Hey, Campers!

We find celebrities who were once summer campers like yourselves all the time here at Everything Summer Camp because there were so many of them who went to camp. Some of them went on to become famous people.

There are musicians, athletes, actors and actresses, as well as all kinds of celebrities who were once summer campers! Did you know that Galadriel Stineman was once a summer camper too? Though you may know her better as Gwen Tennyson from the action movie, ‘Ben 10: Alien Swarm’.

Yes, Galadriel is an alum of the North Central 4-H Camp in Carlisle, Kentucky. She spent some of her best summer days a couple hours from her home in Cincinnati. Running across 350 acres of rolling hills and wooded campgrounds just off of Lake Carnico, there she learned great lessons about community life and independence.

She attended Newport Central High School in Kentucky back in 2002 where she developed her interests in cheerleading, dancing, and horseback riding. She was involved in the drama club back then, though she never played a starring role in the school plays. After completing high school, she went on to attend the Northern Kentucky University. She graduated in 2007.

Her debut role came in 2009 as a dancer in the remake of ‘Fame’. But her breakthrough didn’t come until later that same year when the Cartoon Network animated series ‘Ben 10’ announced its third film release. She landed the role of Gwen Tennyson.

Galadriel is only in the beginning stages of her career, but she’s already making a great name for herself and keeps on going! She’s appeared as a recurring character a dozen times on the family sitcom ‘The Middle’ playing Cassidy Finch.

Summer camp certainly helped Galadriel realize her dreams. Where will your dreams lead you? You can get an idea at summer camp. As, always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey there, History Buffs!

If you really ARE history buffs, then you probably already know what today is—the birthday of our nation’s third president, Thomas Jefferson. An irregular president and rather intriguing man, I thought I’d share just a few facts with you about this infamous character who adorns the rare $2 bill as well as our American nickel. I’ve compiled a list of—what I think to be—this president’s most interesting qualities.

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1)    To start things off, he was nicknamed the ‘Man of the People’ as our president because of his informal apparel when he greeted visitors of the White House. He would sit to meet with powerful men of the time in his robe and slippers without concerning about his reputation—after all, he was already the president!

2)    More admirable than his love for lounging, Jefferson loved books. He loved them so much that when British troops attacked the US Library of Congress and burned all the books in 1814, he restocked its shelves when it was rebuilt a year later with 6,587 books from his own personal library. He loved to read and loved to encourage literacy across the nation.

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3)    Last, and most interesting, is the inscription of Jefferson’s headstone: “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.”—nothing about being the third president of a new nation. Why didn’t he bother to include his presidency? Possibly because he wasn’t sure how he felt about politics in the first place.

Yes, Jefferson had more interest in science and reading than he did politics, but, nevertheless he led our nation for two full terms from 1801 to 1809. There are lots of other quirky things you can learn about this former president (like his obsession with Mastadons, for instance, which he confused for Mammoths). Enjoy learning about ol’ Jefferson and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

With a fast-approaching camp season, Everything Summer Camp wants to help out. That’s why we’re giving tips on fitness for your camper every Monday in April. Camp is fun, but the activities can be strenuous—lots of camps will actually refuse a camper if they haven’t had a thorough physical examination to guarantee that their body is well enough in shape for the rough and tumble lifestyle at summer camp.

Last week I talked about general stretches and exercises you can do to help get yourself into shape for traditional camp sports and activities that will involve a lot of stamina, flexibility, and strength. But today’s post is all about conditioning your body specifically for horseback riding.

Of course, riding is a work out in itself, but the best way to develop your equestrian ability is to work on your fitness outside of the saddle. Here are five effective exercises to help build your core strength and suitability for riding. Watch the video at the bottom of this post to get a great visualization on how to perform these exercises. Experienced riders recommend 8-12 repetitions of each workout:

Seated Ball Squeeze
Work your inner thigh muscles by sitting on a chair, placing a kickball/soccer ball between your thighs, and squeezing the ball firmly for 5 to 10 seconds. This exercise builds your adductors—critical muscles for horseback riding.

Bridge with Ball Squeeze
This exercise is meant to strengthen a rider’s inner thighs, gluteus, and core muscles. The idea is to lie on your back and bend your knees with or without a ball between your thighs—then lift your buttocks off the floor and  squeeze the ball. You should hold this position for 8 to 15 seconds.

Forward Lunge
Excellent conditioning for the proper seat, this exercise works on your quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus, abdominal muscles, and spinal erector muscles in your back. You can do practice this exercise with or without dumbbells in your hands. You should stand upright with your feet together and then take a large stride forward with your right foot until your left light is just about straight. Push yourself back to the starting position. And then repeat with your left foot.

Skater Style Lateral Lunge
For further conditioning, this exercise will have you looking like a speed skater. Stand with your feet wide apart and bend your right knee while touching your right foot with your left hand. Your back should be flat and your head up.

Front Squat
Lastly, give everything a once-over with this all-encompassing exercise. Simply stand with your feet at shoulder-width apart and, with your back straight and head up, bend at the knees until your thighs are nearly parallel to the ground. Then push yourself back up.

Check out this video to get a clearer ‘picture’ of how to perform these exercises. Be sure to tune in next Monday when I’ll be talking about how to prepare yourself for Rockwall Climbing and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Looking for a great summer camp to send your camper to? Well, it just so happens I have an amazing summer camp to brag about today! Everything Summer Camp is more-than-happy to present Cape Cod Sea Camps for boys and girls with whom we have the pleasure of working.

Named for its location, the campgrounds sit comfortably on the beautiful shores of Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts for a wonderful peek into waters of the Atlantic Ocean! Surrounded by woods, water, and awe-inspiring beauty, Cape Cod Sea Camps is a perfectly picturesque camp for your campers’ immersion into the natural world.

With a ton of fun ways to keep their campers occupied, you can have all sorts of fun at Cape Cod Sea Camps. This camp boasts a reputation for exceptional activities including Archery, Riflery, Tennis, Arts, Land Sports, Drama, Woodworking, Guitar, an incredible assortment of Water Sports, and so much more.

But there’s more to this summer camp than just the unique location and its rich history of family run operation since the mid-20’s. These campgrounds are a monument to self-reliance, independence, self-confidence, exploration, and respect. Campers discover a chance to express themselves to their full capacity at Cape Cod.

With beautiful cabins and cottages for convenient camp stays along 1000 feet of shoreline, Cape Cod Sea Camps has your magnificent summer camp stay covered. Here, campers get a feel for a sense of belonging to a community they’ve never known the likes of before. Look into a summer camp stay for your camper right here and show them the magic of Cape Cod Camps.

Cape Cod Sea Camps is a fantastic camp where each and every camper is made to feel welcome as part of the camp community and is also given the opportunity to discover some things out about themselves that may not have been revealed without the summer camp experience.

For an excellent summer camp stay for your soon-to-be-camper, check out Cape Cod Sea Camps for yourself and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

The camp season approaches so fast and brings so much to do to get ready for! It’s smart to start preparing now. One thing you can take care of right now is to make the appointment for your camper’s physical. Camp activities are fun, but strenuous on the body which is why any soon-to-be-camper should have a thorough examination to ensure their physical fitness is adequate. In fact, many camps will refuse a camper who hasn’t had their physical.

Every Monday this month, we’ll be focusing on fitness and how to condition yourself for the rigors of summer camp. I’ll give you great tips about stretches and exercises you can do in preparation of particular summer camp activities. But before we get into any specifics, today I’ll be sharing general ways to make sure you have the energy to get through an average day of summer camp.

For most camps, traditional sports are a staple of the camp activities they offer. Campers might find themselves playing a sport they don’t otherwise play very often like basketball, soccer, tennis, and plenty others. These sports all require you to be quick on your feet with a good amount of running as well as upper and lower body strength.

Similar exercises will cover multiple athletic activities—pretty much all of the traditional sports. You can get yourself into better shape with simple routines. Try pushups and chin-ups (if available) for building your upper body strength. Here’s a helpful video to show you a proper push-up and this video shows you a proper chin-up.

Squats and lunges are great means of building your hip and leg muscles. And jump rope is especially great for conditioning your calves. Here’s a video that’s targeted toward tennis players, however it’s a helpful workout for all types of activities. On top of all this, running or jogging is a wonderful calisthenics workout and builds stamina for all the back and forth running you’ll do playing these sports.

Just as important as good exercises, stretching is key to your flexibility which is called upon a lot in sports that you’ll likely play at camp. Try stretching as shown in these drawings to get yourself limber. 

                                            l   l  Don’t forget to tune in next Monday when I’ll cover more specific exercises and stretches you can do for horseback riding. Get fit and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John