August 20, 2013
Shirley Clay†(right) presents Chuck Hamilton†with a fruit and†vegetable†gift basket for being named NTCC?s Fittest Employee†of the Month†for August. To receive this award, an employee must†be caught practicing†overt wellness behavior and attitude.†
The Wellness Committee is on the lookout for an September recipient!
Here are a few words about Chuck's†personal wellness plan?
It's My Life!
Becoming an English teacher has been a detriment to my physical fitness.††Along with taking on the additional responsibilities of completing a PhD in English while teaching seven composition classes each semester there was not much extra time I had to dedicate to exercise.††But now, with all graduate classes completed and the dissertation up for defense, I can finally crawl out from behind the computer, scrape off the mold and mildew, and start to change my figure from pear to wedge (or at least rectangular).
So, just before graduation in May, I decided that I would take advantage of our state-of-the-art fitness center, and the advice of Tom Seabourne, and try to shape up over the summer.††Like I told Tom, I am not trying to get back to the shape I was in 20 years ago, or become a senior weight lifter, I just wanted to get back my cardio stamina and firm up some of my sagging skin, along with losing some educational weight.
The task I was looking at in May was incredibly difficult for me to contemplate.††I usually get my exercise by walking from the couch to the refrigerator and back, but I never work out in a fitness center.††It has been since the early 1980s since I have exercised regularly.††I questioned if I would really stick with it when I started.††If I had not constantly gotten out of breath with simple exertion I probably would never have started working out, but what happened next was even more surprising than the sight of me in a fitness center.††I actually began to like working out -- a lot!!!
Since the day I began this monumental journey to health and fitness at 5:45 a.m. on May 13 I have rarely missed a day of workouts.††My biggest pause was during a week-long-trip to my son's wedding in Wisconsin in June.††I actually regretted not exercising during the trip, but got right back in step when I returned.††So far I have been at the fitness center at least five days a week (sometimes more), and have become addicted to exercise.
As to what I do each day, it's pretty simple.††I never lift much weight (70 - 85 lbs. per machine with lots of reps), and I constantly move from machine to machine -- upper body and lower body.††I work 15 minutes on machines, 15 minutes on the treadmill, and finish with another 15 minutes on machines.††Tom Seabourne is my guide and my body tells me how much to do on each machine each day.
Thirty years ago this exercise thing was not so demanding, but it is now at 62, and part of that is because I have neglected my health since becoming a teacher.††It is an easy trap to fall into -- the constant grading of essays, and putting off any kind of physical exertion, always with the excuse of having too much schoolwork to do, but I did not want to have a heart attack sitting in my office grading essays.††And, although it is a daily challenge to do my 45 minutes at the fitness center, I do feel better, my digestion is better (indigestion gone), my diet has changed (I have lost weight), my cholesterol is way down, my stamina (sustained walking and working) is up, and I no longer spend my off-work hours sitting and vegetating in front of my computer.††Exercise and a change of diet take a lasting personal commitment to your own health, but I have found it (in all reality) a lifesaver.
