Four Season Fitness Studio Co-Owners, Barbara Patten and Cassandra Thompson, present a check to TCRM Executive Director Sister Mary O’Brien. (Provided Photo)
On Oct. 1, Four Seasons Fitness Studio kicked off its “Planksgiving Challenge.” The “plank” part involves maintaining the body in a rigid position, supported on elbows and toes. Twenty-six members participated.
They began by holding a plank position for one minute; each week the time was increased by 30 seconds, with the goal of maintaining the position for five minutes by Thanksgiving week. The thirteen members who succeeded were entered into a drawing to win a free massage (donated by Willow Tree Massage, won by Kathy Seitel-West).
The “giving” part of the challenge required each participant to donate one food item each time he or she took part in the exercise. On Dec. 2, studio co-owners Barbara Patten and Cassandra Thompson presented Tioga County Rural Ministry (TCRM) with the collected “entry fees”, over 100 pounds of canned goods and other food items. Receiving the donation, TCRM Executive Director Sister Mary O’Brien remarked at the studio’s ingenuity in developing an activity that benefitted its participants through improved physical fitness, at the same time feeding the hungry.
Four Seasons has a history of sponsoring such events. The studio regularly participates in TCRM’s annual “Soap for Hope” campaign. They have also hosted two Spinathons, raising a combined total of over $15,000, which was donated to the American Kidney Cancer Foundation in the name of Valerie Gundrum, former studio owner who died of kidney cancer in 2012.
Patten remarked that Four Seasons is committed not only to challenging their members to maintain a high standard of physical fitness, but also to become involved in their community as positive agents for change.
