Features this Month:

• YMCA Quick-Fit Video: How to Do a Crunch
• National Family Week
• YMCA Mission in Action
• Healthy Recipe: Tex-Mex Rice and Bean Casserole
• Weight loss success stories from The Boll Family YMCA

YMCA Quick-Fit Video: How to Do a Crunch

North Oakland YMCA's Jennifer Garner provides instruction on how to do a proper crunch in this Quick-Fit Video. She will show you ways to vary the difficulty and maintain correct posture, so you can maximize results.

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YMCA Mission in Action

Road to Recovery

Sometimes the road to recovery begins with a hot shower. When Hurricane Ike hit the Houston area in September, the YMCA of Greater Houston opened its facilities to the public for showers and to charge cell phones and computers—no membership needed. An estimated 2.8 million residents in the area were left without electricity after the Category 2 storm.

The area’s YMCAs also helped distribute 200,000 bags of ice donated by a local grocer. Despite severe damage to some of its own facilities, the Y was able to help hundreds of people in need as they began the process of recovering from the hurricane.

The Houston YMCA has had some practice in storm response, having provided shelter, services and activities to thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees in 2007. “We’re part of this community” said the Houston YMCA’s Trazanna Moreno. “We offered similar help to Katrina evacuees, so of course we would respond when this happened in our own backyard. It’s a small thing, a shower, but it makes you feel human again.” The YMCA continued to reopen facilities as power was restored and is now fully operational at all of its 41 sites.

International

Ethiopia is in east-central Africa, bordered on the west by the Sudan, the east by Somalia and Djibouti, the south by Kenya and the northeast by Eritrea. It has several high mountains, the highest of which is Ras Dashan at 15,158 ft. Ethiopia is about the size of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico combined—472,000 square miles. The capital city is Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia is home to 77 million people. The Oromo, Amhara and Tigreans make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are more than 77 different ethnic groups with their own distinct languages within Ethiopia. In general, most Christians live in the highlands, while Muslims and adherents of traditional African religions tend to inhabit lowland regions. Most of the Somali people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language. English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is taught in all secondary schools.

Ethiopia is credited with being the origin of mankind. Bones discovered in eastern Ethiopia date back 3.2 million years. Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world.

The YMCA of Ethiopia

The YMCA of Ethiopia was founded in 1951 in Addis Ababa. In the 1960s the YMCA of Ethiopia was the largest YMCA in Africa with 25 branches. However, in 1976 the YMCA was shut down by the Derg Regime and the communist revolution.

The YMCA of Ethiopia re-opened in 1992 with support from former Ethiopian YMCA leaders and members, the Africa Alliance of YMCAs and YMCA of the USA. The YMCA of Ethiopia has gradually expanded throughout the country over the past 15 years and has more than 10,000 members and nine local branches. It reaches more than 60,000 youth and families each year. Programming includes sports, recreation, character development, assistance for orphans and vulnerable children, primary education, civic education, services for street children and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Recently the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a $500,000 grant to YMCA of the USA to combat HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. The YMCA AIDS Volunteerism and Community Engagement (ADVANCE) program will provide youth access to basic HIV prevention education and vital medical services to improve existing care and prevention programs in underserved communities in the cities of Addis Ababa and Adama. The YMCA will recruit and train hundreds of Ethiopian youths to become peer educators who will spread prevention and care information, work towards building a stronger sense of community and refer community members to health facilities.

To learn more about YMCA work around the world visit www.ymca.net/worldservice.

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Weight loss success stories from The Boll Family YMCA

By Biba Adams - The Michigan Citizen

In the almost three years since the opening of The Boll Family YMCA, hundreds of Detroiters have enhanced their well-being inside its walls. Some members are attracted to The Boll to lose weight, or just to get in more exercise, some come to learn how to swim, take yoga classes, or challenge themselves on the rock climbing wall. No matter what it is you may be looking for, if it is related to health and wellness, you can find it at the downtown Y.

The Boll Family YMCA sits at the corner of Grand River and Broadway glimmering like a shiny new jewel. Its opening in December of 2005 was seen as one of the indications of the resurgence of downtown Detroit. The facility features a four-lane, 25 meter lap pool, a warm therapeutic pool, a youth sports arena, two aerobics rooms, a spin room, and a wellness center with cardiovascular and weight machines. The Boll also features a 200-seat theater, which has been invaluable to playwrights by providing a location to present their work to a receptive audience. The many amenities make The Boll an important part of the daily life of many downtown workers and residents.

One of the many reasons that people join The Boll is to lose weight. Obesity continues to grow as a problem in American society. According the latest figures from The American Medical Association, 58 million Americans are overweight, 40 million others are obese, and another 3 million are morbidly obese. These staggering statistics are further explained in the fact that 78 percent of Americans are not meeting basic activity recommendations of moderate exercise for at least one half-hour, everyday.

Inspired by my own weight loss after beginning a workout regimen at The Boll, I wondered as I look at the faces of the many “regulars,” the people that I see day in and day out, I wonder what their stories are and what are the secrets to their success:

Biba Adams, Arts & Culture Editor The Michigan Citizen. 17 pounds in six weeks.

I have always been “heavier,” I was very much an emotional eater for my teens and most of my 20s. By the time I was in my mid-20s, I was just fat. I did a lot of crazy stuff to lose weight, diet pills, fasts, but nothing kept the weight off. Finally, frustrated after seeing a picture of myself that I wanted to burn, I recommitted to working out. I have been working out at The Boll for six weeks. I don’t have a trainer, I walk on the treadmill at a pretty good rate of speed, and use the “hill” setting, which alternates the incline. I also do a little work on the weight machines. I actually watch other people and think, “I can do that.” Then I may add that element into my workout. I plan to start with a trainer at the first of the year.

Kim Gray, 72 pounds in one year.

I started Weight Watchers in October of last year, and lost 25 pounds, I lost another 50 when I started working out at The Boll in April. I train with (Boll Personal Trainer) Kevin Johnson; we work on circuit training and weight training. He keeps me positive and motivated. Having a personal trainer can be expensive, but compared to the value of overall health, it is totally worth it. I don’t know if I would have gotten this far without Kevin, I am running faster and can sustain speed longer. I want to lose another 30 pounds and then will just be focused on maintaining my weight loss. My advice: write down everything you eat, and avoid consuming calories through beverages. It is definitely a lifestyle change. I’m very happy with my success.

Angela Couch, Casino Dealer. 84 pounds in seven months.

I gained weight when I quit smoking. I was in a dressing room, and none of the largest sizes fit, I had to go to a store that sold plus-size clothing, and it felt like giving up. I had the membership, but didn’t really use it. When I met (Boll Personal Trainer) Bridget Porter, I was almost 200 pounds; I started working out with her two days a week, and four days by myself. My goal was to burn 1,000 calories a day. I joined Weight Watchers and achieved my goal weight in seven months. I feel a lot better, I love going shopping. working out is the start of my day, I work out, shower, change and head to work. I hate to miss a day. I am getting braces on my teeth, and I am 47 years old. It’s like my second chance at life. You always hear about it, but I am a true story. It can happen, be consistent. A lot of people are having gastric bypass surgery, they want that quick fix, but don’t want to do the hard work. One hour and 40 minutes a day has changed my life.

Advice from Bridget Porter, Boll Family YMCA Personal Trainer

One thing people should understand is that weight loss is a journey; it could take a year or two to get to your goal. However, your mentality changes as your body changes; you begin to make healthier choices. In your fitness journey, you should plan to get a personal trainer at some point. However, it is important to just start moving, find an activity that you enjoy and do it consistently. I use a lot of old exercises in my routine, sit-ups, push-ups, squats; get on the floor and make them a part of your daily routine. Go for a run, use the stairs, there are simple things you can do to tax your body that won’t cost you a dime.

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