October 6, 1986
Fitness
TURNING AROUND THE UNFIT ‘NEW’ GENERATION
Two pieces of research seem to represent opposite sides in the fitness world:
- It requires no Socrates to draw the logical conclusions. Today’s youth are intent upon retarding the average lifespan of America’s population.
- America’s youth are breaking all sorts of records for being unfit.
A Harvard longevity study shows proof positive that a program of regular aerobic exercise lengthens a person’s life, and conversely, lack of exercise tends to shorten it.
It is relatively easy to lay the blame for this disappointing state of youth: We can blame the schools for not providing physical education program, we can blame the parents for frequently failing to set good examples, and we can blame modern, labor-saving conveniences for making it unnecessary to move a muscle.
No matter on whose doorstep the blame is laid, however, the fact remains that youth is in sad shape and straining at the bit to get worse. There are a few positive signs on the rather grim horizon, however.
The Girls Clubs of America has begun instituting a program called Sporting Chance, in which its 250,000 members (240 centers throughout the country) will be encouraged to become more active in sports, with an eye toward encouraging them to make it a lifetime commitment. The program is divided into a three-prong approach:
- Involve the girls (6-18 years old) in a 10-week introductory program, consisting of two-hour sessions in which the girls select different sports that are then taught to them by local volunteers.
- Develop and distribute a sports-resource kit, which will provide the format for other local groups to develop similar programs.
- Organize a national symposium on girls and sports.
Concentrating on a mere quarter-million girls is a modest start when placed against all girls ages 6-18 in the country. But taken in a more realistic context, the mobilization of 250,000 young women is a laudable step toward turning around the “new” generation.
It is particularly significant when you consider the traditional failings with sports programs for young women. Despite efforts by various women’s groups, the involvement of young women in sports and fitness programs is totally inadequate.
Even on an economic level, the decision to short-change school physical fitness programs are short-sighted. It is going to cost a lot more in the long run in federal and local assistance to repeatedly hospitalize these young people as they stagger through their lifetimes than it would to encourage them now to take the path of even modest fitness.
Abundant research is available to support the fact that there is lost production when workers are unfit. The Harvard study is proof that a sedentary person is more susceptible to disease.
The Girls Clubs of America program is a finger in the dyke. Hopefully, its success will shame other organizations and government agencies into taking a long, hard look.
October 13, 1986
Fitness
REGULATION OF INSTRUCTORS IS UPHILL BATTLE
It is a curious twist of our society that a pet owner will spend weeks hunting up the best vet in the county and will invest much time finding a good automobile mechanic, but will accept, almost without question, the fitness instructor assigned to him at the health club or through the training service.
In a society where possessions are often taken as the measure of the man (or woman), one’s body should be considered possession No. 1. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to ignore the body until something begins to go wrong with it, and that is followed by a tendency to find it difficult to. Understand just why it went wrong.
Even the person who makes a serious attempt to take good care of his body by exercising it regularly often ends up mistreating it. And those who place their bodies in the hands of the hired help at the health spa or fitness club or from the home trainer service without inquiring after credentials are playing a game where the house always wins.
There are no laws on the books in any of the 50 states that set minimum standards for people hired to instruct customers in personal fitness programs. Pennsylvania attempted to implement such a law in the late 1970s and California had two such bills drafted this year, but in each case lobbyists worked hard to defeat the proposed laws.
There may be some help on the horizon, however. The American College of Sports Medicine is becoming more ambitious in its countrywide fitness instructor workshop/certification program. The program to instruct, test, and certify instructors was one of the pet projects of William Haskell of the Stanford University School of Medicine when he was president of the ACSM during the 1983-84 term. Haskell holds a doctorate in exercise physiology.
The workshop, testing, and certification programs are being offered repeatedly this year until November 8 (for information, contact Certification Department, ACSM, Box 1440, Indianapolis, Ind. 46206). Several other fitness organizations are working on improving and standardizing their certification programs, but the ACSM is the organization in a position to do the most good for the average fitness consumer over the next five years.
Although it will be an uphill battle to work against special-interest lobbyists in order to get laws on the books to regulate fitness personnel within a state, the problem may resolve itself. The ACSM is betting that with or without those laws, the legitimate health clubs and fitness trainer providers will hire personnel who’ve been certified by ACSM or will send their personnel to take the training, and then will advertise the fact that their people are certified.
“What leads to credibility when we’re talking about fitness trainers?” Haskell asked rhetorically when speaking before a group of personal trainers recently. “Basically, it’s four factors: They should have a degree from a recognized college, they should have practical experience, including initial work with an intern program, they should exhibit good teaching skills, and they should be good role models, practicing what they preach.”
And the consumer should demand nothing less.
October 20, 1986
Fitness
THAT POST-RACE COOL-DOWN CAN BE A REAL LIFESAVER
There are three essential elements of any workout: the warm-up, the workout routine itself, and the cool-down.
Without the workout routine as the heart, there’s no need to warm-up or cool-down; its importance as the keystone goes without saying.
In the question of whether the warm-up or the cool-down is more important, most exercisers, even hard-core ones, would quickly answer that the warm-up should predominate.
It is very important, after all, to warm up the muscles that are about to be used so that they are stretched and supple. By warming up the muscles before a workout, you reduce the chance of injury.
All of which is correct, of course.
In perspective, however, the cool-down is much more important than the warm-up, yet many people go so far as to completely ignore cool-down. They stop their exercise and stand around chatting with a friend, or the stop their exercise and immediately head for the showers.
Such an abrupt end to vigorous exercise can not only be ill-advised, it can be fatal.
Dr. Ken Cooper, father of aerobics, did a significant amount of research into the importance of the cool-down period subsequent to the death of Jim Fixx. “In short,” Cooper says, “anyone who stops vigorous exercise abruptly is endangering his heart—and may be flirting with sudden death. The circulatory system in a sense goes ‘out of balance’ as the flow of blood slow down faster than the beating of the heart.
“If you stop and stand still without reducing the level of your activity step-by-step, your blood pressure will drop. But the natural stimulants from the adrenal glands keep the heart beating at a high and inefficient rate. As a result, not enough blood gets to the heart, and ischemia of the heart, involving a lack of blood to the heart tissue, may result. If there is too little blood that gets through to the heart, sudden death may occur.”
Cooper theorizes that this factor may have contributed to the death of Jim Fixx. Fixx stopped immediately following a run on a hot day. He collapsed along the side of the road, propped against a small hillside. Cooper additionally theorizes that had Fixx fallen prone, it would have allowed blood to flow to the heart.
At the cessation of virtually any exercise, the best thing you can do to cool down is to walk.
If you want to compare notes on the workout with your training partner, you can compare them while walking off the workout. But don’t stand in one place and compare notes. And don’t ever just outright stop the exercise and stand around or sit down.
Make like easy on your heart’s recovery. Give your heart a chance to gradually mellow out after you’ve asked it to do so much on your behalf.
October 27, 1986
Fitness
HOW TO GO ON VACATION AND STILL STAY FIT
During the past several years, the number of travel agents who are willing to put together vacations that involve a good deal of sweat have grown.
There are a few small tour agencies that specialize in highly physical vacations, such as 10 days spent hiking the foothills of the Himalayas. Even Club Med markets to the “active” set, providing snorkeling, horseback riding, and organized team activities.
Most people settle into a fitness routine that is high on predictability and regularity. Vacations aim to end “the rut.”
The task of working your fitness into a vacation can be a difficult one, depending on your method of maintaining fitness and your choice of vacation.
If you’re a runner, no problem. The sport can be done almost anywhere.
If fitness means an hour in the gym each day and your vacation is going to involve staying at first-rate hotels, there is little problem. Most major hotels either have a gym on the premises or an affiliation with one nearby.
If your fitness medium is swimming or cycling, it may be difficult to keep fit unless you choose to vacation around cities famous for their beaches or experience some of it from the saddle of your bike.
No matter when, where, or how a vacation is planned, there are a few simple rules that will help you come back in a relatively good state of fitness:
- Do not assume that you will be able to maintain a normal routine. Vacations are disruptive to the normal routine.
- Schedule rest days.
- If you miss a day’s workout, don’t attempt to make it up. A vacation can be stressful enough.
- Plan to do less per day while on vacation. If an opportunity comes along to do more than usual, fine. But don’t pressure yourself.
- When the vacation is finished, don’t chastise yourself for having had that extra dessert or missing that long workout. A good vacation can sometimes be the change of pace the active body requires to get out of a training rut.