Image credit: hoyasmeg

How can you get kids to exercise more? Here are some tried-and-tested ideas gathered from friends and relatives who’ve successfully balanced couch potato time with lots of good exercise time with their kids.

1. Exercise as a family. Kids will learn how to appreciate getting fit even more if they see their parents are genuinely interested in exercise too. 5-year-old Max and her parents go to a university’s open grounds every Sunday for a brisk walk around the campus. It’s become a Sunday bonding ritual for the family, with the benefits of good exercise too.
2. Walk the dog. Don’t let Dad walk the dog alone again. Bring your children along during the walk.
3. Play tag. What kid doesn’t want to run around in an open space chasing other kids? Better yet, play tag with your kids. That would make for great memories for them too.
4. Get a home gaming console that encourages movement. If the kids are resistant to getting out of the house and are still holding on to those game control pads, maybe video games that involve players’ actual moves can transition them into exercise better. Think Wii games.
5. Use walking time as bonding time. When she was a child, Cherry’s grandfather would take her along during his morning walks. During these moments together, he would share stories about the war and his younger days. Their walks around the neighborhood built not only their endurance but their relationship as well.
6. Blend activity into daily routines. Teach kids to take stairs instead of elevators.
7. Set play dates in playgrounds. Encourage interaction among children among slides and monkey bars, not just dollhouses and train sets.
8. Bring out the bicycles. Bicycling is great aerobic activity. And think about all the sights you and your children can explore as you bicycle around town together!
9. Schedule exploring sessions. Curiosity is strong among children. Why not engage their senses by taking them on hikes? Check out kid-friendly hiking trails in your area.
10. Don’t be afraid to let the kids get dirty. One strong hindrance to playtime is getting stains on those cute clothes. The more they stay put, the cleaner their clothes will stay, yes. That gets quite limiting for children, doesn’t it? Let go of that possible fear or disdain of washing dirty clothes. Let your kids be kids. The more free they feel, the more they can move around and get fit.

And finally, have fun. While good health is the goal of good exercise, remember that getting fit is more enjoyable when everyone is having fun. And since we’re dealing with children here, fun could be the primary motivation.

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Getting Your Kids to Exercise More

*Push-ups – Men need good upper body strength to support themselves in the missionary position.  Push-ups build muscles and help increase endurance. They don’t mention it, but the yoga position known as The Plank would also help here. Lean forward with forearms along the floor, hands in fists, feet bent down, toes on floor. Lift mid-section off the floor and support your weight on forearms and toes. Try to keep your body in a straight line, butt tucked in, not poking out. Hold for as long as you can, work up to 1 minute at time. Works your arms and core.

*Pelvic Tilts – A long time favorite of women, pelvic tilts help to increase control in pelvis region. A tilted pelvis helps a man to position himself for better friction for the woman in the cowgirl position. Lay on your back, bend knees, feet on floor, lift butt up off the floor, toward the ceiling, hold for 2 seconds, return to floor. You are trying to lift everything, except your feet and shoulders off the floor.

*First 1/2 of a Clean Lift – To support your lady in a standing position, you need leg and upper body strength. The first half of a Clean Lift works well here. Put a barbell or dumbbells in front of you. Bend your knees, pick up weight(s) with hands facing opposite directions, shoulder width apart. Straighten up, keeping back and head straight. Pause, lower the weights back down. Do 3 sets of 15.

*Shrug – The wheelbarrow requires strong shoulders and back. A shrug move helps to strengthen this area. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Stand straight, lift shoulders only, as high as possible, keep arms straight, pause, then lower. Do 3 sets of 8-12.

*Cardio- Any sort of cardio increases endurance and gentlemen, I’m sure it’s no surprise to learn that the ladies appreciate it when you are able to take your time.

Image credit: All Posters.com

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Men, Exercise, and Sex

To show you just how easy it is to walk for your health, the American Heart Association has started a National Start! Walking Day. The day is April 8th, and you are encouraged to participate!

The movement has a website with loads of great information on getting your coworkers involved as well. Wouldn’t it be great to go for a walk at lunch instead of sit and complain about your job? You don’t need a lot of time to do this, either. The site says that ” just 10 minutes three times a day to walk will help you live longer. In fact, studies show that just one hour of vigorous exercise will increase your life expectancy by two hours.”

Why not commit to a healthier lifestyle and join others who want to do the same? Mark your calendar for April 8th, and encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Image from www.sxc.hu.

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National Start Walking Day

If someone told you to go for a moderately intense walk, what would that mean to you? If you ask your coworkers or friends, you’d likely get differing answers too. It’s fine for healthcare professionals to offer advice, but we need to be more specific and detailed with this advice, don’t we?

Maybe now, we’re getting somewhere though. According to a press release issued by Elsevier Health Sciences, “Researchers have determined that a rate of at least 100 steps per minute achieves moderate intensity activity. Therefore a simple pedometer-based recommendation of 3000 steps in 30 minutes can get people started on a meaningful exercise program.”

That’s a fairly brisk walk, I think – but it is do-able.

The release also says:

Lead investigator Simon J. Marshall, PhD, School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, states, “We believe that these data support a general recommendation of walking at more than 100 steps per minute on level terrain to meet the minimum of the moderate-intensity guideline. Because health benefits can be achieved with bouts of exercise lasting at least 10 minutes, a useful starting point is to try and accumulate 1000 steps in 10 minutes, before building up to 3000 steps in 30 minutes. Individuals can monitor their progress using a simple pedometer and a wristwatch. The use of a single and simple pedometer-based guideline that is easy both to remember and measure may be more effective in a health communication strategy than the promotion of multiple guidelines and, therefore, messages.”

I often make fun of some studies and how useless they are to us, but this is a good one that actually gives us something to work with. Bravo to the researchers who worked on this study. I offer you the Blisstree Health Pat on the Back award.

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Image: morguefile.com

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Define “Moderate-Intensity Walking”

For me, I love to walk.  Since I live in a colder climate, I like having DVDs around so I can keep up my exercise routine without having to go outside.  The DVDs I use most frequently are by Leslie Sansone.

Leslie has generously donated a few DVDs to us for giveaway items, and I have one for you to win today!  It’s the Walk Slim 4 Fast Miles DVD.  That’s right, four miles of indoor walking for your exercise pleasure!

Here’s a sneak peak of the DVD:

Doesn’t that look like fun?  I actually have this DVD so I can tell you it is.

Would you like to win the Walk Slim DVD?  Just leave a comment on this post by Sunday, March 29th.  I’ll choose a winner at random and announce the lucky guy or gal the next day.  Good luck!

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Win a Walk Slim DVD

A few months ago she sent some DVDs my way to give to all the loyal readers we have at b5. Since we’re starting our new site called Blisstree, I thought: What better way to celebrate than with a giveaway?

I have a copy of Leslie Sansone’s Teen Walk DVD to give to one lucky reader. In my teen years, we biked and walked everywhere. I knew very few kids that were heavy or out of shape. But times are different now. Here’s a sneak peek into the DVD:

Since our new site is called “Blisstree,” I’d like to hear about the things that give you bliss. There are no right or wrong answers, of course, so include your blissful choice along with your comment below. Your comment will serve at your entry into the giveaway. Do this by Thursday, March 26th. I’ll choose a winner at random and announce the lucky guy or gal the next day.

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Teen Walk Giveaway

I can spend 1 of them exercising.

(And if I haven’t been doing it at 6 am when its pitch black and the mythical rapist is the only one out at the track – well, during The View or Oprah on my garage sale eliptical is still an hour of exercise. And if I ate 4 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies last week, oh well – I still got all those exercise endorphans to my brain!)

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One Hour a Day

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February Fat Failure

At RealAge.com you log on and take a test about your exercise, eating habits, vitamins and supplements, social habits, diseases or illnesses and vices like smoking and drinking.

I updated my Real Age this week and I’ve gotten SEVEN YEARS YOUNGER as a result of my lifestyle changes in the last two years. Since last year I’ve reduced my Real Age by nearly THREE years.

Chronologically I am 35.4 years old, yet my Real Age is only 32.5.

When I began my dramatic lifestyle change two years ago, I took the Real Age test. I was 33 at the time, but because of my lazy-ass lifestyle, my pack a day smoking habit for 20 years, and the demon of anxiety and depression that controlled my life, not to mention living in a horrendous environment that made me sick with allergies all the time – I was 38.5 years.

Screw That.

In 2009 I’m upping the ante again. I never want to make any changes I can’t consistently do for the rest of my life. Last year I maintained my weight at 166. Being able to maintain for one year has given me more confidence because I know I made a true lifestyle change that will last. Now, I’m ready to step it up and make more – as I wrote last week in The Secret to Weighty Resolutions.

I started on Christmas Day so it’s been 14 days. I’ve been dedicated to running before the family starts their day. And I’m doing it. Few logistical issues I’m working out, but overall I’m loving it.

It’s dark when I head out to the 1 mile track at the park, so I get to see the sunrise during my run. Awesome. That scary looking guy – the only other person out there at that hour – was sent by God to protect me. He’s getting in his morning run in, the same as I am.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I follow my run with an hour of yoga. It’s still the kindest thing I do for myself.

I’ve lost 2 pounds. I’m logging my calories and educating myself about what I’m eating. In turn, I’m making better choices based on actual facts and not just my own theories about how many calories might be or probably are in foods I eat. It’s impossible to eat consciously if you don’t even know what’s in your food.

Go take the Real Age test and come back and tell me how old you really are. Are you happy with the results? What are you going to do about it?

Oh, and check out Weighting Line if you started the year with a weight loss goal in mind.

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I Keep Getting Younger Every Year

Images Source: Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me

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No Children in Workout Area