Dedham Health

Kempo In The Sun

By Sarah Galante
DHAC Group Fitness Director 

With spring sports in full swing, are your finding your “little Dragons” after school schedules are filling up fast? Here at DHAC Kempo Karate we always encourage out students to branch out and participate in other activities, using their karate skills in other ways.

There is a saying at our school and that is “there are no bench warmers in Kempo”. Our school runs are year long offering multiple classes during the week for your child to participate in to keep their skills sharp.

As you begin to look ahead to the summer sessions let me explain why it is so important for you to keep your children active in their current karate class or if you are thinking about having your child start up this life building sport.

-Kempo in the summer will offer structure to your child’s life when they are not in school

-The classes will offer interaction with other students their age which is important for socialization

-The classes tend to be a bit smaller so the program can be accelerated and they will learn a little faster

-The studio is always nice and cool, so your children will be able to be active in a comfortable environment

While your children are in class, this can also be a time for you to unwind in our comfortable lobby and enjoy a magazine!

We will be here all summer long to make sure your kids are staying active, focused and most important having FUN!

Camp Themes 2013

By Michelle Sayers
DHAC Kids Program and Camp Director

Every week, here at The Ultimate Day Camp @ Dedham Health & Athletic Complex, our campers enjoy a week of non- stop FUN! We have swim lessons, free swim in The Summer Club Waterpark, arts and crafts, sports, karate, dance, theater, science and so much more!

BUT…Did you know that we also have a cool theme each week? Every Friday we conclude our camp week with a themed special event like our famous “Day Camp Carnival” or “Camp Olympics” (2 of the most popular special events).

Check out the summer 2013 “Camp Theme Schedule” and register for your camp weeks TODAY!

June 10 VIP Campers
June 17 Boston Pride
June 24 Pirates & Princesses
July 1 America the Beautiful
July 8 UDC Rock Stars
July 15 All Star Sports
July 22 Mission Impossible
July 29 Camp Carnival
August 5 UDC Olympics
August 12 Wild Things
August 19 Luau
August 26 Pajama Party

Hope to see you there! If you have any questions about The Ultimate Day Camp @ Dedham Health & Athletic Complex, please feel free to contact Michelle Sayers, Camp Director at 781.326.2900.

Bring The Noise!

By Jenn Keating
DHAC Exercise Physiologist and Athlete's Edge Head Coach

What is all the noise down in Studio 6 about? You may have seen them running around the track or lifting weights downstairs in the Studio. Whether your child plays a sport or not, this youth strength and conditioning class (ages 6-14) will help improve your child’s physical fitness while building self-confidence and working as a team to complete obstacles.

Athlete’s Edge is for your child if you want them to have fun and see actual results. June increased her vertical jump by 2 ½ inches within 8 weeks. Dominic was able to finish his shuttle run 6 seconds faster than he did 8 weeks ago, and James was able to do 50 full pushups. Every single participant has improved within the 9 week session.

Healthy and active lifestyles begin at a young age. As the head Coach, I am so proud to be working with these kids and giving them the kick-start that they need! Session IV just started  so reserve your spot at the front desk. Stop by Studio 6 and see what all the noise is about!

 

 

A Camper's Top 10 Things About Ultimate Day Camp

By Michelle Sayers
DHAC Utimate Day Camp Director

The days at Summer camp are jam packed full of swimming, sports, crafts, dance, theater, science, karate, robotics and so much more! But what is the BEST thing about camp? Here is a camper top 10…

Things we LOVE about The Ultimate Day Camp!

10. Making Camp Friends… Even if you only see them at camp each year, it is like you were never apart.

9. Theater and Dance performances on Friday…after a week of hard work it is SHOWTIME!!!

8. DHAC’s Laser Tag Arena …right here in the club and soooo much fun! Game of campers vs. counselors anyone???

7. The best camp lunch anywhere. So many yummy choices from The Deli After Dark.

6. Themed Friday Special events… Camp Carnival, Olympics, Luau, Pajama party and so many more. What better way to end an exciting week than with a huge camp party?

5. Jelly bracelets…earn them for your good deeds and trade them back to Michelle for SLUSHIES!!!!

4. Counselors dressing up on Fridays to be in theme costume. Counselors LOVE Boston Pride week!

3. Rock Climbing, no matter how high up the wall you climb, the feeling of accomplishment is awesome .

2. Summer Club Waterpark – FREE SWIM EVERYDAY! Water slides! Wave pool! Motorized Bumper Boats and so much more!

1. A free camp t-shirt…wear it with pride, you’re part of The Ultimate Day Camp Team and we are proud to be YOUR camp!

Can’t wait for the Summer 2013!!! See you there! If you have any questions about The Ultimate Day Camp @ Dedham Health & Athletic Complex, please feel free to contact us me, Michelle Sayers, at 781.326.2900.

The Value of Video Games?

By Chris Prew
DHAC Athlete's Edge Head Instructor

I am not going to lie; I spent a good deal of my childhood dead locked to any device that sported a screen. I am an adult of the “Mortal Kombat” age, and more recently, was embedded in the “Call of Duty” world. I must say I would have never imagined defending the anti-gaming community. I will not pretend I am some expert on video games and how it affects the brain. But I will agree that if abused it could be a total “time waster.”

Look ten years from now and ask yourself how you plan to reap the fruit of countless hours of video games? How many relationships have you built? What jobs have you prepared for? What do you want to create in life? If I were to answer honestly, I wouldn’t have an answer worth leaving my lips.

There is no doubt that age brings wisdom and with wisdom comes discernment. Look back and imagine the countless productive things your child could have been doing instead of “gaming.” Reading books for information, socializing and exploring the world instantly come to mind. What’s better than that? How about exercising and “gaining the edge” in DHAC’s brand new, youth sports conditioning program: Athlete’s Edge.

Your child cannot experience meaningful friendships fixated on pixels. He or she cannot appreciate the fall colors from inside your home with a headset attached at their ears at all times. Will they spot a deer hidden in the woods from the corner of their eyes, glued to the television? What about exercise? Is the rapid thumb movement enough to establish a healthy and fit lifestyle?

Athletes Edge will provide your child with endless benefits, ranging from exercise knowledge, teamwork and friendship skills to self confidence and coordination using no video games whatsoever. We want you all to take advantage of this innovative new program led by experienced fitness and youth coaches. Get your kid off the couch and sign him or her up!

Tears at Drop-Off?

By Nicole Bassett
DHAC  Kids Staff

Teary goodbyes in Downtown can be hard on both you and your child! It’s natural for your child to feel anxious when saying goodbye. Crying and clinginess are healthy reactions to separation between the ages of six months and four years. The staff in Downtown are all used to handling separation anxiety. Here are a few tips on making it easier for you and your young child!

• Start with short visits then gradually make your visits longer. 
• Make sure your child is well rested and has a full belly. 
• Bring a binky, bottle, or toy from home. 
• Make sure your visits are consistent. 
• Drop and go! Sticking around will make the goodbye harder on the child. 
• Reassure your child that he or she will be just fine. 
• Try not to give in!

Kempo Animals & Their Lessons

By Sarah Galante
Group Fitness Director 

Enrolling your child Karate is a great way to allow them to learn such things are discipline, hand eye coordination, body awareness, confidence and self defense. In Kempo Karate we use five animals to teach the children different traits they need to posses in Karate class as well as everyday life.

1) Tiger- teaches; Strength, and Tenacity. Never give up!
2) Dragon – teaches; Ride the Wind, Fighting Spirit, Fluency, and Wisdom
3) Leopard – teaches; Speed and Power
4) Crane – teaches; Balance and Gracefulness
5) Snake – teaches; rhythmic endurance, and Flexibility

We teach the students these animals day one of their Karate journey to remind them to be like their “favorite animal”. One of my favorite stories is when a student of mine was frustrated one day with a task he had been given. His younger brother, who took karate with him, told him to be like the tiger and have Tenacity! The karate mom overheard her young son, four at the time, say this adult word in the correct context and thought it was wonderful. It makes me very happy to hear that a karate brother was helping his other karate brother through a sticky time with something he had learned in karate class. PRICELESS.

Kids & Battle Ropes

By Chris Prew
DHAC 

The concept behind the Battling Rope is quite simple. It’s simply a long length of rope that’s either attached to a wall or doubled up and slipped over a metal pole. Exercises require the whole body, but really focuses on the core, back, shoulders and arms .

The concept behind kids using the battling rope is not that simple. At first glance, almost every kid thinks we are having a tug o’ war; which isn’t the worst idea. As I begin to teach them the proper form, each child gets antsy and just wants to try it already. After all, it is pretty intriguing while watching somebody else, so I can’t blame them. I pass on the rope and it becomes clear that maintaining proper foot positioning could be the most difficult aspect. You exercise by using a sort of whipping motion with your arms, and in doing so your whole body naturally wants to fall forward- that is just what happens to each kid.

The idea of these exercises is to build strength, yes, but it’s a strength that has a lasting power. It’s all about duration. The motions use muscles rarely used in the arms, back, and abdomen, and since you do these motions repeatedly over and over, in time it will build incredible stamina. This is stamina that you can count on in hard situations, be it sports or other physical activities.

As you work out, you will find that you both push and pull simultaneously. Weight lifting builds strength, too, but nothing can give you the sustainable strength that using a Battling Rope can; which is why, we, at Athletes Edge, will continue to use this exercise.

Athlete's Edge: The Ladder

By Chris Prew
DHAC Athlete's Edge Trainer

Kids LOVE the ladder. It gets their heart rate up; their mind focused, and, most of all, its fun.

Ladder drills involve dynamic movement while forcing you to maintain control of your body. This simple ladder naturally teaches athletes to control their center of mass while moving dynamically.

I don’t believe for a minute that the ladder is a magic tool that will make anyone faster or more agile, however I do believe it is a huge piece of the puzzle from the neural perspective. Being the trainer for Athletes Edge, I firmly believe that anybody who spends time on an agility ladder to improve that brain-to-muscle (or feet) connection will only benefit.

Whether you are six years old or fifty years young, when going through ladder drills, you must maintain control of your body or it gets ugly fast. If you lean too far forward, you mess up your rhythm. You not only miss a lot of squares, but you will wreck my carefully placed ladder!

I’m glad that kids love doing this- I love coaching it!

Athlete’s Edge will be running through these drills hundreds of times- But remember, you can have the most powerful engine in your car, but if you have flat tires, you’re not going anywhere.

Little Chefs: Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies

By Megan Palmer
DHAC Kids Program Coordinator

Here is the recipe we started to follow. But, in our Little Chefs class, we left out the lemon peel and used one of my favorite baking tricks. Instead of adding even more unnecessary sugar to the recipe, (carrots, craisins and raisins are already very sweet) we substituted some of the sugar with applesauce. This is a healthier alternative than white granulated sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil 
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar plus 1/3 cup brown sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 1 large egg 
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel 
• 1/2 cup oats 
• 2/3 cup shredded or grated carrots plus 1 banana mashed 
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; set aside 
3. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar and vanilla. 
4. When well mixed, add the egg and orange zest and beat for another 20-30 seconds. 
5. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir until flour is absorbed. 
6. Stir in oats, carrots and raisins. 
7. Scoop up a tablespoon of dough and place on a cookie sheet. 
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes based on the size of your cookies. 
9. Bake until slightly golden brown.

For more ideas on how to make healthier substitutions when baking or cooking , look below at this great guide I found on Pinterest!