Participants use a series of balls to release muscular tension, improve flexibility and work select muscle groups. Learn how to help your body become more supple, increase blood flow, and dislodge tightness held in your muscles and connective tissues. We will use fun activities to warm up the body internally such as the hula hoop and standing yoga poses. We'll apply techniques using specific balls to roll your body out like dough as you stretch and elongate muscles. Specific routines and sequences will be followed in an order logical to the body musculature. Using the body and gravity, this is a method of self massage that gives relaxation and suppleness to muscles that have been tight for some time and once you learn the benefits of body rolling, expect everyday pains to dissipate or even go away entirely.

Nordic walking is the accepted term for fitness walking with specially designed poles. Compared to regular walking, Nordic walking involves applying force to the poles with each stride. Nordic walkers use more of their entire body (with greater intensity) and receive fitness building stimulation not as present in normal walking for the chest, lats, triceps, biceps, shoulder, abdominals, spinal and other core muscles. This extra muscle involvement leads to enhancements over ordinary walking at equal paces such as:increased overall strength and endurance in the core muscles and the entire upper body, significant increases in heart rate at a given pace, greater ease in climbing hills, burning more calories than in plain walking, improved balance and stability with use of the poles, significant unweighting of hip, knee and ankle joints, provides densitypreserving stress to bones. Class will meet rain or shine. The first class will meet outside, in the front of Lincoln- Sudbury. Nordic Poles are required for class. Contact instructor to order poles.

This class will explore and apply various walking techniques including Fitness, Power, Race and Nordic walking. In addition, we will integrate Yoga poses and Resistance exercises throughout as part of our strength and flexibility component. Instructional and practical walking techniques emphasizing posture, breathing, hip, leg and foot action will allow you to get the maximum benefit and fun from walking. Cardiovascular endurance will be measured at the beginning and end of the program and logs and training plans provided as optional materials. Walking locations will include the track and mapped routes with intervals, speed training, extended walks and hill training. We'll have fun being outdoors and get a great workout in the fresh air.

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Susan Allison is the instructor for these classes. She is a Certified Raw Food Chef with a BS in Exercise Physiology and a certification from the American College of Sports Medicine as a Health and Fitness Instructor. She has an MBA and a Total Quality Mgt Certificate. Susan is a certified organic food processor and owner of Thoreau Foods (www.thoreaufoods.com). In addition, she is a consultant in food labels to other food companies as well as to restaurants and cookbook authors (www.nutritionfoodlabels.com). Susan was on the steering committee for the Acton Boxborough Farmers Market. Susan has taught classes for Adult Ed programs in Littleton, Acton, Minuteman Tech and Assabet Valley. For more information, Susan can be reached at 978-266-8973 or at susan.allison@verizon.net.