Jump for Joy's Homepage

Palmyra AM (Mon. & Fri. - 9:15am - 10:25am) starts Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 at Gravel Hill United Methodist Church, 131 Gravel Hill Rd., Palmyra

*Palmyra AM (Wed. - 9:15am - 10:25am) starts Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008 at Gravel Hill United Methodist Church, 131 Gravel Hill Rd., Palmyra

Palmyra PM (Tues. & Thurs. - 6:15pm - 7:25pm) starts Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 at Trinity United Church of Christ, 40 West Pine & South Railroad St., Palmyra

Hummelstown PM (Tues. & Thurs. - 7:00pm - 8:10pm) starts Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 at Grace United Methodist Church, 433 East Main St., Hummelstown

Using the same upbeat music as the other classes, this class emphasizes strength training.

Strength training has been shown to reduce the risk for osteoporosis and related bone fractures as well as improve bone density.

For Body and Soul, Women 'Jumping for Joy'

By Janet A. Misiolek
For the Patriot-News

In various area churches, women are strengthening their bodies and spirits with aerobics-- and they’re “jumping for joy” about it.
“Most people don’t like to exercise, so we have to make it fun for them, so they’ll come back,” says Lynn Elliot Kuhn, director of the nondenominational nonprofit Christian program, Jump for Joy. That fun includes lively dance routines and Christian friendship.
Kuhn of Palmyra started the program 18 years ago, and it’s been expanding ever since.
Kuhn had taught secular-music aerobics for 10 years. When her church started using up-beat praise music, she got the idea of blending the rhythmic Christian tunes and her aerobics routines.
The sessions begin with 10 minutes of prayer and devotion, and Kuhn emphasizes that the classes are a way to uplift women from their stresses. “For a brief time, it centers them away from the daily bombardment.”
The routines are mixed- or low-impact to prevent injuries.
There are no mirrors and no self-consciousness at the sessions, attended by a mixed age group.
“One of the great things about it,” Kuhn says, “is that we support each other. Maybe a young woman will have been up all night with a fussy child, and there’s an older woman there who has been through it, and she can give some encouragement.
“Then a younger woman might say to an older person, ‘You look great. I hope I’ll look like you.’ Everyone’s very friendly.

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Instructors: Kathy Pyle & Joyce Lochinger

Instructors: (l. to r.) Joyce Lochinger , Deb Ginder, Leesa Caputo, Kathy Pyle, & Lynn Kuhn (founder).

Lebanon Class - (Back row, l. to r.) - Sue Hein, Tara Kauffman, Patricia Kauffman, Jill Reed, & Audrey Lied. (Front row, l. to r.) - Deb Ginder, Mary Morrisey, & Rose Lutz.

Classes, at $44 for 8 weeks, are held mornings and evenings at churches in Palmyra, Hummelstown, Lebanon and Camp Hill. One of the newest Jump for Joy programs, the first on the West Shore, was started at Camp Hill Presbyterian Church, with instructor Becky Michaelian. “We’re getting a good response,” she says. “You don’t have to belong to a church to join. We have half church members, half non-church members in the group.”

Michaelian says the classes are “user-friendly. It’s not a hymn sing, but it’s not killer aerobics either. You don’t have to be Denise Austin to join in. You can gauge the activity to your own level. If it’s too intense for a time, you can just march in place.”
She also likes the program’s consistency.
“Lynn Kuhn selects the music and makes up the routines.” Michaelian says. “She makes a video for the instructors. If you miss a session at one place, all the instructors are doing the same routines, so you can pick up a class at another location.”
The women are friendly and enjoy one another’s company, she says.

An ardent exerciser, Andrews says the classes keep her young. “I love the way it makes me feel,” she says. “It makes you sleep well, and wakes you up in the morning. I could walk, but I prefer the group activity. I like the music and dance. I like to keep in shape." Joyce Lochinger, 39, and Vicki Smith, 50, both of Palmyra, attend sessions at East Shore locations, and they’re just as enthused as Andrews.
Smith, who goes to classes at Trinity United Church of Christ, Palmyra, says that if she’s in a bad mood going in, she’ll feel better going out.
“I do aerobics for a better frame of mind,” Smith says, “and I’ve made lots of Christian friends. It’s a great group; people feel comfortable. If anyone has a problem, we pray for them.”
Lochinger, who attends classes at Gravel Hill United Methodist, Palmyra, appreciates the contemporary Christian music, including rap, with meaningful words, messages and rhythms.
“We do an energetic aerobic routine,” Lochinger says. “We do the exercise for our bodies, but we also have the devotions, so it’s good spiritually, too.”