| Show MonJav May 8 2000 - SiANdARd-ExAMiN- tR EducAtt's Kids i Factoids on Americans and fitness Stretch for flexibility Inch your way from stiff People aren't built like GumbyfK) (except maybe those contortionist in the circus and a few world-clas- s gymnasts) But everyone can become more flexible by stretching their muscles Like strength and endurance flexibility improves slowly but surely when you ask a little more of your body today than you did yesterday With flexibility stretches that “little more" can be as little as an inch Before long those inches add up to big progress By looking at how we choose to spend our time and money we can learn a lot about our fellow Americans’ attitudes toward fitness Consider these factoid pairs: On an average day Americans spend $2 million on exercise equipment On an average day Americans spend over $3 million on tortilla chips The average child spends four times as much time watching television as he or she spends in physical education classes: ages 2 to 5 watch about 25 hours of TV a week ages 6 to 11 watch 22 hours ages 12 to 17 watch 23 hours When TV shows are not being watched Super Nintendo systems are hooked up to the TV set in 18 million American households Only 36 percent of students in grades 12 have daily physical education classes Almost 8 million public school students report having had little or no health education 5-- to limber hamstring stretch Simple stretching exercises to try Have you ever watched a cat or dog wake up from a nap? The animal instinctively stretches to “wake up” its muscles Stretching when you first get out of bed in the morning will help you get your day off to an energetic start But no matter what time of day you stretch heed these pointers on proper technique: Stretch slowly and smoothly never bounce or jerk Breathe deeply never hold your breath Keep stretching until you feel a pull (not a pain!) then hold it there for 10 seconds survey showed that 85 percent of parents believe their children are A 1992 physically fit At least half of all elementary school children are already at risk for heart disease because of one of the following: obesity elevated blood cholesterol or high blood pressure Knee to chest stretch Repeat five times on each I eg Knees to chest stretch Repeat five times |
