Kids at play or fitness in action?
Dreger
If you’ve ever watched kids on a playground, you’ve seen the three elements of fitness in action when they:
Run away from the kid who’ is “it” — endurance.
Cross the monkey bars — strength.
Bend down to tie their shoes — flexibility.
Parents should encourage their kids to do a variety of activities so that they can work on all three elements. Endurance is developed when kids regularly engage in aerobic activity. During aerobic exercise, the heart beats faster and a person breathes harder. When done regularly and for continuous periods of time, aerobic activity strengthens the heart and improves the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to all its cells.
Aerobic exercise can be fun for both adults and kids. Examples of aerobic activities include: basketball, bicycling, ice-skating, in-line skating, soccer, swimming, tennis, walking, jogging and running.
Improving strength doesn’t have to mean lifting weights. Although some kids benefit from lifting weights, it should be done under the supervision of an experienced adult who works with them.
However, most kids don’t need a formal weight-training program to be strong. Push-ups, stomach crunches, pull-ups, and other exercises help tone and strengthen muscles. Kids also incorporate strength activities in their play when they climb, do a handstand or wrestle.
Stretching exercises help improve flexibility, allowing muscles and joints to bend and move easily through their full range of motion. Kids look for opportunities every day to stretch when they try to get a toy just out of reach, practice a split, or flip over the couch.
As a parent having raised two boys, and the second mother to a few of their friends … trust me, they will decide to flip over the couch right when you’ve folded an extremely large pile of laundry — and, the laundry will be included with the “flip.” Remember, life is short. Laugh it off — and teach them how to fold laundry.
The sedentary problem The percentage of overweight kids has more than doubled over the past 30 years. Although many factors contribute to this epidemic, kids are becoming more sedentary. In other words, they’re sitting around a lot more than they used to … and unfortunately … so are most adults.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the average child is watching about three hours of television a day. And the average kid spends 5 1/2 hours on all media combined, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. What an insane amount of time wasted, especially when most of that time is spent on social media or games.
Young kids should not be inactive for prolonged periods of time — no more than 1 hour unless they’re sleeping. And school-age children should not be inactive for periods longer than 2 hours.
One of the best ways to get kids to be more active is to limit the amount of time spent in sedentary activities, especially watching TV
or playing video games. Encourage your kids to play outside, go for a bike ride with them after dinner or a walk. Engaging in physical activity is a wonderful opportunity to spend more quality time with your child. Try to think of ways this week to make the switch.
To kick off your journey, head on over to nataliedreger.com for a free weight loss plan.
Natalie Dreger is a certified fitness professional and can be reached at nataliedreger.com.