Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Does a Body Good


Every other week, there seems to be another article or book highlighting the benefits of spending time in the great outdoors for those young and old. Julie Deardorff of the Chicago Tribune wrote recently that "a daily dose of nature can help keep kids motivated." According to the Journal of Environmental Psychology, spending time in nature makes us "feel more alive" and can result in greater motivation and learning capacity - which means kids do better in the classroom. And with kids spending more time indoors once the school year starts, there's all the more reason to emphasize the need to spend an hour or two outside each day.

Works for me. Read the whole story in the Denver Post here.

On a related note - for the older crowd among us - here's some inspiration to get you out to climb that mountain, run that race, to push your limits at the gym. Meet Olga Kotelko, 91-year old master athlete, holder of 23 world records - 17 of which she has set in the last year. She does the long jump and the hammer throw, runs the 100 meter dash in less than 25 seconds, and does the shot put, bench press, high jump, discus throw, javelin, and more. And she only started at the age of 77 which, correct me if I'm mistaken, is when most people are quitting things - walking being chief among them.

Apparently little old ladies aren't what they used to be. Read the full story and watch the video here.

3 comments:

Kathryn said...

Photo reminds me of Zumwalt in Eastern Oregon. Where's it at? Or is that the next quiz?

Rick and Marge said...

Olga's joie de vivre is written all over her face as well as in the energy of her voice. What an inspiration!

Dave Pacheco said...

Ahhh the sweet smell of wilderness in the morning...nothing like a good stretch to start a most refreshing day on the trail!