JOEL’S BLOG 1/10/08
Governor Eliot Spitzer warned yesterday about the dangers of childhood obesity in his State of the State Address. And earlier in the week, Senator Chuck Schumer brought the same warning to the Joslin Diabetes Center in Syracuse… We’re in trouble as a society if we don’t help our kids develop healthier lifestyles when they’re young.
We are happy to report that our 9 Kids Challenge team weathered the holidays well. Despite a little time off from the gym, and a LOT of temptation from cookies and candies and big holiday dinners, everybody stayed on course… and they even managed to shed a couple of pounds!
As we head into 2008, each of our families has new direction on nutrition. Ron Patulski, the owner of Training Champions Institute, has established new meal plans for each of our athletes… all carbs are low on the glycemic scale, in meals balanced with protein and dietary fat. And what’s very promising is that several of our parents have embraced the new plans whole-heartedly… they are shopping differently, cooking differently, and putting healthier meals on the table for their whole families.
Here in the gym, we’ve ratcheted up the intensity of our workouts. The movement we’ve been working on since June is now more challenging through the core (hips to neck). For example, there are exercises we used to do on one leg… now we have the kids stand on a balance tool. Instead of laying on a ball for other exercises, our athletes are now sitting on the ball and doing the exercises with resistance from behind. This all builds on their overall strength. The more muscles they involve in the training room, the more energy they’ll expend.
We really should stop for a moment and offer props to our athletes… each one of them has made great strides over the last couple of months.
- CLAUDE and DEREK are both playing on basketball teams this winter.
- SABRINA is on the swim team, and quickly moving up the ranks.
- MARK was honored for achievement in athletics by his school district.
- And DANIEL is inspiring us all. He’s lost more weight than anyone in the 9 Kids Challenge… through hard work in the gym, careful attention when he eats, and help from his family.
During the coming months, we will continue to focus on a healthy lifestyle, refining eating habits, and increasing movement and exercise in and out of the gym.
- Joel Brown
Training Champions Institute
