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    5:30am - 9:00pm

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JCC Blog

JCC Blog

Tag: Exercise

Jun20
by admin
Fitness Exercise Teens
JCC & Parisi® Launch High School Pre-Season Performance Training Bootcamp

The JCC of Greater Baltimore is thrilled to be launching a new partnership with the Parisi® Speed School powered by LifeBridge Health and Fitness, bringing high-school athletes from across the region a pre-season performance bootcamp.

The JCC/Parisi® program is designed for high-school athletes who want to reach peak performance at team tryouts rather than during the athletics season.

Athletes who participate will see improvement in their running technique, strength, cardiovascular endurance, footwork and plyometrics, and explosiveness. The bootcamp will also focus on injury prevention, conditioning, and mobility...

Jan22
Bodybuilder Yaakov at the J
by admin
Fitness Exercise Health
BODYBUILDING 101: The Importance of Discipline and Diet

There are a lot of benefits to taking up bodybuilding but quick results are not one of them, at least not according to JCC trainers and veteran bodybuilders Yaakov Bar Am and Abbie Friedberg. The way Yaakov and Abbie tell it, bodybuilding requires tremendous self-discipline and meticulous nutrition, years of hard work to start getting the results you want, and even more hard work to maintain those results once they do start showing up.

“You have to want to do it,” Abbie says. “First and foremost, you have to have the drive to do it because it’s a huge commitment. It’s like with any sport: just to go through the motions of doing it, it won’t get you to where you need to be, you really need to have that drive to get up there and do it.”

At least during competition season, Abbie says the source for that drive is...

Dec13
Fitness Center
by admin
Personal Training Fitness Exercise
JCC Members Become Fitness Trainers

Much of the appeal of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore is right there in our name: Community. That’s especially the case for the Fitness Center, where many of our instructors and trainers started out as JCC members. Here are the stories of three of those members who made the jump to the other side of the gym.

Shelly Cohen

Shelly Cohen originally became a JCC member to take advantage of membership discounts on her children’s camps and after-school programs. When Laura Fink, an instructor she was taking several fitness classes with, suggested Shelly become a BODYPUMP™ instructor herself, she initially laughed the idea off. “I thought she...

Apr28
Dumbbell Weights
by admin
Fitness Health Exercise
Evan Huckfeldt Story

Evan Huckfeldt Before and AfterBy Alex Holt

By the time Evan Huckfeldt walked into Fitness Director Raychel Setless’s office at the Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC in November 2015, he already knew why, when, and where he wanted to lose weight.

Why, because after only a few months of working at Stevenson University as a residential director, a diet of fast food and cafeteria cuisine had pushed his weight up to 265 pounds. 

When, because he wanted to weigh less than 200 pounds within seven months of joining the Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC as a member.

Where, because as a...

Mar29
Terra Core Machines
by admin
Fitness Exercise
Great Renovations

Keep your eyes peeled for great renovations, upgrades and improvements to the Rosenbloom Owings Mills Locker Rooms, Fitness Center and Shapiro Aquatics Park. Look for that sparkle, shine, and hard core fitness equipment - you will not be able to miss it!

Locker Rooms

As many of you know, Women’s Locker Room renovations are underway; the locker room will reopen March 29. (Our co-ed family changing room and alternative women’s locker room by the group fitness studio are available during this time. Both have private shower facilities.

Men’s Locker Room renovations will begin March 29 and continue through mid-May (the alternative...

Feb13
Hal Gotoff
by admin
Fitness Health Exercise
Feeling fit, feeling fine

At 94, rocket scientist Hal Gotoff’s looking active and athletic 

Harold L. “Hal” Gotoff joined the JCC when he was 43 years old, in 1965. Today, at 94 years, Hal’s working-out strong.

A fitness advocate, Hal recalls his earliest days as a member, jogging four miles up and down the Weinberg Park Heights JCC corridor with his buddies, doing push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, squats.

For 15 years at the Weinberg J, Hal served as a low impact aerobics instructor, and in 1995, he was awarded the JCC Man-of the Year for his dedication and leadership.

According to Weinberg JCC Fitness Supervisor Denard Smith, “Hal is an inspiration and testament to anyone who takes fitness seriously.”

Hal’s work out is more focused and more consistent than some...

Dec22
by admin
Fitness Exercise
Pulling No Punches

Coach Kirk Lurie Gets Psyched to Take on CSA’s First Boxing Class 

Boxing, the sport, is coming to the JCC and J member Kirk Lurie is going to be one of Comprehensive Survival Art’s two new boxing coaches.

A Baltimore native, raised in Randallstown and Owings Mills, Kirk first frequented the Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC as a teen in the 1990s.   

Beginning Tuesday, January 10, 2017, Kirk will initiate an adult CSA program focusing on all aspects of boxing: conditioning, strength training, stance and footwork techniques, offensive techniques, defensive techniques, counter punching techniques, and mental training.

With over 17 years of boxing and kickboxing experience, Kirk has served as the head boxing coach for several competitive fighters. He is a...

Dec12
by admin
Fitness Exercise Sports
Pickleball Fever Hits the J

J is Training Grounds for Sr. Olympic Pickleball Champion

Not every member of the J knows that the Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC is home to a vibrant Pickleball community. Few know, as well, that in Dr. Andrew Purcell, we actually have a Senior Olympic Pickleball Champion in our midst.

Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and is extremely popular among seniors. Invented in the 1960’s in Washington State, Pickleball is a racquet sport, like badmitton, tennis, and ping pong.

You can play...

Nov14
by admin
Exercise Fitness Health Personal Training
A Faster Road to Recovery

JCC Member Neil Shaffer Strengthens Two “New Knees” 

Long time JCC Member Neil Shaffer has had four arthroscopic knee surgeries and two total knee replacements in the last 6 years, yet that doesn’t deter him from getting out to the J’s fitness centers four to five times a week.

Neil’s injuries occurred over the course of time, through wear and tear. He’s been determined to get things back as best as he can, knowing his new knees may degenerate as well.

A former runner, basketball and softball player, Neil is thrilled to do his elliptical, ride the bike, and walk the treadmill routine. He gives great credit to his orthopedist, Dr. Jon Koman, and his JCC Personal Trainer, Sivan Fagan, for...

Sep23
by admin
Teens Fitness Exercise Personal Training
Get Those Kids Moving!

New Youth Fitness Classes See Kids Developing Strength, Flexibility, Confidence 

From tots to teens to full-fledged high school athletes, the J offers a number of age-appropriate fitness opportunities that are both fun and beneficial for youth and teens. The J’s certified teachers and trainers ensure that children, as young as three years old, receive safe and supportive instruction.

According to JCC Director of Fitness Raychel Setless, the J is promoting lifelong healthy habits by giving extra attention to youth fitness. This past Spring a set of Jr. Fitness Classes...