Monday, April 28, 2008

Fitness & Exercise



Condition Center
Nutrition & Fitness Center



Fitness & Exercise
Bike Safety
Cold-Weather Sports and Your Family
Compulsive Exercise
Do You Know How to Feed Your Child Athlete?
Exercising During Pregnancy
Fitness and Your 13- to 18-year-old
Fitness and Your 2- to 3-year-old
Fitness and Your 4- to 5-year-old
Fitness and Your 6- to 12-year-old
Fitness for Kids Who Don't Like Sports
Home and Away: How to Keep Toddlers Active
Is Your Preschooler Too Active?
Kids and Exercise
Motivating Kids to Be Active
Motivating Preschoolers to Be Active
Motivating School-Age Kids to Be Active
Osgood-Schlatter Disease
Preventing Children's Sports Injuries
Raising a Fit Preschooler
Signing Kids Up for Sports
Sportsmanship
Steroids
Strength Training and Your Child
Nutrition & Weight
After-School Snacks
Binge Eating Disorder
Body Mass Index (BMI) Charts
Breakfast Basics
Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding
Caffeine and Your Child
Calcium and Your Child
Carbohydrates, Sugar, and Your Child
Cholesterol and Your Child
Cooking With Kids
Cooking With Preschoolers
Cooking With School-Age Kids
Cystic Fibrosis and Nutrition
Deciphering Food Labels
Do You Know How to Feed Your Child Athlete?
Eating Disorders
Eating During Pregnancy
Egg Allergy
Egg Allergy Diet
Failure to Thrive
Family Meals
Fats and Your Child
Feeding Your 1- to 2-Year-Old
Feeding Your 1- to 3-Month-Old
Feeding Your 4- to 7-Month-Old
Feeding Your 8- to 12-Month-Old
Feeding Your Newborn
Fiber and Your Child
Food Allergies
Food Safety for Your Family
Healthy Eating
Hunger and Malnutrition
Hunger and Your Preschooler
Iron and Your Child
Keeping Portions Under Control
Kids and Food: 10 Tips for Parents
Milk Allergy Diet
Nut and Peanut Allergy
Nut and Peanut Allergy Diet
Overweight and Obesity
Pica
School Lunches
Snacks
Snacks for Preschoolers
Snacks for Toddlers
Strategies for Feeding a Preschooler
The Food Guide Pyramid
Toddlers at the Table: Avoiding Power Struggles
Vegetarianism
What Should Preschoolers Drink?
Your Child's Weight
Nutrition & Fitness Q&As
Can Too Much Juice Discolor Teeth?
Does Skim Milk Provide the Same Nutrients as Whole Milk?
How Can I Calculate Calories From Fat?
How Can I Get My Child to Eat Vegetables?
How Much Exercising Is Too Much?
How Should I Deal With a Picky Eater?
Is Caffeinated Soda OK for Kids?
My Child May Have an Eating Disorder — What Can I Do?
My Son's BMI Report Card From School Says He Is Overweight - What Do I Do?
Should I Start My Child on an Exercise Program?
What Are the Symptoms of an Overeating Disorder?
What Can I Do for a Child With an Eating Disorder?
When Can Young Kids Start Exercising?
When Should Kids Switch to Skim Milk?
Why Does My Toddler Eat Dog Food?
Why Is Breakfast So Important?

Wednesday, April 2, 2008



Body Mechanics for Back Protection
Your body undergoes so much stress on a daily basis. The last thing your body needs is additional stress caused by improperly lifting, bending, or simply getting out of bed. Simply put, our leg muscles are stronger than our back muscles, so use them! Below are some simple techniques that will help keep your spine healthy:


Getting up from floor: Roll onto your side first, and then push through your hands to come to an upright position. Come to a kneeling position, then place one foot forward on the floor. Place your hands on your forward knee. Use your legs and arms to push yourself to a standing position.


Getting out of bed: Roll onto your side first, and then push through your hands to come to an upright position. Swing legs over the side of the bed and sit up, then use legs and arms to come to a standing position. For individuals with weak abs (such as new mothers or previously sedentary individuals), is important to roll to your side to sit versus pulling yourself straight up, which places a lot of stress on your abdominal muscles.


Doing laundry: Always squat or kneel to get clothes in and out of the dryer. Avoid twisting back and forth from machine to laundry basket. When folding clothes, sit with clothes in front of you, or have them on a surface that allows you to stand up straight.


The guidelines may seem like commonsense, but when you're busy (or just not thinking about it) it's easy to make mistakes here and there. Just because it doesn't hurt now doesn't mean that you aren't causing some damage. Protect your back now to avoid problems in the future.


Time Involved: A couple seconds to think and correct
Body Benefit: Less back pain now and in the future

Back Pain
Arthritis
Shin Splints
Knee Pain