopes of qualifying for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team that would compete at the Barcelona Games.

Like most competitive swimmers, Blake had harbored Olympic ambitions for most of his life. He funneled his training into the 100-meter freestyle event. His times were off, but not by much. If everything broke right, who knew? It was my last, best shot of ever qualifying for the Olympics, he says. "I got myself to a point where I felt good about my chances.

But when the day came, he swam a poor race. In the 100-meter freestyle, Blake says, he missed qualifying by .8 seconds. It wasnt just that he had failed; its that, up to that point, his life had been a constellation of successes and falling short had barely occurred to him. A consoling friend said he could always try again for the Atlanta Games in 1996. But Blake knew that hed be 25 by then, practically geriatric, he reckoned, in the dog years of swimming. Right there in that Minneapolis cool-down pool, he tearfully administered last rites to his dream. I was heartbroken," he says. "This was the first time I wanted to do something and couldn't do it.

Blake returned to campus, but had lost his buoyancy. After a roommate found him passed out near bottles of pills, he was sent to the psychiatric ward of YaleNew Haven Hospital. Blake says it wasn't an earnest suicide attempt"It was more of an academic exercise," he saysbut he wasn't allowed to check out until a few days later, when his coach came and vouched that Blake wasn't a danger to himself.

Blake kept swimming, and swimming well. As a senior, he led the winning relay team when Yale beat Harvard and Princeton to win a share of the Ivy League swim title. Then, a few weeks after thatand a few weeks short of graduationBlake dropped out of school. He had been reading about towering figures in history. He figured it was time to go searching for truth away from campus. "All of this is garbage if you don't actually do it, he says. Yale wasn't helping me; it was stifling me. I know people thought I was nuts for leaving when I did, but I didn't want to be there."

In 2014, Sports Illustrated caught up with Blake. But he was no longer Blake. In the 20-plus years since hed been a college athlete, he had traveled the world, including stops in Ghana, Benin, Togo, South Africa and Ethiopia, using money he had saved, he says, making wood furniture and doing desktop publishing. In South Africa he met with tribal elders. They said that when a son of the soil returns home, a new name is conferred on him. They dubbed him Siphiwe (pronounced seh-PEE-way), a name common among the Xhosa and Zulu tribes. They said it means Gift of the Creator. For a surname, they chose Baleka, an anagram of A. Blake that variously (and appropriately) means fast and he who had escaped.

Though Siphiwe Baleka had returned to Yale to pick off those last few credits, graduating in 1996, he ended up finding a line of work that required no college degree. In 2008, he became a long-haul trucker. From his base in Springfield, Mo.the headquarters for Prime Inc., one of the countrys largest commercial fleetsBaleka climbed into his steel whale and drove around the country. One week hed be delivering steaks to Seattle; the following week, it could be appliances to Miami.

Soon, driving was only the half of it. A former elite athlete, he was appalled by what trucking could do the human body. Because of the rigors of the road, truckers have some of the highest obesity and morbidity rates of any profession. The worlds unhealthiest profession, Baleka called it. And he couldnt abide by this. He would pull into truck stops to exercise, often using his cab for resistance.

He would run sprints around his rig. In the rare instances he wasnt feeling time pressure, he would go for rides mid-route on a fold-up bike he kept in the cab. For every driver who flashed him a funny look, 10 would ask for tips. Soon Baleka, effectively the Jane Fonda of the long-haul set, was leading exercise classes and designing fitness regimens specific to drivers. (Full disclosure: He and I collaborated on a book, Four Minute Fit.)

Baleka is nothing if not a searcher. And around the same time, he spat into a tube and sent his DNA to African Ancestry, which specializes in the genealogy of people of color. The results came back after a few weeks: on his paternal side, Baleka descended 100% from the Balanta, an ethnic tribe from West Africa. While the Balanta span several countries, in Guinea-Bissau they represent the largest ethnic group and roughly one-quarter of the population.

I started looking for information on the Balanta just as a curiosity, he says. There wasnt much there because they never had leaders or kings. Western scholarship was never interested in them. I started compiling and writing anything I could. This is heritage. Eventually, I founded the Balanta History and Genealogy Society.

When he wasnt maneuvering an 18-wheeler across ribbons of interstate, when he wasnt helping his colleagues get in shape, and when he wasnt going down what he calls the rabbit hole of my history, Baleka was back in the pool. He realized that swimming, not unlike bike-riding, is a skill that cannot be unlearned. The strokes and rhythms felt instantly familiar in the water, his natural habitat. Shedding body fat and time in equal measure, he came within a few pounds of his college weight and a few seconds of his college times.

Appalled by how difficult their work is on the body, Baleka developed fitness and health programs for truckers.

Karen Kuehn/Sports Illustrated

In the meaty years of his 40s, he began swimming in masters events, and his competitive fire flickered at first and then burned steadily. He began winning events, turning in times comparable to the best masters swimmers, including Rowdy Gaines. I wanted to be the best in the world, he says. It was like, I wanted it in my 20s and I want it again now.

In 2017, Baleka entered the World Masters Championship in Budapest, ranked first in two events. He ended up winning four silver medals, but no golds. He wasnt the best in the world. He got a little of the same sting he felt at the U.S. Olympic trials more than a quarter-century before. But it wasnt as intense. It helped that he proposed to his girlfriend on the medal stand. He also emerged with a new goal: swimming in the next Summer Olympics.

Like many of Balekas ideas, it sounded, at first, crazy. Until it didnt. In the course of studying his ancestry, Baleka came to learn a great deal about Guinea-Bissau. Its the fifteenth-poorest country in the world, with an average per capita income at around $800. (For comparison: in the United States, its around $65,000.) According to the United Nations Human Development Index, it ranks among the least developed countries in the world.

The United States has no embassy in Guinea-Bissau. So Baleka has reached out directly to government leaders and tribal elders. Baleka tells the story of a conversation he had with Balanta elders. He had asked a simple question: What do you need most urgently? The response surprised him. The elders said: We need solar panels for this pump and we need taps. When Baleka asked why, they explained that people have to pull water from a well and carry it home.

He also learned that there were only a handful of swimming pools in the entire country. Im thinking, says Baleka, that if I became a citizen, I would probably be the best swimmer in the entire country.

Then he thought of Eric Moussambani. Remember Eric the Eel? He had taken up swimming after high school in Equatorial Guinea, a small country in central Africa. At the Sydney Olympics, he represented his country in the 100-meter freestyle. When two competitors in his heat false-started, he had the pool to himself. It was the longest distance he had ever swum, as his native country had no Olympic-sized facility. Mid-race, he began struggling. The crowd sensed this and cheered him on. His time was irrelevant; he finished the race. It marked one of the great heartstring moments in Olympic history, fodder for a classic NBC spirit-of-the-Games vignette.

With some digging, Baleka realized that the same program that enabled Moussambani to compete in Sydney was still in effect. Under the International Olympic Committees universality system, spots are reserved for smaller countries with developing programs in select sports. Not only does universality exist for swimming, but the standards have been eased for the Tokyo Games, on account of the pandemic.

Suddenly galvanized by the not-unrealistic goal of becoming an Olympic swimmer, Baleka stopped driving his truck and cut back on his trucker fitness programs and trained with a single-minded pursuit. Last October, he competed in the first International Masters Swimming Championship in Cairo. He won six gold medals. He swam with his body painted in traditional African designs. He took the medal stand draped in the Guinea Bissau flag with the word Balanta written across it.

He did some quick math in Cairo. His time of 24.96 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle was less than a second off his best time as a college swimmer. He is not in the same time zone as, say, Brazils Csar Cielo, who holds the world record in the 50 free at 20.91. Then again, had Baleka competed in the Rio Games, he would have swum faster than 27 competitors. Says Baleka: Im realisticwhich is not something I say often. Im not winning an Olympic medal. Im not coming in first. But Im not coming in last either.

In January, Baleka visited Guinea Bissau, the first member of his family to return since they were forced to leave during the Middle Passage 250 years and 10 generations ago. He was already a minor celebrity in his motherland, the image of him wearing the Balanta shirt in Cairo having rocketed around the country. He was assured that gaining citizenship would not be a problem.

The Ledger Hotel in the capital city of Bissau is home to one of the nations few pools, and the manager made a barter deal with Baleka: If he gave swimming lessons to the locals, he could not only use the pool for training, but also stay in a room free of charge.

Baleka returned home to southwestern Missouri fired up with more confidence than ever, only for COVID-19 to hit. In some senses, its been a curse. He is unemployed, no longer working for Prime, and his finances have been battered. Hes also struggled to find pool time. (He usually trains in the pool at Drury University on Springfields north side but the only available slot is 4:45 to 5:45 a.m.) Then again, the pandemic has also allowed him an extra year of training and extra time to make his appeal to swimming authorities.

As it stands now, Baleka needs the fundsand COVID-19 travel clearancesto return to Guinea Bissau so the country can grant him citizenship and so that its National Olympic Committee can formally submit a universality places application on his behalf. Baleka and Guinea Bissau must then appeal to Dr. Mohamed Diop of Senegal, the FINA Bureau Member and president of the Senegalese Swimming Federation, who is highly influential in the approval process for the universality swimming slots.

Diop has thus far responded tepidly to Balekas unusual quest and request, informing the Guinea Bissau Olympic Committee that Baleka needed to prove himself by competing in a series of races in South Africa. This is nearly impossible on such short notice, and quite impossible when the lockdown began, says Baleka. He also responded that, by competing in Cairo, he had already proven himself at an international swimming event held on the African continent. Diop, he says, did not get back to him. (Diop did not return SIs messages seeking comment.)

As Baleka has studied the history of his ancestral home hes realized that the notion that Guinea Bissau has no swimming history isnt really accurate. When Europeans first came to West Africa, it was the West Africans who were the best swimmers. A sign of the effects of the last 500 years is how Europeans went from being the worst swimmers to the best and Africans went from being the best to the worst, including a drownings crisis among African American and African European swimmers, he says. [Imagine] what this would mean to the people of Guinea Bissau, especially if this could lead to a national swim program.

Then theres the full circlethe flip-turn, as it wereaspect of Balekas personal swimming journey. When he was in his early 20s and failed to make the Olympic team, he did not think his ambitions were simply being deferred for 28 years. When you dream about making it to the Olympics, you dont imagine yourself there at the age of 50, he says. But, trust me, life takes you to different and exciting places, and sends you in directions you never expected.

Read more of SI's Daily Cover stories

Continue reading here:
This Yale-Educated Trucker Is Trying to Make the Olympics at 50and He Just Might - Sports Illustrated

Donna M. Murphy| Wicked Local

Are you having trouble sleeping? Do you find yourself starting a task and then forgetting what you were going to do? Do you find yourself consumed with worry about your own health, or your family, friends or loved ones? The Covid-19 pandemic has changed our lives in unprecedented ways, and seems to have created a pandemic of anxiety. Anxiety can be an everyday response to any unexpected blip in your routine, sparking a perception that something is wrong; it is a signal to be on alert and do some planning. A fear or anxiety response is a natural, typically brief response to an accurately perceived danger. When that response becomes ingrained in our thought process, or becomes an unspecified fear of something that might happen in the future, anxiety can interfere with our thinking and actually prevent us from making an accurate assessment of the situation.

Anxiety manifests in different ways. At its most extreme, it can overwhelm our thinking, such that the perception of danger becomes preoccupying; it can lead to behaviors like obsessive cleanliness, repetitive questioning, a need for constant reassurance, agitation or insomnia. It can also manifest physically, with symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, feeling a shortness of breath, tension, restlessness, stomach pain, nausea, loss of appetite or vomiting. These physical symptoms themselves can become a source of anxiety, compounding the anxiety experienced.

Chronic anxiety differs from a natural fear response in its doggedness. When we are unable to stop thinking about the worrying situation, or when the worry impacts our daily activities, our concentration or our sleep, it has morphed from its natural function as a fear response into a misplaced attempt to plan for an unpredictable future.

While we wait for the commercialization of the COVID vaccines, we need to take care of our mental as well as our physical health. Everyone should follow established guidelines wash your hands, wear a mask, social distance whenever possible, and limit exposure to people outside your household. Beyond this, take steps to reduce the anxiety that you feel. Limit your media consumption constant exposure to reports of illness and death tolls increase anxiety. Listen to music rather than the news. Exercise. If you dont feel comfortable going outside, find an activity you can do inside that moves your body. Dance, even if youre alone. If you cant even get out of your chair, exercise your fingers and toes (they need it too!) Moving your body will not only make you feel better, but it will take your mind off COVID, and help you combat anxiety. Be verbal. Remember that smiles, grimaces and other facial gestures are that much harder to detect when someone is wearing a mask. Say hello rather than nod when the opportunity arises. Laugh out loud if the situation allows (but only behind a mask). Sing! Practice good sleep hygiene. Go to bed at a regular hour. Turn off devices. Entice sleep. Allow it to arrive. Anxiety can wreak havoc on our sleep.

Remember that crippling anxiety creates tunnel vision, and often puts us in a constant state of fight or flight. Try to tell yourself that its okay to let go of the struggle. You dont have to fight or flee. Find that little ember of hope within yourself and let it glow.

And this Thanksgiving, wherever you are, and however you celebrate, try to focus on that for which you are truly thankful. Happy Thanksgiving.

The Council on Aging and the Newton Department of Senior Services will host a seminar on Mental Health at 7 p.m. Dec. 1. To register, visit https://bit.ly/3kW9ppO. And remember that both the Newton Department of Senior Services and the Newton Department of Recreation offer a wide variety of exercise programs for people of all ages and abilities. See https://bit.ly/2J9B3Co and https://bit.ly/2Vb7tQ1.

Continue reading here:
OPINION: The anxiety pandemic - Wicked Local

The UHCL Health and Human Performance Institute (HHPI) is a community-based research center to help individuals better their health and wellness through testing, nutrition and exercise. HHPI offers a variety of programs and services to the community.

UHCL is an ideal place for the institute because of the faculty, students, facilities and university collaborations, William Amonette, executive director of the Health and Human Performance Institute (HHPI), said.

Previously known as the Exercise and Nutritional Health Institute (ENHI), HHPI is housed in the UHCL Campus Recreation and Wellness Center (CRWC). The researchers use the general exercise area as well as three human performance laboratories to serve the members and train students in the exercise health sciences courses.

The Health and Human Performance Institute offers a number of unique exercise and nutritional programs for special populations, Amonette added. Since we opened originally in 2019 as the Exercise and Nutrition Health Institute, we provided clinical programs for individuals who are aging, have metabolic diseases, cancer, and select neurologic / neurodegenerative diseases / injuries. With the rebranding as the Health and Human Performance Institute, we will soon offer tactical strength and conditioning programs for police officers, firefighters and other emergency responders. We will soon launch programs focused on concussion rehabilitation as well.

HHPI clients are evaluated and enrolled in programs designed for them based on their evaluations. The website lists five programs and eight services currently available with more programs and services coming soon. The programs range from metabolic health to athletic testing and the services include different analyses and screenings. These are all included with HHPIs monthly registration fee of $50, which offers the full range of services. Services are included with the monthly HHPI membership, but those who do not pay for a membership can still obtain services at an additional cost.

HHPI is run by a team of scientists and health practitioners that come from a variety of different backgrounds such as Kirk English, assistant professor of exercise and health sciences, Meg Choate, UHCL alumna and graduate student in Exercise and Health Science with a concentration in Public Health, and Randall Sharp, UHCL alumnus and graduate student in Exercise and Health Science.

They are dedicated to improving the health of those in the community as well as advancing human performance studies. Students enrolled in the Fitness and Human Performance undergraduate degree and the Exercise and Health Science graduate degrees are offered learning opportunities from the HHPI.

HHPI increases the reputational capital of the campus, said Interim Dean of the College of Human Sciences and Humanities Samuel Gladden. Which means that weve become even more visible on a local, national and international scale. This will highlight the kind of innovative research that we are doing here that is part of HHPIs mission. And it will bring grants, and with those grants, in some cases, opportunities for students to work alongside faculty in doing research work and even in the case when there are grants that dont involve students or research that doesnt involve students, the visibility of UHCL this will enhance is good for campus and therefore good for students.

Gladden added that the institute offers many opportunities for students. Last year, over 20 students involved in the research were published in conference proceedings. Additionally, HHPI offers employment and internship opportunities for students. Currently, there are four paid student research assistants and one intern exercise physiologist with the plan to add more opportunities for students in the College of Human Sciences and Humanities as well as the other colleges.

The Human Health and Performance Institute is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those interested in signing up for an HHPI membership can do so here. For more information, contact HHPI at HumanPerformance@uhcl.edu or 281-283-3381.

See the original post:
The Health and Human Performance Institute offers health and wellness programs to the community - The Signal

Shown (bottom row) left to right are graduate awardees: Hattie Fowler, Mary Hogan, Denise Skinner, Janice Dawkins, Hezekiah Deligar and trainers: Melinda Henry, Kim Hinton, Linda White and James Lee. Top Row (l-r) Jeanette Smith, Constance Mitchell, Beulah Williams and Gloria Griffin.

Throughout the year, the Shawn D. Delifus Foundation has become the catalyst for teaching children and adults to learn how to swim. Their home swim office is the Johnson Family YMCA, on the northside. Recently the Foundation honored seniors and trainers as they celebrated the completion of a free 12-week exercise and nutrition program funded by the Cares Act.

The Foundation also paid tribute to 85 year-old, Hattie Fowler, a member of the YMCAs Silver Sneakers class. Fowler was instrumental in spearheading a 5:30 a.m. walking program with other senior participates. Fowler arises early every weekday to meet seniors for their daily morning walk. At 85 and with covid surrounding us, we really have to stay focus on our health and make sure we stay strong and ready, said Fowler.

The Silver Sneaker program is designed for seniors ages 65 or older that is Medicare and disability eligible. The program has over 14,000 gym locations across the nation where seniors can participate in healthy physical activity. The Delifus Foundation continues to partner with the YMCA and Silver Sneakers for swimming classes, exercise and nutritional classes and programs

We are proud of our seniors in the Silver Sneakers program and our swimming program. We advocate for a healthy life for seniors and let them know you take care of your body and your body will take care of you to live a long life, said Program Director Joyce Delifus. The next free 12-week class will be held on Thursday, December 3rd, at the Johnson Family YMCA located at 5700 Cleveland Road. Seniors are asked to stop by the Y and register for their free spot by call (904) 616-8318. Due to Covid-19 space is limited.

More here:
Seniors Lauded for their Exercise and Nutrition Regimen Free Press of Jacksonville - Jacksonville Free Press

Weve got lots of excellent programs on Fitness Volt for you to follow. All you need to do is choose and print or download the one you like the look of and do it. Youll still need to train consistently, eat right, and get plenty of rest but, in terms of planning, weve done all the hard work for you.

But, following one of our programs can have disadvantages too.

For a start, the author has to design the workout for a group of users, and not you individually. It may include exercises that you cant do or dont like, and the program cant take into account your personal circumstances. The workout could be too hard or too easy for your current level of fitness and strength. It might not even match your personal training goals.

If youre an experienced exerciser, you may have the knowledge to look at a workout and then adapt it to your needs. Less experienced exercisers dont usually have this skill.

You COULD hire a personal trainer or strength coach to write you an individualized training program. A good trainer will ask you lots of questions to determine what sort of plan you want and need.

However, this means spending money, and there is still no guarantee that youll end up with a decent workout plan. Plus, youll need to go through the same process in a couple of months when you adapt to your workout, stop making progress, and need another plan to follow.

In this article, were going to provide you with the information you need to create your own personalized workouts. Just follow the steps outlined below.

This is arguably the most critical step when you start to build your program. Its what determines the type of training you are going to do. According to the principle of specificity, you are fit for the kind of workouts that you do. So, if you want to build muscle, burn fat, or get stronger, your workout needs to be aligned to those goals.

Take a moment to write down exactly what you want from your workout. Dont try and train for multiple goals simultaneously; pursuing too many things at once makes life more complicated than it needs to be and could even undermine your training progress.

Instead, pick the goal that is most important to you. For most lifters, this means one of the following:

Bear in mind that some of these goals overlap slightly. Training for muscle size will also increase strength and endurance, while training for strength will also increase muscle size and power.

Every training goal is associated with a specific rep range. Thats why choosing your personal workout goal is so important. While you will make some progress by training outside the accepted rep range for your goal, youll do better if you adhere to these guidelines.

There is some wiggle room when it comes to choosing your rep range. For example, if you want to build size AND strength, you could do sets of 4-8. Similarly, if you want to develop muscle size and endurance, you could focus on sets of 10-15.

Your rep range also dictates how long you should rest between sets. As a rule, the heavier the weight, and the fewer reps you do per set, the longer you need to rest. Thats because very heavy strength training taxes your central nervous system (CNS), which takes longer to recover than your muscles.

The generally accepted rest periods by training goal are:

A lot of programs also specify the weight you should lift in relation to your one-repetition maximum, or 1RM for short. While this can work, it can also cause problems when you build your program. For starters, you need to KNOW your 1RM to prescribe a percentage of that weight.

Also, you may find that some days you feel stronger than others. Training with a predetermined percentage of your 1RM does not allow for these natural fluctuations.

So, rather than get too hung up on 1RMs and percentages, just make sure you come close to muscular failure within your chosen rep range. This may take a little experimentation, but after a week or so, you should find your groove and discover the right weights to train with.

That said, the accepted 1RM percentages by training goal are:

Your split determines how many times a week you will work out, and what muscle groups you will train each day. There are a lot of options to choose from, including:

The right split depends on how many days per week you can dedicate to training. If you can only work out twice a week, a full body split is probably your best choice. But, if you can hit the gym four, five, or even six times a week, you could use a body part split instead.

For more information on training splits, including example workouts to try, check out our article The 12 Best Workout Splits.

Training volume refers to how many sets you are going to do per workout, which can be high, moderate, or low. As a rule, the lower your rep count is, the more sets youll do. So, if youre doing sets of three reps, you should expect to do more sets than if you are doing 15 reps.

The volume of your workout is also determined by how long you want your workouts to be. If you dont have much time to train, you may purposely do fewer sets per workout. But, if you have plenty of time to train, you may wish to do more sets.

Another factor that will determine the number of sets you do is how many exercises youre going to include per workout. You could do lots of different exercises and only a couple of sets of each, or fewer exercises and more sets.

For example, you could pick five different chest exercises and do three sets of each to total 15 sets, or you could do just three exercises for five sets to also total 15 sets.

Bodybuilders often include a greater variety of exercises per muscle group per workout to train the target body part from lots of different angles. In contrast, exercisers training for strength often do fewer exercises but more sets of each movement.

You dont need to do the same number of sets for every exercise in your workout. You may find it better to do more sets of the first few exercises, which should be your priority anyway, and just a couple of sets of the exercises near the end of your program. This makes better use of your energy.

In the following example, you can see that youll be doing more sets of squats and leg presses than the other exercises, as they are arguably the bigger bang exercise that will produce the majority of your gains.

Whichever way you slice it, your workout volume needs to fit into the time you have available to work out. Decide on how long your workout is going to be, and then see how many sets youll be able to do.

For example, if you are training for hypertrophy, doing ten reps per set, and resting 60 seconds between each one, your set (including recovery) should take approximately 105 seconds.

If you plan to work out for 60 minutes, that means you have time to do about 34 sets per workout. Factor in the time that it takes to set up between exercises, and youll probably find you can comfortably fit 25-28 sets into an hour workout.

Needless to say, if you are training for strength and need to rest three minutes between sets, your set count will be considerably lower, or your workout will need to be a whole lot longer.

This doesnt mean you HAVE to squeeze as many sets into your workout as possible, but it will be useful to know your upper limit.

There are hundreds if not thousands of strength training exercises for you to choose from. But, broadly speaking, every exercise can be labeled as compound or isolation.

Compound exercises involve multiple muscle groups and two or more joints working together. Examples include squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pull-ups and pulldowns, shoulder presses, and rows. Compound exercises allow you to lift heavy weights, which is useful for building muscle size, strength, and power. Compound exercises are also deemed more functional because they often involve or mirror everyday movements.

Isolation exercises involve just one joint moving at a time and fewer muscle groups. Theyre useful for localized hypertrophy and endurance but not so good for building strength or power. Examples of isolation exercises include cable flyes, calf raises, triceps kickbacks, and dumbbell curls.

For almost all training goals, your workout should include more compound exercises than isolation exercises. Compound exercises provide you with more bang for your workout buck, saving you time in the process.

For example, squats train virtually every muscle in your lower body. To work the same muscles using isolation exercises, youd need to do:

Thats not to say isolation exercises are pointless. Its just that compound exercises are often the better tool for the job. You can use isolation exercises to finish off a main muscle after you have done your chosen compound exercises or use them to preferentially target smaller muscles that may need more focus.

There is no set rule for how many compound versus isolation exercises you should do per workout. Some training experts say you cant go far wrong if you do nothing but compounds!

There is no need to avoid isolation exercises altogether but, to make the most of your training time and energy, they should probably only make up about 20% of your total training volume.

So, choose 2-3 compound exercises per muscle group you want to train, and then 1-2 isolation exercises too. Remember, the more exercises you do, the fewer sets youll be able to do of each one. Conversely, if you choose fewer exercises, youll be able to do more sets per movement.

You should now know what rep range you are going to use, how many sets you are going to do per workout, how long you need to rest between sets, what body parts youre going to train when, and which exercises you want to do.

Your next task is to put those exercises into a useable order.

As a general rule, its best to work from high skill, heavy weight, compound exercises down to lighter, simpler, isolation exercises. This makes the best use of your energy and, as you get tired, your workout will get easier.

For example, on back day, you might put your exercises in this order:

Of course, what one person finds hard, another person may find easier, so this step is open to some individual interpretation. But, if you get to the end of your workout and cannot perform your chosen exercises properly, you may have worn yourself out because youve left the most challenging exercises to the end.

When determining exercise order, you should also consider the effect that one exercise will have on your performance of the next. It would be a bad idea to do back extensions before deadlifts, as this would mean deadlifting with an already fatigued lower back. Similarly, training your triceps before bench presses or overhead presses would also harm your performance.

If youve followed the previous steps, you should now have a well-designed workout program to follow. Youll know what muscle groups you are training on which day, what exercises youll be performing, and how many sets and reps youll be doing too.

As good as your program (hopefully!) is, it only has a limited shelf life as, after youve done it a few times, it will no longer be as productive as it was when you started it.

Your body adapts very quickly to any workout, and to continue making gains in muscle size, strength, power, or endurance, your workout MUST be progressive. To that end, as you are building your program, you also need to be thinking about how, over the coming weeks, you are going to make it harder.

Options include:

You dont need to make huge changes to your workout; small changes are usually enough to maintain your progress. However, sticking with the exact same program for too long will bring your progress to a crashing halt, so always plan for progression to avoid workout plateaus.

Here are Ten Ways to Make Any Exercise More Effective, and ensure you keep progressing from one workout to the next.

In some cases, what looks good on paper doesnt work so well in real life. Dont be surprised if your program isnt quite perfect when you run through it for the first time. After your workout, take a moment to review what went really well and what wasnt as effective as you hoped it would be. Make changes accordingly.

For example, your workout may have taken you 90 minutes when you had only planned to train for an hour. Or, you might find that you were just too tired to do justice to the last couple of exercises. Perhaps the exercise order wasnt quite right.

This is all perfectly normal and part of the learning process when you start building your own programs.

Revise your workout so that, next time out, things go more smoothly. With luck, youll learn from these mistakes and wont make them again.

Designing your own workouts is a skill AND an art. At first, it can seem like a lengthy and even complicated process, but, like any tricky task, it gets easier the more often you do it. And, if you persevere, youll learn how to create training programs that are better suited to your needs and goals.

In short, if you build your workout yourself, you will be rewarded!

There is nothing wrong with following a program written by someone else, but it may not be a perfect fit if it wasnt created specifically for you.

Work your way through the eight steps outlined above and build your program from the ground up. Then, for practice, do it again and come up with a different routine. The more times you go through this process, the better youll get at it.

Have fun with program design and experiment with different approaches. Save every program you write; just because you dont want to use it right now doesnt mean it wont be perfect for another time.

Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox.

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Read more from the original source:
Build Your Program: How to Design the Perfect Training Plan - FitnessVolt.com

Under the program you are sent 5 packets of fuel per day and then you make a meal on your own.

There's a diet that is helping people lose weight fast. So in February we shot testimonials and a doctor's opinion.

But then the pandemic hit. So did wearing masks. We decided to hold the story.Now we know maintaining a healthy weight is more important than ever, since obesity is a risk factor for severe, even deadly COVID-19.

This plan safely brings the food to your home, and the support can be done virtually for physically distancing.

"I'm at the orthopedist's office for my follow up and I have to get on the scale, and I'm like, 'Wait, what!' It was quite a shock," said Elinor Dorsey, 57, an Optavia coach in Covington.

"People would say, 'No, you won't look good in that because your behind's too big,' or you know it's, 'My face was so fat,'" said Lydia Steele, 57, an Optavia Client.

"I found myself to be in my 50s and the heavy blonde," said Chloe Coombe, 65, an Optavia client and coach.

The three women bonded over a weight loss program that they say took off pounds fast, and was easy to follow.

RELATED: Mackie: Once again Mediterranean diet a winner for weight loss, healthElinor Dorsey says her weight gain happened fairly recently when she fell, broke her arm and needed surgery. It was also around the time she lost her mom.

"It was just a lot more than I even thought. Like it was kind of like what I would weigh when I was pregnant. Like kind of scary, you know," remembers Dorsey.

And then three years ago she heard a friend talk about a weight loss program that focused on health, with some flexibility. Four months later, she took the step.

"I can't tell you what made me pick up the phone this one day, but one day I just knew like something has to give," Dorsey said.

And it did.

"The first week I lost four pounds, which was a lot for somebody five feet four inches." Then the next week I lost two pounds and I remember coming and telling my husband, 'This is going to work. I'm going to reach my goal,'" Dorsey said.

In a little more than three months, she did reach her goal. Twenty-fivepounds were gone, and then to her surprise anothereight came off.

"To do this program for four months and everything needs to be taken in, it was crazy," Dorsey said about her clothes.

Elinor follows Optavia. You eat six times a day, 800 to 1,200 calories total. There's a variety of 60 mini meals or 'fuelings' as they are called, like shakes, bars, soups, biscuits and pudding, to keep your metabolism revved up. There are customized plans but most people are on the 5&1, meaning 5 of those fuelings, bought from the company and delivered to your home, then one lean and green meal, with vegetables and protein to help keep you from losing muscle.

It is low in simple carbs, like sugar and starch. There is free support, a personal coach for counseling, and an extensive online community. Coaches can give advice for what to order if you're going out to eat, and there are numerous shared recipes for lean and green home meals. You're encouraged to drink 64 ounces of water a day and get seven hours of sleep. Elinor had so many people notice her transformation, that she became a coach.

"It keeps me accountable and it's just very rewarding to help somebody with something they're struggling with. I mean, I can't think of a greater way to spend my time," Dorsey said.

"Having a weight loss coach is shown to, is shown to provide the kind of support that most of us need to loose weight, so it is a good thing," explained Dr. Melinda Sothern, of LSU Health Sciences Center School of Public Health.

A health, exercise and weight loss expert Dr. Sothern says if you stick to commercial weight loss programs, they can be effective, especially over the short term. Long-term weight loss is more rare, but there is science suggesting that online and personal coaching, like Optavia has, lead to weight loss success two years later. Dr. Sothern also points out the benefit of planned meals and snacks.

"There's numerous studies going back decades to show that if the food is packaged for you, and it's delivered to you, and you don't have to think, and you don't have to shop, and you don't have to cook, you're more likely to follow the plan, and you're more likely to lose weight," explained Dr. Sothern.

Another benefit: feeling satiated.

"So when you remove the carbohydrates and the sugar, and replace them with proteins and fats, you're going to feel full faster," said Dr. Sothern.

"Well after one week I wasn't hungry.My one complaint was why do I have to keep eating," said Steele.

Registered nurses Lydia Steele and Chloe Coombe asked Elinor to coach them. Lydia remembers being overweight as far back as grade school.

"Somebody said as I was eating Cheetos, 'Well that's why she's so fat," remembers Steele.

She is a type 1 diabetic and found that the 5&1 program did not work well for her, so Elinor got advice and recommended the 3&3 program.

"After that, the weight just started falling off, so within, I would say, two months, two and a half months, I had lost 20 pounds," said Steele.

"The first three days were hard because you're just starting something new. You're getting rid of sugars,and within a month, I had lost the prescribed amount of weightthat they say that you will, if you stay on the program. And within about four months, I had lost 45 pounds," said Coombe.

The women say when they put some pounds back on, they just get back on the program, but they do that before any weight gain gets out of control. Chloe's son rewarded her success with a trip overseas to visit him.

"They call it habits of health. I prefer to call it, not habits, but decisions. That's a stronger word. It is for my health, and it is for the rest of my life," said Coombe.

"The program is all about building new habits and it's one habit at a time, and it's replacing old habits with new habits," said Dorsey.

And Elinor takes her role as a coach seriously.

"You're sharing private things, like for instance, I have a book where people's weights are written down. If this house was on fire, that's the first things I'm grabbing," said Dorsey.

And remember the shock Elinor felt getting weighed at her doctor's office? Well, not after she lost weight.

"I thought I was going to cry.I was like, 'I did it!'So,I mean, I know how people feel, likeI feel emotional evensaying that, but it's true," Dorsey said with her eyes tearing up.

Same thing happened to Lydia when she got weighed in the doctor's office.

"And I just smiled because I knew I don't have to worry about this. And the nurse turned and just, her mouth just dropped," remembers Steele.

Oh, and remember the grammar school classmate who called Lydia fat as she ate Cheetos? Well recently, after more than 40 years,Lydiaapproached him.

"I said, 'Do you remember when you said that to me, because it lasted with me.' And he said, 'I am so embarrassed. I am so embarrassed. Now look at me and look at you,'" Steele recalls.

And the three women are not looking back. Most of their larger clothes are out the house for good.

The packaged foods cost around $400 a month and are delivered to your home. The personal coach and online help is free.

Coach Elinor: 985-264-0507

Coach Chloe: 985-778-9082

Go here to see the original:
Eat 6 times a day to lose weight under this program - WWLTV.com

Play is a powerful thing. For people dealing with a physical, emotional, or mental health issue, therapy in the form of recreation can be especially powerful.

Recreational therapy can help rebuild skills, improve mood, boost quality of life, and strengthen social connections. These are just some of the benefits of targeted recreational therapy on your health and well-being.

This article will take a closer look at what recreational therapy is, how it can be especially beneficial, and the steps you can take to find the right therapist.

Recreational therapy uses leisure activities to help people with specific health conditions improve their skills, abilities, overall health, and emotional well-being.

Recreational therapists work with you and your healthcare team to set health goals and develop a plan to meet your needs. The plan is based on your own interests and the resources available in your community.

Recreational therapy can take place in a variety of settings, including:

Your therapist will typically try to match your activities to your interests. Some of the activities that may be part of a recreational therapy program include:

Recreational therapy benefits people of all ages. Its often used to help people who are:

Recreational therapy has wide-ranging positive impacts on your physical and mental health. This is especially the case when the therapy is designed around your individual interests and needs.

Lets dive into some of the science-backed benefits of these therapies.

Many therapeutic recreation programs get people up and moving and stimulating their minds with engaging, creative tasks.

Research from 2018 shows that recreational therapy involving physical activity may decrease symptoms of depression.

Music therapy, art therapy, drama, and dance also all have positive effects on depression symptoms. Researchers believe the improvement may be linked to endorphins. These feel-good chemicals are released in your brain during physical movement, when you express yourself creatively, and during social interactions.

Research shows that recreational therapy may help improve a persons self-confidence and self-esteem.

In one small 2018 study, for example, therapists interviewed older adults in a long-term care facility, asking them to select leisure activities based on their interests.

After a structured program where the adults engaged in their chosen activities every week and did simple upper body exercises, they reported improved self-esteem compared with how they felt before starting the therapy program.

Study participants who hadnt been offered the option of customized activities didnt experience the same boost to their self-esteem.

Illness, injury, and disability can limit your ability to interact with people. Recreational therapy provides opportunities to engage with other people in positive ways, which can counteract feelings of isolation.

In one 2011 study, people with early dementia described feeling uplifted and accepted after participating in a recreational therapy program together.

Stronger social bonds like these are associated with better health outcomes across the board.

In many cases, a serious injury can affect your ability to do routine tasks. Taking care of your home, exercising, playing with your children or grandchildren these activities may be difficult or impossible after an injury.

Recreational therapy can make a difference in the level of functional independence after a serious injury.

In one 2012 study, for example, researchers found that people who engaged in greater amounts of therapeutic recreation after a spinal cord injury recovered functional independence at a slightly higher rate than those who didnt have the same therapy.

Recreational therapy for people with injuries is also associated with more social activity, greater involvement with sports or aquatic activities, and fewer pressure ulcers.

Recreational therapy often includes exercise, games, dance, yoga, tai chi, and other kinds of movement. A 2014 study found that this kind of recreational movement may help improve your balance, physical strength, and flexibility.

In a 2020 study, 33 preschool children with autism spectrum disorder participated in an 8-week therapeutic program that focused on basketball. At the end of the program, the students had improved speed, agility, and muscle strength, and showed improvements in their social communication skills.

Theres also some evidence that exercise therapy may be a helpful tool in substance use programs.

Research from 2011 shows that physical exercise, social engagement, and games that stimulate your brain (such as bridge, chess, and memory challenges) all improve the healthy functioning of your mind.

Its important to bear in mind that recreational therapy cant fully restore areas of the brain that have been permanently damaged. But research from 2017 suggests that physical activity, social relationships, and activities that challenge your thinking may all help maintain the healthy functioning of your brain.

Being treated in a hospital is a stressful, fearful experience for a child. According to a 2013 study, recreational therapy in a pediatric hospital may help reduce those negative feelings. This can be particularly important if a child visits hospitals repeatedly due to a chronic condition.

Therapeutic play gives children opportunities to build positive relationships with hospital staff, to talk about their feelings, and to develop a sense of control and confidence at a time when they may be feeling vulnerable.

Occupational therapy and recreational therapy are two professions in the allied health field. Depending on your condition, you may work with both therapists.

Occupational therapists focus on the physical and cognitive skills you need to function in your daily life. This can include skills such as:

While recreational therapy may also help you with these skills, the focus of the therapy is on leisure activities.

Recreational therapists typically have a bachelors degree in the field. Many states and healthcare organizations also require certification as a therapeutic recreation specialist.

To become certified, the therapist must have a bachelors degree in recreational therapy, a related field, or have worked for 5 or more years in therapeutic recreation services. They also need to complete a 560-hour supervised internship and pass a rigorous exam by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification.

Five states (New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Utah) also require recreation therapists to be licensed.

If youre receiving therapeutic recreational therapy in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or rehabilitation clinic, you may not need to choose a therapist, as theyre likely to be part of your treatment team.

If you want to find an independent recreation therapist for yourself, an older loved one, or a child in your care, you may want to ask these questions as you consider the possibilities:

Depending on your health goals, you may be interacting with your therapist for a period of weeks or months, so its important to consider your own needs and feelings as you make your choice.

Know that its always OK to change therapists or stop working with a therapist if you need to do so. You dont need a reason.

The benefits offered by private insurance companies vary from provider to provider, so youll need to check with your plan administrator to find out which therapeutic services are covered by your plan. To avoid higher costs, you may have to find a therapist or facility in your provider network.

Medicare Part B pays for outpatient activity therapies when theyre part of your rehabilitation plan or mental healthcare plan, so long as theyre provided by Medicare-approved healthcare professionals.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have approved recreational therapists as members of the treatment and rehabilitation teams in skilled nursing facilities and other inpatient healthcare facilities.

However, Medicare typically only pays for services that are medically necessary. Medicare may not pay for every service your healthcare team recommends.

Recreational therapy uses leisure activities to promote recovery from illness, injury, or disability. Activities might include art, dance, music, exercise, creative writing, and games of all types.

Working with a trained recreational therapist can improve your mood, reasoning abilities, memory, physical fitness, and self-confidence. Researchers believe the combination of physical movement, creativity, social interaction, and mental engagement helps to deliver this wide range of health benefits.

If you think recreational therapy could benefit you or someone in your care, talk with your healthcare provider about the possibility of harnessing the power of play to achieve your health goals.

Here is the original post:
Recreational Therapy: Definition, Benefits, Activities - Healthline

TCNJ School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science

Photo by The College of New Jersey

The College of New Jersey Dean

Dean Carole Kenner

EWING, NJ, Nov. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the 50th Anniversary Gala of theSchool of Nursing, Health, and Exercise ScienceatThe College of New Jerseyheld Friday, November 13, 2020, participants celebrated the extraordinary achievements earning the school deserved recognition as one of the most successful health programs in the nation.

Addressing administrators, staff, faculty, students and alumni attending online, TCNJ President Kathryn A. Foster praised the schools nationally relevant accomplishments, saying This School has been at the forefront of the pandemic. TCNJ Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jeffrey Osborn stressed the spectacular student outcomes -100 percent pass rate on National Council Licensure Exam and graduate nursing certification, and 95 percent on PRAXIS for the health and exercise science teaching exam.

School Dean Carole Kenner, along with Master of Ceremonies and Dean of the School of the Arts and Communication Maurice Hall, introduced the evening by highlighting the need for a team approach to care and health promotion. Including both mental and physical health, an interdisciplinary, holistic health perspective is represented by the schools three departments: nursing, health and exercise science, and public health. Working together, we are stronger! Kenner affirmed.

Multiple awards were presented to students, faculty, and alumni in the following categories across all three departments of the school: Distinguished Service Award, Favorite Faculty Excellence Award, Staff Excellence, Alumni Excellence (including subcategories of Early Achiever, Leadership, Service to the Department, and Career Achievement), and Teaching/Advising (including Academic and Student Advising and Student Engagement categories).

Distinguished administrative and student alumni who joined the celebration included: Dr. Donna Gage,81 co-chair of the Gala, former Chief Nursing Officer, US Veterans Health Administration, Washington, DC, 2014-2016 (along with cochairs Mary Blankenship Pointer, Vice President, Frontier State Bank, Oklahoma City; and Sally Flanagan 80, Health and Exercise Science Alumni Board); Former Dean Dr. Susan Bakewell-Sachs, now chair of theAmerican Association of Colleges of NursingBoard of Directors; Dr. Joanne Disch, past president of the American Academy of Nursing; Dr. Jane Barnsteiner, one of the leaders of Quality and Safety Education for Nurses; Dr. Jeannette Ives Erikson, former Chief Nutrition Officer, Massachusetts General Hospital; Dr. Christine Grant, former NJ Health Commissioner, Chairperson of SERV Achievement Centers Board, and TCNJ Gala Committee member; Mary Dee Hacker, former CNO of LA Childrens Hospital; Dr. Monica McLemore, 93 School alumna and Associate Professor at the University of California San Francisco; and Sarah Pasternack, TCNJ alumna and President of the Nursing Archives, among many other health leaders.

Special insights and congratulations were offered by chairs of the Schools three departments. Sharon Byrne, chair, Dept. of Nursing, stated Educating future and current students that have chosen the discipline, to be caring, high quality evidence-based practitioners that guide people, communities and populations toward improved health outcomes is paramount to our mission.

Anne Farrell, chair of the Department of Health and Exercise Science, remarked on the exceptional accomplishments of her department: It is a stellar program, creating individuals with an extraordinary foundation on which to take into the workforce or onto another higher level of educationWe have a 98 percent pass rate on the American College of Sports Medicine Exercise Physiology Certification exam, as compared with a less than 65 percent national average. We have the highest PRAXIS score average certification exam pass rate, and highest teacher employment rate in the state, along with greater than 95 percent of students accepted to their first choice of graduate schools.

Brenda Seals, chair, Department of Public Health, added Many have found themselves working in public health, especially during COVID-19. Public Health seems to become well known in times of difficulty during pandemics or natural disasters; but when our programs are successful and disease is on the wane, so is attention to public health. My hope is that current measures can be more long-lasting to better protect those who are vulnerable, provide care to those in need, and strengthen our emergency preparedness.

For the School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science, health care today increasingly emphasizes health promotion over disease management, a shift aligned perfectly with the Schools focus on wellness, healthy lifestyles, and physical fitness. Nationally recognized, the School is dedicated to preparing studentsthrough programs in nursing, public health and exercise sciencefor the rewards of guiding people, communities and populations toward improved health outcomes. The school proudly produces Next Generation Education for Next Generation Health.

########################

info@crothersconsulting.co

Crothers Consulting

(609) 216-0601

Original post:
Top NJ Public University The College of New Jersey Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Nationally Leading Health School - GlobeNewswire

Page 56«..1020..55565758..7080..»

Home » Exercise Programs » Page 56