Week Twenty : Summer Haze and Sunny Days

The Power of One

By Coach Anita

After the success of the Komen walk last weekend, I hope everyone feels the power of what each person contributes to an overall effort. I decided to go off the beaten path this week and selected two poems to share. They are about personal power and were written by two different people of different times. I hope one, if not both, of them resonates with you and your sense of self-worth stays strong.

I Promise Myself 
by Christian D. Larson

To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them. To look at the sunny side of everything, and make my optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. 

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet. To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others. 

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. 

To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds. To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

Still I Rise
By Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may tread me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise. 

Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 

Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.  

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? 

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you? 

Don’t you take it awful hard

’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

More Ways to Use Cards

with Coach Pat This week we will again use eight exercises. Our focus will be strengthening.

Each suit is an exercise, the face value of the card is how many reps you do. Each face card has it's own exercise which will be done for 30 seconds.

Unlike our fixed exercise sets, what exercise comes next is a surprise. Go from each exercise to the next without delay. For this workout you will need something stable to do your tricep dips, a chair or bench against the wall. You might want to add weight to the Sumo Squats is you have them.

This weeks workout : Diamonds: Tricep Dips Clubs: Sumo Squats Hearts: Curtsy Lunges (for time each leg is one rep) Spades: Jumping Jacks

Jacks: 30 second plank Queens: 30 second wall sit Kings: Split side planks 15 seconds each side Aces: 30 seconds alternating bird dog

You can modify to lower or increase intensity on any exercise. Keep in mind that doing an exercise in good form is more important than the level of difficulty.

Twofer Workout Week

with Coach Oden

Read More

Week Twenty : Summer Haze and Sunny Days

The Power of One

By Coach Anita

After the success of the Komen walk last weekend, I hope everyone feels the power of what each person contributes to an overall effort. I decided to go off the beaten path this week and selected two poems to share. They are about personal power and were written by two different people of different times. I hope one, if not both, of them resonates with you and your sense of self-worth stays strong.

I Promise Myself 
by Christian D. Larson

To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them. To look at the sunny side of everything, and make my optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. 

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet. To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others. 

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. 

To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds. To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

Still I Rise
By Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may tread me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise. 

Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 

Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.  

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? 

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you? 

Don’t you take it awful hard

’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

More Ways to Use Cards

with Coach Pat This week we will again use eight exercises. Our focus will be strengthening.

Each suit is an exercise, the face value of the card is how many reps you do. Each face card has it's own exercise which will be done for 30 seconds.

Unlike our fixed exercise sets, what exercise comes next is a surprise. Go from each exercise to the next without delay. For this workout you will need something stable to do your tricep dips, a chair or bench against the wall. You might want to add weight to the Sumo Squats is you have them.

This weeks workout : Diamonds: Tricep Dips Clubs: Sumo Squats Hearts: Curtsy Lunges (for time each leg is one rep) Spades: Jumping Jacks

Jacks: 30 second plank Queens: 30 second wall sit Kings: Split side planks 15 seconds each side Aces: 30 seconds alternating bird dog

You can modify to lower or increase intensity on any exercise. Keep in mind that doing an exercise in good form is more important than the level of difficulty.

Twofer Workout Week

with Coach Oden

Read More