Fitness or Child's Play?

I feel so lucky to work my summer job because I get to work with children at a day camp. One of the reasons this job is too good to be true is the active lifestyle it promotes, not just for the employees but the campers too.

This week at camp we had the classic battle of Color Wars. What this consists of is splitting the entire camp into teams, competing in events, and then crowning a new champion.

As we organized and put on this event the importance and fun and fitness became apparent to me.

The great thing about Color Wars is the fitness it promotes to young children through fun activities.

The events include: Big Shoe Race, Sack Race, swimming relays, and many other team building activities. The wonderful thing about this is it encourages children to step away from their phones and computers and make childhood memories. I think summer camp in general is great for this and that it gives children the ability to work on healthy habits. Besides Color Wars camp encourages daily physical activity. We have archery, kayaking, pool (twice a day), sports, fitness fun, and many other activities that promote an active lifestyle.  

Healthy lifestyles are easier to stick to when an individual is a part of an encouraging and motivating community.  Luckily for me there is always someone working out before or after camp and this is a great way to stay motivated. My campers teach me so much everyday and I believe that sports  and physically challenging games allow them to problem solve and grow.

It may feel silly as an adult to play with shaving cream or run in shoes too large for you, but these messy relay races are fun for the whole family.


Please comment with any fun suggestions for relay races or outdoor camp activities.

  

Jamming

Some people prefer to workout with music and some prefer to leave the music at home.

After talking with some of my coworkers about the music, no music debate I found that those who need music to workout have some strong feelings about it.

Many pulled out their phones and proudly scrolled through their masterfully crafted playlists. For those of you that are just getting started with your workout routine or those that would like a change I found a webpage that allows you to chose your musical preferences and will create a playlist for you. 

http://www.bestworkoutsongs.ws/mix-maker

There are a few websites dedicated to making playlists to fit your mood and working out is quickly becoming a focus of these sites.

http://8tracks.com/ Is a website that allows you to make playlists for working out and any other mood you could be experiencing.

Use these websites to find out the kind of music you like to workout with and then create your own playlist!

Stay motivated! 

To sprint or not to sprint?

Once you get into your routine of working out it can be really difficult to change things up...

Today I will be talking about the benefits of adding a sprint interval workout into your weekly schedule. I found this article that discusses the many benefits of interval training and I wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts.

Benefits of Sprint Workouts

Do you believe this article is unbiased?

If you were to attempt a sprint workout where would you start?

Have any of you ever participated in a sprint workout before? Where? 

Another good reason to change your running route if you're a female is the possibility that running on a set schedule could put your safety at risk. 

I posted about this blog on my sorority's facebook page and I'm really excited to see that I have had 50 views on this blog! 

For this weeks blog post I researched how to calculate Body Mass Index and researched what BMI is and the information it supplies. In order to be thorough I also asked my Father about BMI and what it means, because he received a Masters in Health Promotions and Exercise Physiology from Vanderbilt University.

What I discovered is that a BMI is your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared. The number you are left with provides an index for obesity.

Here is a step by step way to convert and discover your BMI:

Multiply your weight in pounds by .45

Next multiply your height by .025

Next we will square the number you received from your height calculation in the previous step.    

The squared number will then be used to divide the answer from step one (your weight multiplied by .45)

If this feels like a lot of math here is an online calculator:

Click Here to Find Out Your BMI

Once you find your BMI you're probably thinking that you have this number but no context for it. You're absolutely right! A BMI is only significant because it is measured against a scale.

Click Here to View a BMI Chart

Here is a visual to help you see the different percentages of body fat on both men and women. When you calculate your BMI you are not calculating the percentage of fat on your body. This is just an image I found interesting.