November Newsletter 2015
THANKSGIVING HOURS: 8:00AM-12 NOON
WE HAD A GREAT TIME AT THE HALLOWEEN PARTY THIS YEAR!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR OUR ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY!
FRIDAY DECEMBER 4TH!
TENNIS NEWS
I love this time of the year! Weather is starting to cool off and plenty of tennis to play! The Leagues have been a blast to watch. All of our teams are very competitive with some in the hunt for Sectionals. What I really want to talk about are the great singles matches through our Club Challenge Ladder! The matches have really picked up over the past few weeks. It has been great seeing some very exciting match-ups among our club members. If anyone has interest in participating in our Singles Ladder please contact me and I will get you in the action! I hope everyone has a great November before the rains hit this winter! See Ya on the Courts!Ryan
TurkeyTrot
This is always a favorite among our tennis members! Come join us Sunday, November 15th for some fun doubles and drinks! This is a free event for our tennis members and should not be missed! The Turkey Trot is for players of an Intermediate/Advanced level. Sign up is in the lobby by the front desk. Hope to see you there!
FALL CLINICS
Future Stars Clinic
Level I Tuesdays at 4:00pm
Level II Thursdays at 4:00pm
Intermediate/Advanced Clinic
Wednesdays at 5:00pm
Tournament Players Clinic
Mondays at 5:00pm and Wednesdays at 4:00pm
Intermediate Adult Clinic
Fridays at 10:00am
FIGHTING SITTING DISEASE: THE STRONG UP DOG
By Eric Romanak
Although I don’t regularly practice Yoga, I do acknowledge that it could benefit my mind and body. My reasoning for not? Nothing profound, other than I am a work in progress. I need to learn to floss regularly too. That being said, I would still like to share great Yoga information with you when I come across it. So, read on from an expert and we will grow together.
-Danielle Williams
Fitness Director
Without a doubt yoga is an amazing practice for stretching, opening and restoring the body. What drew me into Clubbell Yoga was its strength component. Strength is a very critical component in battling the greatest enemy to our muscle-skeletal-tissue structure... Sitting. We are becoming chair shaped if you haven't heard.
To combat our bodies being pulled into chair shape a strong Upward Facing Dog is a great tool. Yoga is about being connected and strength is the byproduct of properly connected anatomy chains.
Starting at the feet, press the tops of the feet down firmly to begin engaging the legs. This pressure also aids in the tucking of the tailbone which activates the core. Without this, the top half of the body is disconnected from the lower half and the lumbar spine is at risk.
Pinching the low back to try and get a more "bendy" look in your Up Dog is a doubly bad idea considering how much of a beating the low back takes while we sit. Developing core strength under the torque of the back bend is a key tactic against our enemy the chair.
Moving to the top half of the body, it helps to think of the cervical spine (neck) in the same way as the lumbar spine. Pull from your crown point with a gently tucked chin to create strength and length in the neck. This is especially important considering the amount of time we spend dropping our heads to look at our phones.
Finally, pack the shoulders away from the ears by pressing firmly in the hands and rotating your elbow pits forward. This helps to neutralize the shoulder and back rounding that is reinforced by sitting and doing tasks in front of you with your arms (ex. Working on the computer and virtually everything else we do as humans).
A strong Up Dog is one of my biggest go-to's as a coach, body worker and sitting survivor. Don't just fly through your vinyasa anymore. Take advantage of this potent pose and even practice it in longer isometric holds.
HOLIDAY TRAINING SPECIAL
3 FOR $99 ONE-ON-ONE PERSONAL TRAINING
THE GIFT OF HEALTH: Share with someone you care for the benefits of exercise with a GIFT CERTIFICATE. Or better yet, treat yourself to this special offer! Valid for members not currently working with a personal trainer. All sessions must be used by January 31st, 2016. Gift Certificates are available by contacting Fitness Director Danielle Williams at [email protected] or 818-219-4835. (Note that not all personal trainers are available for this special).
CONGRATULATIONS 2015 TEAM 100
Aristotle tells us that we are the sum of our actions and motivation. The Ojai Valley Athletic Club’s Team 100 members epitomize this concept and we would like to pay tribute to their dedication to their health.
We are all destined to make choices and those choices do largely control our actions. We are most fortunate and grateful that the Ojai Valley Athletic Club is filled with the motivated people listed below who are brave enough to take action. They say it is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is standing up and taking action. We are celebrating the fact that these members consistently show up at the gym and take action. We are celebrating their enthusiasm, commitment to their fitness goals and sheer hard work. They are an inspiration to our community and we thank you.
| Susan Amend Gerry Banahan Jerry Barnes Cecil Baumgartner PinkyBelshe Gary Belshe Jack Bertsch Bob Boschan Gayle Childress Jeanine Carter Stephen Carter Mike Caldwell Anne Carper Ann Charlesworth Fran Christiansen Jim Christiansen Chip Collins Lori Collins Liz Cossairt Ing-Marie Currie | Amy Denton Don Diaz Fred Fauvre Frank Finck Maudette Finck Sharon Flanagan Sue Francis Paul Garth Robin Granholm Dan Grimm Rose Grimm Irshad Hague Robin Johnston Olga Jones Trent Jones Nancy Kochevar Donna Lechman Maralisa Long Bill May Nancy May | Phil Moncharsh Gail Moore Rick Moore Janet Owens Jenny Owens Richard Parsons Jan Rains Ann Robertson Nathalie Selleslags Corkey Solow Dan Sommer Stevi Steger Hildegard Tallent Terry Tallent Mike Urbanek Justin Wilson Dennis Wood Peggy Wood Alan Zusman Diane Zusman |
MASTERS SWIMMING AT OVAC-ALL ABILITIES WELCOME!!
Coach Rick Goeden coaches OVAC ‘s Masters Swim Program. Rick has over 30 years coaching experience and has taken the OJAI Masters to win SPMA’s regionals five times. He has also led many individuals to Southern Pacific Top Tens and USMS National Top Tens.
Mondays – Wednesdays – Fridays
6:00am Masters/ 9:00am Technique Class/ 12:00 noon Lunch Bunch
Tuesdays – Thursdays
8:00am Masters /9:00am Senior Masters
Saturdays 7:30am Masters I
For More Information Contact Rick Geoden [email protected]
HIGH SCHOOL SWIM WORKOUTS OFFERED MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY
Join other High School swimmers as they stay conditioned for the upcoming High School swim season. Coached by local swimmer and water polo official, Mike Sullivan.
M-W-F’s from 5pm-6:15pm, COST: $75/month
NO YOUTH SWIM CLASSES THANKSGIVING WEEK
NOVEMBER 23-27
All lanes will be available for lap swimming those afternoons. Enjoy! 
A FEW MORE EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR “POWERHOUSE”
The last three newsletters the Pilates “Powerhouse” was described and two exercises to strengthen it was discussed. The Forward Flexion and the Spinal Articulation were described and their use in basic life functioning movements and other exercise modalities were explored. The last two exercises which I will introduce in this newsletter will be Pelvic Stability and Spinal Extension. These two exercises are very helpful for low back pain, posture corrections, balance, and over all core strength. All these exercises are the basic concepts of core strength and stability, which create the building blocks for more advanced Pilates exercises and other fitness sports and activities.
A basic Pelvic Stability exercise is the Leg Lift Supine. This simple but valuable exercise focuses on using the necessary muscles, primarily the abdominals, to keep the pelvic stable as the lower limbs move. In this exercise, the abdominals are working as stabilizers rather than movers. Because the upper attachments of many of the hip flexors are on the sides of the lower spine and the front of the pelvis, when they forcibly contract to lift the leg they also tend to arch the lower back, unless stabilization of the pelvis and spine is provided by the abdominals. Building the skill of using the abdominals and other muscles of the powerhouse to stabilize the trunk is an essential goal of Pilates and vital for proper execution of many advance exercise.
The Leg Lift Supine Execution:
1. Start position, Lie supine in a neutral spine position with the knees bent so the lower legs form approximately 90-degree angles, relative to the thighs and the feet are flat on the mat and hip-width apart. The arms are by the sides with the palms facing down.
2. Exhale. Raise one leg until the knee is just above the hip joint, the thigh perpendicular to the mat, while maintaining the 90-degree angle at the knee joint and the neutral spine position.
3. Inhale, Lower the leg until the toes touch the mat, while still maintaining the 90-degree angle at the knee joint and the neutral spine position.
Targeted Muscles:
Hip flexors: iliopsoas, rectus femoris, Sartorius, pectineus, tensor fascia latae, gracillis
Anterior spinal stabilizers: rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique,
transversus abdominis
The Back Extension Prone exercise purpose is to strengthen the spinal extensors, particularly the erector spinae, while working on developing the ability to simultaneously use the abdominals to help protect the lower back. The tendency is predominantly to arch the lower back when performing this and similar spinal extension exercises. However, pulling the lower attachment of the abdominals upward can produce rotation of the pelvis in the opposite direction. Think of gently pressing the pubic bone into the mat while the lower portion of the abdominals pulls up and in toward the spine to limit the amount of arching in the low back. This stabilization of the lower back also facilitates focusing on and strengthening the upper back muscles, which are key for preventing slumped posture. Learning to use the abdominals to help stabilize the lower back in this basic exercise is essential for optimal execution of more challenging exercises and even just proper functional lifting techniques.
The Back Extension Prone Execution:
1. Start position, Lie prone with the forehead on the mat and the arms by the sides with the palms pressing against the sides of the thighs, elbows straight. The legs should be together with the feet gently pointed.
2. Exhale, lift the head, upper trunk, and middle trunk off the mat while keeping the legs together and the arms pressing against the sides
3. Inhale, slowly lower the trunk and head, returning to the start position.
Targeted Muscles:
Spinal extensors: erector spinae ( spinalis, longissimus, iliocostalis), semispinalis, deep
posterior spinal group
Using these two exercises and the other two mentioned in prior newsletters will strengthen the “Powerhouse” and create core strength and stability. These exercises will help in many fitness activities and just proper injury free movements in daily life. If you are interest in advancing these movements try out any of our clubs Mat Pilates Class or Contact Victoria Ott or Julie Fox to come on into the clubs Pilates Studio to try these exercises on the Reformer or Cadillac.
