Physical Fitness

A new Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department program is promoting nutrition for adults with developmental disabilities, educating a population where information about a healthy diet is often hard to come by. While adults with developmental disabilities, such as Down’s syndrome and autism, have always participated in a wide array of the department’s physical fitness activities, programs do not often extend to basic knowledge...

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — It was Glendale’s finest versus Glendale’s bravest on Saturday, when the police and fire departments went head to head during the 2nd Annual Public Safety Olympics at the Glendale Community College campus. The teams completed in six athletic events throughout the day, including basketball, softball and flag football. The idea was hatched last year when William Erese, the director of physical fitness for the police and fire departments, wanted to give officers and firefighters a forum for friendly competition, while also getting to know each other.

When Glendale's neighborhood streets and parks are empty of children's laughter and games, Shannon Pondella grows worrisome. Pondella grew up in Glendale with a family that spent much of their free time outdoors. At Crescenta Valley High School, she sprinted in track, and played softball and soccer. Her athleticism and love for sport led her to pursue kinesiology at Arizona State University, where she realized she enjoyed working with children. As a certified personal trainer, her passion has now led her to create Surface Fitness, because “no matter what surface you're on, there's always a place to move,” she said.

RECOGNIZED FOR SERVING THEIR COUNTRY Air Force Airman 1st Class Spencer B. Valentine graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The airman completed an eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Local residents who are members of the Pasadena Society of Artists are featured in an art show called the Artist Choice Exhibition at the Citibank Silver Lake Branch, 2450 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles. They are Robin Cohen, Francis Robin Cohen, Victor Picou and Barbara Thor-Otto , all of Burbank; and Knarik Gevorkyan and Jackie Steimke of Glendale. This exhibition continues until Nov. 28 with a Peoples Choice Award Reception from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 27. Gallery hours are from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday; 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Once again the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is offering free limited memberships to 24 Hour Fitness to any teen from the age of 14 to 18 who want to get off the sofa and into shape. The council, a non-profit organization whose members include sports legends, was established by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year to promote physical activity, fitness and well-being. "We want to promote physical activity for all Californians with an emphasis on children," said Kenny Rogers, executive director of the council.

A contingent of 25 to 30 runners and walkers spread throughout northeast Glendale on Friday as a part of National Run at Work Day. In its second year, the event is held in cities across the country ? from Daytona, Fla., to Glendale ? to raise awareness about the importance of daily physical-fitness activities to promote overall health. As the participants warmed up in an office building courtyard with stretches and light calisthenics, trainer Elaine Miller ? co-founder of fitness program All About You!

Glendale resident Kingi Santiel has something to prove. At 34, Santiel is six years too old to be eligible to train for the prestigious U.S. Navy’s SEAL forces, which has a cutoff of 28. But it is a goal he has kept alive since his teens. But this weekend, Santiel wants to get the Navy to change its mind when he competes in the SEAL Fitness Challenge at UCLA, where participants test their physical fitness against the Navy’s standards — doing push-ups, chin-ups, a 1.5-mile run, a 500-yard swim and other tests of strength and agility.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE - Better late than never. The state Department of Education was still waiting Wednesday for 1999 physical fitness testing results to arrive from the Glendale Unified School District. The results, due in July, were sent on time via e-mail, district officials said. "We did submit data to the Department of Education," said Mary McKee, director of instructional support services for Glendale Unified. "We don't know why it wasn't received."

When Glendale's neighborhood streets and parks are empty of children's laughter and games, Shannon Pondella grows worrisome. Pondella grew up in Glendale with a family that spent much of their free time outdoors. At Crescenta Valley High School, she sprinted in track, and played softball and soccer. Her athleticism and love for sport led her to pursue kinesiology at Arizona State University, where she realized she enjoyed working with children. As a certified personal trainer, her passion has now led her to create Surface Fitness, because “no matter what surface you're on, there's always a place to move,” she said.

Local residents who are members of the Pasadena Society of Artists are featured in an art show called the Artist Choice Exhibition at the Citibank Silver Lake Branch, 2450 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles. They are Robin Cohen, Francis Robin Cohen, Victor Picou and Barbara Thor-Otto , all of Burbank; and Knarik Gevorkyan and Jackie Steimke of Glendale. This exhibition continues until Nov. 28 with a Peoples Choice Award Reception from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 27. Gallery hours are from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday; 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

GLENDALE — Ninth-graders in Glendale and Burbank schools improved their scores on state physical fitness exams, according to figures released Monday. About 82% of Glendale freshmen reached five of six state standards for fitness last school year, an increase from 80.7% in 2007-08, according to the California Department of Education. The exams test students’ aerobic capability, body mass, flexibility, abdominal strength, upper-body muscles and trunk extensions, or stomach-down sit-ups.

RECOGNIZED FOR SERVING THEIR COUNTRY Air Force Airman 1st Class Spencer B. Valentine graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The airman completed an eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Waves of groans, giggles and thuds frequently broke the serenity of a third-grade yoga session Tuesday. It started with students standing tall and pressing their palms together while taking steady, deep breaths in the “mountain pose.” But then came “tree pose,” which involved picking one foot up off the floor and placing it against the opposite knee. Some of the third-graders wavered, stumbled and collapsed as they struggled with the challenge in balance, laughing as they fell to the floor and drowning out the sound from the yoga instructional video that was guiding the class.

?Look out, short stuff, we?ll get you this time,? 12-year-old Miranda McCreary joked with a rival at the start of a Tuesday morning basketball game at La Crescenta?s Two Strike Park. Her opponent smiled and shook his head, apparently not disturbed by the taller youth?s threat. McCreary, her twin brother, Robert, and about a dozen other kids and a few adults proceeded to dribble, pass, and shoot the basketball, running from one side of the court to the other for the next half-hour or more, laughing and joking as the sweat dripped from their brows.

Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany have reportedly warned against an exaggerated focus on health and fitness, which ministers say emphasizes fitness over compassion and stigmatizes those who don’t have an “ideal” body type. The preoccupation with external appearance and fitness is in danger of becoming a “health religion,” religious leaders say. What do you think? Is society so obsessed with these things that it’s almost a religion in itself?

  Ten Years Ago Kindergarten students at Mountain Avenue Elementary School rode their trikes and bikes around their play yard for 30 minutes to earn money for a new classroom computer.   Twenty Years Ago Raymond Heacock of La Crescenta was appointed deputy assistant laboratory director for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s then recently formed Office of Space Science and Instruments. Heacock joined JPL in 1953.   Thirty Years Ago A two-bedroom North Glendale condo was listed for sale at $72,500; the condo’s complex included a large pool, spa, sauna and recreation room.

Glendale resident Kingi Santiel has something to prove. At 34, Santiel is six years too old to be eligible to train for the prestigious U.S. Navy’s SEAL forces, which has a cutoff of 28. But it is a goal he has kept alive since his teens. But this weekend, Santiel wants to get the Navy to change its mind when he competes in the SEAL Fitness Challenge at UCLA, where participants test their physical fitness against the Navy’s standards — doing push-ups, chin-ups, a 1.5-mile run, a 500-yard swim and other tests of strength and agility.