Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart, knees and toes turned out slightly. Lower into a deep squat, pushing hips back and reaching fingertips to the floor, keeping spine naturally straight, chest lifted, and eyes focused ahead.

Push back to standing position, then extend arms straight overhead, keeping them close to your ears as you raise up on your tiptoes. Return to start.  That is one rep.

Begin by squatting down, bending your knees as close to 90 degrees as possible. Knees should never bend forward past your toes (knees and ankles should remain aligned through squat). Make sure your bottom doesn’t sink lower than your knees.  Also, keep your shoulders relaxed and neck long as you reach your fingertips forward.  At the bottom of the squat lift both heels off the floor into a heel raise. Put your heels back on the ground and then come up from the squat.

Modified version – use the wall to begin your squat…

In search of some fitness inspiration? Check out this video exploration of the workout that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg (who just turned 84) does twice a week. Weight-bearing exercises, like strength training, are good for everyone, but especially important for those looking to gain and maintain bone strength and health.

The reverse lunge and twist is a calisthenics, pilates, and stretching exercise that primarily targets the quadriceps and to a lesser degree [also targets] the abs, hip flexors, etc.
Step 1: Stand tall with arms at sides.
Step 2: Begin exercise by stepping back with left foot while raising your left hand up so palm is facing forward and elbow is bent at a 90-degree angle.
Step 3: Now begin to lower into lunge and simultaneously twist your torso to the right (always twist to the side with the leg that is forward). Pause, then reverse movements back to starting position.

Wall Push Ups

Push ups can be done against steady walls (not your cubicle!). Lean against the wall at a 45-degree angle. Consider doing 2 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

• If your hands are wide, you are working your chest and pectoralis muscles.
• If your hands are closer, you are exerting more force on the triceps.
• Wall push ups can be intensified if you flex your elbows during the push up.
• To really intensify the exercise, you can do the push up from your fingertips or even with one arm.

–Berkeley Wellness – collaboration between the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley and a national team of writers and editors.

Much research has shown that exercise and staying physically active in general can improve mood and help counter depression. A study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings in August 2016 provided some interesting evidence for this by examining what happens when active people are denied their customary exercise boost.

Researchers from the University of Mississippi recruited 39 young adults, ages 18 to 35, all of whom regularly exercised moderately or vigorously for at least 150 minutes a week before the start of the study. Two-thirds of them were told to stop exercising for a week and to limit walking (the other third, the control group, continued their normal exercise routine). Before and after the intervention, the participants underwent psychological evaluation. Even after just seven days, the suddenly sedentary group experienced large adverse effects on mood and depression. Then, after they resumed physical activity for a week, they regained their normal emotional state.

Those results are hardly surprising. Exercise can help improve mood or at least maintain psychological equilibrium in many ways—by reducing stress and anxiety, improving sleep, providing a sense of self-efficacy, and enhancing social support (if exercise is done in a group). Take that away, as in this study, and active people suffer.

One take-home message, according to the researchers, is that athletes and exercisers who sustain an injury that prevents them from working out should be aware of these “maladaptive effects” of becoming sedentary and try to counter them by, for instance, finding another form of physical activity.

More broadly, as the accompanying editorial put it, “Physical activity and reduction of sedentary behavior have a synergistic effect on improving both physical and psychosocial health… If the benefits of exercise could be distilled into one medication and bottled, it likely would be the best selling and most prescribed medication in history.”

In case you missed the email from UCI wellness, they are now offering a few classes for FREE. You do need to sign up through the Campus Recreation site.

Here’s the info:

Work Out At Work. Sign Up Now For Free

Fit Squad Classes Starting September 27

As part of your UCI Worklife and Wellness Program, UCI Campus Recreation is proud to announce the return of Fit Squad, a fitness program designed to get you moving. Starting September 27, you are invited to join your UCI co-workers for a quick workout during your work-week.

These ten week classes are free for all UCI Faculty and Staff; pre-registration is required. Workouts will be held at different times and locations (UCI Main Campus and Medical Center), and include the popular Yoga, Zumba, and Pump classes. A new Yoga class has been added to the UCI Main Campus this Fall.

Click here to find out more about Fit Squad and the classes. To register simply click on the name of the class.
If you have any questions, please contact Kali Knapp at kaknapp@uci.edu.

The day I returned from vacation, I felt happy, energized, ready to tackle things, including the 175 email messages waiting for me. I felt a sense of accomplishment after enjoying the great outdoors with hikes and floating the river, tasting new foods, meeting new people, reading a good book, and visiting with family.

As I was reading through my email, this article struck me as something that we all might have in common as we return from our vacations, as new employees join us in the Libraries, as we step outside our world of work and home, and visit new places and meet new people.

How have you been increasing your empathy? Comment below.

These 6 Surprising Habits Can Increase Your Empathy

http://www.rd.com/advice/relationships/empathy-exercises/