So I begin my new season with another issue that has caught many by surprise as we all go back to school-there is a new push to eliminate “unstructured” playtime-also called recess and morph it into structured time-like physical exercise (PE).  The reason-from the “more exercise time will help stop childhood obesity” side-is just that. These advocates feel that our children need to burn off more calories in a structured exercise program to balance the calories/food being consumed. There is a good point there-balance. Remember as I have said in many articles, the calories-as food that are consumed must be balanced by the calories burned-as exercise. When there is an imbalance-such as more food consumed and less exercise, the result is a weight gain. Of course, to show you the other side-when the pendulum swings the other way, more exercise and less food, the result is weight loss. But we all should understand what “structured” means. Most sources will say that the word “structured” in this context means having a clearly defined arrangement or organization; composed of parts or elements. So when you think of “structured” activities, you may think of those that have some set of rules or goals. Organized sports like football, baseball, tennis and karate may be some examples. Other’s like “Mother May I,” and “Tag,” also represent activities that have a structure. Chess, Tic Tac Toe and assembling a puzzle are also non exercise/fitness structured activities. Okay-so that’s structured-what’s “unstructured”? Well, think of any activity without organization, without a definite set of rules. Ahhhhh-that sounds like creative time. Yep-you are correct. Unstructured time also called recess or play time is meant to stimulate a child-to allow him or her to think of things to do like creating artwork or playing with dolls (or miniature army men). Unstructured time is designed to push the creative aspects of a child. It may include a fitness related activity as well-but it also includes a cerebral (right brain, left brain stuff) component.

So here is the dilemma. Physical activity is very important for everyone. Our children need fitness related activities not only to balance the calories consumed but also to help them develop their muscles and coordination. But should we on the other hand limit the creative energies of our children by eliminating recess? Or can we and should we have both! Having come from a generation that had recess, I remember many times making up games (many of them have come to the computer market-Wii, PlayStation, Nintendo, etc.). I remember most of the boys running around the playground. I also remember kids that didn’t run around-and sat and talked or did some form of art or played games. But they had a choice. Maybe the answer is to “structure”  the days school schedule so that both creative and fitness activities are  planned. Maybe we can make the day a bit longer and eliminate most of the homework-hey that’s a novel idea! I think that there is too much classroom work sent home anyway! Let’s not make walking to the cafeteria, bathroom or class room the only daily fitness activity a child has. And let’s not eliminate art, dance and music from our children’s learning platform either. Our children need these knowledge forms to stimulate their young minds.

Let’s face it, there is plenty of time in the school day to give the child a well rounded education-both intellectual and physical. It’s a matter of organization and how you can structure it!

My friend’s, stay fit and healthy The New Nerdel Way!

1. The exercise recommendations (Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans) for children-adolescents-ages 6-17: 60 minutes of physical activity each day. That includes the following-

1. Aerobic Activity: Most of the activity should be aerobic- brisk walking, or vigorous-intensity activity, such as running. Be sure to include vigorous-intensity aerobic activity on at least 3 days per week.
2. Muscle Strengthening: like gymnastics or pushups-3 days a week. Younger children usually strengthen their muscles when they do gymnastics, play on a jungle gym or climb trees.
3. Bone Strengthening: jumping rope, running-3 days per week

1. The exercise recommendations (Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans) for children-adults-ages 18-64: 150 minutes each week of aerobic and muscle strengthening fitness activity. That includes the following plan:

1. 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobics (brisk walk) each week and 2 or more days of muscle strengthening OR
2. 75 minutes of vigorous activity (running) each week and 2 days of muscle strengthening OR
3. A mixture of moderate and vigorous physical activity and muscle strengthening

Remember my article “Take Ten”? Well, exercise can be broken up in to ten minute periods-as long as it is moderate to vigorous when you do it! And 150 minutes is just a minimum recommendation. For even better benefit, 300 minutes per week will give you better weight control and fitness levels. And what is 300 minutes anyway-that’s less than 45 minutes a day, 7 days a week. You could do 15 minutes three times a day! Walking, running, jogging, aerobics, dance, karate, ballet, yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba, water aerobics, singles or doubles tennis, work on a farm-digging and shoveling, push a lawn mower-PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS NOT A ONE SUIT FITS ALL. You need to find the fitness activity that you like-group or individual, indoors or outdoors-it doesn’t matter. It’s just important to do it!

My friend’s, take a walk, get some exercise and get moving! Stay fit and healthy The New Nerdel Way!

So when my doctor told me to “take ten,” I realized that he was right. Yea, I know it’s not a lot. But ten minutes a day is do-able!  I want to do 90 minutes. I really love working out in the gym and running on the treadmill. I used to play tennis nonstop and practice karate but a shoulder and hand injury changed that. So I am left with the gym. But my friends, I must tell you, with my lifestyle, writing, traveling, sometimes I can spare ten minutes- not 30 or 60 and definitely not 90. In fact I don’t know who does 90. Wait, I do-high school, college and professional athletes spend lots of time exercising in their particular sports. And I see many people running on the street. So I guess there are those that do spend a lot of time exercising. That’s great. But for most of us, it’s not a reality. Many of my friends even dislike exercising. That’s why I feel strongly that kids in school should be exposed to individual type of fitness/exercise activities like Tai Chi, Yoga, Karate, Dance and even working out in a gym. If kids are exposed at an early age, they may find a sport that they like to do and will do it when they get older. And they won’t grow up like many people and “hate” exercise. Team sports are great, but not for everyone. We need to give kids an opportunity to learn a fitness activity they will do for life. For example, if you go to San Francisco, Vancouver or China, you will see hundreds of elderly (and young as well) Chinese, practicing the martial art of Tai Chi. It’s beautiful to watch. It’s physical. It’s self defense. It helps arthritis. It helps the heart. Why not teach our kids this?

So my friends “Take Ten!” You can find ten minutes to walk, run, dance, hula-hoop-whatever! If you can spend more time, per the recommendations, great. But do the ten! It’s good for you.

Stay fit and healthy The New Nerdel Way.   And by the way, Happy Memorial Day-the day we honor all of those that served and died while in the military.   

Guidelines for healthy adults under age 65

Basic recommendations from ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) and AHA (American Heart Association):

Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Or
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
And
Do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.

Moderate-intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, yet still being able to carry on a conversation. It should be noted that to lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary. The 30-minute recommendation is for the average healthy adult to maintain health and reduce the risk for chronic disease.

To read the complete set of exercise guidelines, please visit the ACSM.

May 31, 2010: Well my friends, as usual, yours truly got the beat on the latest study to come out today by Dr. Robert Gerszten of Massachusetts General Hospital  who found that:

Ten minutes of brisk exercise triggers metabolic changes that last at least an hour.

So you see, maybe “Ten Minutes” is really the new 60!! So why are you still sitting there-get up and move it!!