Fitness
Economic Exercise: Regions Teaches Financial Fitness For A Better-Feeling Future
(MENAFN- 3BL) By Nestor Mato | April 25, 2024
Interactive and engaging. Regions bank Shared the Good this April by helping students across the Gulf Coast.
Regions Next Step ® is the bank’s free financial wellness program, and during Financial Literacy Month, Regions associates used the Next Step Reality Check series to give students an interactive and engaging way to learn about building and balancing a budget. The Reality Check challenges students to make financial decisions during the course and complete the experience with a budget surplus. During the Reality Check, students are assigned a persona and then make decisions based on common scenarios that will directly impact their budgets.
Finance Park – Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida
Regions associates volunteered with middle school students from both Academy Prep Center of Tampa and Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg to teach banking basics at Junior Achievement’s Financial Park.
Leading up to the Finance Park, Regions volunteers provided a series of lessons in the classroom, where they focused on personal finance, including learning about balancing a family budget, interest rates, how education affects earning potential, and how saving today pays off tomorrow.
“These presentations are a fun and interactive way to help students gain the knowledge and skills they need to make informed financial decisions,” said Tricia Johnson, market executive for Regions Bank in St. Petersburg-Clearwater.“We are happy to serve a role in helping these young people learn more about banking so they can set themselves up for a more secure future.”
During the event, Regions associates partnered with students to assume randomly assigned family and income scenarios. They utilize banking services, purchase housing, transportation, insurance, and other expenses, as well as make investment decisions.
“It is the unfortunate reality that many young people are not taught about managing their finances before adulthood. This has afforded students the opportunity to consider how their future career choices may impact their financial mobility,” said Jenna Dufficy, Assistant Head of School and Academic Dean of Academy Prep Center of Tampa.“Community partners like Regions Bank are transformative, helping our students fulfill the school’s mission of becoming future community leaders.”
Family Game Night – Dothan, Alabama
Children as young as 10 and their families were invited to a dinner and game night that included a Reality Check experience. Crimson Ridge Apartment residents were treated to pizza, sponsored by Regions Bank, as they learned about building and balancing a budget.
“These financial education events are designed to empower people with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed decisions including in saving, investing, and debt management,” said John Brown, market executive for Regions Bank in Dothan.“This partnership has the ability to teach skills that can last a lifetime and help lead to greater financial stability and success.”
In addition to Financial Literacy Month, April is also Fair Housing Month. Crimson Ridge is an affordable housing community of Dothan Housing and houses over 100 families. Participants also received giveaways and prizes from both Regions and Dothan Housing.
“There was excitement in the air as the Regions team brought the Next Step Financial Literacy Program to Crimson Ridge Apartments to impart valuable financial management lessons to our families,” said Samuel P. Crawford, CEO of Dothan Housing.“Community partnerships and initiatives like this unite the community and inspire positive change intergenerationally.”
Financial Fitness for Teens – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Physical education is important. Regions joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana to make it clear financial fitness is, too.
In collaboration with the Boys & Girls Clubs Louisiana Alliance 2024 Teen Summit, Regions volunteers taught 90 teens from around the state about the fundamentals of money management and financial responsibility.
“We wanted to help make sure young people know it is about more than making money; it’s about appreciating the value of money,” said Regions’ Baton Rouge market executive, Amy Province.“It is especially helpful for these students who will soon step out into the world. Between bills, groceries, and other expenses, this exercise really does help them understand the importance of budgets and balances.”
Regions associates also took part in a“Career Pathways” class to help give students the knowledge needed to navigate their professional journeys. A career in banking can take several forms, they shared, from roles at the branch around the corner to positions in Commercial Banking, the Mortgage division, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Marketing.
“Helping our Club members have these discussions fuels our mission, which is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, become productive, caring, responsible citizens,” said the CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana, Angel Nelson.“With the support of community partners like Regions, we’re able to expand our financial education programming and provide valuable resources. In turn, Regions is helping our young people approach their finances with confidence and knowledge.”
Reality Check – Shreveport, Louisiana
Regions Bank teamed up with Volunteers of America of North Louisiana for three Regions Next Step Reality Check events in Shreveport. The LightHouse Teen Club at Highland Center, as well as the afterschool programs at Booker T. Washington High School and Broadmoor STEM Academy , all took part.
“These children are the future of our community, and it is essential they have the knowledge to be successful,” said Regions’ Shreveport market executive, Denny Moton.“It is especially helpful for the older students as they prepare for life after graduation. This exercise really does help them understand money management as they step into the real world.”
In total, volunteers taught 50 students about avoiding financial pitfalls and understanding how to manage income and debt.
“It is essential for our LightHouse kids to learn about personal finance because this portion of the curriculum is often missing in class. A lot of our older kids have jobs, and this activity allowed them to experience a scenario where they would have to provide for a family, prepare for daily life occurrences, and be an adult with limited income,” said Victoria Morris, Volunteers of America Director for LightHouse Programs.“To see them contemplate and make the best decisions was refreshing. They learned to work with what they had, compromise, go without, and even negotiate.”
And with what students learned at all these events, they’re better prepared to build up savings, keep debt in check – and achieve financial confidence and success over time.
MENAFN30052024007202015466ID1108277375
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Fitness
Surprising exercise secrets I learned from speaking to the fittest woman in history
Most people wouldn’t mind being a little bit fitter. But the fittest? That seems unreachable. However, many argue that all-conquering CrossFit athlete Tia-Clair Toomey is, by objective measures, the fittest woman in history.
Toomey, who is an ambassador for the fitness app Pliability, has won the CrossFit Games – an annual competition to find the fittest man and woman on earth – an unrivalled six times on the trot. In 2023, she paused to have her first child, then returned in 2024 and won the competition two more times.
In the midst of her winning streak, the 32-year-old also represented Australia in weightlifting at the 2016 Rio Olympics, won gold in the same event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, qualified for the 2022 Winter Olympics in the two-woman bobsled and completed a Hyrox doubles race in a lightning-fast 54 minutes 24 seconds.
In short: Toomey is incredibly fit. The average person might not be able to emulate her superior fitness levels, and most don’t want to – they simply want to be fit and healthy enough to thrive in everyday life. You can, however, benefit from her insights about how to approach exercise.
Read more: Do these three things each week to be fitter than most Brits
1. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good
“You can’t be perfect at everything all the time,” says Toomey. “Trying to juggle too many things at once is where many people come unstuck, because you’re stretching yourself too thin. So it’s important to find balance.”
The aim is not to do everything immaculately, but to identify the things that are truly valuable to you – these might be your workouts, work or supporting your family – and take pride in throwing the (cluttered) kitchen sink at them.
“Even if it’s just a simple workout, you can feel really fulfilled at the end of the day knowing you gave it your best,” Toomey says. “I think a workout is a perfect place to demonstrate this.”
Read more: Walking experts reveal the number of daily steps you need to boost health – and it’s not 10,000

2. Small changes make a big difference
Most people set themselves lofty fitness (and life) goals, then fall short of them. Just look at how many New Year’s resolutions have been discarded by the time February rolls around. Toomey suggests a more manageable approach.
“If you can get 1 per cent better every day, you can’t ask for any more than that,” she says. “It’s when you create excuses, stop challenging yourself and give up on pursuing your chosen goal that you stop progressing and plateau.”
She recommends making small tweaks to improve how you feel each day, rather than obsessing over a daunting target.
For example, you could head to bed 15 minutes earlier and keep your phone out of the bedroom, drink an extra glass of water, go for a walk after dinner or eat an extra portion of fruits and vegetables. Small changes soon accumulate to make a big difference over time.
“It takes a lot of pressure off people when they break their goals down like that,” Toomey says.
Read more: Study reveals the small changes to your diet, sleep and exercise that can add years to your life

3. Be open-minded
A lot of people use the phrase “exercise isn’t for me”. This is likely linked to a less-than-pleasant experience at some point in their past.
But exercise is a very broad umbrella, and Toomey urges people to remain open-minded when approaching it. This is something she learned firsthand.
“I enjoyed my first CrossFit session, but I didn’t really enjoy the coach, so I opted not to go back for two months,” she says. “Who knows where I would be now if I never went back because of that one interaction.”
Toomey ended up trying a different gym and finding a coach who was more passionate and encouraging. “Then I was hooked and fully committed,” she says.
For the everyday exerciser, this could mean changing the variables to make your workouts more fun. For example, if you don’t like how running feels, you could swap to a lower-impact activity like swimming or cycling. Or if you find solo strength training sessions boring, you might join an exercise class.
There is no need to suffer through a certain type of exercise just because someone told you it’s the best. Take a playful approach to your workouts and continue to experiment until you find something you enjoy. Because if your exercise plans are fun, you are far more likely to stick to them.
Read more: The easiest way to strengthen your entire body, according to this expert coach

4. Put your ego aside
If you have ever watched Toomey compete, it’s hard to imagine her struggling with anything exercise-related. But, she says, when she first started CrossFit training she found it difficult to hold a barbell overhead in a stable position.
This was exposed in a CrossFit workout named “Nancy” – five rounds of a 400-metre run and 15 overhead squats (squatting while holding a 30kg barbell overhead).
“I was a runner prior to CrossFit, so I would race ahead during the 400m runs, but then the overhead squats were very challenging for me,” Toomey says.
To learn the correct technique, she started by scaling back the overhead squats, using an empty barbell rather than one loaded up with weight. Then, as she improved, she gradually increased the load on the bar.
“It’s all about building confidence,” Toomey says. “Everyone wants to go from zero to 100, but you need to put your ego aside, take your time and put the work in to actually learn a movement. That is how people evolve.”
If Toomey is willing to scale back exercises to learn them properly, the rest of us should be too. That might mean starting with goblet squats rather than barbell squats, wall press-ups rather than full press-ups, or walking rather than running.
There are exercise options to suit all fitness levels – you just have to find the appropriate ones for you and gradually progress them over time.
Read more: Sitting all day wreaks havoc on your hips and spine – here’s how to stop that from happening

5. Variety is the spice of life
What is the one exercise Toomey wishes more people would do? She struggles to pick just one before prescribing variety.
“I just love seeing people active,” she says. “But constantly doing one thing will have a lot of impact on the body. I think it’s really important to have a variety of exercises. That way you’re constantly working different muscles, building broad fitness and stimulating the mind in different ways.”
This is good advice for any exerciser. The body works on a rough use-it-or-lose-it basis, so if you don’t use a joint or muscle to its full potential, it can weaken and tighten over time. Greasing the groove on a wide range of movement patterns is the best way to prevent this and stay mobile for decades to come.
Read more: After 50 you need to train smarter – the eight rules for strength training in midlife, according to experts

6. Commit to a plan
A one-off workout cannot transform your fitness, but a progressive exercise plan can. This is why Toomey recommends finding a structured programme to follow over a longer time period than just a single session.
“That is going to help you stay motivated, particularly if it’s linked to some sort of sports or fitness goal like your first 10K, triathlon or pull-up,” she says.
“It gives you something to aim for. Otherwise people think, ‘Oh, I’m just going to keep doing this forever,’ and it can feel quite overwhelming. Following a programme helps you build healthy habits that you integrate into your daily routine and actually stick to.”
Read more: I specialise in coaching people aged 40-plus – do these six things for immediate results

7. Look after yourself
Muscle isn’t built in the gym. What you do during your workouts triggers myriad positive physiological changes, but the actual adaptations happen while you are recovering.
For this reason, Toomey places a great emphasis on sleep and nutrition, prioritising quality fuel and recovery between her training sessions.
As part of this, she regularly uses a sauna, breathwork and completes a stretching and mobility protocol via the Pliability stretching app shortly after waking each day.
“I tend to wake up feeling a bit stiff and sore from the previous day,” she says. “But I want to walk into the gym feeling strong and confident. That stretching session acts as a form of meditation as well, helping with both mobility and mental clarity.”
Read more: Swap the gym for this trainer’s six-move kettlebell workout to build full-body strength at home
Fitness
Reviewers Share the Only Gear You Need for the Ultimate Home Gym Setup
Watch Next
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Fitness
How busy women can realistically hit 10 hours of exercise a week – and unlock the biggest health benefits
A huge new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine – which analysed the activity levels of more than 17,000 participants – suggests that to achieve a substantial (defined as greater than 30%) reduction in heart attack and stroke risk, adults should aim for 560–610 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week. That’s considerably more than the current 150-minute minimum guidelines for health benefits, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that only 12% of people in the study achieved it.
It’s not to say there wasn’t any reduction in risk for lower totals – just not what scientists class as ‘substantial’. And it’s also important to note that the study was observational, meaning it cannot prove any kind of direct link; just association. It could be the case, for instance, that participants were already healthier and fitter than the general population. Plus, neither sedentary time nor less vigorous exercise were measured.
When WH put the findings to personal trainers, they were very keen to stress that something is always better than nothing – and they also had some useful tips for giving it your best shot at getting those golden 10 hours in.
4 tips for adding more movement into your week
Olivia Horncastle is a personal trainer helping busy women and mums fit exercise into their schedules.
Habit stack
‘I get my busiest clients to habit stack movement – so every time they fill up a kettle, they might do some squats, when they brush their teeth, they might do a wall sit,’ says Horncastle. ‘Other small things like trying to take calls while walking, or stretching in front of the TV at night work well. It doesn’t need to always be adding a full workout – all small additions help.’
5-minute workouts matter
‘Even starting with a 5-minute bodyweight circuit and building that up over time starts a habit – something is always better than nothing.’
Set yourself daily or weekly challenges
That might be trying to do 50 squats throughout the day, increasing your steps by parking further away at the shops, or taking the stairs instead of the lift, says Horncastle.
Tie exercise into your social plans
‘Instead of drinks with friends, I might suggest we go for a walk and grab a drink at the end, or try a new Pilates class instead of brunch etc.’
What type of exercise should you prioritise?
Michael Baah is a strength coach and oncology exercise specialist working with busy professionals, athletes and people recovering from cancer. ‘All that protection for your heart works best if you maintain your muscle mass, too,’ he cautions. ‘If you walk a lot but never do any strength work, you actually lose muscle faster, and after age 30, women naturally lose about 1% of their muscle every year unless they use it.’
Baah recommends doing three 45-minute strength sessions a week, using simple, compound moves (think: squats and deadlifts) that work your whole body. ‘You should finish each exercise feeling like you could maybe do just one or two more reps – this is the safe and effective method we use in clinics.’
‘The rest of your target comes from walking,’ adds Baah. ‘Just 40-50 minutes of brisk walking every day gets you there easily. Add a swim, yoga or dance class once a week if you like, and you’re all set.’
But don’t forget to adequately fuel, notes Baah. ‘Once you’re moving regularly, food matters, too. You need enough protein every day to help your body get stronger – aim for 1.4-1.8g for every kg of bodyweight. Without this, you do the work but miss out on the best results.’
If you’re more deterred than motivated by the recent study results, Horncastle wants to leave you with a few words. ‘Start small and slow, whether that’s one workout a week and building up, or starting with a few small walks – that’s how you achieve long-term, consistent change.’
‘And don’t compare yourself – who cares if Susan does hot yoga five times a week? She isn’t living your life. You need to find what works for and benefits you, but is realistic, too.’
One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.
Get the plan
Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.
-
Mississippi2 minutes agoMississippi Miss Hospitality announces record scholarships for 2026 competition
-
Missouri9 minutes agoMissouri Walk of Neurofibromatosis brings awareness to Columbia
-
Montana11 minutes agoICE sued over “inhumane” conditions at Camp East Montana
-
Nebraska17 minutes ago
What channel is Nebraska softball vs Alabama on today? WCWS game time, TV schedule
-
Nevada24 minutes agoTraffic incident causes delays along I-15 near Nevada-California border
-
New Hampshire27 minutes ago
High winds, heavy rains lead to scattered NH outages
-
New Jersey32 minutes agoDueling protests face off at New Jersey ICE detention center over detainee conditions
-
New Mexico39 minutes agoSunny and warm weekend ahead for New Mexico


















