GREENVILLE — Greenville Public Library’s (GPL) monthly Lunch & Learn on Wednesday offered folks some tips for taking short activity breaks at work.
As part of the library’s Wellness Program, A “ReFresh Session” presented by Director of Wellness Services at Wayne Healthcare Jordan Francis and GPL Wellness Coordinator Warren Richards, took people through simple workouts they can perform in 10 minutes, using a resistance band or other resistance tools, such as dumbbells. One was the “Good Morning Exercise”. This starts by bending at the hips to loop the end of the band behind the neck. Keeping the legs straight, extend through the hips to come to a near vertical position. Ensure that the back is not rounded going down back to the starting position. Another is the “Single Leg Leg Romanian Dead Lift (RDL)”. Stand on one leg holding a resistance band in front of the chest. Squeeze the shoulder blades together and pull elbows back to perform a row. Push hands down to straighten the arms, keeping elbows close to your sides. Return to start.
In addition, Jordan explained the health benefits of the 10-minute workouts, such as increasing blood flow, strengthening muscles and energizing the mind and body. According to mayoclinic.org., research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns. Some include: obesity and metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions that includes increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels. Too much sitting also seems to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Greenville Public Library Wellness Coordinator Warren Richards said the GPL started a Wellness Program this year. Out of about 24 employees, 17 have signed up.
“I was shooting for half,” he said. “More are involved than I expected.”
Richards said the whole idea is offering options to the employees. Today it is educational. Other offerings have included physical, emotional and nutritional programs. He said the community outreach is exciting. Lunch & Learn also offered a healthy lunch, provided by Brenda’s Beanery.
To find out more about GPL’s upcoming programs, visit http://www.greenville-publiclibrary.org/
