The answer is “NO”. Recently there is a school of thought that dictates a person is able to drown-proof themselves or their child. There is no such thing as drown-proofing. Drowning occurs because of limited to no supervision of swimmers and lack of safety skills in the water. Even flotation devices give a false sense of security to swimmers in the water. There is no substitution for simple swimming skills.

Our goal is to work with parents and children, teaching them how to swim. Young children are less likely to drown whether in open water or in swimming pools if they have taken swim lessons. Formal swimming lessons for preschoolers reduce their risk of drowning by 88 percent. How many lessons are required to teach the average person? Well that just depends on the person. Of course the ones who learn quickest are children. But don’t forget, you are never too old to learn how to swim, even if you just want to pick up a few skills to make you safer in the water.

The push-up is a classic exercise with benefits that are often understated. The reason the push-up is a mainstay of fitness all over the world is that it is an incredible full-body, functional strength exercise. The functional benefit of the push-up is that it trains you to push with your arms and maintain a strong, stable core and back. It's not just about the chest and arms. The push-up works your body from head to toe. Your leg muscles have to stabilize and support your body. Your hips, abs, and back have to maintain a rigid spine and provide a stable base for your arms and shoulders to push from. Since the push-up trains your whole body, it is important to pay attention to your whole body throughout the movement. Follow these steps for a perfect push-up and maximize the benefits you will gain from this exercise.

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For further assistance or technique questions ask any one of our fitness staff!

We are taught safety throughout our lives for many situations like the fire drill we learned in elementary school, about crossing the street safely, driving safely and many others. It is interesting to me that we are taught little or nothing about crime and how to avoid it in our education system since it is so prevalent in the world. Most of us have more of a chance of facing a violent criminal than having our home, school or business catch on fire, yet we think little or nothing about educating ourselves in how crime happens, where it happens and how to better avoid being a victim of a crime.

STARTLING STATISTICS:
An aggravated assault happens in the U.S. every 34.6 seconds
Rape happens every 5.8 minutes
Violent Crime happens every 22.1 seconds
Robbery happens every 1.3 seconds

CLASSES AT THE CLUB:
Sunday, January 10th at 11:00am
Thursday, January 21st at 10:00am

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SHERRY’S SELF-DEFENSE BLOG

You’ve heard so much about Crossfit and Kettlebell training so it’s time you give it a go. Step up your game and see what your body is made of!

Join Crossfit Certified Jamey Peters and HKC Certified Eric Pranzarone for a workout that will change your life. Come ready to learn, work hard and reap the benefits!

CLASSES WILL BE:
Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:00am
Wednesday and Fridays at 9:00am
Thursdays at 11:00am
Wednesdays at 6:00pm
Saturdays at 10:00am

Pre Requisite: one hour of personal training prior to group classes.

Join us for an "Evening with Gary" Friday, January 15th from 7:00-8:30pm.

GARY STROUTSOS - International Recording Artist and World Flute Cultural Storyteller presents an evening of time honored stories & songs from his diverse catalog of recordings from the music of the American Indian to his own original Asian inspired meditation music. Gary's music was featured in the Lewis & Clark PBS Film by Ken Burns which lead to a command performance at the White House in 1997. Gary states "If you listen close you can hear the land and ancient voices inside the music".

We will be serving complimentary wine, cheese and crackers.

SAC club members, Judy Bedell, age 66, and Mary Lynne Evans, age 67, exercise their muscles and open their hearts at the same time. Each year the women volunteer in Nicaragua and India, respectively, in physically demanding ways. SAC's Paul Nelson, personal trainer, and Shannon McCall, yoga instructor, get them in shape for these adventures.

Judy spends several weeks each year in Nicaragua with the non-profit organization El Porvenir (The Future). The group digs wells, builds chemically treated latrines, aids reforestation efforts, and installs updated stoves for rural Nicaraguan families. The families also participate and learn to maintain their new facilities as part of the program. Judy has hauled hundreds of bricks, pushed wheelbarrows, dug wells and poured cement. She is on site 6 days a week, 8 hours a day. Why did she choose this organization? She said, “I wanted an approach to physical fitness which would turn into an adventure. It’s hard work in tropical heat." She noted that without Paul Nelson’s personal training program and Shannon McCall’s yoga classes she would not be in condition to take on this work. “They’re both great, “she says.

Mary Lynne resides in India for several months each year in Himachal Pradesh, a northwestern Indian state, whose northern border is the Great Himalayas. She teaches English to Hindi elementary school children, and Tibetan refugees in Mcleodganj, (elev 6,000 ft.) She also treks in the district of Spiti to a 1000 year old Buddhist monastery, (elev 12,000 feet.) which she supports. “At these altitudes,” she says, “I have to be in good cardiovascular and muscular shape. We walk everywhere and have to carry all our belongings. No cars, no porters. The environment takes a toll on your body for just every day living.” She too relies on Paul for overall training programs and Shannon’s yoga to get into shape.

Judy has just returned from Nicaragua in November 2009, and Mary Lynne will leave for India in January, 2010. The women gain a great deal of satisfaction from their international volunteer work, and plan on returning each year. During their “off seasons,” they both do volunteer work locally and can be seen at the club regularly.

If you are interested in learning more about the charities Mary Lynne and Judy work with, visit elporvenir.org and tabomonastery.org.

Our Annual Childhaven Giving Tree started the first week of December and time is running out to turn in gifts for any tags you have taken.

Every year, Childhaven children and their families face increasingly difficult situations, but with your help we can bring some joy into their lives by your willingness to provide gifts for these children.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES:
Please do no wrap your gifts. Childhaven must be responsible for everything we send to families. We would LOVE to receive gift bags, wrapping paper, ribbon and gift tags (Birthday wrapping paper is greatly appreciated as well since a few of these gifts will be used for birthdays throughout the year). We have holiday volunteers to wrap the gifts.
Please attach the included pre-printed tags to each gift to indicate the name of the intended recipient.
Please give only what is asked for on the tags.
If giving gift cards, please make them out in $10, $15, $20 or $25 increments.

Please be sure to drop off gifts no later than 12:00pm on Friday, December 18th.

We thank you so very much for participating in our Giving Tree Program this holiday and wish you a very happy holiday season!