For the first time, the question that popped into my mind immediately upon hearing the news was not “why”. For the first time, my mind didn’t scream at me to try and decipher the motives of the killer or why evil exists. No. This time, the very first question that popped into my mind was, “What will it take?”

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What will it take for our society to change? How many more shootings will have to happen? Is there any scenario that would be horrible enough to force us into action right now? No one wants to live this kind of situation, but these are situations where running is living or dying and for people with respiratory problems it is serious, to be protected not only for this kind of situation you have to visit site and buy what is necessary.

Honestly, my feelings about that last question are bleak. If the mass murder of elementary school children at Sandy Hook wasn’t enough, then I can hardly bear to contemplate the kind of scenario that would be necessary to prompt us to take definitive action. We already have too many years of experience showing us exactly which direction the trend of gun related violence is moving in. We know that mass shootings WILL keep happening. Maybe to me. Maybe to you. Maybe even to our children. Why isn’t that enough?

What will it take?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, although these shootings can and do happen in other countries, no other developed nation is dealing with them on the same scale as the United States. Australia experienced kiwi gambling a mass shooting in 1996, enacted strict gun control laws, and hasn’t had a shooting since. (Slate) Even if they had one tomorrow, they’ve still bought themselves years of reduced fear and death. How many lives have they saved? Not only has there not been a mass shooting since that time, but they’ve also had a reduction in homicides and suicides as well. And, at least one Australian (and I’d venture to guess many others) look at our country with pity, lamenting the fact that Americans lack the will to change.

Pity? For us? WE lack personal and political will? This is not how we’re accustomed to being described. Americans have always prided ourselves on our “can-do” attitude. When we decided to put a man on the moon, by god, we did it. That’s our story and we’re stickin’ to it. The will to accomplish anything we set our minds to, is part of our self-identity. And Freedom from Fear is part of our national heritage, right? This is who we are, isn’t it?

Speaking for myself at least, I’m hugely impacted by fear of mass shootings. Yesterday the headline of my paper was about a man threatening a mass shooting at my local mall. The mall I went to twice last week. The mall I take my child to. As I write this, there are a ton of sirens sounding in the distance. I live in the country, so that’s rare. I also live within walking distance of my son’s school, and it’s all I can do not to get on the phone and demand to know that nothing is wrong. That the fire trucks and police vehicles I hear screaming past aren’t going to be on tonight’s news.

Yet, gun related violence continues even though it’s a solvable problem. Maybe we can’t eliminate gun related deaths completely, but we can certainly curb them. If you had cancer, you’d want them to start treatment, right? Eliminate as much as they possibly could? You wouldn’t wait for a 100% guaranteed cure before you took action. Well, we’re sick. Some of us are dying. And we have a blue-print for change that’s been tested by time and experience.

So what will it take for us to move forward?

Unfortunately, I believe part of the answer is that issues often have to get personal before we’ll enact change, especially if the change required is difficult or makes us uncomfortable. Our *personal* level of discomfort must outweigh the level of discomfort that change would demand of us. So, for many people, they’ll worry about gun control once gun violence impacts them. My fear is that change won’t happen until enough communities, families, and individuals have been *directly* affected for the scales to tip. In Malcolm Gladwell’s words, that would be the tipping point. But is that really how we want our future to play out? Must we wait for the number of us who are personally impacted to outweigh the number who are still privileged enough to remain complacent?

Maybe this sounds harsh. The truth is, although I’m railing against this kind of passivity, in many ways, I understand the wait-until-it-affects-me way of thinking. We live in a world where we’re bombarded with the troubles of … well … an entire world. Were we designed to handle that? These days, it’s possible to plug in and become aware of everything from the refugee crisis, to the latest weather disaster, to the cruel treatment of animals, to wars, to mistreatment of women and children, to wrongs within our local community… the list goes on and on. And every one of these tragedies demands our attention and our action. Not just our physical action but our psychic and spiritual resources as well. How much can we handle before we need to unplug? How much horror is it healthy to internalize? So, it’s completely understandable (at least in my mind) why people disengage. Why we pick and choose. Why we wait to act until something hits home. Why we often fail to respond until we’ve been made personally uncomfortable.

I get it. But if the answer to “What will it take?” is that a mass shooting will have to happen to your community or your family before it becomes your issue, then that’s sad for all of us. Because while we’re waiting for the scale to tip, more and more people will lose their lives. And many of them will be children. They will be beautiful, bright young lives, extinguished before they had a chance to pursue their dreams. While we’re waiting to reach a tipping point, we’re also learning to live in fear – the fear of our children experiencing terror and death during what ought to be a routine school day. The fear of going to the mall or the movies. Or church. And although I can only speak for myself in this regard, I can say without doubt that, God forbid, my own son were a victim of a mass shooting, I would *never* forgive myself if I’d waited too long to speak out. If my own complacency, or my sense of entitlement, lead me to be silent until it was too late, I couldn’t live with the guilt and no amount of subsequent activism would ease that burden. That alone is enough motivation for me, but if I needed any more conviction it would come from my personal spiritual beliefs that ultimately your child is my child. That although I may not personally know this latest set of victims, on a deeper level we are all connected.

So, I choose to speak out now.

Not tomorrow. Not when the scales have tipped.

Now.

We must change.

****************************************************************************************************

Join a group. Write your legislatures. Give money and time to causes that support gun control. Write blogs and op-eds, letters to the editor, magazine articles… Post pictures of the victims so we can’t forget them. Use your artistic skills to make iconic images. Use your musical skills to share a song. Vote according to your passion. If you have a platform, use it, even if you think no one is listening. Do everything you can. Don’t stop. Don’t shut up. Keep going until there’s no longer any need for your voice to be heard because change has happened.

As the release date for Pieces of Why approaches, I’m often asked about the inspiration for this book. I’ll be honest, there’s never just one source of inspiration for a novel. The creative process is always an amalgamation. A crashing together of disparate life events, images, sounds, places, subjects I’m fascinated with, futures I’m afraid to confront…

In the case of Pieces of Why, there were three primary sources of inspiration, all of which had something in common: gun related violence. It might seem strange to think that the driving forces behind a book for children – especially young children – would be so harsh. How and why does one attempt to translate the toughest realities of our world to children?

The answer to “how”, for me, is to offer as much hope as hardship, and as much beauty as brutal honesty. What else can we offer our children in the face of violence, other than the same comforts we offer ourselves? The hope that in the end, goodness will outweigh injustice. The desire to change our world for the better, and the belief that change is possible.

One of the most powerful functions of fiction is to allow us to imagine the futures we want and those that we don’t want, and to empower our society to make decisions accordingly. To deny the existence of casinoluck gun related violence to kids who live with the aftermath does nothing, but to teach them that they can overcome this legacy and perhaps create a different future offers hope that another path is possible.

To those who might question the need for children’s books that deal with gun related violence, I would say this: If we’re not prepared to protect our children with laws to keep them safe, then we must be prepared to empower them with tools to cope with violence.

In the wake of the shooting of the two journalists this week, Moms Demand Action released this statement: “It is not normal for people to be shot and killed while doing their job, or studying in class, or praying in church, or watching a movie. It is time for our leaders to act to protect Americans and do more to keep guns and 300 blackout ammo out of dangerous hands. We deserve better.”

This is my belief as well, and I want young readers to know that what’s happening in America right now in terms of gun related violence isn’t normal. It isn’t right. And it isn’t inevitable. This is a hard subject to acknowledge. The temptation to remain silent in the name of shielding our kids is a strong one. But in a world where almost every public place has a big screen television, and children are plugged into the media at younger and younger ages, the choice to remain silent is not always ours. And with nearly 12,000 Americans killed with guns every year, a rate 20 times higher than other developed countries (Everytown for Gun Safety), the circle of connection is narrowing.

Gun related violence is wide spread, often random, and pervasive. We KNOW this. We see the news reports. We read the statistics. But we often fail to acknowledge that the ripple effects spread far wider than we’d like. It isn’t just the people in the direct line of fire who are affected. It’s every one of us. And it isn’t enough to hold our breath and thank God that it wasn’t our child, our loved one, our family member (at least not this time). We must acknowledge that every instance of violence does harm to us all – mental, spiritual, and emotional harm.

We must create safe spaces for kids to talk about their fears, to discuss what’s happening in the world around them, and we must provide models of people who may not have all the answers but are doing their utmost to make the world a safer place for the next generation. My wish is this: may these people be, not just fictional characters, but every single person in a child’s life. Every parent, teacher, law maker, neighbor, friend … all of us working as hard as we know how until we’ve changed our world. Their world.

May these people be you and me.

On beginning her journey as a writer, J.H. Diehl, author of the new middle-grade novel Tiny Infinities, reflects on time spent as a child reading and being read to by her dad. Diehl thinks that “all of that early reading—and being read to—was first of all what taught me how to write.” She also notes the importance of a teacher who inspired her to write: “In sixth grade, I started writing poems for fun. When I’d composed maybe 25 or 30 of them, my teacher, Mr. Ian, suggested I turn them into a book. There were only three copies, but the number of copies didn’t matter. Once my words were in a published book, it felt to me like no one could change them. That was a really powerful feeling, and I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since.”

Diehl’s experience underscores the importance of having access to reading materials of interest, since many reluctant readers say they have a hard time finding something they want to read and their preferred texts such as comic books, magazines, or popular book series may not be available at school. Research also shows that students may read less frequently out of school due to time spent watching television or participating in organized activities like sports or clubs.

For teachers looking to motivate students to read, a few methods include:

1. Having a rich classroom library;
2. Providing opportunities for students to discuss what they are reading for fun with their peers; and
3. Encouraging peers to make recommendations to each other.

Sixth-grader Emma says she and her friends enjoy talking at recess about new books they are reading. Right now, their favorite is a series about warrior cat clans. “I know my friends would give me a good suggestion because they know me really well,” she said.

Literature plays a significant role in the development of children. Reading books helps expand their vocabulary, enhances their imagination, promotes cognitive skills, and cultivates empathy and understanding. Parents can reward their children for reading books in various ways. Offering small incentives like toys or boys clothes can serve as positive reinforcement and motivate children to read more. However, it’s crucial to strike a balance, ensuring that the focus remains on the love for reading and the intrinsic value it brings, rather than solely relying on external rewards.

Outside of the classroom, parents can model reading and writing for fun by recommending and discussing books with their children or engaging in a family writing project. They also can build an emotional connection through reading aloud: the Scholastic survey found that while the frequency of parents reading to children drops dramatically after age eight, the majority of children and parents who continue to do it say they enjoy it because it’s a special time together.

Many resources exist to develop skills and confidence through everyday reading and writing, including:

1. Book clubs such as the online Bookopolis community, which offers a kid-friendly way to find new books of interest recommended by peers and write book reviews; and
2. Playful literacy activities, such as building with LEGO, where students can use this play to inspire stories with more action and details than they might otherwise think to write.

On encouraging children to write for fun, education researcher Dr. Steve Graham stresses that out-of-school writing allows students to “hone their skills as writers and use writing to meet goals that are important to them, promoting greater motivation for writing generally.”

Boosting children’s interest and engagement in literacy activities, both in and out of school, can support many academic and personal goals. Finding new and fun ways to make time to integrate literacy with students’ schedules and lifestyles is key to building these habits. A new Learner Model from Digital Promise’s Learner Variability Project (LVP) focuses on Literacy for Grades 4-6 and how students’ literacy environment expands beyond parental influences to include peers and students’ own choices.

Visit the LVP Literacy for Grades 4-6 Learner Model to learn more about the Learner Factors that affect literacy, as well as many strategies to support reading and writing development.

In a world where obesity rates are on the rise and the quest for effective weight loss solutions never-ending, Rybelsus has emerged as a potential game-changer. This medication, originally developed for type 2 diabetes management, has garnered attention for its ability to aid weight loss. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive overview of Rybelsus weight loss reviews, exploring its effectiveness, side effects, and what users have experienced in their before-and-after results.

Understanding Rybelsus

Redefining Weight Loss

Rybelsus, also known by its generic name semaglutide, belongs to a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists. It was initially developed to help manage blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. However, it has since been found to have a significant impact on weight loss. This discovery has led to its increasing use as an off-label weight loss treatment.

Rybelsus Weight Loss Reviews: The Verdict

Efficacy and User Experiences

Rybelsus has gained popularity primarily due to its impressive weight loss results. Many users report substantial reductions in body weight when incorporating this medication into their daily routine. However, it’s important to note that individual results can vary.

Before-and-After Results

Transformation Stories

One of the most compelling aspects of Rybelsus weight loss reviews is the before-and-after stories shared by users. These testimonials provide real-world insights into the medication’s potential. Users often highlight their journey, detailing the challenges they faced before starting Rybelsus and the remarkable transformations they achieved afterward.

Common Side Effects

Balancing Benefits and Risks

Like any medication, Rybelsus weight loss is not without side effects. It’s crucial for users to be aware of potential adverse reactions, which may include nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal discomfort. These side effects are usually mild and temporary, but it’s essential to discuss them with a healthcare provider.

The Safer Alternative News

Balancing Safety and Effectiveness

While Rybelsus shows promise as a weight loss aid, it’s essential to remember that it is an off-label use of the drug. As such, there may be safety concerns and uncertainties about its long-term effects. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any medication for weight loss.

Conclusion

Rybelsus weight loss reviews offer a glimpse into a potential solution for those looking to shed excess pounds. The medication has shown significant promise in helping individuals achieve their weight loss goals. However, it is essential to approach its use with caution, ensuring you have all the necessary information and guidance from a healthcare provider. While the before-and-after stories are inspiring, it’s crucial to remember that individual results can vary, and the safest path to weight loss always involves a holistic approach that includes a balanced diet and regular physical activity.

This article focuses on providing readers with safer alternatives to Mounjaro side effects for achieving weight loss goals. It discusses the benefits of a balanced diet, regular exercise, and seeking guidance from healthcare professionals. It emphasizes the importance of sustainable and long-term weight management.

Tara Mohr — Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message

Part of what I love about Tara’s message is the idea that we need to unhook from praise as surely as we need to unhook from criticism. This is an idea that doesn’t get discussed very often, yet as writers, we are incredibly susceptible to the folly of basing our self worth, and/or the worth of our writing, on the stamp of approval we receive from others, namely our readers.

In the best circumstances, praise and criticism are tools we use to evaluate our work and to decide how it fits into the current market place. When we put ego aside, praise and criticism can make us better suited to publication by giving us insights into what readers like or dislike — what might motivate someone to buy our book or reject it. Tara aptly points out the fact that praise and criticism don’t really tell us anything about the quality of our work, per se. Instead, they reveal something about the market, and something about the person doing the critiquing. So, our manuscript may be rejected by every editor at every publishing house, but that still doesn’t mean it’s not groundbreaking storytelling that will one day be celebrated.

Our first job is to be clear about our goals. (What do we want to produce: unique, independent art regardless of its ability to sell in the current marketplace? Or material that both meets our personal standards AND will sell to others?) And our second job is to determine when praise and criticism are functioning as learning tools, teaching us how to improve our craft, and when they’re functioning as ego boosters or deflators.

Figuring out our relationship to praise and criticism can have huge ripple effects on our happiness, so its worth spending some time on this topic. I hope you’ll find Tara’s presentation as illuminating as I did!

So, why do I make new year’s resolutions? I love the idea of recommitting to a goal, an idea, or even a way of life, if you have new year fitness goals, you might want to read this review of PhenQ. I like second chances. Third chances. Fourth and fifth chances. I believe it’s important to acknowledge that life isn’t simple. Our goals aren’t easily fulfilled. It may take us many tries, many resolutions, before we succeed. The important part is to keep recommitting to the path that we’ve chosen, or to allow ourselves to veer off onto a new path and then commit to that journey instead.

Even though my 2015 resolution doesn’t happen to be writing related, I believe that resolutions are especially important for writers. Unless you’re writing solely for yourself, putting your work out into the world will always be a rough journey. The process of laying yourself bare and then inviting public critique, most often from strangers, had to have been invented by a masochist. And I can’t say it gets easier after you’ve been published. Ten years into my journey as a published author, I still submit work that gets rejected and it still hurts every time. No measure of success (at least none that I’ve found) buys you immunity to the parts of publishing that are hard au casinos online.T will definitely try baccarat to enjoying the true gaming experience. Only the purposeful, continued process of recommitting to the craft keeps me focused on the elements of writing that I love: the joy that can be found in crafting a story, and my personal goals for developing as a human being and an author. I don’t want to stop growing, changing, and improving as a writer, so resolving anew to walk this road reminds me that it’s okay if it isn’t always an easy path. It’s okay if I stumble and need another chance (or five or ten) to make progress because the opportunity to recommit is always waiting for me.

This year, may you find joy on your journey. If nothing else, resolve to be gentle with yourself. Life is hard and there’s not a one of us who is getting everything right every time, but all of us have the ability (the privilege, perhaps?) of starting anew. Remember that you have infinite chances to succeed. As many chances as you’re willing to grant yourself. So be generous.

Gentle and generous in 2015. Hmm… looks like I have a new resolution.

Let’s make this a wonderful school year!

Ten Important Back-to-School Safety Tips

Teach your children to always TAKE A FRIEND with them when walking or biking, and stay with a group while standing at the bus stop. Make sure they know which bus to ride.

Walk the route to and from school with your children pointing out landmarks and safe places to go if they’re being followed or need help. Teach your children they should NEVER TAKE SHORTCUTS and always stay in well-lit areas.

It is not safe for young children to walk to and from school, even in a group. Parents should always provide supervision for young children to help ensure their safe arrival to and from school. If your children wait for a bus, wait with them or make arrangements for supervision at the bus stop.

Teach your children that if anyone bothers them, makes them feel scared or uncomfortable to trust their feelings and immediately get away from that person. Teach them it is ok not to be polite and IT IS OK TO SAY NO.

Teach your children if anyone tries to take them somewhere they should RESIST by kicking and screaming, try to run away and DRAW ATTENTION by kicking and screaming “This person is trying to take me away” or “This person is not my father/mother.”

Teach your children NOT TO ACCEPT A RIDE from anyone unless you have said it is ok in that instance. If anyone follows them in a vehicle they should turn around, go in the other direction, and run to a trusted adult who may help them.

Teach your children that grownups should NOT ASK CHILDREN FOR DIRECTIONS, they should ask other adults.

Teach your children to NEVER ACCEPT MONEY OR GIFTS from anyone unless you have told them it is ok to accept in each instance.

Make sure the school has current and accurate emergency contact information is on file for your children and confirm names of those authorized.

Always know where your children will be. Teach your children to always CHECK FIRST before changing their plans before or after school. Teach your children to never leave school, with anyone unless they CHECK FIRST with you or another trusted adult, even if someone tells them it is an emergency.

Firstly I own three pets, one rabbit and one cat. Merry has always been the type of cat who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. While Pinto, the rabbit seems to just run around the house. I need to find out how much it cost to fix my rabbits or else I will get a dozen of them. I’m quite worried about Pinto’s eating habits as he quite picky, which is why I have been reading posts like Can rabbits eat strawberries? When Merry and his brother, Pippin, were kittens, Pippin would knock something over and disappear without a trace, but when I arrived on the scene steaming mad, there would be Merry in the middle of the room, frozen in fear. If somebody throws a ball, it will ricochet off the wall in order to bonk Merry on the head. If the hose is on, he will manage to get soaked. He’s just that type of cat. Still, despite living with Merry for eight years and knowing his misfortunes, even I was surprised that he managed to get stuck in a tree right before Hurricane Irene hit our hometown in upstate NY.

The saga started Thursday afternoon when we realized no one had seen Merry in several hours. Although my cats do go outdoors, they almost always stay close to the house. We searched, but there was no sign of him, not even when we called him for his 5:00 dinner. It wasn’t until the next day that we heard the yowling. It was coming from several houses down in a neighbor’s front yard. Sure enough, there was Merry, stuck in the crook of a tree.

How did he manage to get into this situation? My guess is that one of the neighborhood dogs probably chased him, which has happened before. Although most areas have a leash law, ours does not because we live in the country and people have hunting dogs, which can’t do their jobs when leashed.

At first, I wasn’t all that concerned. Merry has gotten into worse situations. He’d been up a tree far higher than this one and after about 48 hours, he’d climbed down. That time, we’d called the fire department and been told in no uncertain terms that they don’t rescue cats and he’d just climb down on his own when he was ready. On that occasion, they were right.

Merry in his previous tree climbing predicament – top of frame

So we waited. We called and cajoled. Shook the container of cat treats. Friday turned into Saturday and Hurricane Irene was schedule to hit our area that night. Now I started to feel a bit worried and appealed to Facebook friends for help. Someone suggested opening a can of tuna under the tree, and I thought that was a brilliant suggestion, but no luck. Someone else suggested using a hose, but he wasn’t within  range of one. I sent my husband (who is much taller than I am) out with the longest pole I could find, thinking we could prod the cat to come down, but it was five feet short. Although it sounds mean, Dustin even tried throwing things up at Merry to try and dislodge him before the hurricane hit. No luck.

At some point, our neighbors brought out their sturdy ladder (our was flimsy and wouldn’t reach) but climbing up to attempt a rescue only pushed Merry much further up the tree onto a far reaching branch. Now he was probably fifty or sixty feet up, way out of reach and the winds were getting stronger. Still, I felt certain he would come down as soon as the rain started.

He didn’t.

Hurricane Irene hit Saturday night. We called and called for Merry and I wracked my brain trying to think of ideas we hadn’t tried. I remembered some scrap metal we’d found recently, and Sunday morning Dustin ran out in the wind and rain to try to reach the cat with an even longer pole, but it was too short. All day the winds raged, sending down countless trees in our area, but Merry held on. I worried and worried that the limb he was clinging to would break, or he’d be sent flying by the gusting winds, but when the rain stopped he was still there meowing piteously.

Now, I thought, he’ll climb down. It made sense to me that he wouldn’t attempt a climb while the branch was swaying, but surely (!) he’d come down once the tree was still again.

He didn’t.

The sun came out. The wind died down. Merry did not budge.

We began calling tree service companies who might be able to use their bucket lifts to rescue him, but let me assure you… the days following a hurricane are not good days to be a cat stuck in a tree. Every tree company in our area was out on emergency calls, cleaning up the storm damage and trying to restore power.

All along, people kept assuring me that Merry would climb down on his own, but by now I knew they were wrong. By Tuesday, he’d been in the tree for six days – no food, only rain water – and I was starting to get frantic. After clinging to a tree through a hurricane I doubted he’d have the strength to climb down even if he decided to. He was not meowing much anymore, and when we’d visit him, he’d hardly move.

Finally, at five o’clock on Tuesday, we found a tree company willing to come out and rescue my cat. That evening Der Oskar Tree Service arrived with their big truck.

Armed with a pillow case, Der Oskar made the rescue. Yes, there was a heart-pounding moment when Merry fought him and nearly managed to fall off the branch, but in the end we received our cat, a bit worse for the wear.

I would definitely say that Merry has used up at least one of his nine lives in this ordeal. Since he’s gotten home, he’s been sleeping in the basement – hidden away on some back room shelving. He’s had food and water, but mostly he’s curled himself up in a ball, and I get the impression he will probably stay that way for a long while to come.

At least until his next adventure…

Fortunately, we have some tips to help you to safely work out on even the hottest of summer days.

Take a cold shower

Before your workout even begins you may want to take a cold shower. Once you finish your shower, ditch the blow dryer and opt for a wet head to help you to stay cool during your workout.

Stay hydrated with the RIGHT fluids

Water is your best friend on a hot day for staying hydrated; however, if you’re planning to exercise for more than 60 minutes, you may also want to consider sipping on a sports drinks.

Sports drinks are important when working out for prolonged periods of time, especially in the heat, because they contain potassium and electrolytes that can rehydrate and replenish your body. The high levels of sodium may actually be good for your body as well as sodium is a key ingredient for a hot day.

As with everything, moderation is key. Take a look to the latest profit singularity ultra edition reviews.

Wear light clothing

Bright colors are good since they will reflect the sun and also help to make you more visible to oncoming traffic. Cotton is a light-weight and affordable material that can help you to stay dry.

If you’re willing to splurge a bit more, opt for sweat-wicking shirts and shorts to keep the sweat at bay.

Don’t forget the sunscreen

Nothing is worse than trying to complete a summer workout with a bad sun burn that makes it hard to move. Stop the burn before it occurs by slathering on the sunscreen. Opt for s sunscreen with an SPF of at least 50 and one that is water-proof so that it doesn’t come off once you start sweating.

Timing is everything

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. is known for being the hottest time of the day in the summer. If you’re planning an outdoor workout, try to do it either before or after this time slot.

Many athletes prefer to work out earlier in the morning as it can help them to stay energized throughout the day and to sleep better at night.

Don’t fear the water

Summer is the perfect time to make water your friend. On especially hot days, try adding a water activity to your workout such as swimming, surfing or Stand-Up-Paddle Boarding (SUP). These activities will help you to stay fit and healthy in the summer in a fun and new way while also staying cool. Who knows, you may end up finding a new favorite exercise.

Prefer to run instead? No worries, you can still get in on the water action. Next time you see what looks like a “rainy day”, opt to run with the rain rather than against it. Running during a rainy day can help you to stay cool and many athletes find these workouts to be invigorating and refreshing.

The key for successfully running in the rain is to be prepared. Wear bright clothing and make sure all of your clothing is water-proof (this includes shoes and accessories such as a cell-phone case). Avoid running around cars that may have trouble seeing you.

Running in a little bit of rain won’t harm you, but if you see lightening or hear thunder, you’ll want to return inside to safety as quickly as possible.