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Wednesday, July 15, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Fit For
Sisters
Andrew Loscutoff
Columnist
Fit to hike in
Sisters Country
Hiking is a dynamic
activity 4 up and over
roots, side-stepping rocks,
losing and regaining foot-
ing and bracing for stability
on uneven ground. There9s
a lot more to it than car-
diovascular fitness and leg
strength.
How well are you condi-
tioned in the eccentric sta-
bilities required? Eccentric
muscular stability is the
muscle9s ability to hold a
tensive state to support a
joint. Think of hiking down-
hill. The knee joint braces
the heavy footfall and sup-
ports with quad muscula-
ture <bracing the joint.= If
you9re uneasy about knee
buckling, hips <giving out=
or inability to control body
weight into a chair or walk-
ing downstairs, this is an
area to improve.
Exercises for eccentric
stability
Slow lowering into a
chair: Take three to four
seconds to lower into a
chair using the knees as
the flexors. Keep the chest
upright and sit back (don9t
worry it9s still there) into
the chair.
Split stance tempo squat:
Now take the feet into a
split position (one in front
of the other two to three
feet) slowly lower down,
and pause as if kneeling.
Raise back up and make
sure that the reps are done
on both sides.
Are your ankle and calf
muscles up for instability
and undulating terrain? If
hiking is secondary to an
everyday life of stable foot-
ing and soft shoes, you will
need to mobilize the ankles.
This will improve the abil-
ity to traverse long patches
of rough trails without the
feet and ankles giving up.
Worst-case scenario is an
ankle roll in the middle of
the wilderness.
Exercises for ankle and
calf
Stand on the edge of a
step with something to hold
onto, lower the heel down
slow and hold a stretch for
3-4 seconds. Lift the heel
back up and repeat many
times.
Next squat down low
and work ankle mobility by
rocking side to side and for-
ward and back with feet as
flat to the floor as possible.
This exercise pushes the
ankles around their capsule
and moves the tight tendons
and ligaments about as if
they were doing their work
on the trail.
The third tenet of hik-
ing fitness is the power (or
lack thereof) of the glutes
in uphill propulsion. Glutes
are fantastic muscles, which
many people sit on all day.
No wonder they9re chroni-
cally underactive. This can
lead to instabilities at the
knee and lumbar area 4
and uphill walking suffers
greatly.
Exercises to restore
glutes
Glute bridge: Lie on
the back and put the feet
flat on the floor. Press the
hips up into the air through
the heels and feel the back
of one9s buttock tighten.
Repeat for many reps and
hold each at the top for a
count.
Step up: On a box of
varied height depending
on mobility and strength,
step up solely with the front
leg. Do this with or without
weight, repeat for 10-15
reps on each side. Make
sure to finish the repeti-
tion all the way on the box
standing in a very upright
and tall posture.
Hiking should an enjoy-
able exercise, not an exer-
cise in pain tolerance. These
routines can go a long way
into making this summer9s
jaunts enjoyable feats.
Motorcyclist Grant funding available
killed in
Highway 20
crash
A motorcyclist was killed
in a collision on Highway 20
last Wednesday, in a wreck
that blocked the highway in
both directions.
Oregon State Police
reported that OSP Troopers
and emergency personnel
responded at 4:53 p.m. on
July 8 to a two vehicle crash
on Highway 20 at milepost
1.5 east of Sisters.
Preliminary investiga-
tion revealed a 2007 Harley
Davidson motorcycle, oper-
ated by Michael Smith, age
70, of Redmond, collided
with the back of a 2018 Ford
250, operated by a juvenile
male; the truck was stopped
waiting to turn left onto
Jordan Road.
Sisters-Camp Sherman
medics responded and trans-
ported Smith to an air ambu-
lance in Sisters, but the
motorcyclist was pronounced
dead prior to the flight. The
young man driving the Ford
truck was not injured.
OSP was assisted by
Deschutes County Sheriff9s
Office, Sisters-Camp
Sherman Fire Department,
ODOT, and the Central
Oregon Police Chaplaincy.
The Central Oregon
Intergovernmental Council
(COIC) and a host of regional
partners have come together
to create an emergency grant
fund for small businesses and
nonprofits impacted by the
economic downturn caused
by the spread of the novel
coronavirus COVID-19.
COIC combined contribu-
tions from Deschutes County
($100,000), Crook County
($10,000), the City of Madras
($25,000), Jefferson County
($18,250) and the Warm
Springs Community Action
Team ($15,000) to leverage
an additional $517,500 from
the State of Oregon, for a
total program of $685,750,
available to sole proprietors,
small businesses, and non-
profits across the region.
Some of the local match-
ing funds were originally pro-
vided by grants from the Ore-
gon Community Foundation.
Eligible businesses and
nonprofits can receive from
$2,500 to $25,000 in grant
funds, depending on number
of employees and other fac-
tors. A complete list of pro-
gram guidelines and a link to
the application can be found
at www.coic.org/grant/.
The grant program will
close Monday, July 20. In
order to be eligible, busi-
nesses and nonprofits must
have 25 or fewer employ-
ees as of February 29, 2020.
Eligible applicants must have
been either categorically
closed by Governor of Ore-
gon9s Executive Order No.
20-12 (https://www.oregon.
gov/gov/Documents/execu
tive_orders/eo_20-12.pdf) or
able to demonstrate a loss of
at least 50 percent of revenue
in March or April 2020. Eli-
gible applicants may not have
received federal CARES Act
funding, must be headquar-
tered in the region, and can-
not owe local, state, or federal
taxes. Nonprofit applicants
must be organized as a 501(c)
(3) and in good standing at
the time of their application.
The program has a special
emphasis on sole proprietor-
ship businesses, with a com-
mitment to award 50 percent
of total funding to them. They
often received less emergency
funding support than other
businesses to date.
<Our region9s economy
relies heavily on the hard
work of small business own-
ers, and our communities
rely on our nonprofits,= said
Tammy Baney, COIC execu-
tive director. <This grant fund
is meant to fill an immedi-
ate need for these critical
institutions.=
The program is funded in
part by the State of Oregon
General Funds and Lottery
Funds administered by the
Oregon Business Develop-
ment Department.
We’re Here
To Serve You!
11 LOCATIONS
IN OREGON,
IDAHO &
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SS •
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1-800-752-8540
704 W. Hood Ave., Sisters
LANDSCAPE MATERIALS
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2.5" Drain (Round) ................. $58/yard
Pea Gravel ............................ $54/yard
Sand .................................... $38/yard
Bark Mulch (while supplies last) .. $45/yard
Dirt ...................................... $28/yard
2.5" Ballast ........................... $42/yard
3/4" Minus ........................... $24/yard
Bio Fine................................. $38/yard
$10 minimum order | One yard minimum on delivery
Delivery in town, $30 | Delivery out of town, $50
541-549-9631
331 W. Barclay Dr.
Mon-Fri: 7 am-5:30 pm | Sat: 8 am-5 pm
www.SistersRental.com
FARM • RENTAL