Be Well - Burn Those Calories

By Sara Grassmeyer

Wellness Coordinator

As we embark on another beautiful fall weekend, I urge you to get outside and enjoy the weather (while it lasts). Here’s a simple exercise routine using materials found at your local park. Go at your own pace and check in with your body to ensure you are having a good time, exercising safely and burning calories.

Complete entire circuit (steps 2-8) three times and remember to push yourself!

1.       Warm-up. Start with a light jog/brisk walk around area. Gradually increase the speed and your heart rate (you are able to speak sentences, but feel your breaths increasing).

2.       Squats. Find a park bench, with your knees shoulder width apart and toes facing forward, put your body weight in your heels and lower until you barely feel the bench under your bottom. Repeat 10 times. Make sure you can see your toes the entire time you squat and keep your chest raised.

3.       Lunges. In an open space, perform walking lunges. Keep the front knee bent at a 90^o angle and eyes looking forward. 10 lunges both legs (20 total).

4.       Cardio Break. 20 jumping jacks, modify as necessary (low-impact version: raise your right arm and step out with your right leg, alternate).

5.       Dips. Back to the squat park bench, with your fingers facing forward and bottom on the bench, step out from the bench and lower your body so your elbows are at a 90^o angle. Repeat 10 times. The closer your knees are to your body the easier, try stepping your feet all the way out so your weight is in your heels.

6.       Pushups. Reverse your position on the bench and face your fingers forward. Lower your chest to the bench and push up. Play with your foot position, the further they are from each other, the easier this move will be. For a challenge, stack one foot on top of the other or move your hands in closer together.

7.       Cardio Break. 1 minute football run/fast feet. Challenge yourself; this is the last cardio interval!

8.       Core. Head to the swings, with your elbows on a swing (carefully) step out with your feet and hold a 1-minute plank. For a challenge, stack your feet or try this balanced on one foot. Still need more challenge? Turn that plank on one arm and balance on one elbow and foot.

Enjoy this workout! Email me how you felt and what you did to make this routine personalized for YOU! sgrassmeyer@porterco.org

Sara Grassmeyer, MPH, is the Wellness Program Coordinator for Porter County Parks and Recreation. She leads a variety of wellness programs at Sunset Hill Farm County Park. To learn more, contact her at 219-707-8281, or e-mail sgrassmeyer@porterco.org.

Be Well - Balance

By Sara Grassmeyer
Wellness Coordinator

Balance, a word we hear often. This week, at least for me, has been an interesting test of balance. Whether we are working, exercising, cooking, cleaning, eating, socializing or just relaxing, I think it is important to check in with yourself and make sure your head and heart are where your feet are.

I know we all work and have plenty of daily obligations, but what have you done for just YOU today? Have you made a special lunch, spent an extra few minutes exercising, taken a detour on the way home/to work just to shake things up? During your special moment are you checking things off your list or are you savoring this unique opportunity you have rewarded yourself? In spending a few minutes reflecting on your week, I think you will agree that you need a little “ME time.” Take it. It is only going to make you a better spouse, employee, sibling, friend, relative, person when you allow yourself to spend some time doing something you love or need.

Though these special moments are easier to describe than to actually create, please take time this weekend to celebrate yourself and to help recharge the batteries and support yourself to be the best version of your fantastic self. Once you set aside time this weekend, commit to honor yourself throughout next week. You deserve it.

Be Well.

Sara Grassmeyer, MPH, is the Wellness Program Coordinator for Porter County Parks and Recreation. She leads a variety of wellness programs at Sunset Hill Farm County Park. To learn more, contact her at 219-707-8281, or e-mail sgrassmeyer@porterco.org.

Be Well - A Guide to Healthy Living

By Sara Grassmeyer
Wellness Program Coordinator

Hello Porter County!

My name is Sara Grassmeyer and I am the Wellness Program Coordinator for Porter County Parks and Recreation. I graduated from the Colorado School of Public Health in 2011 with a Master’s Degree in Public Health- Community Health Education. My husband and I moved to beautiful Valparaiso, Indiana from Boulder, Colorado when he started law school at Valparaiso University this fall. We love it here and are having a great time learning the culture and resources available to help us acclimate to an entirely different environment. This blog is designed to help you see what’s new with our programs, introduce you to different forms of exercise in your community and motivate you with tips to help you lose weight, maintain health or BOTH.

This week, I want to invite you to visit choosemyplate.org. This website is an online resource that provides tips on eating well, helps you to understand the resources your body needs on a daily basis and allows you to track your meals to see where your energy balance lies.

Begin your exploration by signing up for an account. Having an account will enable you to enter all of the food you eat every day. Choosemyplate.org analyzes your diet, tells you the nutrients you are lacking/ overindulging and describes the importance of daily food variety. Include information about your physical activity. To lose weight and maintain health it is important to understand a very simple equation: you must expend more calories than you consume. It’s that easy.

So, see where you stand, analyze your diet and consider this tool a friend in your health journey. Both diet and exercise are critical to a healthy lifestyle and I am excited about beginning this journey together.

Love and Health,

Sara

Sara Grassmeyer, MPH, is the Wellness Program Coordinator for Porter County Parks and Recreation. She leads a variety of wellness programs at Sunset Hill Farm County Park, including an Outdoor Circuit, and Nordic Walking, which both take place at Sunset Hill Farm on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. To learn more, contact her at 219-707-8281, or e-mail sgrassmeyer@porterco.org.