Cycling

Young And Fit ?
What is this country coming to, when in some schools there is less than 2 hours of physical activity per week, I say its damm disgraceful!! I know I am stating the obvious but school is where we learn: to read and write, to add, to understand, communicate, interact, social skills, we want out children to become (excuse the pun!) well rounded individuals. Look at the world around us, its full of advertising for unhealthy fatty food, there is advertising showing you how you should look, and what are we doing about it! well, what we are not doing is giving our children enough health and fitness education in our schools, if we do not teach about healthy foods/healthy living, fitness, that includes stress management ( yes even for young people!) why do we wonder when fifty percent of the population is overweight or obese! is this what we want for our children?

Forget The Car, Get Walking!
That's what I'm going to talk about this month - aerobics- no guys it’s not just for women! There are lots of different ways to improve your heart and lung fitness such as, swimming, cycling, walking, running, circuit training, step classes, rowing, aerobic dance classes to name a few. Aerobic or cardio respiratory fitness is accepted as being the most important component in terms of heath related fitness - nobody ever died of ‘weak triceps’ or ‘tight hamstrings’, but a significant number of deaths occur each year as a result of some form of cardiovascular disease - the biggest killer in the western world. Do you get puffed out running up those stairs? Hear your heartbeat in your head? Feel your lungs are about to explode!

Fitness what is it all about?
More and more people are becoming overweight now days some of it is down to our modern living, and unhealthy food choices, but to be honest - we have become lazy, I remember when I use to walk to school (three miles each way!) Now children get their parents to drive them. Remember last week - you were at home watching some rubbish on TV, and just about to make a drink - no milk! What do you do! Get in the car and drive for one minute around the corner to the local shop!! Fitness is really about the well-being of the body and keeping the mind in good shape, you cannot have one without the other, improving the fitness of the lungs for instance, getting you heart working better, do you remember that run for the bus? Or when you had to rush up some stairs at work? You got puffed out right! Training your cardiovascular system will improve your stamina, and many other areas. Strength training will keep your muscles and bones strong, Flexibility is also very important this improves your range of movement, it also stops you aching so much after that workout! Relaxation will calm the mind and help reduce stress levels, Nutrition - by eating the right vitamins and minerals; you will keep all your body systems working correctly.