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Sometimes, it seems like the world is rushing by so fast, that your kids are half-grown before you have a chance to catch your breath. Then, one day you notice that their eating habits and fitness habits are very different from what you remember from your childhood. Times have changed. When we were kids, it was easy to just jump on your bike and explore the neighborhood. Nobody thought about predators and people who wanted to harm their kids. Now, the world is a less magical place. And kids have many more things to entertain them indoors that take time away from outdoor play.
It is now a challenge to get the kids out of the house. You are battling the TV and the video games which can be way more entertaining than what you have planned. You need to work at it! Get your kids to help you work in the yard, if you have one. If you are an apartment dweller, look into getting a plot at a community garden with your child. They will take immense pride in their garden.
Another source of family fun can be a regular hike, bike ride or walk. There seems to be an age in between babies and pre-teens where this is more difficult, but try it, it just may be a great, fun thing to do together.

Another great place for your kids to see what a great parental example of fitness you are is at the gym. If your kids meet the age requirements for the club, add them to your membership. You could be setting them on their way to having great health FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE!! What better gift can you give them? It is like giving them a great education; it will keep giving long after you are gone from this earth.

Going to the gym can be a great thing for you to do with your kids. I see people all the time going to classes with their kids. And not just Moms, I see lots of Dads and sons heading to classes too. Sometimes, I even see grown children coming to the gym with their parents and their own children. What a great way to spend time with your family.

My point here is simple, try something new with your family. You may just be surprised at how much fun you are having staying in shape.

Tags: Douglasville, Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Face facts! We are aging from the day we are born. And we should be concerned about living a healthy life for our entire life. As we get older, we get wiser. We realize that some of the things we are doing are counterproductive to a healthy life. If we started unhealthy habits, like smoking, we stop. If we are smart, we also review our eating, weight management and exercise programs in the same way. Are there certain things you do that are not healthy choices? Are you eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables? Are you choosing whole grains over processed foods? Are you exercising regularly?

Right about now, you are probably thinking that you know all those things are healthy. Well, then why aren’t we all doing them? We use many excuses. We are too busy, too overcommitted, too tired, no time to cook healthy meals, etc. I challenge these excuses as follows:

Too Busy.
Do you work FULL TIME? If not, there is nobody controlling most of your day, except you. Keep a diary for a couple of days. You will probably be able to find several pockets of time in your day once you do this. If you work, this is a bit harder. You have someone controlling blocks of your time. Review your day. Could you get up earlier, perhaps even a little earlier? Do you have any “flex time” where you could sneak in a bit of cardio? Do you have a favorite TV program that you watch? Do you watch the evening news? Could you watch the news or that program from the cardio area at the gym instead?

Too over-committed.
We all commit to things we do not want to do. Review these things and see if there are things that you do not need to do as well. This is also something you should do with your kid’s schedule. Today, there are more obese kids than there have ever been. Yet, kids are also more over-committed than ever. Are there activities that they do not enjoy? Maybe they could drop those in favor of some outdoor play?

Too tired
When was the last time you saw your doctor? He can rule out any medical reason for being tired. If he has, then look at the other steps first. The body is an amazing machine. If you feed it the right fuel and exercise, you usually have abundant energy.

No time to Cook Healthy Meals
Please! This is not really an excuse. There are so many options here. Try cooking on the weekend and freezing. Try buying precut vegetables and prewashed bags of salad. Pick up a cooked, roasted chicken. Chop up veggies on the weekend and put in a Ziploc bag. They can be thrown in to a stir-fry with precooked chicken, precooked fish (or the leftovers from the roasted chicken above).

As we approach the holiday season, we rely more and more on these excuses as demands on our time get greater and greater. . I want you to be healthy and live a long life. Please find a way to be honest with yourself about your behavior. Once you do that, you can make a plan to keep these excuses at bay.

Tags: Douglasville, Fitness, Personal Training by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Many people only think of hydration when it is very hot. Dehydration is an issue for ALL members of your family. It is also an issue for many people ALL YEAR LONG. Not drinking enough fluids can lead to chronic dehydration. Many people who are dehydrated eat instead of drink because they do not recognize when they are thirsty. This can lead to overeating.

Many children participating in sports do not receive ANY fluids. They should be encouraged to drink before, during and after exercise. Thirst is not a good indicator for many children, so you should stress that they have fluids. Dizziness from dehydration is a serious symptom. You should seek medical attention if you are dehydrated to this point.

Dehydration can also be a symptom of diabetes so discuss any symptoms of dehydration with your doctor. He can determine if you need further testing. He can also give you information on preventing it again in the future.

For athletes, performance and power are lost when you are dehydrated. This is common sense. Your body is going to put its energy into protecting its vital systems. Marathon runners condition themselves on their fluid requirements because they know their performance is affected.

Tags: Douglasville, Fitness, Personal Training by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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There are MANY different ailments and conditions and diseases that affect the back. Your spine is CRITICALLY important to your entire life! Back pain is exhausting and can be extremely painful. If you have a healthy back, you should do everything you can to stay that way. If you have issues with your back, there are a few things that you should do:

1) Go to the doctor and get a diagnosis. Once you have this, ask your doctor to help you develop a plan for getting better.

2) Follow the plan. Did your doctor tell you that you would feel better if you took some of the weight load off your back (by losing weight)? Then, do it!

Some general things that can help you feel better (and prevent pain in the first place) :

• Get active. Just like your car doesn’t fix itself in the driveway, your back won’t fix itself when you are in bed!

• Strengthen the muscles that support your back. If you only do crunches, your abs are not properly developed to support your spine. You need to work on your core.

• Consider losing weight if you are overweight. Additional weight on your body causes more stress on all of your muscles and joints as well as your back. You may find that not only does your back pain go away, but also so does your knee pain and your foot pain!

• Drink water. Studies by the Jack M. Blount Foundation found that chronic dehydration is a contributing factor in muscle spasms. It also makes spasms more painful. You know all the other good reasons to drink water, so if you aren’t doing it yet, make it an easy resolution that you can keep!

Tags: Back Care, Douglasville, Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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With the holidays approaching, many people will be heading out of town. And many more will be forgoing their workout. The holidays are a challenging time to keep your workout in your schedule. Adding travel to the mix only compounds that difficulty. But, it does not make it impossible.
There are many things you can do. If you are staying at a hotel, call ahead and see what facilities they offer. Is there are gym? How well equipped is it? Is there a pool? Swimming can be a great change of pace from your regular workout.

If there aren’t any facilities, bring along your “emergency workout kit”. This fits in any size suitcase so if you don’t think you have room, consider dropping some of your other items (you don’t need 10 shirts if you are only going away for 5 days.) People who travel regularly are very masterful at cutting down on what they bring. Take a lesson from them. If you always come back from vacation with lots of clean clothes, you are packing too much. Drop some of that weight in favor of things you will use, like workout clothes and your “emergency workout kit”.

Here is what I mean by the “emergency workout kit”. It consists of:
- a yoga mat
- one or two exercise bands
- your workout shoes
With those items, you can perform a very basic routine in any hotel room. (Japanese and European rooms can present a challenge but it is still possible)

The exercises are simple. You can do squats with a press (using your band.) You can do push-ups, walking lunges, tricep dips and all kinds of ab work. Use your imagination, you may just ENJOY IT!

Tags: Douglasville, Fitness, Personal Training by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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