Jim Dayton
Reporter - 糖心Vlog传媒 city government
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Reporter tries hand at 糖心Vlog传媒 fitness court workout
Angela Major
1. Core: 糖心Vlog传媒 Parks Director Cullen Slapak, right, Recreation Director Shelley Slapak, left, and Gazette reporter Jim Dayton, bottom, start the fitness court workout with core exercises at the city鈥檚 fitness court at the corner of West Court and South River streets.
Angela Major
2: Squat: Gazette reporter Jim Dayton jumps up onto a block at the fitness court in 糖心Vlog传媒. The court offers blocks of different heights for exercise.
Angela Major
3. Push: Parks Director Cullen Slapak, left, Gazette reporter Jim Dayton, center, and Recreation Director Shelley Slapak, right, do various types of pushups at the fitness court.
Angela Major
4. Lunge: Recreation Director Shelley Slapak, center, Gazette reporter Jim Dayton, left, and Parks Director Cullen Slapak, right, do lunges at the fitness court.
Angela Major
5. Pull: Gazette reporter Jim Dayton, right, does pull-ups on a set of rings at the fitness court.
Angela Major
6. Agility: Gazette reporter Jim Dayton, left, and Parks Director Cullen Slapak, right, complete the agility portion of the fitness court in 糖心Vlog传媒.
Angela Major
7: Bend: Gazette reporter Jim Dayton, foreground, and Parks Director Cullen Slapak do core workouts on fitness court equipment in 糖心Vlog传媒.
JANESVILLE鈥擲even minutes at the fitness court will kick your butt.
You might not think a 7-minute workout would make you drip sweat like an NBA player in overtime, but when you exercise for 45 seconds, break for only 15 seconds and repeat that six more times鈥攁ll under the hot sun鈥攜ou will be exhausted enough to skip the gym later that night and feel good about it.
I met city Parks Director Cullen Slapak and Recreation Director Shelley Slapak on a recent morning to learn how to use the city鈥檚 fitness court at the corner of West Court and South River streets. City staff hosted demonstrations in May, June and July and have another one planned at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 9.
The demonstrations are intended to increase awareness of the fitness court, a space jointly funded by the city, SSM Health and the National Fitness Campaign that opened in June 2018. The more people working out downtown, the better, Cullen said.
The fitness court is free and open to the public. People can do their own thing, or they can download the fitness court app and follow one of several preset workouts.
The app is available for iPhones and Androids, and the workouts can be accessed online. The app鈥檚 standard workout follows the mantra of seven movements in seven minutes.
Seven movements in seven minutes. Seems simple enough. Here鈥檚 how it went for me.
1. CORE: We started with a plank that incorporated a knee-to-opposite-elbow twist. This was a good way to ease into the workout, but I could definitely feel soreness in my 2.5-pack abs after 45 seconds.
2. SQUAT: It鈥檚 important to note that many different exercises can be performed at each station. While this was the squat stop, we did box jumps instead. Users should feel free to modify the workouts as they see fit. 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 fitness court offers six boxes of varying heights, from essentially a stair to a box that stood hip-high on my 5-foot-11 frame. Feeling the need to use this on-the-clock workout to the fullest, I did my jumps on the highest box. I was successful, but the 45 seconds seemed like it would never end.
3. PUSH: I was absolutely gassed after those box jumps, and I was still exasperated by the time our 15-second break ended. That鈥檚 on me. I鈥檓 not out of shape by any means, but I鈥檓 also not an Olympian. I decided to persevere through the pushups, not wanting to look bad in front of my city workout leaders.
4. LUNGE: This was a nice way to cool down. The fitness court has small, unevenly shaped boxes that users can step on during their lunges. If people prefer, they can just as easily do lunges on the flat ground.
5. PULL: If you鈥檙e feeling up to it, try doing pull-ups on a bar or the rings for 45 seconds. Not wanting to replicate my box jump mistake, I grabbed a lower pair of rings that doubled as a resistance band, TRX-type workout.
6. AGILITY: This station is probably the best example of having freedom to choose your workout. The app wanted us to do burpees, but we all cycled through high knees and hopscotch-like steps instead. The important thing? Just move.
7. BEND: For our last station, Cullen and I hopped on two objects that look like half-folded lawn chairs. With his head near the ground, Cullen did leg kicks. I kept my legs stationary, raising and lowering my upper body as our seven minutes came to a close.
I normally work out at the YMCA across the street. While the fitness court doesn鈥檛 have cardio machines or free weights, its basic outdoor equipment allows you to exercise creatively and enjoy the sunshine.
Saying the fitness court has basic equipment isn鈥檛 intended to be a negative. It gives everyone the flexibility to use the space however he or she sees fit. That option isn鈥檛 necessarily available in a gym, where a lot of machines can only be used for one purpose.
Follow the app, or don鈥檛. Just keep moving.
As Cullen put it, fitness court workouts are as hard as you want them to be.
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Milton Arts & Crafts on the Lawn returns for 45th year on Aug. 18
Anthony Wahl
糖心Vlog传媒 firefighter Rob Calhoon works in his garage to buff one of the decorative flags he has created from wood and paint. Calhoon makes American flags and 鈥淭hin Red Line鈥 and 鈥淭hin Blue Line鈥 flags to honor firefighters and police. He has been selling his art work at the arts and crafts show in Milton for the last few years.
Anthony Wahl
糖心Vlog传媒 firefighter Rob Calhoon works in his garage to buff one of the decorative flags he has created from wood and paint. Calhoon makes American flags and 鈥楾hin Red Line鈥 and 鈥楾hin Blue Line鈥 flags to honor firefighters and police. He has been selling his artwork at the arts and crafts show in Milton for the last few years.
Anthony Wahl
糖心Vlog传媒 firefighter Rob Calhoon works in his garage to buff one of the decorative flags he has created from wood and paint. Calhoon makes American flags and 鈥淭hin Red Line鈥 and 鈥淭hin Blue Line鈥 flags to honor firefighters and police. He has been selling his art work at the arts and crafts show in Milton for the last few years.
Anthony Wahl
Using a stencil, Rob Calhoon spray paints the stars onto a decorative flag he is making inside his garage. Calhoon makes American flags and 鈥淭hin Red Line鈥 and 鈥淭hin Blue Line鈥 flags to honor firefighters and police. He has been selling his art work at the arts and crafts show in Milton for the last few years.
Anthony Wahl
Using a stencil, Rob Calhoon spray paints the stars onto a decorative flag he is making inside his garage. Calhoon makes American flags and 鈥淭hin Red Line鈥 and 鈥淭hin Blue Line鈥 flags to honor firefighters and police. He has been selling his art work at the arts and crafts show in Milton for the last few years.
Anthony Wahl
Rob Calhoon peels away the stencil after spray painting stars onto a decorative flag he is making inside his garage. Calhoon makes American flags and 鈥淭hin Red Line鈥 and 鈥淭hin Blue Line鈥 flags to honor firefighters and police. He has been selling his art work at the arts and crafts show in Milton for the last few years.
Anthony Wahl
糖心Vlog传媒 firefighter Rob Calhoon started making decorative flags out of wood he paints. Calhoon makes American flags and 鈥淭hin Red Line鈥 and 鈥淭hin Blue Line鈥 flags to honor firefighters and police. He has been selling his art work at the arts and crafts show in Milton for the last few years.
MILTON鈥擫ocal firefighter Rob Calhoon doesn鈥檛 consider himself particularly crafty. And he says he doesn鈥檛 really think of himself as an artist.
But volunteer jurists鈥攖he people who plow through the dozens of artisans who seek a berth each year at Milton鈥檚 Arts & Crafts on the Lawn鈥攚ill tell you otherwise.
Calhoon鈥檚 handmade, hand-painted wooden flag decorations have been among the more popular features the last few years at the annual arts and crafts fair that pairs with Milton鈥檚 long-running chicken barbecue.
Calhoon, a Milton native and member of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Fire Department, began making his first flag decorations from wooden pallets a few years ago, upcycling old shipping skids by painting and staining them with the stars and stripes of the American flag. He found his friends really liked the creations.
鈥淚鈥檓 really not crafty or artsy at all,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檇 never even been to a craft show before a couple years ago. It鈥檚 not my forte. But these (flags) seem like they鈥檇 be simple enough to put together and easy enough to do that I decided 鈥榯his isn鈥檛 that hard.鈥欌
For the last two years, Calhoon has teamed up with a local beekeeper. The two sell flags and fresh honey at a booth that is among dozens of other arts and crafts sellers at the event, which this year is Sunday, Aug. 18, at North Goodrich Park and the Milton House grounds.
Calhoon has refined his approach. He has stopped dabbling in reclaimed pallets and instead builds his pieces from cedar and other more weather-sturdy woods. He now makes 鈥淭hin Red Line鈥 and 鈥淭hin Blue Line鈥 flags鈥擜merican flags that accentuate a single stripe in red (for firefighters) or blue (for police officers). The red and blue embody the colors of the two groups鈥 respective uniforms and are emblematic of courage in action among the two public safety professions, he said.
Calhoon said he鈥檚 not really interested in making money at the arts and crafts fair. To him, it鈥檚 more about sharing (in an artsy-crafty way) the honor, sacrifices and remembrance of firefighters and police officers.
Milton Historical Society Executive Director Kari Klebba said Calhoon鈥檚 firefighter-turned-artist milieu is among her favorite examples of the wide personal and aesthetic variety that artisans bring to Arts & Crafts on the Lawn.
Like the dozens of others who will have booths and stands at the arts and crafts fair, Calhoon wouldn鈥檛 have gotten in without approval by a panel of jurists who vet entrants. Klebba said the jurists require people to send photos of them building or handcrafting the wares they sell, along with other information, as proof they don鈥檛 simply buy products and resell them flea-market style.
This year is the 45th anniversary of Milton Arts & Crafts on the Lawn, and it is year 60 for the Milton Chicken Barbecue. Both events have, for years, run in tandem, and both tend to draw a primarily local crowd.
鈥淭he arts and crafts event does tend to be local artists, people from the 糖心Vlog传媒-Milton area. But we get everything from people who grow their own vegetables and can them to people who create wooden signs to really talented seamstresses who bring in their projects,鈥 Klebba said. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 soaps, lotions and spices. It really covers a wide gamut.鈥
Calhoon for years attended Milton鈥檚 chicken barbecue with his father, longtime Milton barber Merlin 鈥淐al鈥 Calhoon. As a kid, the younger Calhoon helped his dad turn chicken on the grill at the annual event.
For Calhoon, it has felt a little different flip-flopping over to the event鈥檚 arts and crafts side. But he has met people he says have impressed him with their dedication to different crafts and art styles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a whole different world ... people who are into the arts and crafts,鈥 he said. 鈥淪ome are pretty intense, pretty hardcore.鈥
Then there鈥檚 a 7-year-old local boy who plans to set up a lemonade stand. Maybe one day the boy will become a firefighter鈥攐r an artist. Or both.
Either way, Klebba said, on Aug. 18, the kid will fit into the festivities just fine.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great,鈥 Klebba said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got one of those rare things that is a true community event.鈥
Covered bridge illustration. Classic rural american bridge drawing in vintage style.
with ketchup, mustard and relish shot on a white background.
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