Fitness Level

No matter what your fitness level, you can play an integral role in educating and motivating the people in your community towards health and fitness. Being a role model can inspire the people around you to become more active. There are many ways to bring fitness into your community and motivate others to "get off the couch." Sometimes brainstorming with your friends and teachers can help. Organizing a fundraiser for a worthy cause can be a rewarding experience. Develop a fitness trail somewhere in your town. Put together a course with signs along the way telling runners to do exercises and stretches at different points on the trail. Check with your local community center for more information. Plan a 5K race as a fundraising event. This distance is perfect for the novice and competitive runner. Even people who are not runners enjoy attending these events. Organize a Walk to School Week. International Walk to School Week is part of the Active and Safe Routes to School program. This program encourages teachers, students, and parents to walk, bicycle, and skate to and from school. Organize a beach or park clean-up. Most people take pride in the parks and beaches in their communities. This is a great way to bring students, teachers, and parents together to participate in a physically active and worthwhile event. It is important to follow some safety measures to prevent you from hurting yourself during your workout routine, here are some things to do before exercising that will help prevent injury: Warm up Begin your exercise with a five minute warm-up period. A slow gentle warm-up is more effective than stretching for preventing injury to your muscles. Walking and riding a bike can be gentle exercise warm-ups. Stretch Static stretches are best, and should be performed after your warm-up period. It’s important to remember not to bounce when stretching. This can cause injuries to the muscles and tendons, especially if your body is cold. Good gear. Many injuries occur that... [continues]

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