Fitness & Wellness

Exercising With Kids On Vacation

Exercising With Kids On Vacation

Published by on August 3, 2019 | Leave a response

You can build memories and help develop a love of fitness by exercising with kids on vacation. Does that mean you’re actually going to do jumping jacks at the rim of the Grand Canyon or have everyone drop and give ten visiting the nations capital? Absolutely not. It means you plan an active vacation, even if it is a staycation. Find ways to include things that are active and help build endurance, strength, flexibility or balance. (https://seductioncosmetic.com/)

There’s an opportunity to double the benefit of an active vacation, getting ready for it and the vacation itself.

Are you going to Disney World or other big amusement park. That takes energy to walk the whole day. If that’s one of your vacation plans, use it to help your kids get fitter. It takes a lot of walking to see the parks and enjoy each minute there. Being tired and cranky can spoil everything. Start nightly walks and extend them until they last an hour. Over the weekend, consider visiting local parks, conservation areas and walking trails to build their endurance. When you let the kids know what you’re doing, it not only builds enthusiasm, it makes them want to get into shape.

Pack up the bikes and enjoy some freewheeling at a national park.

Taking a biking vacation is a fun way to get exercise where biking isn’t risky. Bike paths in most parks, both local and national, don’t require the vigilance it takes when biking on local roadways. It can be fun and relaxed without the stress of worrying about oncoming cars. Pack healthy snacks and meals to eat along the way and it’s the perfect healthy vacation.

Hiking through wooded areas can be quite rigorous.

There are many areas for hiking. Some of those are for the novice and some for the advanced. Again, getting ready for the trip can be part of the experience. Get maps of hiking trails and revue them with the kids. Some will be more difficult or longer. Review the trails with the kids and if they choose a more difficult trail, it’s perfect for training to get ready for them.

  • Kayaking and rafting can be an active vacation that will exhaust everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re fit or not, spending a day on the water fighting the current is exhausting, but so much fun.
  • Swimming and water sports can be both fun and active. Even though you might want to envision spending a day at the beach snoozing on a lawn chair, you know better. It’s a real energy drainer and an active sport.
  • If you’re vacation is really a staycation, find local conservation areas to walk, local museums and even some fun activities that are active, like rock climbing, roller skating and rock walls.
  • Raleigh has a wide variety of sports and activities that will help boost your kids health. The adventure, courses, the vast 180 miles of trails, sports complexes and many water activities can provide a vacation year around for those who can’t take a formal vacation.
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Make Fitness Fun

Make Fitness Fun

Published by on July 29, 2019 | Leave a response

While most parents focus on exercising and getting themselves into shape, getting fit should be a family experience. Even grandma and grandpa will enjoy eating healthy and working out when you make fitness fun. Too often people make getting fit more of a punishment for bad habits of the past. It shouldn’t be that way. Getting fit should be an adventure that leads down a road to looking and feeling great!

Start with healthy eating habits.

One of the things that really irritate me is to sit at a table in a restaurant with someone who is dieting. They make a big production of the things they can’t eat and then order a salad and a diet cola. They focus on the negative, instead of looking for healthier alternatives that are exceptionally good, including that salad. They often hide the flavor of the salad under a thick cover of dressing, too. Finally, even if they ordered a diet cola, that doesn’t mean it’s healthy or will make you look better. One study showed that people who drank diet colas gained inches in their waistline compared to those who drank no cola at all. Learn how to eat healthy and enjoy every meal. Make it a way of life.

Exercise should be enjoyable.

When was the last time you focused on how your body felt when you moved. Seriously, the next time your run or even walk, feel the freedom you have with each step. My grandmother used to tell me to appreciate each movement, because one day you might not be able to do it. That advice came after a debilitating stroke, so she knew what she was talking about. Exercise doesn’t always have to take place in a gym. It can be as simple as taking a walk around the neighborhood or riding a bike.

Your kids will love the memories you make when you exercise with them.

Of course, that can mean you’re actually doing a workout routine, but in most cases, it means just doing active things together. Bicycles for the whole family doesn’t have to cost a lot. You can often find them at second hand stores, garage sales and pawn shops at a low price. Add in the cost of safety gear and you have family entertainment for years to come that’s healthy and fun.

  • Learn to savor healthy foods and make them an adventure in eating if you’re an adult. Make food fun or children. Consider food like spaghetti squash that will fascinate children and amaze adults.
  • Make everything a game, from climbing stairs to carrying groceries or cleaning the house. Dance your way through housework with the kids or race up the stairs to see who gets to the top the fastest. It keeps the family fit while being fun.
  • Don’t use video games or junk food as a reward. That puts it on too high of a pedestal and makes it more enticing. Find other rewards that fit the healthy lifestyle mode, like ten more minutes of play outside or letting them choose a menu for the next meal from several options.
  • Look for opportunities to help your kids get and stay in shape. A special trip to an amusement park will require a lot of walking. Have them prepare for the trip by walking every night together.
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Lead By Example

Lead By Example

Published by on July 15, 2019 | Leave a response

Whether you’re running a multi-million dollar company in Raleigh, NC, or running a household, you have to lead by example to be your most effective. It’s hard for a child to believe there’s any truth that eating healthy and exercising is good for you, especially when parents don’t do it. There’s a lot of examples where children follow the actions of their parents, rather than their words. Children learn what they live, not necessarily what they hear. To make sure your child or family is healthy, you have to make changes in your life toward a healthier lifestyle.

Start children off right with healthy meals.

What you serve at meals provide the options children have when they eat. While you might not be able to control what they eat when they’re not at home, you can control their eating habits there. Have nutritious meals ready for every meal. If you’re working outside the home and think that’s impossible, it’s not, as long as you plan ahead. One day is used to plan a week’s menu and create a shopping list. Plan to make double recipes, so there’s enough extra to freeze for meals another week. Do your shopping on the next day and cooking on the weekend or your day’s off work. After a few weeks, you’ll only have to make one or two dishes, the rest will already be frozen and ready.

Get active and take your family with you.

Take a walk after dinner, go to a park on the weekend or go hiking. Make sure you carve out a half hour to an hour a day to do something active with your family. Instead of buying the latest and greatest new iPhone, invest the money in bicycles for the whole family. They don’t have to be new. In fact, some pawn shops and second hand stores have great bikes at a reasonable price. Kids learn to be active by making memories with you.

Get the family involved in your workout.

Smaller children love this. They love working out with mom and dad, mimicking their every move. While teens might think it’s a bit hokey, they also might actually join you or secretly watch and do it in their room when you’re not watching. The fitter you get, the more weight you lose and the more muscles you build will act as incentives for your children and even your spouse.

  • Make sure you have healthy snacks that are ready to eat when your kids want to munch. Serving sizes of nuts, veggies, fruit and dip all qualify and normally are kid approved. Have water, not juice, Kool-Aid or soft drinks in the refrigerator in reusable bottles.
  • If you work with children, make sure to remember to get them up and moving once every fifty minutes. Teach the kids to watch the clock and let you know when fifty minutes is up so everyone can stretch. Studies show that sitting any longer is detrimental to health.
  • Put away computers, cell phones and electronic devices for meal time. Too much time on the computer is bad for young brains, according to recent studies. Meal time should be spent enjoying each other’s company and savoring the food.
  • Walk as much as you can. Don’t circle the store, hunting for the best parking spot. Use the stairs and walk, don’t drive, to the neighbor’s house.
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Give Your Kids A Choice

Give Your Kids A Choice

Published by on July 2, 2019 | Leave a response

Most people just go along with the crowd and do whatever is popular at the time, regardless of how it affects their health or well-being. That’s not true with parents who teach children to think for themselves and use common sense to live a healthy lifestyle. You can give your kids a choice, but if you aren’t sure what a healthy lifestyle is or how to achieve healthy eating, you may need to educate yourself before you can help them. It’s one of the reasons we have the Parent’s Fitness Education Workshop. We teach parents the latest in fitness and healthy options for children.

Getting kids to eat healthy isn’t hard when you have help.

Just because a package says no gluten, doesn’t mean it’s good for kids. Some of those kid favorites that lead you to think they’re healthy with the packaging, aren’t really smart choices. Maybe you switch out cola for fresh juice. That’s a good start, but your child would be better off drinking water and eating the fruit whole! There’s a lot to learn when it comes to eating healthy and we can help you get the knowledge you need.

Exercise should be normal for kids, but that’s just a memory from the past.

When your parents and grandparents were kids, their mother’s often opened the door in the morning to let them play outside, only to come back into the house for lunch and dinner. They ran, played tag, dodge ball and kick the can. Today, playtime often means a video screen is in front of your child’s eyes and their bottom never moves off the couch. To make it even worse, there are studies that show too much computer time isn’t healthy for young brains. It’s time to help your child make a change and give them better choices.

Getting your kids active is the first step.

Maybe you don’t have anywhere you can go to shoot hoops, but you might have a great place to walk and enjoy the scenery. Young children love walking trips, especially to local parks or preserves. Our fitness program is one option that helps get children in shape. They often find that they prefer it to video games because it makes them feel better when they finish a session.

  • Helping kids to grow up healthy is a matter of giving them healthy options. Working out and learning to eat healthy is a start, but there are far more ways to continue the path they’ll find once they start feeling fit and strong.
  • You can help your child make good choices by starting your own fitness program and becoming a great role model for them.
  • When you stock the refrigerator with snacks for after school or mid morning, give a lot of options, but make them all healthy ones.
  • You don’t have to go overboard for healthy eating. Having some cake at a birthday party won’t hurt, but eating cake with each meal will.
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Motivating Your Kids To Move

Motivating Your Kids To Move

Published by on June 26, 2019 | Leave a response

If you want active adults, you have to start with active children. Getting and staying active is learned early in life and can be a habit that keeps people healthier into adulthood. That’s why motivating your kids to move more can be one of the best things you can do for their health. It’s as important as teaching them how to eat healthy, although it takes both of those things and more for a healthier lifestyle.

Moving more is a habit that often comes from mimicking parents.

If you’re constantly sitting and watching television, the chances that your child will become that type of adult are greater. If you want to help your children the most, get active yourself. Kids learn what they live, so the more active you are, the more active they’ll become. Take them for walks, enjoy a more active version of the things you love, like walking through a large museum rather than watching a documentary of it on the television. Walk your children to school if possible, rather than taking the car.

Get the whole family involved in a sport or activity.

While walking more and hiking is one activity everyone will enjoy, there are others. It can be something as simple as hanging a hoop above the garage door and spending a few minutes to an hour with one on one ball or shooting hoops. I know a parent that ran races to a neighbor’s house with their child, which sounds simple, but it really worked. The child always lost until she became about ten, from then on, it was no contest. The child also joined the track team in high school an did quite well.

Make a family fun event an active event.

Bike riding can be a great exercise and it’s even better when it’s a family event. It takes more than just riding together, it takes learning biking safety. Some parents even learn how to work on their bikes to do minor repairs with their children. If there’s no safe place to ride bikes in your area, consider going to some state or local parks where there are biking trails.

  • Join an exercise group. We have special classes for children of all ages and ones for adults. You won’t have to worry about a baby sitter for your five year old when you workout, just get them enrolled in private or group sessions.
  • Get the kids to workout with you if you workout at home. Younger children love the fun of moving with mom or dad and older kids love to challenge and beat you.
  • Get hula hoops and learn together. See how many different moves you each can make. It’s fun and good exercise. Balance balls are also fun.
  • Use a special trip to get everyone in shape. One popular trip, to a large amusement park, requires a lot of endurance. Start getting in shape a few months before you leave. It’s an incentive to strive toward.
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Bustle Fitness Tips Article with Olo Onuma - Contribution

Bustle Fitness Tips Article with Olo Onuma – Contribution

Published by on June 25, 2019 | Leave a response

An effective workout isn’t only determined by the type of exercise you’re doing or for how long. According to experts, what you do before you workout is just as important as what you do during and after. In order to make the most out of your efforts, there are a few key things you should never do before you exercise. READ MORE…

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Best Healthy Snacks For Children

Best Healthy Snacks For Children

Published by on June 16, 2019 | Leave a response

Serving healthy snacks for children, helps make changes in their eating habits and what they consider good food. While you probably won’t get most toddlers to beg for another Brussels sprout, they won’t be begging for junk food either. In fact, serving healthy snacks sets the stage for healthy eating, since most kids think that snacks are “the good stuff.” It trains their palate for less sugary treats that are often addictive, such as candy or pastries, while providing a great time to boost nutritional intake.

Keeping it simple and easy is important.

Having easy to make snacks takes some hassle out of the day. A healthy snack can be as simple as air popped popcorn sprinkled with some Parmesan cheese and a few drizzles of butter. Individual containers of plain live culture yogurt with added fresh fruit can be a delicious healthy treat. Homemade trail mix with mixed nuts and dried fruit (think raisins to save money) can be divided into individual serving plastic bags.

Have snacks ready in the refrigerator for snacks.

As kids get older, they don’t need you to set out snacks for them. They help themselves. That’s why having cut up fruit and vegetables ready in containers can be a huge benefit. As soon as possible after grocery shopping, cut up fruit, such as melons to bite size pieces. Wash berries, cherries and grapes and put them in a bowl. Cut up veggies, such as celery, carrots, colorful peppers, cauliflower, broccoli and cucumbers. Have healthy veggie dips available and you’ll see those veggies go fast. Any left over at the end of the week can be added to soup or as a supper side.

Get creative and have some homemade treats ready.

One favorite recipe is for what we called balls. They’re made by combining a little honey, peanut butter and wheat germ, then rolled in wheat germ and put in the refrigerator until eaten. Another is also balls that boost energy. They’re made with freshly ground flaxseed or whole chia seeds, nut butter of your choice, honey, oats, dried fruit and a bit of vanilla for flavor. Roll the ingredients in balls and coat with wheat germ, then store in the refrigerator.

  • Homemade kale chips or homemade sweet potato chips are oven baked and slightly salted. These are an excellent alternative to store bought chips.
  • Ants on a log are a long time favorite for kids. Stuff a celery stick with nut butter (normally peanut butter) and top with ants—which are really raisins.
  • Slice an apple in wedges and either peanut butter on each piece or make a dip by mixing some plain yogurt with crunchy peanut butter until it’s dip consistency.
  • A sliced apple or celery stick goes great with thin slices of cheese. You can cut cheese to fit into the channel on the celery.
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Ways To Exercise With Your Kids

Ways To Exercise With Your Kids

Published by on June 3, 2019 | Leave a response

Many of my clients in Raleigh, NC are devoted parents who want the best for their children, including helping them develop healthy habits. That’s one reason they find ways to keep the kids active. You can do the same by making a few changes to your lifestyle that allow you to exercise with your kids, making both of you healthier by doing so. It can be traditional workouts or just an active lifestyle. It all starts by limiting time in front of computer and TV screens and using that time to get everyone moving, including parents.

Younger children can actually be part of the workout.

There are a number of exercises you can do with preschoolers that are fun for them and fun for you. It’s never too early to get children moving. Take time to show your young child how to do each move in your exercise routine. If they don’t do it exactly right, don’t worry. You can also include smaller children as part of the routine by carrying them during the workout or making your workout their game. Doing a crunch where you keep your toddler on your tummy and kiss or tickle them when you lift up your head or creating a plank tunnel they can crawl through are just two ways to modify your workout.

Make family outings active outings.

While you can have a lot of fun going to a show, you’ll have just as much fun going on a hike and having a picnic, plus you’ll get more exercise. That’s good for both you and your children. Going to the zoo or even amusement parks provide a lot of walking. If you’re planning a trip to one of the amusement park destinations, it’s the perfect time to encourage your kids to get into shape by taking nightly walks or going to exercise classes before you leave. The trip is the incentive and the preparation to get into shape can make everyone less crabby at the end of the day.

Make gifts include the gift of family time.

Rather than giving the latest computer game, why not do everyone a favor when it comes to giving a gift, make it an active gift. Get yourself a set of roller blades and one for your child or children for a family activity you can all do together. (Xanax) Putting up a hoop above the garage and giving a basketball for hoop time together creates memories and bonding. Bikes for the whole family doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, pawn shops are a great place to get a bike for a low cost. Whether taking bike hikes in the park or learning how to do bicycle repairs together, it can get you and your kids moving.

  • It might not seem like fun, but household tasks can be fun, especially when you do them with speed and lots of elbow grease. Make it a game where speed counts. It turns work into fun and healthy exercise.
  • Have a special song and dance together. One of my fondest memories was dancing fast with my parents. It was always the same song and we even had a routine that got your heart pumping.
  • Teens can go to the gym with you and join classes geared specifically for those thirteen to nineteen. For children between five and twelve, we have youth fitness training that can be group, individual or virtual.
  • It takes more than just working out to be healthy. Make sure your children also learn how to eat healthier, too.
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