It’s that time of the year again! Whether your kid’s summer activity was playing sports, riding their bike, swimming in the hot sun, or getting some activity chasing Pokemon with their friends, things are about to change! They are going back
It’s that time of the year again! Whether your kid’s summer activity was playing sports, riding their bike, swimming in the hot sun, or getting some activity chasing Pokemon with their friends, things are about to change! They are going back to school and sit at a desk most of the day, just like they are training for a traditional office job. So, what a better time than to talk about back to school fitness!
According to a 2010 survey by Kaiser Family Foundation, the average U.S. student is sitting at school an average of 4.5 hours a day. When you combine sitting at school with sitting in front of a screen, doing homework, and eating meals, kids are sitting 85 percent of their waking hours.
Just as more offices realize that prolonged sitting, even as little as two hours continuously, is terrible for health and productivity, getting our kids and families moving more needs to be right at the top of the back to school fitness check list.
Back to School Fitness Not Always Easy
Teachers and schools are under pressure to cram more instructional time into the school day, which often puts the squeeze on recess. It’s not easy at home, either. With the school year comes the added stress of homework, extracurricular activities, waking up early, carpooling and shorter days to squeeze it all in. Often times at the end of the day, not only did the kids sit too much, the whole family sat too much, with no one getting enough exercise. As a society, we fail to meet Physical Activity Guidelines provided by the CDC with more than 80% of adults not meeting the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, and more than 80 percent of adolescents not getting enough aerobic physical activity.
We already know that physical activity, essential to overall health, can help control weight, reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve mental health according to the CDC. But, there are also more studies indicating that physical activity improves performance in academics. Research by James C. Hannon, assistant dean of the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, suggests “resistance exercise,” e.g. weight lifting, using resistance bands etc., is effective in improving academic performance.
So, what to do?
The CDC recommends that children and adolescents do 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day with a focus on aerobic activity such as running, muscle strengthening such a push-ups, and bone strengthening such a jumping rope. Getting active is easier than you think for the whole family. Some great resources to get started include the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, the American Heart Association, and the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
Here are a few other ways to help your kids fit fitness into their day regardless of your busy schedule.
- Lead by example: Research shows that only about 1 in 5 adults meet the CDCs physical activity guidelines. If your children see you exercise and make it a priority, perhaps they will, too. Find time for exercise before school with your children or encourage them to do it on their own. Researchers found that children who had an opportunity to run 15-45 minutes before class were less distracted and more attentive to schoolwork. These positive effects lasted two to four hours after their workouts. There are wonderful apps like the 7 Minute Workout or home exercise systems like Excy (short for exercise cycling) that kids can do on their own to get thei