Fitness Handouts - Exercise Handouts

A Dozen Ways to Improve Your Walking Workout - Of all the ways to stay fit, walking is the easiest, safest, and cheapest. It can also be the most fun: a fine day, a good companion, an attainable goal (such as a scenic spot) three or four miles away. On city streets, in the woods, or even round and round the high school track, walking is the best way to experience a landscape. If it's too rainy for anything but a treadmill indoors, at least you can read or watch TV. And after your workout, you know you've done yourself some good.

Basic Stretching Routine - Stretching, one of the simplest fitness activities, is controversial. Will it prevent injuries? Some say yes, some say no. Is there a right and wrong way to do it? Different methods have their advocates. Here's a Q & A session about a typ e of exercise that has undeniable benefits—whichever side you take in the controversy—and also feels good.

Exercise and Weight Control - Almost everyone has tried to lose weight at one time or another. People who have had the greatest success know that a person has to do two things to lose weight: • Eat fewer calories than the body needs. • Increase the number of calories the body burns as fuel.

Exercise Log - Exercise Log Use this log to keep track of your weekly exercise activity. It can help you see how exercise affects your daily life! By taking a few seconds to document workouts, you’re bound to take a greater pride in your training program!

Fitting Fitness into a Busy Schedule - You know that becoming physically fit can enhance the quality—and number—of the years ahead. But you can’t seem to find enough time to make fitness work for you. Making time for fitness means setting priorities, sneaking extra activities into daily routines and scheduling fitness time as you would other important events.

Setting Fitness Goals - The most important part of developing a personal plan for physical fitness is knowing why you want to become more fit. As simple as that may sound, it is actually a critical aspect of a successful fitness plan. If your goal is weight loss, you’ll approach fitness somewhat differently than if your goal is building strength and endurance. And once you know why you want to become more fit, you can more easily determine what you can do to reach that goal.

Sneak Activity into Your Day - Picture yourself feeling more energetic, more alive, and feeling good about making a change. Picture yourself not being winded when you reach the top of a flight of stairs or after you’ve finished carrying a trunk full of groceries into the house. By sneaking more physical activity into your daily routine, you’ll make great strides in your quest for a healthier you. You may already be more active than you realize. Ask yourself if you ever do any of the activities listed below. If you do – GREAT! Keep it up! If not, consider adding some of them to your daily routine.

Your Guide to Physical Activity and Your Heart (52 pgs) - Chances are, you already know that physical activity is good for you. “Sure,” you may say. “When I get out and move around, I know it helps me to feel and look better.” But you may not realize just how important regular physical activity is to your health. According to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health, inactive people are nearly twice as likely to develop heart disease as those who are more active. This is true even if you have no other conditions or habits that increase your risk for heart disease. Lack of physical activity also leads to more visits to the doctor, more hospitalizations, and more use of medicines for a variety of illnesses.

Walking - A Step in the Right Direction - Walking is one of the easiest ways to be physically active. You can do it almost anywhere and at any time. Walking is also inexpensive–all you need is a pair of shoes with sturdy heel support. Walking may:

Tips to Help You Get Active - You know that physical activity is good for you. So what is stopping you from getting out there and getting at it? Maybe you think that working out is boring, joining a gym is costly, or doing one more thing during your busy day is impossible. Physical activity can be part of your daily life. This booklet can help you get moving by offering ideas to beat your roadblocks to getting active.

Aerobic Exercise - Inactivity is reaching "crisis proportions" as the result of a highly technological society that makes it convenient to remain sedentary. It is now estimated that 60 percent of adult Americans are not physically active on a regular basis. Even more disturbing, one in four Americans is not active at all. Recent findings confirm that fitness is a better predictor of health and longevity than almost any other factor studied.