Welcome to the category of my blog simply called ‘Healthy Tips.’ Many times, when I write articles for various publications, I need to find sources for the story as seen in Yahoo Shine (click here) or PBS (click here) about staying healthy. I was looking for experts and non-experts to chime in and give their favorite ‘tips’ to help kids and adults lead a healthy lifestyle.
The feedback for various stories was amazing. The sources had some fantastic points of view that could not be ignored, and I thought their opinions should be viewed on the Your Health Journal web site.
So, enjoy my new series, with some ‘great’ insight from some ‘great’ people giving exceptional and educational points of view.
The importance of families exercising together
Children mimic what their heroes (i.e. parents) do. The habits they establish in their pre-teen and teenage years create a lifestyle foundation for years to come. You rarely hear someone age 43 say, “You now I think I’m going to start smoking cigarettes!” It just doesn’t happen. It is essential that kids create healthy habits early so that they are cemented in their lives. The health risks and costs associated with obesity and sedentary living has been stated time and time again. Do parents want to save years of suffering and improve their retirement account? Then get off the couch, grab the kids and get active! Equally important is for parents to live by example by making good healthy choices. The “Do as I say, not as I do” method of parenting went out with the horse and buggy.
Suggestions / creative ideas to get families to exercise together
1. Create your own Family Olympics. Go to your local track and have races; to your local pool and be like Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin; perform a tumbling routine and go for the gold!
2. Have each member choose a sport or activity and have the entire family participate for one month.
3. Get a deck of cards and take the 3’s and 4’s out of the deck. Select four different exercises (one for each suit in the deck). Have each member flip a card over. The suit on the card tells them which exercise they have to perform. The number on the card tells them how many repetitions they have to perform (Jacks=11, Queens=12, Kings=13, Aces=15). If the person draws a 2 (deuce) or a Joker then they have to flip the next card over and double the amount of that card! Once each family member has drawn five cards the workout is over…well almost over. The person with the best poker hand is immune to the last series of exercises called “Leg Cranks”. Leg Cranks are a group of leg exercises performed back-to-back without resting. They are: 24 Squats, 24 Lunges, 24 Split Jumps, and 12 Squat Jumps.
4. Use working out as a carrot on a stick for a bigger reward. One example would be to commit to exercising 3-4 days per week as a family for eight weeks. If this is achieved then the family gets the agreed upon reward (e.g. vacation, dinner and a movie, camping trip, etc.)
Reasons why families are not exercising together as much in our modern day era
Schedules are too packed with things that are not truly the first priority. There are too many time-saving and labor-saving devices that take away from using the body the way it was designed to be used. Divorce rate is at an all time high and fractured families are more common than the traditional nuclear family (Mom, Dad, kids, etc.). Last but not least, we as humans follow the path of least resistance – it’s easier to do nothing than it is do go and do something. IT REQUIRES EFFORT ON EVERYONE”S PART.
– Rocky Snyder, CSCS, CES, (Father of two children (5&9 yrs.) and married to the same woman for the last 12 years), Author of “Fit to Surf: The Surfer’s Guide to Strength & Conditioning”, “Fit to Paddle: The Paddler’s Guide to Strength & Conditioning”, and “Fit to Ski & Snowboard: The Skier’s and Boarder’s Guide to Strength & Conditioning”.