1

February is Heart Health Month

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Wellness

Program

2

Fitness 101 2

Fitness Corner 3

DASH 3

Weight

Watchers

4

Metabolic Rate

Testing

5

Cardiovascular

workout

calendar

6-8

Employee

Wellness

Challenge

9

Health and Wellness Newsletter

Lycoming County School Districts F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 3 S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

H E A R T

H E A L T H

M O N T H

E M P L O Y E E

W E L L N E S S

C H A L L E N G E

Did You Know?

Your heart pumps approximately 2,000 gallons

(7,571 liters) of blood each day through its

chambers. Of course, we cannot hold that much

liquid in our bodies, so the heart just keeps

circulating blood, over and over. Besides

pumping that much blood, the heart also beats

about 100,000 times each day to supply every

cell with oxygenated blood. No matter how many

tissues and organs the heart supplies with

oxygen-rich blood, it looks out for No. 1 first,

making sure it gets the blood it needs.

2

Just a reminder all forms can be found at http://health.iu17.org, you can click on the 2013-14 Points Bank Program tab. You can also find details on the program. It is not too late to start completing your activities for your 450 points.

Please also make sure you are keeping track of your own points at

shapeuptracker.org. I do not keep track of points. Once you turn in your

receipts I will make sure you have turned in all your verification forms

and make sure nothing is missing. Once everything is completed, I send

an email to the district for your reimbursement of $150. This is done at

the beginning of each month.

Fitness 101: How Aerobic Exercise Affects Your Heart

Just like any muscle in your body, your heart benefits greatly from physical activity. Aerobic conditioning exercises, such as running, biking, swimming, brisk walking, or many other activities, train the heart and lungs to pump blood more efficiently, allowing more oxygen to get to muscles

and organs.

Any time you get your heart pumping harder, your heart muscle gets exercise. It needs to pump up to 10 times more blood to a muscle group that's exercising than to one at rest. And like your biceps, the heart muscle gets stronger from repeated exertions. A stronger heart has an easier time pumping blood, so it can relax more because it is pumping out more blood volume with each beat. With relaxation, arteries expand, creating more

room for blood to flow.

Zumba makes getting to your target heart rate much easier than standard workout routines that you'd find on a DVD or in a gym. It does this by using songs that play around 145 beats per minute. This fast pace makes it feel natural to move around quickly. This will set you on the path to true aerobic exercise. If you are trying to build endurance, this is the best thing you can do for yourself. Exercising for prolonged periods at this rate can increase the strength of your heart.

2013-14

Wellness

Bank

Program

3

The Fitness Corner...

V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 3

Have your Considered Stair Running?

Running stairs provides a cardiovascular benefit similar to that of running and is a great way to build sprint

power and is a great, high-intensity workout that helps build speed, power and cardiovascular fitness. Add

stair running into your workout routine on your high-intensity training days or as part of an interval training

workout.

Stair Running Guidelines: (Make sure you warm up prior to your stair running workout.)

Begin by walking one step at a time.

Avoid running stairs on your first few workouts.

Do no more than two stair workouts a week.

By week three you can begin running, perhaps two steps at a time. Use the return to the bottom as your rest interval, and then do another set.

Work up to about ten sets per workout. *Written by Elizabeth Quinn, Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Consultant

The DASH Eating Plan

The DASH diet is especially recommended for people with hypertension (high blood pressure) or prehypertension. The DASH diet eating plan has been proven to lower blood pressure in studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). In addition to being a low salt (or low sodium) plan, the DASH diet provides additional benefits to reduce blood pressure. It is a high fiber, low to moderate fat diet, rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The DASH diet is a healthy plan, designed for the whole family. New research continues to show additional health benefits of the plan, such as lowering cholesterol and weight loss. The DASH diet eating plan is a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low fat or nonfat dairy. It also includes grains, especially whole grains; lean meats, fish and poultry; nuts and beans. It is a healthy way of eating, designed to be flexible enough to meet the lifestyle and food preferences of most people. And, it contains all the healthy foods from the Mediterranean diet. For more information go to http://dashdiet.org/

Type of food Number of servings

for 1600 - 3100 Calorie diets

Servings on a 2000 Calorie

diet

Grains and grain products (include at least 3 whole grain foods each day) 6 - 12 7 - 8

Fruits 4 - 6 4 - 5

Vegetables 4 - 6 4 - 5

Low fat or non fat dairy foods 2 - 4 2 - 3

Lean meats, fish, poultry 1.5 - 2.5 2 or less

Nuts, seeds, and legumes 3 - 6 per week 4 - 5 per week

Fats and sweets 2 - 4 limited

4

DATE New session starts February 26th but you can start any time before

that for $11 a week

TIME 4:15-4:45, Weigh-ins start at 3:45pm

LOCATION BLaST IU 17, 2400 Reach Rd, Williamsport

CONTACT Carmen Terry, Health and Wellness Coordinator,

cterry@iu17.org or 570-323-8561x1067 for more information

5

Pennsylvania College of Technology is offering metabolic rate testing for

employees of the Lycoming County School Districts.

There are only 20 slots available so it’s first come first serve to sign up. This testing includes

your metabolic mask and 1/2 hour of testing as well as 1/2 hour consultation to review your

results and offer fitness related suggestions for your metabolism. As a bonus, if you bring a 2

day food journal from calorieking.com website, they will review what you are eating and offer

suggestions based on your own metabolism.

Dates: Saturday, February 22nd or Saturday, March 1st

Time: Start time is 9:00am and appointments run each

1/2 hour

Where: Bardo gymnasium, Penn College Campus

Cost: $20.00 per person

This is a pre-registration event only, so you must pre-register with Carmen Terry, at

cterry@iu17.org or 570-323-8561 x1067.

This is a fundraiser for their fitness club, so please make sure if you register you show up. This

is a significant deal since they are offering testing and consultation. (The typical cost for this type of

testing is between $100-$250 depending on where you have the test done.)

6

Sun

M

on

Tu

e W

ed

Th

u

Fri

Sat

Dir

ecti

on

s: A

ttem

pt

to

per

form

car

dio

exe

rcis

e

at le

ast

150

min

ute

s a

we

ek.

Stea

dy

Stat

e C

ard

io

exer

cise

30

-45

min

ute

s

Try

a h

om

e ca

rdio

pro

gram

th

at r

equ

ires

no

eq

uip

men

t (s

ee

attac

hed

)

Stea

dy

stat

e ca

rdio

exer

cise

30

-45

min

ute

s

Inte

rval

or

HIIT

trai

nin

g w

ork

ou

t (s

ee

attac

hed

)

Or

stea

dy

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e

card

io

Try

a ca

rdio

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ss!

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eck

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mb

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Inte

rval

or

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nin

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Or

stea

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card

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m-u

p a

nd

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do

wn

eac

h ti

me

you

per

form

car

dio

Stea

dy

stat

e ca

rdio

30

-

45 m

inu

tes

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getti

ng

ou

tdo

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for

a w

alk

( yo

u c

an

inco

rpo

rate

inte

rval

s).

Stea

dy

stat

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rdio

exer

cise

30

-45

min

ute

s

Inte

rval

or

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trai

nin

g w

ork

ou

t

Or

stea

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card

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Rem

emb

er t

o s

tret

ch!

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eck

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gafi

t

Inte

rval

or

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trai

nin

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Or

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card

io

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n’t

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rget

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Stea

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me

card

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try

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ut

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yo

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inu

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for

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ork

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ou

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ap

p t

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ork

ou

ts o

n

you

r sm

art

dev

ise.

Ru

nta

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is F

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rval

or

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Or

stea

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ard

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Qu

esti

on

s: C

on

tact

Sara

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ave,

Fit

nes

s

Ass

ista

nt,

Sec6

@p

ct.e

du

Stea

dy

stat

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rdio

30

-

45 m

inu

tes

Mix

it u

p w

ith

an

y o

f

you

r o

pti

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s. T

ry

som

eth

ing

new

Stea

dy

stat

e ca

rdio

30-4

5 m

inu

tes

Inte

rval

or

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trai

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Or

stea

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Try

map

myfi

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m

Inte

rval

or

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trai

nin

g

St

ead

y st

ate

card

io 3

0-

45 m

inu

tes

Ther

e ar

e o

nly

28

day

s

in F

ebru

ary,

bu

t

con

tin

ue

wit

h m

akin

g

card

io a

pri

ori

ty a

ll

year

ro

un

d!

Heart

Healt

h M

on

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hallen

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eb

ruary 2

01

4

The

Am

eric

an H

eart

Ass

oci

atio

n re

com

men

ds

at le

ast

150

min

ute

s pe

r w

eek

of m

od

erat

e ca

rdio

vasc

ular

exe

rcis

e.

This

cal

end

ar r

epre

sen

ts g

uid

elin

es t

hat

yo

u m

ay f

ollo

w.

NO

TE: I

t is

imp

orta

nt

to s

pea

k w

ith

yo

ur D

oct

or b

efor

e st

arti

ng

a fi

tnes

s p

rogr

am.

7

Ste

ad

y s

tate

card

io:

C

ardio

ex

erci

se t

hat

is a

conti

nu

ou

s, s

tead

y e

ffort

. S

om

e b

enef

its

are

incr

ease

d e

ndura

nce,

calo

rie

burn

, and m

oo

d b

oost

er!

Can b

e p

erfo

rmed

on

card

io m

achin

es (

bik

e, e

llip

tica

l, t

read

mil

l),

or

ou

tdo

ors

(w

alk

ing,

bik

ing,

joggin

g).

If

you a

re n

ew t

o e

xer

cis

e, s

tart

wit

h 1

5 m

inu

tes

an

d g

radu

all

y

incr

ease

unti

l you c

an m

ain

tain

at

least

30 m

inu

tes

of

stea

dy s

tate

car

dio

.

Card

io E

xer

cis

es t

hat

req

uir

e n

o e

qu

ipm

en

t: J

um

pin

g j

acks,

Squats

, hig

h k

nee

s, b

urp

ees,

mou

nta

in c

lim

ber

s, j

um

p s

qu

ats

, sp

lit

jum

ps

(on

ly t

o

nam

e a f

ew).

Sam

ple

Work

out:

W

arm

-up:

Jog i

n p

lace

5 m

inu

tes

Jum

pin

g j

acks

30 s

econds

Squ

ats

30 s

econds

Hig

h k

nee

s 30 s

econds

Bu

rpee

s 30 s

econds

Spli

t Ju

mps

30 s

econds

M

ou

nta

in C

lim

ber

s 30 s

eco

nds

Squ

at

Jum

ps

30 s

econds

Res

t 1

min

ute

and w

ork

up

to m

ult

iple

rou

nds!

In

terv

al

Tra

inin

g:

Gre

at

way o

f co

nd

itio

nin

g t

hat

requir

es l

ess

tim

e th

an s

teady s

tate

card

io.

Inte

rval

train

ing i

nv

olv

es a

lter

nati

ng b

urs

ts o

f in

tense

act

ivit

y w

ith

inte

rvals

of

lighte

r act

ivit

y.

Ben

efit

s are

more

calo

ries

burn

ed,

impro

ved

aer

ob

ic f

itnes

s, a

nd i

t kee

ps

the

work

ou

t

inte

rest

ing.

Sam

ple

walk

ing i

nte

rval

train

ing w

ork

ou

t:

Alt

ernate

burs

ts o

f fa

ster

walk

ing i

nto

you

r n

orm

al

walk

ing p

ace.

W

alk

norm

al

walk

ing s

pee

d f

or

two m

inu

tes,

incr

ease

spee

d f

or

30 s

econds,

and

ret

urn

to n

orm

al

walk

ing s

pee

d f

or

2 m

inu

tes.

You

can e

ven

pic

k l

and m

ark

ers

as p

art

of

the

work

out,

i.e

. w

alk

fast

er b

etw

een t

hose

tw

o m

ail

box

es.

S

am

ple

Ell

ipti

cal

inte

rval

train

ing w

ork

ou

t:

Warm

up

10 m

inute

s at

low

inte

nsi

ty,

add 1

min

ute

of

moder

ate

paci

ng,

then

ret

urn

to l

ow

inte

nsi

ty p

aci

ng f

or

5

min

ute

s.

Rep

eat

for

20-3

0 m

inu

tes.

HII

T (

Hig

h I

nte

nsi

ty I

nte

rval

Train

ing

): A

card

iore

spir

ato

ry t

rain

ing t

echniq

ue

that

alt

ernate

s bri

ef s

pee

d a

nd r

eco

ver

y i

nte

rvals

to i

ncr

ease

th

e o

ver

all

inte

nsi

ty o

f y

ou

r w

ork

out.

Gre

at

way t

o r

each

per

form

ance

goals

and e

nhance

fitn

ess.

Hig

h i

nte

nsi

ty i

nte

rvals

are

done

at

an e

xer

tio

n l

evel

of

7 o

r hig

her

(re

fer

to R

PE

chart

on n

ext

pag

e) a

nd a

re t

yp

icall

y s

ust

ain

ed f

or

30

sec

onds

to 1

min

ute

. B

enef

its

inclu

de

incr

ease

d a

erobic

and a

naer

obic

fit

nes

s and h

igh f

at

bu

rn.

NO

TE

: H

IIT

is

des

ign

ed

fo

r a

con

dit

ion

ed i

nd

ivid

ual.

S

am

ple

Work

out

usi

ng t

he

RP

E s

cale

:

Warm

-up 5

min

ute

s 3

-4 2

min

ute

s re

co

ver

y 5

-6

recover

y 2

min

ute

s 5

-6

1 m

inu

te s

pee

d 7

-9

1 m

inu

te s

pee

d 7

-9

c

ool

dow

n 5

min

ute

s

2 m

inu

tes

recover

y 5

-6 2

min

ute

rec

ov

ery 5

-6

1 m

inu

te s

pee

d 7

-9

1 m

inu

te s

pee

d 7

-9

8

Ta

rget

Hea

rt R

ate

: T

he

char

t belo

w d

isp

lays

the

aver

age

targ

et h

eart

rat

e in

form

atio

n f

or

age

gro

ups.

Kno

w t

hat

thes

e nu

mber

s m

ay n

ot

be

accu

rate

fo

r yo

u p

erso

nall

y.

It is

impo

rtan

t to

mea

sure

res

ting h

eart

rat

e befo

re d

eter

min

ing t

arget

hea

rt r

ate.

Beg

in b

y t

akin

g y

our

pu

lse

for

60 s

eco

nds

firs

t th

ing i

n t

he

mo

rnin

g.

Yo

ur

max h

eart

rat

e is

220

-age.

Fo

r T

HR

yo

u w

ant

to s

tay b

etw

een 5

0 a

nd 8

5%

of

yo

ur

max h

eart

rat

e. T

o i

nco

rpo

rate

yo

ur

RH

R i

nto

a T

HR

try

usi

ng t

he

Kar

vo

nen f

orm

ula

:

1.

220-a

ge=

Max

hea

rt r

ate

(MH

R).

2.

MH

R-R

HR

(re

stin

g h

eart

rat

e)=

HR

R (

hea

rt r

ate

rese

rve)

. 3. T

HR

(T

arget

hea

rt r

ate)

= H

RR

x 6

0%

+R

HR

(lo

w e

nd o

f T

HR

) an

d H

RR

x 8

0%

+ R

HR

= h

igh e

nd o

f T

HR

.

Age

Ta

rget

HR

Zo

ne

50-8

5%

Ave

rage

Max

imu

m H

eart

Rat

e, 1

00%

20

year

s

100

-170

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

200

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

30 y

ears

95

-162

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

190

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

35 y

ears

93

-157

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

185

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

40 y

ears

90

-153

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

180

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

45 y

ears

88

-149

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

175

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

50 y

ears

85

-145

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

170

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

55 y

ears

83

-140

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

165

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

60 y

ears

80

-136

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

160

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

65 y

ears

78

-132

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

155

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

70 y

ears

75

-128

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

150

bea

ts p

er m

inu

te

Sam

ple

HII

T W

ork

ou

t u

sin

g t

he

RP

E s

cale

:

R

ati

ngs

of

Per

ceiv

ed E

xert

ion

: S

cale

use

d t

o m

easu

re

i

nte

nsi

ty o

f w

ork

out

B

enefi

ts a

re n

o t

oo

ls o

r hea

rt r

ate

senso

rs r

equir

ed.

Tim

e

In

terv

al

E

xer

tio

n l

evel (1

-10)

0 R

est

5 m

in

W

arm

-up

3-4

1 V

ery l

ight

1 m

in

S

pee

d

7-9

2 F

air

ly l

ight

2 m

in

R

eco

ver

y

5-6

3 M

oder

ate

1 m

in

S

pee

d

7-9

4 S

om

ewhat

har

d

2 m

in

R

eco

ver

y

5-6

5 H

ard

1 m

in

S

pee

d

7-9

6

2 m

in

R

eco

ver

y

5-6

7 V

ery h

ard

1 m

in

S

pee

d

7-9

8

2 m

in

R

eco

ver

y

5-6

9

5 m

in

C

oo

l-do

wn

3-4

10 V

ery,

ver

y h

ard (

maxim

al)

9

Employee Wellness Challenge

March 3rd-April 14th

This wellness challenge is for anyone who would like to see their overall wellness improve, whether it is

fitness level, decreasing their overall weight or improving their nutrition. This challenge will be over the

course of 6 weeks. So whether you are a fitness fanatic, weekend warrior, average “Joe”, nutrition

sound or a junk food fanatic we would like to see you participate. There will be several components to

the challenge- physical activity, nutrition and health screenings.

Challenge rules:

You will need to form teams with 4 people (make sure you come up with a team name.) Individuals can be

put on teams in shapeuptracker.org

For the physical activity, the goal is for everyone to get in 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day. Each

person should meet a weekly goal of 210 minutes per week with a maximum of 420 exercise minutes

per week/person.

For nutrition, the goal is to eat fruits and vegetables every day, with a minimum of 3 servings and a

maximum of 6 servings per day.

For screenings, you will need to prove that you have had a regular physical from your physician anytime

from April 14th, 2013-April 14th, 2014. A simple note from your physician will do or you can show your

EOB from your insurance carrier. Or if you had your health screening done through work this fall or win-

ter, we will accept that for a smaller amount of points. (If you have already turned this form in for the

wellness bank incentive program, you do not need to send in another one, but you must let me know

you have turned it in via email.)

Point values will be as follows:

Physical Activity (1 point=1 minute of exercise)

Servings of fruits/Vegetables (5 points = 1 serving)

Health screening (Physician’s exam = 100 points)

(Work health screening = 50 points)

* Please note that you can use one or the other for the health screening, but not both.

There will also be bonus points given for educational seminars that will be given periodically over the course of

6 weeks. 1 Seminar = 30 points

The cost for each person is $10 for the challenge. Deadline for submitting a team to your district’s business

office is February 25th. (More information will follow in an email to each district.)

If you are participating in the wellness points bank program, you will earn 25 points for your bank for

participating in the wellness challenge.