Last month I ran (and yes, completed!) my second full marathon. I must admit it took me a while to get to this level of fitness, but whenever I was tempted to give up and literally throw in the towel, I would walk around the Home and be inspired by our residents.

Championed and supported by our professionally trained staff, and armed with their own determination, I see even frail residents actively involved in armchair yoga or using resistance bands to stretch and flex, while our more robust elders may be giving the cardio equipment in our fitness center a good workout. (Fred Neustadter, this month’s resident profile, is a regular in the fitness center. Our paths cross on occasion as he exits at lunchtime and I enter to snatch a bit of time on the treadmill.) Under the supervision of our physical therapists, individuals are in the rehab center, benefiting from the maneuvers they can now execute on the unweighted treadmill system, thanks to a grant from the Jewish Community Endowment’s Newhouse Fund that supports new equipment for the Home’s Fitness for All program.

As the Latin phrase goes, mens sana in corpore sano – “a healthy mind in a healthy body.” Or for those who prefer something more familiar, there is the Yiddish equivalent, a gezunt ahf dein kop – literally, “good health on your head”; “good health to you.” For older adults and seniors who want to stay healthy and independent, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends four types of exercises:

• Strength exercises: These build older adult muscles and increase the metabolism, which helps to keep weight and blood sugar in check.
• Balance exercises: Important for building leg muscles, which helps prevent falls. According to the NIH, hospitals in the United States have 300,000 admissions for broken hips each year, many of them seniors; falling is often the cause of those fractures.
• Stretching exercises: These contribute to greater freedom of movement, which enables one’s senior years to be more active.
• Endurance exercises: Any activity that increases the heart rate and breathing for an extended period of time falls into this category. So take that walk, go for a jog, bike ride, or swim. Or even, as now is the season, rake up all those leaves in the garden. That certainly takes endurance!

So why do I run? For me, there really is that runner’s high – the release of endorphins coupled with the sense of achievement, knowing that I completed the challenge I set for myself. It makes me feel restored and ready to face another challenging day. I am sure my fellow runners and exercisers of all ages and stages will concur: Through our healthy efforts and exertions, we are adding years to life and life to years.

Daniel Ruth
President & Chief Executive Officer

To exercise our brain cells, below are five questions that test our perception, reasoning, and the quickness of our logical processing. To that end, try to answer them as quickly as possible. Answers can be found at the end of this newsletter.

1. You are a participant in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?
2. You overtake the last person in a race. What position are you in?
3. Some tricky arithmetic here. Note: This must be done in your head only; do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator.
   Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the total?
4. Mary's father has five daughters: Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono, and …? What is the name of the fifth daughter?
5. A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth, he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses. How does he indicate what he wants?

Exercise balls are becoming a popular alternative to plain old office chairs, a way, some say, to burn more calories and improve posture. 

The increase in the calorie burn is real but small: performing work at a desk while sitting on an exercise ball burns about four more calories an hour than the same activity in a chair, or roughly 30 extra calories in a typical workday. However, that figure does not factor in the additional burn that would come from routines like bouncing or leg lifts, which many users say the balls inspire them to do.

But as far as posture is concerned, there is not really a compelling body of evidence. Although proponents say the balls force users to sit up straight to stabilize themselves, studies have found that prolonged sitting on a therapy ball led to just as much slumping and “poor sitting position” as a desk chair. Another study compared workers who did hour-long typing tasks on exercise balls and while seated in office chairs with armrests. While the balls produced more muscle activity and 33 percent more “trunk motion,” they also produced more spinal shrinkage.

Nothing but time can cure the common cold, but a simple cup of salt water might ease the misery.

A sore, itchy throat and respiratory congestion are some of the more common symptoms of a cold, and gargling with salt water seems to help for several reasons. A saline solution can draw excess fluid from inflamed tissues in the throat, making them hurt less. Gargling also loosens thick mucus, which can remove irritants such as allergens, bacteria, and fungi from the throat. For best results, dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a full glass of warm water and gargle with the solution for a few seconds before spitting it out.

The Jewish Home's Herbst Fitness Center was a significant factor in Fred Neustadter’s decision to move into the Home in 2007. “Its benefits can’t be overestimated,” he says. Exercise is doing Fred good, and he is doing good for the Home. [Read more]

Answers to brain teasers

1. If you answered that you are first, then you are wrong. If you overtake the second person and take his place, then you are in second place.
2. If you answered that you are second to last, then you are incorrect. This teaser begs the question: how can you overtake the last person?
3. Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. Not convinced? Now you can check it by using a calculator.
4. Did you answer Nunu? No, her name is Mary. Read the question again!
5. It is really quite simple: he opens his mouth and asks for it.