Health and Fitness

The P.E. Paradox

Lately we've been bombarded with news stories about how unfit America's kids are today, yet very few schools offer P.E. to their students on a daily basis. Many elementary school kids have P.E. only once a week. Some educators blame the federally mandated program, No Child Left Behind, for forcing schools to cut programs like music and P.E. to make room for extra math and reading time. Is P.E. still important in a world where test scores mean everything?

Health and Fitness

Strength Training for Kids: Is it Safe?

For years the fitness industry has recommended that children refrain from weight training until after puberty. There was concern that resistance training would damage the body's growth plates and stunt a child's musculoskeletal development. Recent research, however, has shown that kids actually benefit from a strength training program. Still not convinced? Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Sports Medicine support youth strength training-as long as it's done correctly.

Health and Fitness

Balancing Life and Fitness: My Journey

During my time on the road visiting schools for The Muscle Mania Tour, I often have adults pull me aside and ask me for tips on losing weight. I once had a cab driver in Queens ask me how he could lose belly fat. I used to be at a loss for words when presented with this situation. In my work with kids, my philosophy has always been to view exercise as a way to a healthy, fit body. That's what I emphasize when I teach kid's classes, and since I often get my workout while I'm teaching, that mentality has spilled over into my own personal views on exercise. Then I had a baby...

Health and Fitness

Making Exercise Fun: Family Circuit Training #1

Last week I wrote about the concept of circuit training and how simple it is to do at home with your family. (See Family Circuit Training.) From an exercise science point of view, the benefit of circuit training is the ability to get your cardiovascular and strength training done in one shot.

Health and Fitness

Making Exercise Fun: Introduction to Family Circuit Training

Circuit Training is a great way to get the whole family up and moving. If you’re not familiar with the nuts and bolts of circuit training, it’s best described as a series of pre-set exercise stations. The participants rotate around to each station every minute or so. Upbeat music may play in the background. Many of the popular women’s exercise facilities popping up around town are based on the circuit-training concept.

Health and Fitness

Body Awareness: Your Child's Foundation for a Healthy Life

During my workouts at elementary schools, I am witness to one of my favorite developmental milestones: watching my youngest students discovering how their body works. Many educators use the phrase “Body Awareness” to describe this burgeoning knowledge in young children. Simply defined, Body Awareness is the recognition of different parts of one’s own body, how those parts move, and their relationship to the environment.

Family Health

Joining the Revolution

I’ve recently been asked by a school district in Los Angeles to develop and lead an after-school class based on Dance Dance Revolution. I didn’t know how to answer. The truth is, somehow I’ve gone all this time without being indoctrinated by the craze that’s sweeping the nation. For those of you not yet acquainted with DDR, as it’s often called, it’s a video game where you match your feet to arrows on a computerized mat that match the arrows on a television screen. It’s accompanied by popular music and keeps score of all your missteps.

Child Health

Family Time Infused with Fitness

Ideally, kids should be getting at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity cardiovascular activity daily. I’m also a believer in allocating at least 30 minutes of family time each day. But between school, homework, after school lessons, and busy working parents, it’s tough to do both. And what about your workout? Hah! That’s been on the back burner for weeks, right?

Child Health

An Unlikely Fitness Professional

I can still remember my sweaty palms and racing heart when it was time to "pick teams". I dreaded P.E. I was picked last for every team. I (gladly) spent most of my school years sitting on the sidelines. There was one time in 6th grade when I was so paralyzed by fear that I chose a trip to the principal’s office rather than go up to bat during softball. If my 6th grade P.E. teacher could see me now!

Child Health

The Fit Family, Volume 1