Even a few years ago the position of ‘epidemic’ was hold either by cancer or drugs. Not any more. Thanks to the fast and unheeded lifestyle lived by most American teenagers, teenage obesity has almost become one of America’s leading epidemics, and this is not an exaggeration.

Believe it or not, it didn’t become an epidemic in one day or year. During the last five decades Americans have become somewhat lazier and started preferring easy and comfortable lifestyle to hard work. American adults were probably the first to fall prey to obesity, followed by children and teenagers. Today American teenagers ape the unhealthy lifestyle habits of their parents, and teenage obesity is the natural outcome of it.

If you are a red-blooded American citizen you would probably voice a loud “NO” against obesity. After all, if a large percentage of a country’s population suffers from the pangs of killer obesity, what would be the future of such a country. It is no secret that people can keep their native country healthy only when they are fit and healthy themselves, and the secret to living a long and healthy life lies in losing the extra pounds.

Apart from the fact that obesity is itself a disease, it also brings forth several other killer diseases into the human body such as diabetes, hypertension, fatigue, irritability, high blood pressure, heart-related problems, stroke, etc., and even though instances of obesity-related deaths are rare, they DO occur nonetheless.

As for remedy, there is really nothing unique and new to be said here. Since it all started with following an easy and fast lifestyle, people need to revert the process by copying the healthy habits followed by their forefathers. In good old times, teenagers used to play outdoor sports such as volleyball, tennis, basketball, etc. Some of them even used to indulge in hula hooping, rope jumping, skiing, scuba diving, etc. Today’s teens prefer to sit at home and watch television or play video games. Is it then any wonder if they become overweight in due course of time?

Coming over to foods – chips, popcorn balls, candies and chocolates are as much favored by a teen as a pre-teen. In fact even adults take a fancy to these delicious foods. When teens see their parents enjoying a packet of popcorn while watching a Hollywood movie, they get even more encouraged to follow the same routine. Add to that the fact that today’s teens attend dozens of parties just like their parents and you cannot expect a party without beer or soda.

Junk foods have entrapped us so much that we have almost made them an integral part of our staple diet by eating them all the time, be it at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Once again the outcome of following such unhealthy eating habits couldn’t be anything else except obesity.

It is difficult to modify a teenager’s eating habits unless you take recourse to coercion in some form or other, which in turn would do more harm than good. The best way to tackle the situation is by monitoring your kid’s lifestyle habits right from the start.

From a very young age, they should be taught the benefits of playing tennis over watching videos games or PSPs. They should also be taught that chips and cookies are not their friends and that they should eat organic fruits and vegetables as often as possible. These simple measures would go a long way in keeping them fit and healthy throughout their whole life.

Don’t forget that you should also follow the same healthy lifestyle you expect your children to follow.

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Tags: America, basketball, cancer, diabetes, fatigue, high blood pressure, hypertension, obesity, outdoor sports, scuba diving, skiing, stroke, Tennis, volleyball

In good old times, when there was no video game, PSP, IPOD or computer, one needn’t worry about telling their kids to engage themselves in outdoor sports and exercises. Children would do it on their own, having no other (read better) choice. However, in this age of gizmos and gadgets, kids have become so much addicted to video games, TV and computers that rarely, if ever, do they venture out of home except for school classes, forget about exercising or playing sports.

As times change, parents need to change too. Now that kids no longer have any inclination for exercise, you, as a parent, need to be proactive about it, IF you want to ensure a healthy future for your kids, that is.

How would exercise benefit my kids, you may ask. Well, for starters, exercises would keep your kids fit, not only now but also forever, provided that they continue with the exercises. When kids are accustomed to leading an active life, there is little chance that they would become inactive as they grow into adulthood.

In fact, several studies have pointed out that people who lead active lives as kids usually continue with the same active lifestyle as adults; such people are much less likely to suffer from obesity, or obesity-related diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary diseases, sleep apnea, etc., than those who lead a sedentary lifestyle right from childhood.

Apart from making him physically strong and immune to diseases, exercises also make your child mentally healthy. A kid who exercises regularly is more likely to get good grades in exams, have more self-confidence, and be in a better position to socialize, than one who doesn’t exercise at all or exercises rarely. Again, these are not all lame speculations but rather proven scientific facts.

Now, here are some exercise tips for Kids:

a) Kids, being impatient by nature, won’t stick to anything, especially hard work, which lasts for more than half-an-hour. This is why kids shouldn’t be made to exercise for more than half-an-hour per day, unless they want to. If they exercise for too long, they are likely to become either bored or frustrated with their exercise routine, and that is something that you won’t want to happen.

b) Kids are least likely to be motivated to exercise if they have to go to a gym and do boring workouts. A much better alternative is to buy them a treadmill. Keep the treadmill at home and let your kids have fun with it.

c) Kids become bored very quickly, so make sure that you don’t force them to engage in the same workout day after day. For example, if your kids do the treadmill workout on the first day, have them do some hula hooping on the next day. Then send them on a scavenger hunt on the third day, tell them to play a sport like cricket or baseball on the fourth day, and engage them in relay race, swimming, skiing, or dancing on the fifth day.

With a variety of exercise activites for Kids to be done throughout the week, you can be rest assured that your kids would never become bored of exercises. Don’t forget to engage your kids in domestic chores too, as this would also help them stay fit.

Tags: baseball, coronary diseases, cricket, diabetes, high blood pressure, ipod, obesity, outdoor sports, skiing, sleep apnea, Swimming

Are you a busy professional who hardly has time to eat or sleep properly, let alone exercises? I will tell you of some Fitness for Busy Professionals that is not only fun to do but also the least time consuming.

How about skiing? Just imagine, you are on your brand new ski, skiing down across a sloppy icy terrain. Just a little far away, you see two different symbols for two separate directions: the black diamond symbol would take you to the right, while the squared blue symbol would swerve you to the left.

Now, say that you move towards the right, and as you continue moving, the terrain gets steeper and steeper, the snow becomes more and more rough, and you get to see a lot of trees, as if there is a forest right in the heart of this icy land. You stop suddenly, then pick a line, push yourself off pretty hard to ski downwards. And this ends your journey…

Just take a moment to visualize the whole thing and you would agree with me that this is one of the most exciting sports ever, and of course, it would help you burn fat all the same without you even realizing it.

There are some people who have been there, done that, and came back frustrated because they were fed up of doing the routine skiing everyday, with nothing new or exciting to add to it. But this won’t be the case with you. In this article I will tell you about a cool skiing technique that would keep you glued to the sport for a long time to come.

Have you ever heard of Ski Stretches?

Stretching, as you might know, keeps your muscles healthy by reducing muscle tension and moving those muscles gently. Ski Stretches are no different either. But as with any other exercises, there are some basic rules to follow while doing Ski Stretches:

a) You must relax your body before doing the stretches

b) You should do these stretches before and after skiing. Before you start skiing, you could do these stretches at your home, the inn or motel you are lodged at, or at the ski resort.

It is however, pretty difficult to do these stretches after skiing. Since skiing in itself is long, hard and strenuous enough, you are unlikely to do any other strenuous exercise after finishing your ski session. Therefore, I recommend is that you do these stretches just before your last ski run, by standing at the foot of the hill. Make sure that you take your skis off before performing the Ski Stretches.

As you can see here there are many ways to improve your fitness for Busy Professionals

Tags: skiing

If skiing is my first favorite exercise, working out using an elliptical trainer is my second favorite option. Now you maybe are wondering what it is about those elliptical trainers that I like so much. In case you are unacquainted with the elliptical trainer, this article will tell you what you are missing.

There are many, many advantages of working out using an elliptical trainer. First and foremost, it is much less intense than the traditional cardio. Unlike cardio, it puts very little strain on your body. If you have ever engaged in skiing, bicycling and rowing, you would know what it is like to exercise with elliptical trainer, for it is nothing but a combination of all these three exercises.

Elliptical trainers come at different price tags, and you don’t necessarily need to buy the most expensive one. Just make sure that the machine you buy shows stats on how long you have been riding on it, how many calories are burnt, as well as your mileage. An elliptical trainer which doesn’t offer these statistics is not worth your time or money.

Another thing you must look for is whether the elliptical trainer gives you a jerky feeling when you workout. Decent elliptical trainers won’t have this jerky feeling; rather, they are smooth and “natural” and won’t stress your body at all. Be sure to look for warranties, and trial offers, if any.

Okay, now here are the four main reasons why I love elliptical trainers:

1. Requires less involvement and concentration on my part: If you are a busy person like me, you would love the elliptical trainer. You would also love it if you are someone who is bored of workouts. Just imagine being able to watch TV or listen to your IPOD while working out. Well, that is exactly what you can do with an elliptical trainer. When you use it, you won’t even feel like you are working out. Plus, it helps you burn a lot of fat in a lot less time that cardios would.

2. Totally unobtrusive: Unlike some other workout machines, elliptical trainers are usually quiet by nature. In fact, if your family members stay at the other room, they won’t even know when you are riding on the workout machine.

3. Helps me workout at home: I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the idea of venturing out of home everyday and heading to the gym for workouts. Elliptical trainer helps me workout at home, at any time I want.

4. Burns fat from all parts of my body: You might have heard about those abs crunches machines which focus on burning only your abdomen fat. You know one thing, REAL weight loss occurs only when you burn fat from ALL parts of your body.

For one, you really cannot force your body to burn fat at any particular spot. For another, it is no use having a slim abdomen if your hips and chest are huge, and the opposite is equally true. Elliptical trainer is great because I can burn fat from all parts of my body, including chest, neck, face, hips, thighs, belly, etc., with it.

Tags: ipod, rowing, skiing

When do you workout? Let’s pretend that the time that you workout is irrelevent because I really do believe that it is. There are a few times that you can workout, morning, lunch, evening, and weekends. The real decision is based around your schedule and the stresses of the day. One thing is important though and that is that you should make sure that hte time that you workout is consistent so that it fits in as a part of your day instead of you just rying to fit it in.

Exercise in the morning. If you are going to workout in the morning you have one problem to deal with and that is tiredness, some people just are not morning people. This is a plan to try out and see how well it works though because you probably will not have any distractions and you really can get the workout in without something getting in the way, unless of course the alarm clock fails you.

Exercise at lunch. I used to have a gym in the building that I worked in and this was a really great way to get my workout in. I would go downstairs to the gym abd play squash or do cardio or get in a weight workout. Working out at work also allowed me to have built in workout partners from the office. This of course is only an option if you work bearby a gym but I like this option best.

Exercise in the evening. Evening workouts are the most popular I believe. There is this idea that you have dinner, sit around for an hour and then go to the gym. This is my least favorite workout time but for many people it is the best time. The real problem with evening workouts is that they take the place of your social life so it is very easy to socialize at the gym instead and also there are a lot of things that can go wrong with the day that will either cause you to miss your workout or have your workout suffer because of the day.

Exercise on weekends. I hope that you realize that you need 5 or 6 workouts a week but one of the nice things that you can do on the weekend is have extended workouts and exercise that have nothing to do with your regular schedule. In the summer you can do outdoor hiking or long runs or bike rides and in the Winter you can do indoor rock climbing, skiing or snowboarding.

As you can see when to exercise really does come down to what is most conveninet to you. If things are working out well right now then this is not important. If you are not consistent with your exercise then you should look at some other options so that you can get that consistentsy into your exercise and not have to try to just “fit it in”.

Tags: rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, squash, tiredness

I have found a list of 99 ways to get more exercise. These tips range from stuff to do at home and around the neighborhood to things to do around the city with your family and neighbors.

Exercise Getting started…

1. Schedule a regular time throughout the week for physical activity.
2. Take turns selecting an activity for the family to do as a group each week.
3. Start a log of daily fitness activities for each family member.
4. Adapt all activities to suit those with special needs and preferences.
5. Help everyone to find something active that makes them feel successful.

Exercise Tips for the Home

6. Designate indoor and outdoor play areas where rolling, climbing, jumping, and tumbling are allowed.
7. Buy toys or equipment that promote physical activity.
8. Select fitness-oriented gifts with the recipient’s skills and interests in mind.
9. Limit time spent watching television programs, videotapes, and playing computer games.
10. Use physical activity rather than food as a reward (e.g. family goes in-line skating).
11. Include grandparents, other relatives, and friends whenever possible.
12. Emphasize the importance of having fun and learning; avoid a push “to win”.
13. Get off the couch and change the channel manually — or better yet, turn it off!
14. Spend as much time outdoors as possible.

Exercise Tips for the Kitchen

15. “Pack your own” nutritious snacks and meals for family outings.
16. Keep fresh fruit and vegetables washed, cut-up, chilled and readily available for post-exercise snacking.
17. Have attractive containers of water available during and after workouts.
18. Take the family grocery shopping so everyone can learn to read the nutrition labels (find the cereal that offers the most fiber per serving; find the tastiest non-fat cheese).
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Tags: breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, co-worker, cycling, diabetes, family member, fever, food, Golf, hypertension, kite flying, modified backyard sports, Olympic, physical education teacher, school board, school physical education teacher, skiing, Softball, stroke, Tennis, volleyball, water sports

We all know the dangers of getting too much sun and I wrote about both how to get rid of a sunburn as well as the danger of getting too much sun but today I wanted to live out a bit of a dream and write about how to get your best suntan ever.

Why get the best suntan possible? Well as Chris Stephens, the DJ on on the television show Northern Exposure once said

“Sometimes you have to do something bad – just to know you’re alive.”

Back when I was 15 to 20 I tried every Summer to get the greatest suntan ever and I used to tell my buddy Darin White and I would one day write a book about how to get the best suntan. Well this is not a book but it is an opportunity to spill everything I ever learned over the years about how to get the best suntan. I believe that there are 10 steps and then I will end with a bunch of tips of what I think are important tips on how to get the best tan this summer that you have ever had. Here are the 10 steps first that you will need to do in the first place to get a good tan.

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Lufa and exfoliate

Exfoliating your skin is a very good idea. When you are getting a suntan the color that you get is a result of the skin reacting to the sun. If you have dead skin on top of your good skin then it will be blocking the sun. When exfoliating your skin be sure not to scrub hard, you may want to get the dead skin off but you do not want to hurt your good skin underneath so be sure to just lightly scrub your skin.
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Tags: burn, Chris Stephens, Darin White, Northern Exposure, skiing, sunburn

The Summer is creeping away here in Calgary. On my ride in this morning the temperature was right at freezing so the nice easy schedule of riding in to work and home will be over sooner than I would hope. Now is the time of year that all of those outdoor activities that keep you in shape so easily are going to come to an end in the northern latitudes.

What will you do about it?

Most people have a bad habit of fluctuation exercise. In the Spring you get sore from exercising outside for the first time since the fall and your body hates you for it, but you endure it and workout through the Summer and in the Fall and Winter get almost no exercise again and have your weight float up a few pounds hoping that you can lose it again next Spring. I will be giving tips all Winter for staying in shape but this is a good chance to look at what you should start thinking about right now.

First prioritize your exercise schedule for the Winter. It may be tougher to work out but of course you can do it if you work out the days and times you will be working out. Most of all be realistic. The best times to workout are early morning before you get caught up with the issues of the day and after work if you have a stable work schedule. If you push dinner out a bit you may be able to either workout right after work before dinner or else get an hour in while watching one of the many great TV shows that eat up our Winter nights.

Next figure out what you want to do this Winter for exercise. A few years ago my family (actually my wife and I, the toddlers had no say in it) bought a good treadmill and exercise bike and then each Fall we go out and replace one of the items and lose a bit on the trade-in but at least have some great new and new to us equipment to keep us interested in the Winter.

Lastly make sure that you have a good mix of exercise. One or two pieces of fitness equipment may not be enough to keep you motivated is make sure you plan on skating, skiing or climbing stairs in an office building to supplement your exercise this Winter. If you can find local fitness events that you can take part in. There are a lot of different leagues in the Winter be they hockey or curling or badminton and volleyball.

One great tip for exercise equipment is to have a running log of your distance. This would be floors for a stair machine or actual miles on a treadmill, bike or elliptical trainer. Using a map it is fun to keep track of the distance that you have covered and you can even try to go city to city with goals in between over the course of the Winter.

Tags: calgary, curling, exercise equipment, Fitness Equipment, hockey, skiing, volleyball