Many of you probably grew up in the same era I did where physical education was a mandatory requirement as part of a school’s curriculum. Back then, it used to be several times a week, but today in some school systems, entire semesters will go by without any type of physical education programs offered.

I actually enjoyed PE when I was in school, but I’ll bet many of you could tell a funny story or two about your own experiences back in “gym class days.” Perhaps it was being afraid to undress in front of your peers, and you made up excuses so you wouldn’t have to “dress out” that day and you wound up sitting on the sidelines observing. One thing that wasn’t missing when I grew up was the concept of going outside to play. My friends and I used to play “Kick the Can” and “Dodge Ball” in the street until it got dark and our parents called us in. Heck, sometimes we even stayed out past dark playing. I was always worn out when I went to bed, but I slept like a rock!

Yes the times are certainly different now in that we have to keep a closer watch on our children, not only when they’re inside the home, but outside as well. With technology as it is today, the most exercise some children get is moving the controls on their electronic games or uploading songs on their iPods. Hence, repetitive motion syndrome is prevalent in our children today. This sedentary lifestyle, along with the food choices they are making is needless to say promoting childhood obesity. And so often it’s not just the food choices they make, but those influenced by their own parents!

We were all glad to hear about how First Lady Michelle Obama has launched a major push against childhood obesity, which affects nearly one in five U.S. kids ages six to 19, with one in three being overweight. This epidemic threatens to make the current generation of Americans the first to live shorter lives than their parents! Children as young as eight years are winding up on statins. Bottom line, these obese children are at greater risk for a whole host of maladies, ranging from high blood pressure to diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

What can you do make sure your child doesn’t become obese?

1. Serve healthy meals – Never skip breakfast (Studies show breakfast eaters have a lower BMI than non-breakfast eaters.)
2. Balance the meals – Meals should be a combination of quality carbs and protein. Adding protein helps stabilize blood sugar levels, slow down digestion, and may ultimately leave your child feeling fuller longer.
3. Avoid liquid calories – Don’t serve your children fruit juice and other beverages that contain sugar. Encourage them to drink lots of water.
4. Stock up on non-fat/low-fat dairy products – Kids need calcium, but not the fat and calories from whole-milk dairy products (unless they are under 2 yrs). Switch to skim milk, 1% reduced-fat milk, part-skim string cheese, fat-free or low-fat sliced cheese and fat-free or low-fat yogurt.
5. Fill ‘em up with fiber – Insoluble fiber takes a longer time to chew and provides volume to food without adding a lot of calories.
6. Give them “juicy foods” – Fruits and veggies with high water content can help fill kids up, so they’ll eat less throughout the day.
7. Provide veggies 24/7 – Make veggies available round the clock. They’re low-calorie and nutrient dense. Always have kid-friendly veggies like baby carrots, sugar snap peas, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and even edamame, washed and ready to eat.
8. Limit snacks – Encourage your child to eat healthy 90% of the time and enjoy sweet or salty favorites 10% of the time. Let them choose and plan their “fun foods” each day. This helps remove the feeling of being deprived certain foods.
9. Make eating fun – Cook meals with your children – they’re more apt to eat what they’ve helped prepare. Have a theme night, provide dipping stations, use fun plates…be creative!
10. Be active! – Get your kids exercising and keep them moving. Aim to have them active for an hour a day. You’ll want to limit TV watching and videogame playing. Encourage them to go bike riding, take walks, jump rope, anything that gets them moving!

fitness-advice-motivation/child-obesity/attachment/kids-fitness/”>All three of my children are phenomenal athletes. My son plays football and my daughters are heavily involved in volleyball. I have always encouraged family workouts. They often tell their friends, “Most families go out to the movies for their fun, but my dad’s idea of fun is having a family workout.” Don’t get me wrong – we still do other fun things together, but keeping physically fit is a priority in my family. I don’t want my children or my grandchildren to become part of these statistics, and I’m sure you don’t either. So make physical fitness a family affair – you’ll all stay healthier while increasing the quality of your family life. It’s worth it!

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Winding down this series on the benefits to exercise, we’ve discussed how consistent exercise can improve your mood, immune and cardiovascular system, and help you lose weight. But did you know that an equally important benefit to exercise is improving your sex life? We’re all adults here, so I’m not going to dance around the topic.

What’s a normal thing you hear as far as a barrier to sexual function? If you said stress and fatigue, then you’re right on the mark. Back to the first of this five part series when we talked about the effects on your moods when you exercise, let’s recap – when endorphins are released, they combat the “stress hormone” cortisol and help promote an overall sense of well-being. Hmmm, maybe that explains the “high” you feel after a good love-making session!

The production of another hormone – testosterone – is increased naturally when you exercise. This hormone is the primary hormone which drives the libido in both men and women. Testosterone is best known for its affects on increasing lean muscle mass, reducing body fats and slowing down the aging process, but it also plays a central role in promoting sexual desire.

With males, testosterone enhances the sex life by producing more frequent erections, increasing sexual urges, helping sustain the bone density, mass and muscular strength necessary to make love-making pleasurable. It reduces depression and chronic fatigue, which also obstruct a good, healthy sex life. Normal levels of testosterone for men are about 300-1,200 ng/dl.

Women enjoy sex more often when their testosterone levels are normal, which are approximately 20-100 ng/dl. Of course, she also needs estrogen, which binds with testosterone and helps influence her sex drive and mood.

Cardio endurance is key if you’re looking to have enthusiastic sex – shoot for three to four days of cardio exercises a week like running, walking, swimming or anything else that gets your heart pumping.

Great sex also requires a little endurance so conditioning your body can be a plus for longer lasting sex. For endurance, you’ll need to lift lighter weights for more repetitions. Check out some endurance workouts on my site to help get you conditioned for great sex. Don’t forget about muscular strength either – as you’ll need it since your muscles will be contracting. There’s nothing like getting a leg cramp in the middle of a “moment!”

Why not try a little Yoga to help get you in the mood as well? If some of those positions don’t get your juices stirring, I don’t know what will! It will also make it easier to get into your favorite positions without throwing your back out.

So if you’ve been procrastinating about starting an exercise program and just haven’t found the right motivation, perhaps the thought of increasing your lure of a little “boom boom pow” might do the trick!!

"Boom Boom Pow" video

Check out my site to find all kinds of stretching, endurance, and cardio workouts. Just 30 minutes a day of moderate to strenuous exercise, along with some stretching and deep breathing should be enough to help see an improvement. Studies have shown that getting physically fit promotes a healthier body image, which in turn can increase your feelings of desirability. Your partner and your libido will thank you!

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In continuation of the benefits to exercise series, this week we’re talking about exercise as part of effectively losing weight. I’m not here to advocate that exercise alone should make up your weight loss program. Since your weight is determined by the number of calories you eat each day minus what your body uses, your diet and nutrition must work in conjunction with your exercise program in order to maintain a healthy weight or lose unwanted weight.

Everything you eat contains calories and everything you do burns up those calories – even sleeping, eating and digesting food. Outside of those normal body functions, any physical activity added to the mix burns extra calories. The key being to balance the number of calories expended through exercise and physical activity with the calories you put in your body. Sounds like simple math to create the best way to lose weight, right?

However, we live in a “want it now” society, so many people want a desired outcome, but heaven forbid they have to exert any effort in order to obtain it! There is no magic quick weight loss pill – no matter what those late night infomercials tell you. I’ve said it before – you need to MOVE and get off of your bootie on a consistent basis, combined with healthy eating in order to achieve the most efficient and healthy weight. When you’re active, your body uses energy (calories) to work, helping to burn the calories you take in with everything that goes in your mouth.

Last week we talked about the importance of aerobic exercise in order to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. The chart below from Mayo Clinic shows the estimated number of calories burned while performing a variety of exercises for one hour. Obviously this may vary depending on the exercise, intensity and the individual’s fitness level, but it’s a good source for deciding which combination of exercises or activities may create the best weight loss program for you.

Try to keep in mind this week while you’re surrounding yourself with huge spreads of food that in order to burn those unnecessary calories you may be indulging in, you’ll have to MOVE in order to keep the weight loss equation in check.

I would also like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and extend my gratitude to my family and friends, staff members and those who work out at any of my clubs. This may have been a tougher year than most for many; however, there is still so much to be thankful for. Thank you all for being a part of my social media family as we offer support and encouragement to each other while on this continual journey called “wellness.”

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“African dancing IS my only workout and training. When done regularly and with full effort, African dance can be a full fitness regimen. Also, because African dancing uses every different muscle in the body, the workout never plateaus. It’s all I do!”

I was impressed with Kukuwa’s African Dance Workout and wanted to share it with you too!

Workout: This is a dance workout that should be done after a warm up about 15 -- 20 minutes then into the full 60 min workout. However it can be done on its own and repeated for the full cardio effect desired.

This exercise is a total body workout. It is an authentic African dance which involves:
- the head
- the neck
- the shoulders
- the rib cage
- the waist
- the hips
- the gluteus Maximus (the boombsey!)
- the pelvic
- the quads
- the hamstrings
- the arms
- the feet

- This full body workout works your core and burns about any where between 600 -- 900 calories depending on the pace of the workout. Once you learn the moves of the dance, you can repeat it over and over again within the song for about 5 -- 10 minutes.  Kukuwa was gracious to share the full instructional dance workout video with you here for free, check it out!

Kukuwa Nuamah is an internationally acclaimed African Dance Performer, Creator of Kukuwa Dance Workout, and the Artistic Director and Owner of Kukuwa, Inc. and Gye Nyame African Cultural Troupe. She is also an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University where she teaches African Dance and Culture.  You can also find @KukuwaDance on Twitter!  Thanks Kukuwa for the great workout! Here are some dance clips of Kukuwa:

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