What Makes Life Worthwhile?

Shortly before his untimely death in 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy discussed the way we measure quality of life in this Country:

“We seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross domestic product…if we should judge America by that—counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children. Yet the gross domestic product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither wit nor courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.”

While Kennedy’s perspective is more than 4 decades old, some would argue that as a Country we are still challenged by the issues for which he called attention.

What makes life worthwhile for you? If your answer includes things like family, friends, good health, connection to your community, values and education, consider your time at the Y of Central Maryland to be an investment in not only your quality of life—but the quality of life of your community as well!


Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland.

An Easy Pill to Swallow!

Imagine a pill that could make you look better, feel better and have more energy! This medication could decrease your chances of heart disease, certain types of cancer and could slow and possibly reverse the aging process. This “drug” might even help you handle stress better, think more clearly and improve performance in all aspects of your life.

Believe it or not, this “wonder pill” actually exists, but not in the traditional capsule or tablet form. This “drug” is a health and wellness oriented lifestyle. Covert Bailey, author of Fit or Fat, writes, “If the benefits of exercise could be packaged in a little pill, it would be the most heavily prescribed medicine in the history of man.”

It is this belief in the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle that motivates the staff at the Y of Central Maryland. We believe we offer one of the most valuable services available today. The fact that we can help to influence the health and overall well-being of so many people is incredibly energizing. We understand that in order for you to realize these benefits, we must work in partnership.

Your role in this venture requires that you invest time and energy by coming to the Y on a regular basis and that you follow the advice of our trained staff. Additionally, we depend on you to tell us how we can assist you and how we can improve (share your thoughts with our staff, fill-out the satisfaction surveys, talk to us on Facebook). Our role is to appropriately respond to your suggestions, to ensure that our facilities are clean, safe and equipment is well-maintained, that our staff are properly trained and engaged in helping you accomplish your goals.

Finally, research from institutions such as Harvard and the National Institutes of Health is clear that the happiest, and subsequently some of the healthiest people are those who reach out and help others. Consider donating to our Annual Campaign and/or volunteering at the Y…If we work together, you can realize the benefits of this “wonder pill” while helping others to reap the same benefits!

Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland

A Present of Time – For Father’s Day and Everyday

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
--Elizabeth Stone

What an incredible journey it is to be a father! My wife and I are fortunate to have two beautiful daughters who have provided so many blessings in our life.

The best advice I received upon the birth of Lynn (our first daughter) was to enjoy every moment, because children grow up so quickly. It’s amazing to think that they’re now 23 and 20 years of age. Time certainly has flown.

Of course the joy and excitement of having a child is tempered with the realities of raising and financially supporting that child. One of the fallacies of being a father is the belief that giving our children “quality time” can make up for not being an integral part their life. With children, there is no such thing as quality time—they just want our time. They want us to be present with them. Present at their school events, sporting events—present when they’re discussing the events of their day.

Blaine Lee, in the book The Power Principle, may have summarized it best, “Some believe that there is nothing which can compensate for failure at home. If that is true, then perhaps the greatest, most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home.”

Father’s Day is not just a single day, it is an opportunity every day for the rest of this year to consider giving yourself and your children a gift—the gift of time together. Bring them to the Y and workout together, play basketball, splash in the pool, race up the climbing wall…give them the present of your time. They’ll be glad you did—and so will you!

Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland

Way to Go Michelle!

Upon the release of The Whitehouse Taskforce on Childhood Obesity’s report, First Lady Michelle Obama stated, “For the first time, the nation will have goals, benchmarks and measureable outcomes that will help us tackle the childhood obesity epidemic one child, one family and one community at a time.”

Given the fact that over the past quarter century the obesity rate for children has doubled (and tripled for adolescents), it’s critical to treat this issue as the serious epidemic it has become. The long term risks to our youth are significant given that obese young people are more likely than children of normal weight to become overweight or obese adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis. Additionally, obese children are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.

So why has youth obesity become a major epidemic? While we can debate the influence of a multitude of contributing factors, we can clearly isolate two key issues:

· Poor Nutritional Choices: This is the “supersize” generation, consuming large portion sizes of high fat, high sugar foods and beverages.

· Limited Physical Activity: Kids today simply aren’t using their bodies like children of previous generations. Video games, technology and general conveniences of modern day life make spontaneous physical activity less likely for our current (and future) generation of youth. In his book, Getting Physical, Art Turock writes, “If when we were born, our bodies came with an owners manual, its basic message would be three words long, and that message would be, ‘use it regularly.’” In other words our bodies are made to be used—the more we use it, the better it functions, the less we use it, the more likely it will malfunction.

To blame our children for these habits would be to side-step our own responsibility. We know that environmental factors are key to the habits (good and bad) that we develop. As a society we’ve essentially said its okay for companies to target kids with their high fat, high sugar products. We’ve created urban environments with little or no green space and sidewalks. We’ve allowed our schools to limit or totally cut physical education while serving high fat foods in the school cafeteria.

In order to right some of these wrongs, the Task Force, under First Lady Obama’s leadership, has made important recommendations that if adopted, will help to reverse this alarming trend. The ultimate goal of the plan is to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity from the current 32 percent to a rate of 5 percent within one generation (for more information, visit letsmove.gov)

The Y of Central Maryland will continue to provide a wide variety of ways to help children and their families enjoy the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle: from parent/child programs to specially designed youth fitness classes; from swim lessons and sports programming to fun, traditional camping activities. Visit our website or ask one of staff for more detail on the dozens of opportunities to help Central Maryland accomplish the First Lady’s goals—Today!

Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland

Our "Lifesong"

As those close to me know, despite the fact that I can’t sing, dance or play an instrument, I love music. And while I love “classic rock” from the 70’s (think Queen, Aerosmith, Kiss, Van Halen), I have grown to enjoy and appreciate many types of music. One of my favorite bands today is a contemporary Christian band known as Casting Crowns. Their songs are thought provoking and at the same time encouraging. One of their songs that I have come to appreciate is “LifeSong” which essentially challenges us to think about “the things we say and the things we do” as our own personal song to our creator and to the world.

Our objective at the Y of Central Maryland is to impact people’s lives in a positive way. That impact occurs through programs and services that bring families and communities together, that help people grow and improve in spirit, mind and body. Essentially, we are people (our staff) helping people (our members) improve. I believe one of the key reasons that we are able to have such a significant effect on so many lives is because we have so many staff members who believe that a key purpose in their life, or their “Lifesong,” is to make a difference.

Additionally, health researchers tell us that those who have a sense of purpose in their lives and are focused on helping others and contributing to the greater good typically experience a higher level of health than those who feel lost and disconnected. In other words, good health is achieved through more than regular exercise and good nutrition. What’s your purpose? What’s your “Lifesong”?

Setting aside one’s own theology for a moment, just think of the powerful impact we can have on people, our communities—and subsequently ourselves if we think of our own actions and words on a daily basis as our song to the world.

Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland

Youth Obesity

One of the most alarming trends in our country is Youth Obesity—a trend that has significant impact beyond just the weight of our community. Research is clear that poor nutrition and physical inactivity has broad reaching consequences. America’s childhood obesity rates have tripled in the last 30 years, exposing 9 million kids to a variety of potential long-term health consequences. Experts are concerned that this will be the first generation of American children who live sicker and die younger than the previous generation.

In every crisis, there are opportunities. At the Y of Central Maryland, we believe the opportunities in this crisis extend well beyond meeting the need for properly planned and implemented weight control programs. Research is clear that those who lead a healthy active lifestyle not only have lower incidence of health related diseases and disorders but are more productive in all aspects of their life. Additionally, healthy, physically active students actually perform better academically. Unfortunately, in an attempt to improve academic test scores, most school districts have dramatically limited physical education opportunities for students. Not only has this had devastating consequences from a health perspective, but from an academic perspective as well. One study done at Virginia Tech showed that cutting gym class and allocating more time to math, science and reading did not improve test scores. Yet research performed by the California Department of Education has consistently shown that students with higher fitness scores also have higher academic test scores.

In order to meet this need within our society, we offer a wide variety of programs for youth—from Youth Cardio and Teen Strength Training programs to Healthy Kids Day, Karate and Cheerleading, our objective is to find ways to help kids (and their families) get excited, and committed to a healthy active lifestyle. One such program which we’ve developed in conjunction with CareFirst and the Healthways Foundation, has shown a 32% weighted average improvement on six measures of fitness for enrolled children. This kind of holistic approach to overall well-being offers a major weapon in the fight against childhood obesity. This epidemic is symptomatic of other challenges we face as a community. Just as the medical community has discovered the benefits of treating the person vs. just the disease, the same logic holds true with the obesity epidemic.

Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland