{"id":2762,"date":"2018-01-18T02:42:23","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T02:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/52.10.1.109\/?p=2762"},"modified":"2018-01-20T00:30:02","modified_gmt":"2018-01-20T00:30:02","slug":"a-stronger-cord-for-wellness-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/?p=2762","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Stronger Cord\u2019 for wellness and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former newsman pitches fitness and community to business leaders<\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach\u201d Mark McIntosh makes a point to the Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce: \u201cWe\u2019re out to unite communities through wellness.\u201d The former television newscaster founded A Stronger Cord four years ago as a way to combine fitness with community service. Photo by Peter Jones<\/p>\n

Mark McIntosh remembers the genesis of A Stronger Cord, the fitness and community-building \u201cnon-organization\u201d he created four years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

This sort of mix of exercise and social responsibility is what tends to happen when you book your morning workout right before your volunteer stint at Denver Rescue Mission.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, when I showed up at 7:30 on Thursday morning, I\u2019d be telling these guys about the importance of fitness to their recovery,\u201d McIntosh said of his mission visits.<\/span><\/p>\n

A recovering meth addict had evidently heard enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018When in the [expletive] are we going to start working out?\u2019\u201d McIntosh recalled. \u201cAnd that was the birth of A Stronger Cord.\u201d<\/p>\n

The author, motivational speaker and former television newsman is hoping business owners will be the next to demand action over talk. Last week, he made his pitch at the Guild co-working space to members of the Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe get in a little better shape, we get to know each other a little better, and then we go out in the community and perform good works,\u201d he said of his group\u2019s mission. \u201cWhat A Stronger Cord is all about is coming together and becoming more fit, more connected and more giving, becoming healthier. We\u2019re out to unite communities through wellness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is how the multi-pronged program works: Every Wednesday at 6 p.m., a loose nonsectarian coalition of everyone and anyone meets in the gym of All Souls Catholic Church, 4950 S. Logan St. in Englewood [largely because the church was the first to step forward with donated meeting space]. <\/span><\/p>\n

A half-hour of all-level, multi-disciplinary exercise [yoga, Pilates, Zumba and more] is followed by social time and a scheduled presentation that can range from inspirational to educational to simply entertaining. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe come together and we work out, and then we hang out,\u201d McIntosh said. <\/span><\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just the warmup.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn the weekends, we say, \u2018Let\u2019s go help these people,\u2019\u201d the group leader said. \u201cWe believe in the truth that it\u2019s better if we never grow weary of doing good for others. Guess what? We\u2019re going to reap the harvest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The group\u2019s weekly Saturday community service is aimed at two underserved groups\u2014single mothers living with their children in public housing and the often-lonely elderly that exist in assisted-living centers. <\/span><\/p>\n

McIntosh says the impulse for a group such as A Stronger Cord\u2014focused on equal parts fitness, friendship-building and community service\u2014is a natural reaction to the tumultuous world around us.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in challenging times in our country\u2019s history,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 Whether it\u2019s shootings at churches and whatever else, the craziness of our times. \u2026 At almost 60, I\u2019m not really proud of the country we\u2019re turning over [to the next generation]. We truly have to figure out how we can come together in a community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McIntosh says everyone\u2014literally\u2014is welcome, as well their children and grandparents<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t care if you\u2019re white, black or brown. You live in a mission. You live in a mansion. You live on Main Street. It doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t care if you\u2019re a Christian or Jew, Muslim, atheist\u2014we don\u2019t care. \u2026 Let\u2019s all get some exercise. We know that\u2019s good for us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the Englewood meetup, two other A Stronger Cord groups, all led by McIntosh, meet downtown and in the north metro area. McIntosh is also working to create a third group in Aurora Public Schools.<\/span><\/p>\n

The group founder told chamber members that A Stronger Cord would make for a robust teambuilding outlet\u2014and not just in the chamber as a whole.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be wonderful for your businesses, for your clients,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n

For more information, visit seekvictory.com.<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former newsman pitches fitness and community to business leaders \u201cCoach\u201d Mark McIntosh makes a point to the Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce: \u201cWe\u2019re out to unite communities through wellness.\u201d The former television newscaster founded A Stronger Cord four years ago as a way to combine fitness with community service. Photo by Peter Jones Mark McIntosh …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,13,46,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-features","category-health","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}