Lifestyles May 1, 2000

Current issue:
May 1, 2000

Lifestyles

Wellness Program opens new 'Body Shop'
Check fire safety in summer travel
New program targets learning during early years

Wellness Program opens new 'Body Shop'

The University of Kentucky Wellness Program is striving to meet the health and fitness needs of UK employees, spouses and retirees. After surveying program participants, UK's fitness programming has a new name and look.

Submitted
Treadmills are just a few of the machines offered by the Wellness Program's Body Shop.
The new "Body Shop" has two distinct components: the Body Shop facility and the Body Shop physical movement classes.
The Body Shop facility, or the gym formerly known as Alumni, was splashed with a fresh coat of paint and a new look. This first phase of facility renovation includes new mirrors and a new equipment layout. The improved layout includes an enhanced musculoskeletal circuit that trains the musculature in a pattern beginning with the largest muscle groups and ending with the smallest. Additional facility upgrades include three new Nautilus pieces - an inner thigh machine, an outer thigh machine and a pullover machine - as well as a new office for staff use.

The Body Shop staff are trained and qualified fitness professionals who can help program participants get started with weight training, revamping workouts and accomplishing specific personal goals. Staff members are available during workouts or can be scheduled at other times for a personal orientation.

The Body Shop physical movement classes are designed to challenge cardiovascular needs and cover a wide variety of modalities and fitness levels. From the challenges of "Kickfit" to the tranquility of meditation, the classes offer something for every exerciser and are offered at a variety of locations across campus.

Class offerings include high and low impact, target training, abs and stretch, ultimate cross training, water jog, extreme step, meditation, Pilates Relaxation and yoga, among others.
For more information on the new Body Shop and participation in wellness activities and classes, call the UK Wellness Program at 257-WELL (9355) or visit www.uky.edu/HR/wellness.

Staff report

Check fire safety in summer travel

Winter is gone; flowers and trees are beginning to bud; Major League Baseball has begun, and UK employees are planning family vacations. And remember, fire safety precautions do not end at work or home. It is wise to include fire safety precautions in vacation plans especially for accommodations.

The following are some fire safety tips that need to be included in planning:

- Choose a motel, if at all possible, that is protected by both a sprinkler system and smoke detectors. As a minimum, smoke detectors must be provided. Check to see if the red light on the detector is blinking. If it's blinking, it's "on."

- The motel should have an escape plan posted. Read it and make sure the children understand what to do. Garry Beach
University Fire Marshall

- Know the local emergency number.

- If the fire alarm should sound, respond immediately. Always evacuate the premise.

- Before leaving your room, feel the door's door handle. If its warn, it could mean the fire is outside your door. Open the door slowly and cautiously.

- If trapped in your room, dial the emergency number, then go to a window and signal for help.

- Keep a flashlight in your room.

- Know where the exits and stairways are located. Count the number of doors between your room and the closet stairway. If confronted with smoke, crawl toward the stairway counting the number of doors you pass. This could prevent you from crawling past the stairway entrance door.

- Designate a special location for family members to meet outside. Accounting for all family members as soon as possible after making a safe exit.

The key to having a fire safe vacation is being aware and prepared for emergencies. Don't take fire safety for granted. Be alert, and have a great vacation.

New program targets learning during early years

A growing body of research suggests that effective learning skills begin well before youngsters attend their first day of school and that mom and dad can be a child's most influential teachers.

The Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service is in the development phase of a state-wide early educational effort called "Keys to Great Parenting: Fun and Learning with Your Baby or Toddler," which intends to assist parents of very young children in honing their parenting and teaching roles.

"We will be working very closely with the Governor's Office on Early Childhood Development, and our focus is going to be on parenting education that stresses skills needed by parents caring for children up to three years of age," said Sam Quick, a project leader and human development and family relations specialist in the UK College of Agriculture.

New and accumulated research on brain development has shown how critical it is to provide children with the right stimuli to improve their chances for learning later in life.

"Because parents are the very first influence on a child's life, it very important that they realize their role as teachers from the very start of a child's life," Quick said.

Carole Gnatuk, a temporary assistant professor and early childhood development specialist, is assisting Quick.

"Establishing a bond of affection and trust between parent and child not only creates happier kids, but fosters increased chemical action in the brain which in turn increases the number and strength of neuron connections," Gnatuk said. "Learning ability is directly related by the complexity of these connections developed within the brain."

Mark Eclov