Keeping Kids Fit: A Family Plan for Raising Active, Healthy Children

233 Pages·2010·1.52 MB·English

by  Len Saunders (Foreword by Shannon Miller)

Praise for Keeping Kids Fit
“Through the Michael Phelps Foundation, I work to promote
healthy, active lives, especially for children. It’s very important
that children are active, and Len Saunders has spent the last
threedecadesteachingchildrenhowtostayactiveandhealthy.
MichaelPhelps,14-timeOlympicGoldMedalChampion
“Gettingkidsactiveandkeepingthemhealthyisnowmorechal-
lengingthanever.LenSaunderslaysoutaplanthatcanassistall
parents in their efforts to help their children discover all that
sports and exercise have to offer.”
CalRipkenJr.,BaseballHallofFamemember
and19-timeMajorLeagueBaseballAll-Star
“Keeping children active motivates them to be healthy in their
adult lives. Len Saunders gives a simple blueprint for success
that helps kids keep good habits.”
TonyHawk,championprofessionalskateboarder
“LenSaundershassuccessfullyeducatedthousandsofchildren
and parents on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. This
bookisanoutstandingreferenceforparentsandeducatorsalike
who want to promote better health for our children.”
DiggerPhelps,FormerHeadBasketballCoach,NotreDame
FightingIrishandESPNCollegeBasketballAnalyst
“Ibelieveanactivechildwillnotonlybeingoodhealth,butwill
alsohavehighselfesteemandconfidence.Childrenareourfu-
ture, and it is up to us to make sure they are the best they can
be.LenSaunders’ProjectACESisamajorstepinthisdirection.”
VinceCarter,OrlandoMagicGuard,8-Time
NBAAll-Star,OlympicGoldMedalist
“Makinganythingfunisthekeytosuccess,especiallywhentalk-
ingaboutfitness.ThatisexactlywhatLenSaundershasdone.”
ChrisJakubauskas,MajorLeague
BaseballPittsburghPiratespitcher
“All parents want their children to have long and prosperous
lives,andgivingchildrenthegiftofgoodhealthmeansmaking
wisechoicesaboutnutrition,physicalactivity,sleepandself-es-
teem. Len Saunders has been a tireless warrior in the fight
against childhood obesity and inactivity for decades.”
Dr.FeliciaD.Stoler,DoctorofClinicalNutrition,
registereddietician,exercisephysiologistandhostof
TheLearningChannel’s“HoneyWe’reKillingtheKids”
“Childhood obesity is a recognized risk factor for the leading
causesofillnessanddeath.Givenitsincreasingprevalence,pro-
viding parents with strategies to increase physical activity and
improvetheirchildren’sdietismoreimportantthanever.Keep-
ingKidsFitisaninvaluabletooltohelpparentsencouragetheir
children to be active and healthy.”
StephanieNavarroSilvera,Ph.D.,AssistantProfessor,
HealthandNutritionSciences,MontclairStateUniversity
“Parentsplayakeyroleinkeepingtheirchildrenhealthyandfit.
Len Saunders’ programs make staying healthy fun and easy.”
BartOates,three-timeNationalFootballLeagueSuperBowl
Championandfour-timeProBowlselection
Keeping Kids Fit
A Family Plan for Raising
Active, Healthy Children
Len Saunders
LACHANCEPUBLISHING•NEWYORK
www.lachancepublishing.com
Copyright©2010byLenSaunders
ISBN978-1-934184-26-4
EditedbyVictorStarsiaandRichardDayGore
CoverdesignbyStewartA.Williams
IllustrationsbyStephanSchmitz
Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Noportionofthisbookmaybereproducedortransmitted—mechan-
ically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system—with-
out the express written permission of the publisher, except by a re-
viewerwhomayquotebriefpassagesinareview.
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2009939807
PublishedbyLaChancePublishingLLC
120BondStreet,Brooklyn,NY11217
www.lachancepublishing.com
Thisbookisavailableatspecialdiscountsforbulkpurchasesforsales
promotionsorpremiums.Specialeditions,includingpersonalizedcov-
ers, excerpts of existing books, and corporate imprints, can be cre-
atedinlargequantitiesforspecialneeds.Formoreinformation,write
[email protected].
Dedicated with love to Julie, Evan and Ryan

Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv
PART ONE
Getting Kids Active and Healthy…
and Keeping Them That Way!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
CHAPTER ONE
The Childhood Health Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Len’s Top Ten Surefire Tips for Keeping Kids Fit . . . . . . . . 10
CHAPTER TWO
Motivating Kids to Be Active . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Is Competition Good for Children? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Healthy Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Individualized Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Len’s Top Ten Tips to Motivate Kids to Be Active . . . . . . . 19
A Word about Stress Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Len’s Top Ten Ways to Manage Your Child’s
Stress and Anxiety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
| vii
viii | Contents
CHAPTER THREE
Getting in the Habit of Being Active . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Preventing a Habit from Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Be a Good Role Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Communicate at All Times. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Try Making a Contract with Your Child. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Get Involved in Your Child’s Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Stopping a Habit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Talk With the Professionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Praise Works! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Replace the Bad with the Good. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Be Creative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Always Keep it Positive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Dealing with Peer Pressure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Exercise 1—Image Imagination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Exercise 2—Role Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Exercise 3—When I Was a Kid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Exercise 4—Friend or No Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Exercise 5—The Benefits and Costs of Peer Pressure . . 33
CHAPTER FOUR
Go Offline: Reducing Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Len’s Top Ten Strategies for Reducing Technology . . . . . . 36
PART TWO
The Action Plan for Keeping Kids Fit . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
CHAPTER FIVE
Get Moving: The Benefits of Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Cardiovascular Endurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Muscle Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Contents | ix
The Overload Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Progression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Specificity of Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Rest and Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Muscle Endurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Body Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Flexibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
CHAPTER SIX
First Things First: Warm-Ups and Stretching . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Len’s Top Ten Warm-Up and Stretch Exercises . . . . . . . . . 55
CHAPTER SEVEN
A Week of Family Fitness and Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Sunday is for Calisthenics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
A Monday Walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
How to Walk Correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Basic Walking Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Don’t Forget to Cool Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Len’s Top Ten Walking Activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Tuesday is Household Chores Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Sports on Wednesday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Thursday is Recreation Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Friday: A Day for Hobbies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
For Saturday Make Up Your Own Activity!. . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
CHAPTER EIGHT
Get in the Game: Kids and Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Team Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
The Pros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
The Cons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89