CALENDAR EVENTS ...continued from p. 12

from Northwest Observer / July 20 - Aug. 2, 2023

mark your calendar

z SMA meeting | Summerfield Merchants Association (SMA), which focuses on supporting local businesses and the Summerfield community, invites professionals based in Summerfield to a meeting on Aug. 1, with social/ networking time from 6:15 to 7 p.m. followed by a business meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. Learn more about SMA at www.summerfieldmerchant.com, or email Patti Stokes, SMA president, at president@summerfieldmerchant.com. RSVP on the website to attend the meeting.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 2

z Senior program | Senior Resources of Guilford County will sponsor a senior program including activities and a take-home lunch Aug. 2, 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon at Oak Ridge First Baptist Church, 2445 Oak Ridge Road. To learn more and/or RSVP, contact (336) 373-4816, ext. 265.

z Community meal | Gideon Grove United Methodist Church at 2865 Gideon Grove Church Road in Stokesdale will host a free community meal Aug. 2, 5 to 6 p.m. More info: (336) 643-6042.

z Preservation Oak Ridge meeting | Preservation Oak Ridge, a nonprofit committed to preserving historic structures in Oak Ridge, will meet Aug. 2, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the historic Ai Church, 1306 N.C. 68 N in Oak Ridge. More info: www.preserveoakridge.org or call (336) 644-1777.

z Friends of Stokesdale meeting | Friends of Stokesdale, a nonprofit committed to preserving Stokesdale’s history and downtown charm, will meet Aug. 2, 7 to 8 p.m. at Stokesdale Town Hall, 8325 Angel Pardue Road. For more info, visit www.facebook.com/ friendsofstokesdale or call Joe Thacker, president, at (336) 708-0334.

Pickleball

...continued from p. 11 orthopedic procedures,” UBS pointed out.

Pickleball players may be more prone to injury because the sport “is so darn fun that it’s addictive,” said Katie Allegro, pickleball teaching pro at Proehlific Park. She describes the activity as “hidden exercise.”

“You’re having such a great time that you lose track of how long you’re playing,” said Allegro, who plays pickleball professionally. “One more game can turn into 10 more games.”

As a result, swinging the paddle and stopping and starting many times over an hour or two – or longer – can lead to injuries related to repetitive movements. According to trainers, people who jump into the sport without being physically fit are more prone to injury than those who routinely exercise.

Pickleball “is an easy way to exercise and have fun at the same time without thinking about it,” said Jamaal Johnson, a trainer at SNAP Fitness in Oak Ridge. “But the sport is like any other physical activity; you want to work your way into it.

“It’s good to build up a certain amount of flexibility, muscular endurance and mobility before you just jump in,” Johnson advised. He recommends exercises such as leg lunges that put muscles and joints through a wide range of motions.

– especially older people – work out, they work out in a box,” Johnson said. “They stay close and tight within their bodies.”

Improving strength and flexibility can ease the transition to pickleball for people who spend a lot of time sitting at a desk or on the couch, according to Johnson. For them, a lack of flexibility in the gluteal muscles around the buttocks is a common problem that can lead to tightness in smaller muscles such as the hamstrings and the calves.

“Our body parts are interwoven,” he said. “And when those big muscles get tight, they pull on all the small things around them.”

Conditioning exercises such as yoga can improve range of motion, core strength, balance and body awareness, according to the YMCA’s Southard.

For pickleball newcomers, Alloy’s Gallert recommends “foundational exercises” to improve balance, mobility, core strength and cardio/respiratory health.

“Helping our clients become more mobile and strengthen their core is going to transfer into their everyday life and activities, such as playing pickleball,” Gallert said. “Your core strength is going to protect your spine.”

Deb Vincent, league coordinator for Play Team Pickleball in the Triad and the Durham-Chapel Hill areas, also recommends that players take precautions.

By contrast, some popular exercises such as arm curls provide less range of motion and fewer benefits.

“Most of the time when people

“We encourage everybody to loosen up and get your muscles ready to exercise,” she said. “We do not want people to go blindly backwards to get a ball, because people of all ages fall down.”