Thursday, May 29, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Encourage outdoor play
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| Get active: More children are getting overweight and lack vitamin D because they are not playing outside. — AFP |
The South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (Seanuts) found that sedentary lifestyle is a worrying trend resulting in overnutrition and vitamin D deficiency.
ECONOMIC prosperity has enabled Malaysians to feed their children more, but it does not always result in healthier children.
“Food is now available everywhere, 24 hours a day, especially in densely populated regions. At the same time, the population is becoming less active, especially in large cities where children are often not allowed to play outside due to parental safety concerns,” says Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s head of Nutritional Sciences Programme and Principal Investigator of Seanuts Malaysia Prof Dr Poh Bee Koon.
Dr Poh was partipating in a discussion organised by Dutch Lady on the health status of Malaysian children based on the findings of Seanuts, a nutritional study done on 16,744 children aged six months to 12 years in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In Malaysia, the survey was done from May 2010 to October 2011 in six regions across the country, namely the Northern, Central, Southern and East Coast areas of Peninsular Malaysia, as well as Sabah and Sarawak.
According to Seanuts’ findings, one in five children is overweight or obese, and one in 20 children underweight in South East Asia.
“Children in urban areas, especially boys, are also more likely to be obese than those in rural areas. More children are exceeding the 75 percentile in their Body Mass Index (BMI) figures,” added consultant paediatrician Dr Yong Junina Fadzil who was also at the discussion.
All the panelists concurred that inactivity is one of the leading contributors to overweight children.
“Children these days are less exposed to physical activities even when it comes to play time. Kids prefer digital devices and other electronics to running around on a field or playing catch in the park,” said Dr Yong, adding that families in Kuala Lumpur find it hard to engage in outdoor activities due to work commitments.
One of the effects of our children not playing outside is a deficiency in Vitamin D. Seanuts findings reveal Vitamin D deficiency in half of Malaysian children in urban and rural areas, particularly urban girls.
“In Malaysia where we have so much of sunlight that helps our body to naturally absorb vitamin D, it is amazing that many children studied suffered from a Vitamin D deficiency,” said Dr Poh, adding that 15-20 minutes a day of sunlight is enough to meet our daily vitamin D requirement.
Dr Yong pointed out that Vitamin D is an essential nutrient needed for healthy bones and to control the amount of calcium in the blood.
“Children need Vitamin D for bone growth and development as it helps to absorb calcium. Most people get little Vitamin D in their diet; only a few natural foods such as oily fish and eggs contain significant amounts of the vitamin.
“Sunshine is the main source of Vitamin D; however, it can only be made in our skin by exposure to sunlight,” she said.
Institute of Teachers Education Deputy Director Dr Mehander Singh said it is worrying that our children are leading sedentary lifestyles with less outdoor activities.
He encouraged parents and teachers to promote and encourage a more active lifestyle among children because apart from improving overall health and fitness, it’d also reduce the risk of chronic illness caused by being overweight and obese.
“In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.
“As parents, we should encourage and guide our kids by showing them good examples. Encourage your children’s participation in after school sporting activities to achieve continuous and long-lasting health right into their adulthood,” said Dr Mehander.
Also present at the discussion was father-of-two Johnny Lak who wanted to know how to monitor his children’s weight.
Creating a chart and measuring a child’s growth spurt is a good method to monitor your child’s progression, suggested Dr Yong.
“You can weigh and measure your children from time to time and monitor their growth. If there is a significant spike in their weight over a short period of time, take that as a warning sign.
Feeding children balanced meals is crucial in their growing years, but she also said there is nothing wrong in offering children food they enjoy.
“The most important thing is to offer your kids variation that is balanced and according to their recommended nutrient intake. This way, they are unlikely to suffer from malnutrition or over nutrition,” advised Dr Yong.
Please call for inquiry on Junior Bootcamp where we are committed to bring not only healthy fitness programs but also the fun factor for your children.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
How much physical activity do you need each week?
Each of us should aim to participate in an appropriate level of physical activity for our age. These guidelines apply across the population, irrespective of gender, race or socio-economic status.
The age groups covered in this report are:
• early years (under 5s)
• children and young people (5–18 years)
• adults (19–64 years)
• older adults (65+ years)
source
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Why Guys Should Never Take Gym Selfies
While we fully support girls taking gym selfies, guys should just focus on actually working out at the health club. To illustrate our point, we found nine gym selfies and give you the reasons why the guys in the photos are breaking Guy Code.
First, the above photo is an amazing catch. Someone caught this guy taking a selfie on the exercise bike. That’s not even a cool machine! Plus, you never want to take selfies in public where others can photograph and mock you.
This guy exposed the fact his buddy forgot to bring different socks to workout in. Not cool. Plus, he wrote “lol”! Guys should never write that, especially when something isn't even funny.
Anyone who tags their selfie with “sexybeast” ain’t sexy. Plus, Ernesto picked @pumpingiron102 as his handle. Why 102? That’s an entry level class, like English 102.
Speedos and selfies don’t mix.
Who cares if you “went hard today”? And who actually says things like, “Went hard today”?
Poking fun at yourself with a silly shirt shows you’re not insecure, but this guy ruined it by showing off his guns and using more tags than any man should use in a month.
If you ever find yourself pulling up your shorts to show off your legs in a selfie, put the iPhone down and slowly back away.
So many things wrong with this one, we don’t know where to begin.
This guy isn’t even wearing workout clothing and he’d tagged it “#style.” There is no way he even broke a sweat.
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition for Runners
An effective training schedule isn’t made up of runs alone; to improve both your fitness and your race times, it’s essential to put thought into what you’re putting into your stomach. By eating the right foods at the right times, “your body will recover and be able to perform the way you want it to,” says Lauren Antonucci, R.D., a board-certified specialist in sports nutrition and director of Nutrition Energy. “Plus, you’ll reduce your chance of injury and illness,” she adds. Here’s how to fuel up pre- and post-run to maximize results.
Easy/Recovery Runs:
Before: For a morning jog of no longer than 30 or 45 minutes at a relaxed pace (you can hold a conversation), a glass of water might be all that’s needed ahead of time—provided you had a decent dinner the night before. But if last night’s meal wasn’t filling or if you ate it early, downing some orange juice or a banana will replace glycogen stores in your muscles to stave off sluggishness. If you’re heading out in the afternoon, have a snack with about 50 grams of carbs in it—like yogurt and a granola bar—an hour or two beforehand, suggests Monique Ryan, R.D., author of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes.
After: There’s no need to take in calories immediately, but try to eat a snack or your next meal within an hour or two. Skipping a solid post-run meal could lead to lethargy or sugar cravings later in the day—or down the road, even sickness or injury.
Speed Workouts
Before: It doesn’t matter whether you’re tackling hill repeats or a fartlek—any kind of speed work will zap your energy stores, so some pre-run chow is a must. “This is not the place to skimp on calories,” says Antonucci, who advises taking in 200 to 400 calories (depending on your size and how long before the run you’re snacking) of easily digestible carbs, such as toast with jelly. And Ryan suggests replenishing your fast-twitch muscles with a sports drink or gels between intervals. It’s been shown to improve performance up through the last rep.
After: Unlike with those easy runs, you’ve got no time to waste after speed work. “It’s absolutely crucial to eat something within 30 minutes,” says Antonucci, to supply your muscles with fluid, carbs and some protein: aim for a 4 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein (ultra-easy source: chocolate milk) to best aid recovery.
Long Training Runs
Before: It’s most beneficial to eat a full meal three or four hours before you head out to slog through many miles. But, Antonucci says, “There’s ideal, and then there’s practical.” If the idea of setting your alarm for 3 AM sounds, well, insane, just have that meal an hour or two ahead of the run. But adjust the menu if breakfast gets close to the outing: Go for something easily digestible, like a banana with peanut butter and a high-calorie sports drink. “Even more important,” says Ryan, “is to have a good hydration and fueling plan for the run.” Try to take in between 150 and 300 calories per hour during extra-long bouts—with gels, sports drinks, or whatever snack that you can carry and your body can handle.
After: Same as with speed work, make sure to eat within half an hour of your finish. Go for 200 to 300 calories and try to include an anti-inflammatory food, such as avocado or walnuts, to reduce inflammation caused by all that pounding the pavement. Then sit down to a bigger meal a few hours later and continue snacking every two hours or so for the rest of the day, suggests Monique: “Your muscles can’t bounce back from one feeding; eating more often jump-starts recovery.”
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Why burpees are best for a full-body workout
Fitness freaks swear by them. Newbies fear them. Burpees, also known as the squat thrust, are a true test of one’s level of physical fitness. It combines a squat, push-up and jump that should be performed in one continuous motion.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the burpee was made popular in the 1930s.
It was named after Royal Huddleston Burpee, an American psychologist who developed the Burpee test — a series of burpees executed in rapid succession, designed to measure agility, strength and coordination — for the U.S. Military.
Burpees work the arms, chest, quads, glutes, hamstrings and abs. They also strengthen the heart. Since it’s a full-body exercise, your metabolism will be on fire, you'll burn lots of fat, and you'll quickly get toned if done on a regular basis. Burpees are a great functional workout, meaning it'll help you do normal activities with ease so you're less likely to hurt yourself. You don’t need any equipment and it can be done anywhere, so no excuses!
To do a burpee, simply squat, kick your feet back into a plank position, do a push-up, return your feet back up to squat position, and jump into the air and land in a standing position. Repeat over and over again. If you are a beginner, leave out the push-up or cycle in a few during your workout and build as you gain more strength.
Here’s a great tutorial on how to do a perfect burpee:
If you’re looking to challenge yourself, try the 100-day burpee challenge. Do one burpee today, two tomorrow, three the day after, etc. On the 100th day, you should be doing 100 burpees!
source
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
Slope Running
Running up slopes offers higher benefits than you think.
Slope running should be included into our workout as often as possible, especially when we can afford to run out. Not only it helps to burn a greater number of calories in a shorter time but it also significantly increases athletic performance, especially for those who love cardio.
Why slope running?
Running up slopes requires leg muscles much more than running on flat ground. So even if it is difficult, do not avoid the hill in the park just because it will run you out. Exceed your limits because stronger muscles mean higher running speed, improved metabolism and more intense calorie burning.
When running on inclines, legs get tired more easily. But we involuntary switch the effort on the part to the upper body, especially the arms, which translates into a stronger core and a better posture. Your arms should be swung, it is necessary to move them slightly to the front and back to help power those legs up the slopes.
Running up the slopes helps to reduce the risk of injury.
How? Simple: leg muscles work harder, particularly the thighs, and thus decrease the risk of a “runner’s knee” condition called “patellar tendinitis” which a lot of runners suffer from, and other athletes such as basketball or volleyball practitioners.
Warnings
You should note that such an effort can be dangerous for a person who is not accustomed to the movement and sports in general. Start easy, do not force yourself, and soon no hill will be too much of a challenge for you.
Warrior Bootcamp's Thursday and Friday running classes incorporate slope running to increase your VO2 max, stamina and power in running.
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