Fitness Newsletter

Gretchen Walsh is no longer just a “bathtub swimmer.”

Hi everybody!

There are Olympics athletes … and then there is LeBron James.

Weini Kelati has been running her whole life.

Getting good sleep is very important, especially to athletes who compete in various sports. Sleep is good for our bodies because it allows us to rest and replenish our strength, so we can perform our best on the playing field when we compete. But sleep can also be challenging for many people – myself included!

Spring is coming fast. Most of Virginia has leaves blossoming already, and baseball is on TV again. We all will start to get moving again outside. With all that extra activity, proper rest becomes more important, so I will talk a bit about good sleep habits – and some not-so-good ones, like spending time on your phone before bed.

It is difficult for me, and presumably many people, to balance between work time and relaxation time. Whenever I return home and get all my assignments done, I enjoy entertainment such as watching movies or multiple episodes of a TV series, playing video games, or simply listening to music and surfing the Web. That is my favorite form of escape from stress.

Tracking your sleep is very helpful. I try to get around 7-8 hours of sleep every night, which is about the healthiest amount of sleep that adults can get. It is recommended for kids to get a lot more than that depending on their age.

Now that the real winter has started, my mind turns to indoor activities: swimming, basketball and… eating.

I am a huge fan of eating fast-food, specifically Wendy’s and Chick-Fil-A. The reason I like these two fast food places is because of Chick-Fil-A’s chicken sandwich and Wendy’s baconator burger -- due to me being a big burger fan. I also enjoy the waffle fries and chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A, too.

I believe avoiding certain foods is hard for a lot of people, especially if it’s connected to a specific memory. When I was little, I loved my grandma’s macaroni and cheese and sweet potato casserole. Oh, and don’t get me started on her home-made biscuits and gravy!

Growing up, I mostly ate a vegetarian diet, since my family was mostly vegetarian. But I still ate meat and dairy products on occasion. Then I saw a documentary on Netflix called “Food, Inc.” (It is not on Netflix anymore, but you can watch it on YouTube for free - linked below.)

One of my favorite go-to ways to exercise is bike riding.

This edition, I'm here to talk to you about one of my favorite things: you guessed it - running!

Hi everyone!! Fall is on, and it is going to get harder to exercise outside as it gets colder. One of my favorite ways to stay in shape and toned in fall and winter is to add some weightlifting to my routine.

Ever since I was little, I have loved the water. It always calmed me to be near it. When I would go to the swimming pool with my friends in elementary school, we’d pretend to be mermaids. As I got older I still loved swimming, but I didn’t compete until five years ago when I first signed up to be an athlete with Special Olympics Virginia (SOVA). Since then, I have been a swimmer in three Summer Games competitions and have won nine medals. Though I try to learn new sports too, swimming will always be my go-to sport.

Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Personal Trainer, Author, Cohost of the Well-Fed Women Podcast and my cousin, Noelle Tarr, says, “Proper hydration is critical for optimizing mental and physical performance. Hydration is not just about drinking enough water but to stay properly hydrated you need to consume adequate electrolytes. They help your nerve impulses fire, regulate fluid balance, help produce energy, and help support strong bones.” Drinking water is very important, but without electrolytes it can cause headaches, muscle cramps, and even fatigue, especially if you’re drinking too much water. So, to keep you hydrated and supplied with electrolytes, here’s a simple recipe by Noelle Tarr. This recipe is much better than buying a Gatorade because one 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade has 34 grams of sugar which is the equivalent to 2 ¾ Tablespoons. The recipe below only has 29.7 grams and is free from all the artificial coloring and chemicals that is put in Gatorade. Noelle Tarr says coconut water is like “Nature’s Gatorade” and packed with tons of electrolytes. That is one reason why it is included in this recipe. If you don’t like a lot of tang, and want to just drink coconut water, that is also an option and it is very healthy. You can read more about this and other recipes by going to her website https://coconutsandkettlebells.com/ .

To me, summer can be a wonderful time to get in your daily exercise regimen. Whether you’re exercising indoors or outdoors, you will find there are many health benefits to each one of these options. I know most people don’t realize they can be outdoors in the summertime, because of the heat and humidity, but if you protect yourself, you will find this is just as gratifying and will help you be an overall stronger and healthier individual.

Hi everyone! We are in the middle of a very hot summer, I bet many of you are trying to stay inside where it’s cooler. That is a good idea on really warm days, but there are a lot of fun things you can do to keep cool and stay in shape. Some of these you can do at home, and some you need to travel for. Here are my top three favorites:

Trasean Singletary is an aspiring Special Olympics athlete who has a huge passion for running, giving back to the community and continuing to move forward. Trasean deeply cares about world peace and connecting with those around him in order to make a positive impact on others. Trasean runs everywhere he goes, as that allows him to get through each and every day and to keep moving on in life.

My name is Grace Anne Braxton. I got interested in golf by watching professionals at golf tournaments on TV.

In the summer of 2023 we have been experiencing unhealthy air quality in Virginia. It impacted the Special Olympics State Games this past June with canceling all of the outdoor sports on June 9th. I know the athletes had to be really disappointed since they weren’t able to compete on the first day of the State Games.

Hey, fellow athletes! April 27, 2023 represents the start of a MAJOR Special Olympics Virginia initiative, one that we hope will help you with fitness and friendships! It’s no longer just about sports – it’s about FITNESS! The initiative includes programs and partnerships that will help athletes improve their health. I will explain why we are doing this, so keep reading if you want to learn more about the ways this initiative will help you on your fitness journey.

If you are looking for inspiration about sports and fitness, Kevin Ogar is your man.

Hi Virginia Special Olympians!

Bananas. Beans. Berries. Whole wheat bread.

Athlete Editorial Team Visits the Washington Commanders

Athlete Editorial Team Visits the Washington Commanders

Athlete Editorial Team Visits the Washington Commanders

Athlete Editorial Team Visits the Washington Commanders

Athlete Editorial Team Visits the Washington Commanders

Athlete Editorial Team Visits the Washington Commanders

For the past two years, I've been running everyday.

In the world we are surrounded by people. And people can choose to include. Inclusion means giving people the opportunity to take their time and giving them space. An inclusive world is what I want. For as long as I can remember, I was set aside from the others in my life due to being “the autistic” or weird one.

Marcus has a son who is a Special Olympics Virginia athlete and that is how we first got involved in the organization. He has been with area 2 for 15 years as the local coordinator in Virginia Beach and been a coach for multiple sports year-round. At the first event he attended years ago, he was called coach and knew he was locked in. Marcus said, “There are so many families with children and adults with special needs that didn’t know they could do these things because they didn’t know the opportunities were there.”

Hi athletes!

Ingredients: