www.strongkid.com

StrongKid.com supplies resources to enhance the health, fitness and sport performance of children and teenagers. We do this by providing research-based information on youth strength training for educators, teachers, parents and fitness professionals. Guidelines by the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology are helping us promote safe and effective strength training practices to improve the health and fitness of youth and teens.

StrongKid.com was founded by Dr. Avery Faigenbaum in 2001 to dispel the myths associated with youth strength training and provide reassurance that regular strength exercise can be safe, effective and enjoyable for boys and girls provided that age-appropriate training guidelines are followed. 

As a pediatric exercise scientist with 20 years of experience working with children and adolescents, Dr. Faigenbaum shares his experience, knowledge and research about youth strength training on strongkid.com. Dr. Faigenbaum is a Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at The College of New Jersey, and Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is a leading researcher and practitioner in the field of pediatric exercise science and has co-authored more than 145 scientific publications, 25 book chapters and eight books related to youth health and fitness.

10 Ideas to Stay Active

We know you’re busy with your job, we know you’ve got a lot of homework, but take it from us, you can fit activity into your life.Here are some easy ways to get started.

Adults

1. Use a push mower to mow the lawn.
2. Go for a walk in a nearby park.
3. Take the stairs instead of an elevator.
4. Bike to work, to run errands, or to visit friends.
5. Clean out the garage or the attic.
6. Walk with a friend over the lunch hour.
7. Volunteer to become a coach or referee.
8. Sign up for a group exercise class.
9. Join a softball league.
10. Park at the farthest end of the lot.

Kids

1. Take your dog for a walk.
2. Start up a playground kickball game.
3. Join a sports team.
4. Go to the park with a friend.
5. Help your parents with yard work.
6. Play tag with kids in your neighborhood.
7. Ride your bike to school.
8. Walk to the store.
9. See how many jumping jacks you can do.
10. Race a friend to the end of the block.

Benefits of Fitness

The human body was designed for activity, and by exercising regularly you’ll look and feel better—every day.

Remember, fitness is about improving muscular strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory strength and endurance, and flexibility through regular physical activity. That even includes things like walking the dog, folding the laundry, or playing tag with the kids.

Why Is Staying Active So Important?

Because the results are amazing:

A HEALTHY HEART

Regular physical activity can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and can reduce the risk of illnesses such as type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

STRONG BONES

Exercise is necessary to build strong, healthy bones and can help slow the bone loss associated with getting older.

A SENSE OF WELL-BEING

Being in good shape can give you more energy, reduce anxiety and depression, improve self-esteem, and help you better manage stress.

A GOOD SOCIAL LIFE

Staying active is a great way to have fun, make new friends, and spend quality time with family.

LOOKING AND FEELING BETTER

You look better when you’re in shape. Staying active helps you tone muscles and maintain a healthy weight—and can even improve your posture.

Get Started—Right Now!

If you’re reading this, you’re already on your way to a healthier you. Now, just do a little follow-through. Create an account with the President’s Challenge, and thenchoose a challenge. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to physical activity or an Ironman competitor—we have a program for you.

The time is now. You’ll notice the difference right away, in your body and your mind.

Setting Goals

Setting realistic goals, and sticking to them, is an important part of fitness. We’ve been doing this goal-setting stuff for decades, and here’s what we’ve learned.

• Be realistic. Whether they’re for students or adults, goals should be challenging, but attainable. An unreachable goal will only be discouraging.
• Think short-term. Live for the moment. Goals must be meaningful and reachable in the near future.
• Write it down. Kids and adults alike benefit from writing out their goals and putting them where they can see them every day. Maybe on the fridge or bathroom mirror?
• Keep it simple. Goals should be straightforward and restricted to one major behavior. For example, “I’ll play soccer with my friends for 60 minutes each day for a week” or “I’ll increase my activity time by 5 minutes each week until I reach 60 minutes a day.”

Take Advantage of Our Tracking Tools

The President’s Challenge wants you to meet your goals, and we’ll help you (or your students) along the way.

Educators, you will be able to use our free software (coming in early 2011), Fitness File, to:

• Enter information about your students and their Physical Fitness Test scores.
• Create custom reports to track students’ progress.
• See which students qualify for awards, which you can order in our Shop.

If you’re an educator with an existing account, you can log in now to use the current version of Fitness File. We encourage new coordinators to wait for the new software to be released before creating an account.

If you sign up for the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) challenge orPresidential Champions challenge, you can enter your activities and track your progress on our site. You’ll get an update every time you log in. Stick with it, and you’ll earn cool awards for your hard work.