Ten Steps to Getting yourself and your Family in Shape, Part Two

Part One of this series discussed the basic ways to begin a healthy physical exercise routine, and why good physical fitness is more important for families than ever. Part Two explains how to build on that foundation, and also how children should train for sports.

6. Take it to the next level by lifting weights

Weightlifting isn't just for muscle men and health zealots anymore. Lifting free weights such as dumbbells and medicine balls builds muscle mass, burns lots of calories, and provides the body with a superb cardiovascular workout.

Begin a weightlifting routine by lifting relatively lighter weights just above your comfort zone in slow and deliberate reps. Be sure to breathe in and out fully while lifting the weights, to give your cells all the oxygen they need. It's not necessary to do a full cardio workout before lifting weights - simply ten to fifteen minutes will work fine. How much weight and how often you lift during your beginning months depends on your condition and age. Consult your doctor, and as with walking remember there's no incentive to overdoing it or letting the work pile up.

7. Get serious about your diet

For all the good that exercise does your body, eating right in combination with all your other efforts is like putting booster rockets on your physical fitness plan. Your individual dietary needs will vary according to your age and other health specifications, but in general everyone needs to build a diet heavy on vitamin rich fruits and vegetables, a proper amount of protein to help build muscle and bone strength, and grains for energy.

Eating foods high in sugar and saturated fats adds fatty buildup to the body's muscles and tissues. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats to about seven percent of your caloric intake. Taking the matter one step further, the World Health Organization asserts that saturated fats leave individuals dangerously susceptible to heart disease and should be avoided altogether. For specific help in building a proper diet, a free and complete overview of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' dietary recommendations is available at contents.htm.

8. Intelligently measure your progress - and don't lose hope

Has this ever happened to you? After a week of strenuous dieting or scrupulously eating right, you climb on the scale and find you've lost not much weight at all. Depending on the individual, substantive weight loss usually takes months. You may wish to wait that long before measuring yourself, or you may want to measure at a specific preset time - say, every Monday morning before breakfast.

9. As you near your goal, take up a new activity

There'll come a time when you've drawn near to your fitness goal. To maintain your new fitness, taking up a sport such as mountain biking, roller blading, or tennis offers you the chance to begin a new hobby or pastime that was previously impossible or harder to attain. Speak with a doctor first about what preexisting conditions might realistically bar you from some activities.

10. Encourage your children towards sports for whole family fitness

Sports offer incredible benefits to children not just limited to increased physical fitness. Both by playing on a team and competing in individual athletic competitions, children are able to build self-confidence and self-discipline and learn to work at achieving their goals. Training for sports requires targeting a specific sport and working the body towards peak physical condition for that particular competition. Pre-training and conditioning is essential in preventing muscle or tissue damage during the actual training. Experts recommend engaging the child in aerobic exercise several days a week, including bicycling, walking, and jogging. Children should stretch before and after the training, to keep the muscles and tissues loose and limber.

Proper hydration, especially during the spring and summer months, is a vital part of keeping the body healthy. With some variation for weight and age level, children should consume about one cup of water every 15 to 20 minutes when exercising. Over-hydrating can result in stomach cramps and queasiness, so it's important for parents to assess each child's specific hydration needs.

Michael Kabel is Senior Staff Writer for CornerStorkBabyGifts.com. Stop by for parenting and baby resources, unique baby gifts, baby gift baskets and baby shower favors.