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Longfellow Life
Our Monthly Newsletter
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A message from Laury Hammel, Longfellow President 
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 Dear Members,
It's certainly getting dark early these days. In fact, sometimes it seems like the sun sets just shortly after lunch. The good news is that in just a few days the days will begin to get longer, and we'll be seeing more light - even if that may mean the `warriors of winter' will soon be upon us. But the darker, colder, and snowier it gets, the warmer and lighter Longfellow becomes.
Our long-time members know our staff is dedicated to the health and happiness of our members, and that we have never shut down the club because of bad weather. We may have closed early or opened a bit late (rarely) but you can count on Longfellow to be here for you and your fitness and health needs - always! If it's snowing, you can assume that we'll be open; but if it's really bad outside, you may want to call first to see how long we'll be open.
Now is the time of year when we begin to take a look at how our past year was for us, and what we want to accomplish in the new year of 2012. And high on most folks list of New Year's resolutions is to be more fit and healthy. That's why we're here! We want to make it easy for you to accomplish your fitness goals for 2012. This newsletter is chock full of ways you can plan your year so you can be in even better physical condition, and have fun doing it.
We wish you all peace and joy in the upcoming holiday season, and we encourage you to start planning now to make 2012 your best year yet! My friend Frank says to me every morning as he is leaving his workout at 6 am (just when I'm beginning my workout), "Today is the best day of my life!"
With gratitude,
Laury Hammel, President
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January 2nd - A Benefit Event for the Lauren Dunne Astley Fund
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We'd like to let you know about an upcoming event that will be supporting the Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund. The event will celebrate the life of this amazing young woman, whom we tragically lost this past summer.
It will be held on Monday January 2nd at The Longfellow Club in Wayland, and the exact programming of the event has been finalized.The day will include a dance, tennis events, basketball clinics and play, kids events, Yoga and Pilates classes, Chair massage, and door prizes. Please click here Lauren Astley January 2nd Fundaraiser Details to see the flyer with all the times and details of the day.
All proceeds will go directly to the Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund her parents have set up in her honor. The Fund's mission is to promote dynamic educational programs, particularly those in the areas of the development of healthy teen relationships, the arts, and community service.
We invite all of our members and their guests to attend this event to continue keeping Lauren's sparkling spirit alive in our hearts.
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| Making Longfellow Sparkle! | |
We've been hard at work continuing the progress of making the clubs sparkle.
- Mike "Mad Dog" Gallagher (see article below) has been hired to join the Natick Sparkle Team, and already you can see the effect his addition has made. The hallway behind the locker rooms has been painted as well as part of the hallway to the pool.
- The kids basketball court has been painted, and new pads have been installed under each basket for safety.
- The new lockers and rugs for the men's and ladies' locker rooms at the Natick Racquet Club have arrived, and will be installed very soon. Both rooms are getting a complete makeover, and each will have a separate seating area for relaxing.
- The upstairs bathroom in the meeting area has been painted, and soon will have new mirrors and light fixtures.
- We have picked out the new wall colors for the front lobby, the upstairs meeting room, and the Living in Balance meeting room. We will start painting these areas soon.
Thank you for all of your understanding and cooperation as we continue to work throughout the club to make Longfellow sparkle!
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Longfellow on FaceBook!
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Do you like to be inspired and have your day uplifted!
Join the Longfellow Facebook Page and be inspired every Monday with a Quote of the week.
The Longfellow Facebook page continues to gain interest as more and more people "like" it. You can find us on Facebook under "The Longfellow Clubs - Wayland and Natick." "Liking" the Longfellow page means you'll have access to an excellent resource to support your health and fitness goals and give you a boost of inspiration.
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Losing (weight) with Longfellow
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In his five years as a member of Longfellow Sports Club, Erick Hebert has put himself through quite a transformation. In his late teens, he tipped the scales at about 270 pounds and knew he had to make a change. At that time Erick decided Longfellow would be part of that process, and he started with 2 mile runs on the treadmill. The payback was encouraging. "I started seeing results on the scale in my first month," he said.
 Also an essential part of his journey was his relationship with food, and Erick said he began with the simple strategy of just consuming fewer (and higher quality) calories. "I don't eat a whole lot of junk food anymore."
Over the past few years Erick has graduated from the treadmill belt to outdoor pavement. He's also stretched out the distance over the past few years, from 2 to as many as 6 miles of running per workout. He has also worked with Sone Souvanna, one of our awesome personal trainers, to round out and get the most of his training sessions with weight resistance work. Erick is now a lean and strong 180 pounds, and can often be found in our upstairs weight room on the flat bench pressing iron.
He is a student at Mass Bay Community College in Wellesley, where he studies criminal justice, and plans to fulfill his lifelong goal of joining the military after graduation.
If you see him, please congratulate Erick on his achievement and feel free to pick his brain for any weight loss strategies he's picked up during his ongoing journey!
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Turkey Dash Leftovers! |
 Longfellow gives a huge THANK YOU to everyone who made the first in our ongoing ADVENTURE RACE SERIES such a smashing success.
If you came in the Natick club on Saturday, Nov. 19, you may have seen some of us lugging buckets of rocks up and down our steep front driveway, flipping over tractor tires, or crawling over a stretch of chilly fall sand on our stomachs. The event also featured some traditional cardio challenges like a treadmill run and spinning on our new stationary bikes.
 The event was geared toward FUN and FITNESS, but as always the club and its members were mindful of those in need and what we could to help. Proceeds from the TURKEY DASH enabled $625 to be donated to A Place To Turn, a food pantry in Natick. Longfellow staff and members also donated over 40 bags of food with one more trip to go! Thanks to all for donating to such a good cause! You've had your turkey, now get in shape to have your heart broken! Our members and staff are already pumped and training for the HEARTBREAKER!, the next event in Longfellow's ADVENTURE RACE SERIES. Race day for the HEARTBREAKER is Sunday, February 12th, but by all means take advantage of our early registration period for this event. Sign up before January 1st and save with our special $35.00 registration rate. We are still designing the rigors and obstacles for this event, so stay tuned and stay hungry! |
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Nutrition News
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Ready or not, the holidays are upon us! And with them as always arrive the sweet onslaught of festive and filling foods. Here are some great suggestions for successful eating from your friends at Longfellow's Nutrition Program:
 | | Jane Polley of Longfellow's Nutrition Staff |
- If you don't have time to get to the club, get outside and go for a walk or run in the morning in our crisp New England air - it will create energy for the day and give you a buffer of a few extra calories to enjoy at the next party.
- Eat until you feel satisfied, not stuffed. Remember that taste buds fatigue. Eating too much has a diminishing return on the enjoyment of food.
- Keep in mind "My Plate" (the replacement for the food pyramid) and make ½ your plate vegetables and salad. Many people make nice salads to serve at parties. They often get overlooked. Enjoy greens at these festivities and at home. Prepare some roasted vegetables in advance so they are ready to eat when you get home tired, late and hungry.
- Eat at a moderate pace and savor your food. This is easier said than done, but with a little consciousness it can be done and will help to prolong the enjoyment of the meal.
- Plan for Desserts. Many people bake traditional recipes from scratch during this time of year. These goodies could be "worth the calories." Take an offensive approach and make room for them into your daily food budget. This way, you can get the best of both worlds - delicious treats while maintaining your health!!!
Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas!!!
NOTE: Most nutritional counseling is covered under health insurance. To schedule a session with any one of our fabulous staff, contact Jane at JPolley@Longfellowsportsclub.com or leave a message at (508) 358-3067 ext. 322.
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Little Longfellows
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Looking for FUN and ACTIVE things for your kids to do this holiday season? Look no further! Longfellow is offering the following awesome programs in Natick this December. They run from 9-4 pm. Sign up for as many adventures as you like, and Extended Day is also available. December 16 is our deadline for sign up, so call and register today! See you soon.
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December Campers Making Dry-Ice on "Mad Science" Day last year!
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Tuesday, December 27 MAD SCIENCE Wednesday, December 28 FIT KIDS
Thursday, December 29 YOGA Friday, December 30 DRUMLIN FARM
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Welcome "Mad Dog"!
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 Please welcome Mike Gallagher to our family of Longfellow employees. He recently came on board as one of our maintenance staff. Mike's nickname is Mad Dog, which compliments well his personality, as you may have noticed if you've seen him flying around the club at top speed doing all manner of needful projects. Mad Dog is bringing lots of color to our family of Longfellow clubs via his high energy and bright can-do personality, as well as all the numerous painting jobs he's been doing. The clubs are looking brighter all the time! Mad Dog is also an avid cyclist, who once held the world record for longest time spent on a stationary bicycle. He pedaled 115 hours straight on the cycle, averaging 18 miles per hour for a total distance of 2,277 miles over the five days of his challenge. During this time he also raised $48,000 for needy children in New Hampshire. He held that world record for about six months, until the prior record holder returned and topped Mad Dog's new record in its near infancy, adding ten hours onto the total. If you see Mad Dog, please welcome him to the club, congratulate him on his record, and challenge him to a bike race (or all three). Welcome Mad Dog!
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Water Exercise
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Care for some early morning water work? Come join us for DEEP WATER RUNNING! This class features a challenging but non-impact workout in the deep end of our amazing swimming pool. You'll take part in interval training and abdominal exercises. You'll also use flotation tubing, hand weights and of course the dogged determination you'll bring with you to have fun and a great workout! This class is a great way to get the early-morning blood pumping and feel satisfied to have your daily workout behind you. DEEP WATER RUNNING is offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 am, and on Saturdays at 8:30 am. All levels are welcome.
 | | Jane Polley (left), with her Monday Healthmasters class |
Come try out our HEALTHMASTERS water exercise class. Join us in the pool weekday mornings at 9:15 for this joint-friendly water workout. You'll work with instructors Jane on Mondays, Angie on Tuesdays, and Brenda on Thursdays. See you in the pool!
A special thanks to Kathleen Woehrling for holding the annual holiday brunch at her home. We traditionally have at least 35 spirited participants and staff drop by Kathleen's to have fun and to celebrate the season. Those delicious desserts inspire everyone to keep coming to classes throughout this busy season!!! Thanks again Kathleen for your time, energy and never-ending enthusiasm for our members & staff.
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Aquatics News
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The holidays are just around the corner, and so are Session II Swim Lessons!
It's never too early to get your child proficient and comfortable in the water to make the most of your Longfellow membership and get them ready and kicking for summertime swim!
Our session II group lessons range from Parent/Infant, where moms and dads are in the water too, to more advanced stroke development for older young swimmers. Pick up a brochure in our front lobby today!
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Some of our After School Kids honing their swim skills.
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You can register for our second session of swim lessons at any time now.
This session will begin the week of January 2nd, 2012 and will run 10 weeks. Register early to reserve your spot for the winter. Make sure to sign up now to guarantee your space in class. Registration is ongoing and we have signed up a lot of swimmers already. If you have any questions about your child's swim level, please ask your current instructor or call extension 215 to ask for guidance in the registration process. Thanks again to all of our Fall participants - we had a great session and look forward to the next one!
And as always, we offer Private Swim Lessons which allow for more personal attention and greater flexibility in scheduling. Semi-Private, Tri-Private and Quad Private lessons are also available to swim with a buddy or sibling and save money too! Ask any one of our amazing swim teachers for details, and more information and request forms are available in our front lobby.
Swim team is underway again, so make a note that there is no free swim Wednesdays from 4 pm to 6 pm. There will be a lane available for lap swimmers during that time, and the kiddie pool and hot tub will remain open.
Keep an eye out for our Drop in Stroke Clinics beginning in January. We will start off with one during the day and one early evening to test the waters. If there is a lot of interest, we will see about adding additional times. As soon as we have days and times set, we will post signs to let members know. We'll look forward to seeing you!
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Group Exercise News
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 | | Come try high energy Zumba! |
Don't wait for the New Year to resolve to get moving! The time is always now! Come get grooving and moving by joining one of our awesome ZUMBA classes held many times during the week. Zumba is a meld of Latin and international music dance themes designed to work all areas of the body in a fun and varied workout. These one hour classes include interval training and combine fast and slow rhythms to tone and sculpt every area of your physique. Our Zumba dance steps are easy to follow and the class is appropriate for all experience levels.
'Tis the season for HOT HOUSE YOGA! Brush off the cold weather outside by coming to get a great workout in our heated studio. Reflect on the season's meaning and charms while stretching out to some relaxing music. You'll sweat out the stress, cares and toxins of life, while executing traditional yoga staples like dog and warrior poses. We turn up the heat to 100+ degrees to enable those deep stretches and generate some sweat. Come laugh at the cold weather (and snow!?) menacing just outside the windows as you soak up (and help create) all that heat and inner peace! HOT HOUSE is offered nearly every day of the week to accommodate a busy holiday schedule. For those new to yoga, have no fear - be of good cheer! We offer a BEGINNER HOT HOUSE YOGA at 10:00 am every Saturday morning. See you there!
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Help Longfellow Help Those in Need
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Look at all the stuff we've collected (and you've donated) so far!
As always, our Longfellow Kids are ensuring our neighbors in need will have a toasty and fun holiday season this year.
We collected more than 70 coats, 4 huge boxes of toys for 'Toys for Tots', and over 50 bags of food for "A Place To Turn", a food pantry in Natick.
We are still collecting pennies for 'Buddy Dog' until Jan 3, 2012!
Community Service makes us feel good!
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Tennis
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Start learning tennis for the holidays!!!
The Fall Session of the Junior Clinic Instruction has come to an end, and Session II started Monday, December 12th. If anyone is interested in learning or improving their tennis play, now is the time to sign up for Session II. There still are some open spots in the various clinics. Call Erin at the Natick Racquet Club: 508-653-4606.
 | | Tennis Pro Patrick Loranger at work with some future pros |
The weekend of December 1st was busy with two special junior programs; the Grand Prix on Friday night and the Orange Ball Play on Saturday evening. Orange Ball Play is the new USTA instructional method for boys and girls ages 10 and under. It has proven to be much better in helping kids learn the game of tennis, as well as providing more fun for the juniors because the low-pressure ball allows them to keep the ball in play longer, and thus hit more balls for each point which makes it more exciting. These special programs are held every month. There are also High School Doubles Tournaments once a month, the first of which was held December 17. If you want to get a jump on making your high school tennis team, call the Racquet Club and sign up for one!
The Racquet Club is also starting league team play for juniors 8 and under. The first match was held at the Racquet Club Sat., December 10th at 5 p.m. If you'd like to see some great tennis and kids having a lot of fun, stop by the Racquet Club and check it out!
Adult Singles Flex Leagues are underway, as well as Adult Clinics. The clinics will be starting up again after the first of the year, so if you're interested in getting some instruction and improving your play, give Holly Osler a call at the Racquet Club: 508-653-4606.
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Birthday Parties
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Longfellow Sports Club offers an amazing party environment.
From swimming to sports, arts to dance, we have something for every age. Our staff takes care of everything, from activities to paper goods.
Longfellow has an experienced team that will set up, clean up and help serve refreshments - just bring your birthday child and kids ready to party and play, and we'll do the rest!
To reserve a party or get more information, call Lisa Furdon at Longfellow, 508-653-4633.
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Massage at Rebound Physical Therapy
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 Rebound has recently expanded its services and facility to better meet
the needs of our clients. We believe in getting to the whole root of a problem, enabling you to bring out the best in yourself. Though originally established as a physical therapy practice, we know that feeling better is not just about joint health, diet, and exercise. Your well-being involves the whole package. That is why we have added this special team of Massage Therapists to our group in Natick.
Differing from businesses that offer a 'ready-to-order' menu of therapeutic styles, at Rebound we know that  your needs can vary   from day to day. We recommend your therapy involves having an ongoing consultation with your therapist to determine the optimal mix of techniques and therapeutic approaches needed to best address your unique situation and symptoms. Our therapists have extensive experience and certifications in a vast variety of advanced massage techniques. These toolboxes enable each of them to always be ready to provide the optimal response to your body's needs.
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 Add a Free Month or Two
(or more)
to your Membership! |
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Did you know, if you refer a friend to join our club for an annual membership, you get a free additional month on your membership. The more you refer, the more months you get FREE. Your friend just has to mention your name when they join. |
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Save $20 on
ANY Birthday Party!
Have your child's Birthday Party at the Longfellow Sports Club!
Dance, Yoga, Munchkin, Arts and Crafts, Sports or Pool Parties!
Call Lisa @ 508 653 4633 for more details.
Coupon Expires 12/31/2011
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Our Values |  The Longfellow Purpose:
- To build a world where everyone's basic needs are met, and people experience love, happiness, and satisfaction.
- To create a model organization, through the development of successful health and recreation businesses, that works toward the fulfillment of our global vision.
The Longfellow Mission Statement:
The Longfellow Clubs are a locally owned and independent business committed to the health and well being of our community, and provide extraordinary fitness, recreational, and educational programs for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
We honor all Longfellow stakeholders and appreciate all they do to make us the vibrant community we are. All management decisions consider the needs of Longfellow stakeholders and it is our intention to: - Love and care for our customer and to create a caring and compassionate culture that is committed to providing the highest level of customer service by exceeding expectations and saying yes if we can.
- Support every staff member in reaching their full potential as human beings - physically, mentally, and spiritually. We engage them in the management process and make every effort to pay a living wage with fair benefits to all staff members.
- Preserve our environment, minimize our carbon footprint, and join with others in our community to build a sustainable and just world.
- Work closely with individuals and nonprofit organizations to promote healthy, sustainable, and inclusive communities.
- Support the locally owned and independent business partners in our community and in our industry so that they can be financially successful and outstanding community citizens.
- Manage a profitable business that is a leader in our industry and provides a fair return to the owners and investors.
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