Great River Health Fitness Newsletter MARCH 2019

Stretched in All DirectionsKeeping your body limber has many benefits

Many age-related health problems are caused by inflexibility. Stretching your muscles is an important ex-ercise. When performed regularly and correctly, stretching can:• Improve posture• Increase circulation• Increase energy• Increase flexibility• Reduce risk of injury• Reduce stress• Reduce pain in muscles and

joints

You can stretch nearly anytime and anywhere. Start your day with a few stretches while you are still in bed. Sit up, extend your legs and reach to the ceiling. Pump your ankles a few times. Put your legs over the side of the bed, bending your knees, and slowly reach down to the floor.

You should stretch every major mus-cle group at least a couple of times a week. It’s important to stretch both sides and the front and back of your body equally. You should not feel pain when stretching.

Exercise science has proven that dynamic stretching is better than static stretching before a workout or other physical activity. This type of stretch-ing moves a muscle group fluidly through a range of motion. A brisk walk, slow jog, high-knee march and walking lunges are examples.

Static stretches – those that stretch a muscle to its full extent – should be performed only at the end of a workout after slowly cooling down. Hold each stretch for 15 to 20 seconds.

Establishing a stretching routine and sticking to it is essential. As you slow-ly push your body to stretch a little further through the muscles’ range of motion, you will notice daily activities becoming easier, and you should have less pain.

Bend, flex, stretch, elongate – whatever you want to call it. Your body will be glad you did!

Exercise Class Highlight

Muscle of the Month

Express Core5:30 to 5:50 p.m.Monday and Wednesday

Target your core muscles in a fast and furious 20-minute class – abs and low back with some glute and hip work. Try it alone or after the 5 p.m. Functional Fitness class, which combines resistance training, cardiovascu-lar endurance, core training and flexibility.

Triceps By Stephie Libben, fitness specialist

The triceps muscle runs along the humerus (upper arm bone). You can feel it tense in the back of your upper arm while doing pushups. It works with the biceps – the muscle on the front of the humerus – to extend and retract your forearm.

Triceps’ full name is triceps brachii, which is Latin for “three-headed muscle of the arm.” These heads are called the lateral, medial and long heads.

Try the triceps workout below. Ask a fitness specialist in the Wellness Gym to show you how to do the exercises properly.

Triceps workout• Dips – 12 to 15 reps • Dumbbell or cable overhead triceps extension – 8 to 12 reps, 2 to 3 sets • Barbell bench press– 8 to 12 reps, 2 to 3 sets • Close-grip bench press– 8 to 12 reps, 2 to 3 sets• Cable triceps extension or cable triceps kickback – 8 to 12 reps, 2 to 3 sets

REMINDER• New quarterly land and water

class schedules will be available in late March. Pick up a copy at the check-in desk or see them online:• Land class schedule• Water class schedule

• Because Fort Madison Commu-nity Hospital is part of Great River Health System, FMCH employees plus one family member are eligible for free Health Fitness membership.

SurveyImportant Dates

Friday, March 8 – Guest daySaturday, March 23 – Guest day

Program Highlights

Athletic TrainingMarch is National Athletic Training Month. Part of the health care team, athletic trainers provide injury and illness prevention, education, exam-ination and clinical diagnosis, and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions in athletes.

Athletic trainers must pass a certification examination and become licensed. They work under the supervision of a physician.

Great River Medical Center and Fort Madison Community Hospital’s 14 athletic trainers and four athletic trainer/physical therapists provide athletic training services for Iowa Wesleyan College, Southeastern Community College and these southeast Iowa school districts: • Central Lee• Danville• Fort Madison• Holy Trinity• Keokuk• Mediapolis

Staff Spotlight

Dane DanforthWhat’s the best part of your job?Helping people establish healthier habits that are maintainable and developing relationships with great people through exercise

What certifications do you hold?• Strength and conditioning • Kettlebell

Career highlight:Organizing Bootcamp for Franco last May, an exercise event honor-ing James Franciskovich, a Great River Health System employee and West Burlington volunteer fire-fighter who passed away in 2017. We’re doing it again this year.

What is your mantra?How can I be better today?

Family life:My wife, Amber, and I have a 2-year-old daughter, Eleanor.

You may not know: I have been a certified high school football official for many years.

• Mount Pleasant• New London• Notre Dame• West Burlington• Wapello

If you see us on the sidelines, stop by and say hi! We love seeing Health Fitness members in the crowds!

Recipe Makeover

Sloppy JoesReplacing half the meat in this recipe with ground mushrooms and oatmeal adds nutritious vegetables and grain to your meal. They look like meat in the mixture, but the modified recipe has 42 percent fewer calo-ries, 75 percent less fat and 80 percent less cholesterol.

Original RecipeMakes 4 servings

Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1 cup Sloppy Joe sauce

Directions:• Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. Drain off grease.• Add Sloppy Joe sauce, simmer 5 minutes.• Serve on hamburger buns.

Modified RecipeMakes 5 servings

Ingredients:½ pound 93 percent lean ground

beef 2½ cups ground mushrooms¼ cup oatmeal, dry ½ cup water½ cup Sloppy Joe sauce

Directions:• Brown ground beef in a skillet

over medium heat. Drain off grease.

• Using food processor, grind mushrooms into crumbles.

• Stir mushrooms, water and oat-meal into meat. Continue cook-ing for 5 minutes.

• Add Sloppy Joe mix.• Serve on whole-wheat buns.

Nutrition information per serving Original ModifiedCalories 370 215Total fat 12 g 3 gSaturated fat 5 g 1 gCholesterol 77 mg 10 mg

Member Spotlight

Jordan FieldsHow long have you been coming to Great River Health Fitness?I have been going to the gym off and on for the last four years.

What’s your inspiration?My family. As my kids got older, I realized my lack of energy. I commit-ted to getting healthier about a year ago.

What are your results?I have lost 40 pounds. I feel better and – for the most part – I can keep up with my kids now.

Describe your workouts: I started with cardio (running, biking, stair climber). Then I added weight training with help from fitness specialist Aaron Brown. Now, my workout consists of 30 minutes of cardio followed by 30 to 45 minutes of weight training Monday through Friday.

What are your favorite things about working out at Great River Health Fitness?• I like how convenient it is.• The gym and equipment are clean and well-maintained. • There are many options to keep workouts challenging.

Jordan works in Great River Health System’s Information Systems department.