Heart to Start
By Providence
Heart to StartNov 24, 2021
You Did It!
We did it! YOU did it. Congratulations to everyone who met us at the starting line twelve weeks ago and have now crossed their personal finish lines. Participants set a goal, set a plan, interacted with their supportive community, and are now celebrating themselves and each other. This season, we welcomed all modes of movement for a commitment to stick with us for the twelve weeks with hopes the regular movement becomes more than a habit, it becomes a lifestyle. The community doesn’t end here, we will stay connected and cheer on each other as we continue to stay active and challenge ourselves until it is time again to come together for another Heart to Start season.
For more information about Heart to Start, visit: hearttostart.org
Our Community Stories: Donna Gallagher
Last year, Donna joined our program for the very first time and in a virtual setting. We've invited her to share the experience being in Spokane, Washington, finding the motivation to stick to the training and to complete her goal. We learn why the goal was important to her and how she created her personal celebration following crossing her 5K finish line; tips to finding the desire to celebrate without a large community celebration.
For more information on the Heart to Start program, visit here: hearttostart.org
Finishing Strong! / Week 12 Activity
As we reach Week 12 in our training, we offer an important conversation around reaching your intended goal. Joining us again is Elliott Waksman; if you recall he offered insight on mindset and setting goals during Week 1. Now that we are at the end of this training plan, he helps us set our sights on new goals and how to finish strong and successfully with this current one. As we are virtual, Elliott also maps out what a celebration might look like for your self - how to make it special and something to look forward to.
For more information on the Heart to Start program, visit here: hearttostart.org
Our Community Stories: Nancy Richards
February is National Heart Month and we are sharing stories of Heart to Start participants who've experienced their own heart events and steps taken to overcome the unthinkable as they return to their active lifestyles. Nancy made the choice to gift herself time for health and discovered a passion for running, in what seemed to be a peak of her fitness while participating in a marathon she experienced a heart attack. Listen as she shares her path back to regular movement and rebuilding trust within herself.
Our Community Stories: Anthony Scribner
February is National Heart Month and we are sharing stories of Heart to Start participants who've experienced their own heart events and steps taken to overcome the unthinkable as they return to their active lifestyles. Anthony has taken the perspective of celebrating all the possibilities and even expanding his hobbies to include more community-centered opportunities for both encouragement and accountability.
Doing Good Helps You Feel Better Pt. 2 + Our Community Stories: Akiko Erwin
As we continue the conversation around healing it forward and supporting our communities, we've invited Katie O'Brien, Executive Director for Rose Haven, a local day shelter for women located in Portland, OR. She offers her perspective on the importance of volunteerism as it relates to supporting organizations that ultimately offer support to individuals living within our communities. And, how such support can come in many forms based on what a person is able to give - time, item donations, monetary donations, services, etc. Our community story connects the dots with volunteerism and a lovely participant, Akiko. She shares the social and emotional benefits experienced through her own volunteering and engagement with our program.
For more information on Heart to Start, visit: heartostart.org
Doing Good Does Help You Feel Better Pt. 1 / Week 10 Activity
Did you know that volunteering can help reduce your risk of high blood pressure, depression, and chronic pain? Research shows that people who give back to their community experience better overall health, greater life satisfaction, and ability to manage their own chronic illnesses. Healing it forward makes your community healthier - and doing good always comes back to support you, too. This week we hear from Brittn Grey, someone lucky enough to have a day job centered around this very idea of volunteerism and helping our communities. We learn why businesses are adding volunteerism to their employee wellness programming and the benefits of doing so.
Our Community Stories: Mindy Green
Using our knowledge Dr. Thurman offered around the benefits of exercise on our mental and emotional health, we are sharing the story of Mindy, a long-time participant who is one of the amazing healthcare workers who've been on the front lines with the pandemic. Mindy is an RN working with some of our most vulnerable patients within behavioral health. She shares how exercise plays an important role in her own mental health so that she can be her best self to her patients, family, and her own self.
Exercise Benefits on Mental Health / Week 9 Activity
Most often our main reason for choosing to exercise regularly is for physical health - lowered risk factors, reduced chance for heart disease, weight management - for example. How often do you consider your exercise being a benefit to your mental and emotional well-being? Dr. Kristen Thurman, a behavioral health provider and a current psychologist resident helps us understand the connection between exercise and mental health.
For more information and to register for the program go to hearttostart.org.
Fueling Your Body Pt. 2 + Our Community Stories: Lainie Dalby
Continuing our focus on nutrition this week, we expand on our previous episode of nutrition basics and look to more specific scenarios for athletes and/or those following a training plan that may expend more energy and thus require more energy in the form of healthy foods. Registered dietitian, Niki Strealy, offers great insight into this topic and also dives into the idea of digestive health. Our participant spotlight takes us across the nation to Pennsylvania where we visit with Lainie and hear her story of connecting with a community she's never met, her personal success and also her approach to nutrition and time management with a demanding life schedule.
Fueling Your Body Pt. 1 / Week 8 Activity
When considering what foods are your best fuel when participating in an exercise program, your first step is to start with the basics. Registered dietitian, Jamie Libera, joins our conversation this week to talk all things nutrition and what it means to follow a heart-healthy diet - a nutrition plan that's beneficial to everyone.
To learn more or register for the program visit hearttostart.org.
Our Community Stories: Chuck + Christine Helm
For our participant story this week, we actually bring you two friends from our Basecamp community programs, where we offer free prevention + wellness classes and education for everyone. Chuck and Christine incorporate a variety of exercise styles into their weekly routine that include aerobic exercises and strength training. Learn why a regular exercise routine is important to them and how they've kept moving regularly during the pandemic.
Benefits of Resistance Training / Week 7 Activity
Did you know the best combination for optimal cardiovascular health is regular aerobic exercise and resistance training combined? As a program, we celebrate the steps taken for walking and running - for many, those are huge first steps! Adding in some additional exercises focused on building strength is a great next step. We visit with certified personal trainer, Will Bruce, this week to discuss the benefits of resistance training, defining what it means and how you can incorporate simple movements into your regular exercise routine.
To learn more and register for Heart to Start visit: hearttostart.org
Our Community Stories-Erin Dees
Inclusivity and community-how participation and connection allowed space for authenticity and acceptance.
To learn more or register for the program visit: hearttostart.org
Creating an Inclusive Community / Week 6 Activity
Creating an inclusive community: what does it mean to be "inclusive", the importance of inclusivity for overall health; access/equity conversations around movement and community programs.
Our Community Stories: Margaret Hill
It's not often you hear stories where someone has made a perfect match by combining exercise and volunteerism. Hear from a community member on how she's able to give of her time to a variety of organizations while tackling her own health too. What keeps Margaret active year-round is her enjoyment of multiple modes of movement and she seeks communities that support her goals and her passions.
Exercising with Our Four-Legged Friends / Week 5 Activity
Having a four-legged family member brings a new level of joy, and benefit, to a home. Studies have shown the positive health benefits pets can have on their humans from lowered blood pressure, improved mental/emotional health, and even lowered risk for heart disease. Knowing not all pets are meant to hit the open road for a walk or a run, did you know not all dogs are meant for the same? We are talking with the Oregon Humane Society this week on best practices when exercising with your dogs to keep you both safe and healthy.
Our Community Stories: Leo Cortes
We are fortunate to celebrate so many amazing stories of our participants over the years. Some are immediate in response to a recent season and others are built over several seasons of Heart to Start, where a passion was born and confidence built to branch out and build upon the movement of walking or running. This week's participant highlight shares Leo's story on how he got started with Heart to Start and the steps he took to find a sweet spot with dualathons, taking on a new sport and training for competitive racing.
Looking Beyond Walking + Running: How To's for Cycling + Swimming / Week 4 Activity
Joining us for this episode is cardiologist and Iron Man athlete, Dr. Robert Quintos, who shares on his personal experiences training for endurance sports and competitions while also supporting his passion for helping others enjoy taking their first steps toward a new activity or exercise. We dive into the basics of swimming for exercise and learn some rules of the road when it comes to taking up cycling for recreation and as a sport.
Our Community Stories: Jane Speyer
Our participant story this week celebrates the rewards from following a consistent exercise plan-lowered heart rate, weight loss, and emotional wellness. Her story will resonate with many who may experience success with certain health goals, like weight loss, and experience life challenges that take you off course. Finding the inner strength and leaning on an encouraging community is what brought her back to a space where she feels she's living her best, healthiest life.
Caring for Your Amazing Heart / Week 3 Activity
Hear from exercise physiologist, Jill Mackenzie, on the importance of cardiovascular exercise for heart health and it's positive impact on our overall health and wellness too. How to approach an exercise routine if you haven't been active. Is exercise enough to consider one is living a healthy lifestyle? This episode also includes Week 3 of your Heart to Start 5k Activity.
For more information on the Heart to Start program or to sign up, go to: hearttostart.org
Taking Care of an Active Body Pt. 2 + Our Community Stories: Jennifer Warner
Continuing our conversation around caring for an active body, we shift our focus to our actual body and all the great support it provides to keep us active and healthy. To keep the body working at its optimum levels throughout the season, we learn from a sports medicine expert. Gain knowledge around proper stretching - what's best pre versus post workout. We will also tackle the inevitable aches versus pains in knowing when it's okay to keep going and when your body is signaling a need for rest. Our participant story highlights the importance of caring for your body as she took up running again and in the midst of regaining her momentum, a personal health condition disrupted those plans.
Taking Care of An Active Body Pt. 1 / Week 2 Activity
The topic of caring for an active body is rather broad. We've broken this down into two parts this week to allow specific focus on areas we feel are important to our community engaging in a variety of exercise activities. In this episode we focus on some of the basics to keep us moving - proper footwear, gait analysis, dressing for the weather, and suggested safety equipment to be seen when exercising during this time of year.
Our Community Stories: Katie Reed
Finding and creating a supportive community is ideal for sustained success. As Heart to Start is one large community, our friends participating in each season also strengthen their own personal communities too. As our program is 100% virtual this year, it's important that participants find connections close to home to provide the social interaction, accountability, and maybe even some shared goals to follow throughout the season. Hear from one of our original participants and some of her friends who've connected from our program and have continued to build their friendships over the years.
Get more information or register for Heart to Start at hearttostart.org.
You Have the Heart to Start!
When starting a new exercise program or mapping a training plan, there's planning involved to set yourself up for success. One of the often forgotten yet very important tools is your mental plan - mindset, goal setting, creating a supportive community. You're in luck as we have our friend, and certified mental performance coach, sharing all the tools to get your mental approach dialed in and ready for the season.
Get more information or register for Heart to Start at hearttostart.org
Celebrating 10 Years!
As we celebrate the start of our 10th year, we take a look back to where it all started with a visit from a few friends who've been with us since day one and who continue the work to advocate within their communities. You'll be energized and inspired to get started with our 12-week season!
Get more information or sign up to register for Heart to Start at hearttostart.org