Exercise At Any Age
Health and fitness expert says,
'Start moving now!'
E
xercise is important at any age. For
guidelines and expertise, I turned
to Allison Stuart Kaplan.
She is a group exercise instruc-
tor, yoga teacher, personal
trainer and regular health and
fitness contributor for Fox 2
News Detroit's Get Fit morning
show. She is also the founder of
Askinyourface.com , a sophisti-
cated Web magazine for women.
What are the long-term ben-
efits of exercise?
Regular exercise can help
prevent many types of cancers,
diabetes, obesity, heart disease,
high blood pressure, arthritis,
osteoporosis, depression and many other
potentially serious, often debilitating con-
ditions and illness.
What is a good way to introduce exer-
cise to children?
Kids can and should start exercising
as early as possible. The type of exercise
children will enjoy may differ depend-
ing on age. In addition to the
health benefits of exercise for
kids, running around and being
physically active can help chil-
dren to sleep better at night and
reduce stress levels.
Children and adolescents
should do at least 60 minutes
or more of physical activity
each day. The amount and type
of exercise needed depends on
the age and energy level of the
child. Toddlers may need as
much as 90 minutes per day,
while preschoolers can get two
hours of exercise.
How can parents encourage their teens
to exercise?
Team sports or after-school activities
(dance, martial arts, yoga and working out
at the gym) are great choices for teens.
Plan weekend family activities that
We'll get you home
before others
get you in
involve moving: biking, taking hikes, walk
to lunch or dinner with your kids, assign
chores that require moving and lifting,
such as walking the dog, taking out the
garbage, sweeping out the garage, carrying
laundry up stairs, vacuuming, helping with
grocery shopping.
Get creative, parents!
What do you tell adults who have never
exercised?
I recommend starting slow and easy
for short periods of time to avoid injury
and excessive muscle soreness — 10-20
minutes the first few times is ideal. Try
walking with a pedometer to track your
steps; add 100 hundred steps a day or 500
each week. Eventually you will be walking
10,000 steps per day, approximately five
miles.
What are some basic guidelines for get-
ting started exercising? Also, what is
more important — cardio or weights?
Both cardio and weight training are
equally important and necessary to keep
us healthy and strong. Generally speaking,
cardio strengthens our heart and lungs,
helps maintain a healthy weight and aids
in weight loss. Weight lifting (even light
weights) strengthens bones, builds lean
muscle mass, improves skin tone and
keeps our body burning calories for longer
periods of time. My favorite workout is
interval training, which combines cardio,
weights and body weight work for optimal
results.
What are some guidelines for exercis-
ing on a weekly basis?
Adults need a minimum of 150 minutes
(2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-
intensity aerobic activity every week
and two to three days a week of muscle-
strengthening exercise that hits all of the
major muscle groups (legs, hips, back,
abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).
What websites do you can recommend
for readers who want to learn more?
Sign up for myyogaonline.com for yoga
videos to practice at home; Askinyourface.
com for workouts and tons of motivation
and information regarding your whole
health, and kidsinactionaction.org for
basic guidelines for children.
❑
Julie Silver, MSW. Dipl. Ac. is founder and presi-
dent of Acupuncture Healthcare Associates of
Michigan in West Bloomfield. Her email address
is julie@acupunctureinmichigan.com .
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April 26 • 2012
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