Let's Play

“Life must be lived as play.” - Plato

Almost every day of the summer I asked my 7-year old daughter, Kaya, how her day was. At six you shouldn’t really have “bad” days. Her response was pretty much the same every day, “Good…” Needing a little more, I asked a second question, “So, what did you do?” Her response to that was simply, “Play”. There was no need for further questions. She summed up her day in two words.

Although, I didn’t an explanation from her the simplicity of the word Play intrigued me. I remember friends coming to the house and asking if I could come out to play. Sometimes we didn’t even really do anything. We were just outside and moving. Everything we did was considered play. I suspected that Kaya’s reference to play was probably the same. We all remember playing as a child. But, what did we do? We ran, we jumped, we rode bikes, and we played sports. Today adults refer to such activities as "exercise".

I was curious. So, I looked up the word play in the dictionary. One of the definitions supported my reason for writing this article (recreational activity; especially : the spontaneous activity of children). Why is playing an activity reserved for children? Over the summer, I had my moon bounce obstacle course at a community day. It’s 61 feet long, big enough for children and adults. When I told the parents they could join their children, a lot of them said, “I’m too old to do that”.  Translated, it means I’m way too out of shape. That’s a completely different topic – or is it? Perhaps, the obesity problem, both adults and children, is related to the lack of play. Let’s face it. Even kids today aren’t really playing as much as they used to.

Is there a certain age in which we as adults should stop playing? Is there some predetermined age in which we are supposed to stop moving and just sit and watch our kids do what we used to do - play? Robin Sharma said it best, “Adults are nothing but deteriorated children.” But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Have we become too serious to play? Have the responsibilities that we assume as adults crippled us? We enjoyed play as children, and we should enjoy it as adults, too.  Stop being concerned with “looking silly” or “being too old” and have some fun. Loosen up, and do something spontaneous and silly.  Your act may make someone laugh, which is something else adults don’t do enough.

Laugh smile, live, and play.

David E. Cox, ACE-CPT, is a personal trainer that has dedicated his life to helping to improve the lives of others through exercise and healthy living. He is owner of Positive Vibes Fitness, a private personal training studio in Glen Burnie, MD where we educates, motivates, and inspires people from all walks of life. Be sure and sign up for his monthly eNewsletter, The Vibe, at www.positivevibesfitness.com

Running For Fat Loss

“You can’t run to get fit, you need to be fit to run.” – Diane Lee

During a recent conversation, I was discussing training for fat loss with a young lady. She said to me, while pinching her belly, “I need to get rid of this!” I run a couple times a week, but it’s still there. She wanted to know why. I responded to her, “It’s still there, because you’re running a couple times a week”.

When people want to lose body fat – they think they have to do some type of Cardio, short for cardiorespiratory, based exercises. So, they hop on the treadmill or head to the streets to start running.

Why?

Because somewhere they heard the myth that losing body fat requires cardio based exercises. Or, they see the images on the gym ads of all the thin people running on treadmills. So, they assume that the people in the ads got that way by running on a treadmill.

While running may be good as a stress reliever or to improve your endurance, it is not very effective for fat loss. So, if you’re running, and your goal is fat loss – STOP.

In order to lose fat, you have to do some form of resistance training to increase your lean muscle mass. For more effective workouts, perform your resistance training using the interval training method. Not only will it improve your results, it will save you time. One of the top five excuses I always hear for people not exercising is: "I don't have time". So, if you don't have time, why bother wasting 45 minutes to an hour on the treadmill... Better Results - Less Time is a score for interval training.

What is Interval Training?

Interval training is bouts of intense activity followed by a low level of activity, and it has been proven to be more effective for fat loss than steady state aerobic exercise. Why do interval training instead of running? Interval training increases your oxygen consumption – which uses more energy. The calorie burn even continues after your workout. After the workout, your body expends energy to get back to its pre-exercise state. This is referred to as Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), or Afterburn. Afterburn can sometimes continue 24 - 48 hrs after your workout. This is where the “magic” of fat burning occurs.

If you’re running to lose fat only to find that you aren’t getting the results you want, then realize it’s probably the running. I’m not against running for pleasure or to improve your cardiovascular health. I believe in training for results, and running for fat loss is not going to get you the results you seek. So, if like running, continue to run. Just make sure the activity matches your goals.

David E. Cox, ACE-CPT, is a personal trainer that has dedicated his life to helping to improve the lives of others through exercise and healthy living. He is owner of Positive Vibes Fitness, a private personal training studio in Glen Burnie, MD where we educates, motivates, and inspires people from all walks of life. Be sure and sign up for his monthly eNewsletter, The Vibe, at www.positivevibesfitness.com

 

Don't Hug Your Kids

I attended a few cookouts and kids birthday parties over the summer. And, at every one of them, I saw a way too familiar scene – Kids walking around drinking colored liquid out of little plastic barrels. These little barrels, affectionately known as Little Hugs, are a product of the American Beverage Corporation. They have managed to find their way into the hands and mouths of children since 1974, and according the company’s web site, the fruit drinks are still their top seller.  Notice, that I still have not referred to them as juice.  Parents… Fruit Drink is not Fruit Juice! Yes, they are kid-sized and kid-friendly, but they are no better for the kids than soda or candy. Whatever the reason is for buying the Hugs, rethink it. 

 Below is an ingredient comparison between a can of Coke and a Little Hug:

Coke: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavors, Caffeine

Little Hug: Water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sodium polyphosphates, artificial flavors

Did you notice that you didn’t see fruit or juice in the ingredient list for the little hugs? As you see, there is very little difference between soda and the fruit-flavored drink. This is not just an attack on Little Hugs. Be on the lookout for all fruit-flavored-drink. Let’s not forget about the Capri Sun “drink pouches” – not good, either… At your next cookout or birthday party, let’s really do the kids a favor and leave the Little Hugs in the store. Instead, only buy kid-sized drinks that are 100% juice. Capri Sun has some 100% Juice items, and Juicy Juice has 100% juice “juice boxes”. Those are better options. But, before you start loading your kids up with 100% fruit juice, be careful. Yes, they are fruit juices, but they also contain sugar. So, limit the juice intake, and give the kids some water.

 Let’s show a little concern for the health of our children. Stop buying the fruit flavored drinks and buy them juice and water. So… the next time you give your child a hug, make sure it’s the kind using your arms.

David E. Cox, ACE-CPT, is a personal trainer that has dedicated his life to helping to improve the lives of others through exercise and healthy living. He is owner of Positive Vibes Fitness, a private personal training studio in Glen Burnie, MD where we educates, motivates, and inspires people from all walks of life. Be sure and sign up for his monthly eNewsletter, The Vibe, at www.positivevibesfitness.com