Our Wellness
By Claire Benoist, GCC Nutrition/Kinesiology major, Wellness intern
Spring into Your Health – Resources at GCC!
I don’t know about you, but spring forward has me wanting to fall back into bed. With new year’s resolutions far behind us, let’s remember to keep making our health and wellness a priority. There are plenty of opportunities to stay healthy right here on campus!
OUR Wellness Program
- Fitness: we all know exercise is important, but it can be difficult to make time for it and harder still to program your own workouts effectively. But what if you could get your exercise in right here on campus? And what if it was 100% FREE!
- OUR Fitness is open to all GCC employees. Led by adjunct Liz Garcia with the help of Kinesiology interns (including me!), this minimal equipment, beginner friendly and completely adjustable workout program is held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:15-6:15 p.m. on the Sierra Vista patio on the 2nd floor. Our current participants say it’s a lot of fun, and definitely a good workout. Come try us out; we’d love to see you.
- Come SPIN with us! If you’d like to get a quick cardio session in during your lunch hour, OUR Wellness offers spin workshops every Monday and Wednesday from 12:20-1:20 p.m. in VG 107 (in the back of the fitness center).
- Animal flow: We all change our wardrobe for the warmer months, but what about our exercise routines? Come learn about a new way to move by attending a special presentation on Animal Flow in SN 104 on April 12th, 12:30-1:30 p.m. This unique combination of yoga and gymnastics will certainly be something fun and new to try.
- Zumba: Tuesdays are for shaking off stress and dancing up a storm! Zumba workshops are held at 12-1 p.m. on our Garfield campus, in the multi-purpose room MP 103.
For schedules, tips and more information on all things wellness at GCC, please visit glendale.edu/wellness
Planetarium
- Stress reduction: with a busy schedule, it can be easy to forget to take some time every day to practice mindfulness, meditation or just simply take some time to breathe. GCC offers free shows and workshops at the planetarium every weekday from 12:30-1:30 p.m. On Wednesdays, be ready for special presentations, Qigong or mindful meditation techniques, and come to Starlit Rest and Recharge on Fridays to help you relax at the end of a busy week.
- Chair Massages: Speaking of stress reduction, massages are a wonderful way to relax and give your body some love. We just had a professional come to campus and offer chair massages. This was very popular and we are hoping to have more dates in the near future – stay tuned!
Roots and Juice
- Nutrition: Get your fruit and vegetable servings in at Roots and Juice Fresh Fruit Bar. Located on the first level of Sierra Madre (bottom cafeteria) Roots and Juice offers delicious, good for you smoothies and juices using only fresh vegetables, and natural ingredients.
Health Center
- The health center offers many free services to our staff and students Monday through Thursday 8 a.m.-9 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m.-4 p.m. For staff members, the health center offers blood pressure measurements, injury and illness assessments, dietary counseling, a TB test (with notification from HR), flu vaccines ($20), employee assistance program referral, as well as basic over the counter medications for a variety of ailments ranging from headaches to heartburn. Registered nurses are available every day for walk-in assessments and a marriage and family therapist and several mental health interns are also available every day but by appointment only. Dietary interns from CalPoly Pomona are available regularly and by appointment only. A new intern will be available April 3rd-13th for all your nutrition questions. For scheduling and more information please visit www.glendale.edu/healthcenter or call 818-551-5189.
Off-Campus
- 3 Wins fitness is a free exercise program put on by CSUN Kinesiology students at several locations throughout Los Angeles. Check www.3winsfitness.com for schedules and locations.
- ACE Fitness: Sometimes, the difficult part of working out at home is getting bored with your workout. I mean, a person can only do so many planks! www.acefitness.org is a great resource to help you discover new movements and shake up your routine. Go to the exercise library, pick a body part and equipment (or no equipment), and get moving!
- Hikes: for such a busy city, Los Angeles has some beautiful trails to hike. Take your friends, take your family, take your dogs, or just enjoy some good quality alone time to reflect and enjoy your surroundings. The trails of Eaton canyon (Altadena) and Switzer falls (off of Angeles Crest Hwy) lead to beautiful waterfalls. Wonder View Trail is a short (but steep!) hike which delivers truly breathtaking views of the Hollywood reservoir, Downtown LA, and Burbank, as well as the picture-worthy wisdom tree and rock formations. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, you can continue on this trail and go see the Hollywood Sign! For an all-day affair, right here in La Crescenta is the Rim of the Valley Trail at Deukmejian Wilderness Park. The views from the top simply cannot be beat and are worth the 3-hour climb. For all these and more, visit www.alltrails.com or get the AllTrails app.
- Nutrition: for helpful information on everything from dietary guidelines, to tips on eating healthy on a budget, visit www.choosemyplate.org.
- Farmers Markets: Get the freshest in-season fruits and vegetables and support local growers by visiting your local farmers market. My favorite is the one in Montrose. It is open every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. rain or shine. They have tons of fresh, local fruits and veggies, a bouncy house and pony rides for the little ones, some fun food stands, local crafts and other services all along Honolulu Avenue. And parking in the public lot is free! To find farmer’s markets in your area, visit www.localharvest.org.
Keep up with Vaquero Wellness or follow @vaquerowellness on instagram and facebook!
