Fitness WAHM

Kids Who Jump Rope Have a Healthy Heart

One of the activities we all looked forward to during lunch recess was going out to the schoolyard and jumping rope. Engaging in double-dutch rope jumping was the best and most fun activity we enjoyed. Today, kids are still enjoying this physical activity and have even taken it up a notch or two.

While the benefits of jumping rope are numerous, it does play a vital role in keeping kids’ hearts healthy. Even adults who utilize jumping rope find the cardiovascular workout to be even more effective than running or walking. While some of us had a problem trying to jump in to the spinning ropes, kids seem more adept at establishing their foot, hand, and eye coordination at an early age.

Jumping rope is not only great for the heart, but helps in losing weight as well. Even single rope jumping can become an intense workout. While some kids may not be as coordinated as Rocky, there are wonderful videos available for exercises that can teach anyone how to add new techniques to rope jumping.

As mentioned earlier, jumping rope is a great way to burn calories and lose weight. In addition, the workout utilizes all of the muscles in the body. For kids jumping rope, it is a necessary ingredient in building strong bones, which is important to them as they grow older.

While jumping rope in our day was a fun way to release pent-up energy, it has become an art form today for kids. With all of the maneuvers and techniques used, it’s a great way to maintain a healthy heart, increase energy, and keep the body physically fit.

Instead of watching TV or playing video games, encourage your kids to jump rope. If you excelled in this activity, perhaps you can teach your kids a few tricks as well.

Exercise is important for a strong body.  Regular weekly exercise not only maintains a healthy weight, but it also helps the body to deal with stress.  Just thirty minutes a day of physical exercise can relieve stress.

Exercise produces endorphins in the body.  These endorphins produce a “feel good” attitude in the body.  To continue to experience this feeling, people continue to exercise.

Exercise also increases the flow of blood to the brain.  As a result, our mental clarity becomes sharper and we see solutions to problems where at first we thought there was none.  Our cardiovascular fitness increases and we enjoy an abundance of energy for the tasks we face each day.

Exercise has so many benefits, so why don’t people do more of it?  One reason that people don’t exercise is that they can’t find the time.  What a pickle.  We all need to find time to exercise so that we can take the time to deal with the stress in our lives.

For busy moms, exercising in the morning may be a good option.  Before the day gets going and life happens, we can get our mental boost.  In the morning, exercise can be done uninterrupted.  You don’t need to go to a gym for a workout.  Exercise videos and DVD’s are available that give just as good if not better workouts.  And, you don’t have to get up, shower, get dressed and drive to the gym.

Another reason that people don’t exercise is that they don’t know what to do.  They start out gung-ho and end up injuring themselves.  The key to sticking with exercise is to find an activity that is at your pace and that you like to do.  Yoga, for example, is a relaxing activity that teaches the body and the mind to work in tandem while strengthening the muscles and oxygenating the body.

Walking is still the best overall exercise and all you need is a good pair of shoes.  Why not take a brisk walk around your neighborhood in the morning to clear your head and go over your schedule for the day.  For working moms, lunchtime offers a chance to walk with friends and put the stress of work behind you.  For families, walking in the evening after dinner is a way for everyone to de-stress and increases their health.

Exercise boosts our immune system.  It prevents the depletion of minerals in our bodies that usually comes with a prolonged stress response.  Have you noticed that people who are under a lot of stress often catch colds?  This is why.  Exercise can prevent this type of result by keeping our minds sharp enough to deal with the stress in our lives.

Exercise has many benefits including weight reduction, heart health, and stress relief.  Thirty minutes or more a day can arm your body against the effects of stress.  The endorphins can change your outlook on problems so that finding solutions is less of a struggle.

Creating & Sticking to an Exercise Routine

Getting in shape isn’t always easy. Part of the problem is getting started and sticking to an exercise program.  Many people find working out boring and just lose interest, especially if they don’t see quick results.  The simplest way to stick to an exercise routine is to find something you enjoy doing.  By looking at your daily schedule, and the family’s schedule, you can see when it would be best for you to exercise.  It might even be necessary to split up your workout and do smaller amounts of time throughout the day.

But, before you decide when you are going to exercise, you need to decide what kind you want to do.  That will also affect how much time is needed. If you are planning to run, you’ll need to incorporate time for warming up and cooling down.  If you want to take a class, you need to see if their offered times fit into your schedule.

Check out all the different styles of exercise out there, from running, aerobics, joining a sports team, to a martial arts school or health club.  See if different classes offer a one time free trial class, to see if you enjoy that form of exercise.  Just be sure to take it easy and not try to keep up with the class. More than likely, they’ve been doing it for a while and can do more.  If you try to do too much, you will probably be sore the next day and decide to never go back, even if you enjoyed it.

If you sign up for a class, the fact that you are paying for it will help motivate you to go back and get your money’s worth.  It also makes it more enjoyable, as you are with other people.  The instructor can help you to get the most out of the class.  By having the company of others, you can help keep each other accountable to keep going.

Some people do not feel comfortable working out with a group of people, possibly because they are self-conscious.  However, working out alone is harder to stay motivated.  Work out videos may be a good choice. Many of them are set up to be adaptable to your schedule, with some having twenty, thirty or sixty-minute workouts.

In order to stay on track, make yourself a chart that can be hung where it can be seen everyday.  Mark on it all the days and times you plan to exercise.  As you complete a session, mark it off.  Make special goals along the way.  Say you complete one full week without missing a session, you give yourself a special treat.