YFCS-2/2.2, Reprinted Nov 2000. Molly Gregg, Extension 4-H Program Specialist

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Wellness Education Project Building a Positive You!

"Enjoy Being Active"

Aim for Fitness: Be Physically Active Each Day

Eating right and making physical activity a regular part of your daily routine are part of learning to be good to yourself. By getting physical every day, you improve your physical as well as your mental health--you will feel good! Physical activity is simply moving your body, and you need to get your body moving for at least one hour each day. Punching the remote control button, your computer's mouse, or electronic game controls does not count.

You See--You Do Not Have To Be an Athlete To Get Fit!

Being fit is about taking care of your body--not about being the strongest, the fastest, or a member of the winning team. Being fit is about putting your body in motion and doing something to build a POSITIVE YOU! Physical activity does the following:

• Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints
• Helps control weight, build lean muscle, and reduce fat
• Prevents or delays the development of high blood pressure and hypertension
• Reduces stress and gives you the energy to do the things that you want to do

There are two types of physical activity that are good for you. The first is called aerobic activity. Aerobic activities speed up your heart rate and breathing. When you raise your heart rate you are increasing how fast your heart beats--and this keeps your heart healthy and strong. Remember, it is a muscle and for it to be strong it must be worked out. The second type of physical activity improves your strength and flexibility. You can run miles every day and have a strong, healthy heart, but if you do not do activities to increase your strength and flexibility, you might have a hard time carrying a bag of groceries. Carrying and lifting groceries and books as well as activities like working in the yard can help you build strength. Gentle stretching and dancing help build flexibility. If you watch athletes prepare for a race or game, you will see that they all do stretches to increase their flexibility before they begin any physical activity. By stretching before and after you engage in physical activity, you lessen your chances of injury.

Your diet or what you eat is essential for you to be able to get fit and to stay fit. The foods you eat give you vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and water that you need to stay healthy, strong, and active. The body has four major parts or substances: bones, muscle, blood, and skin. Different nutrients in different foods are necessary for these parts to work properly.

BONES: The bones are the foundation for building our bodies. Vitamin C (fruits and vegetables) and calcium (milk and foods containing milk and dark green, leafy vegetables) are important nutrients for building bones.

MUSCLES: The muscles are attached to bones. Carbohydrates (breads, cereals, grains, vegetables, pasta, and potatoes) and B vitamins (meat, poultry, fish, milk, and whole grain or fortified breads and cereals) are important to muscles for energy to do work and exercise.

BLOOD: Blood is very important for carrying all of the nutrients to every part of the body. Water and iron (beef, liver, fortified cereals, prunes, and dark green vegetables) are very important for healthy blood.

SKIN: The skin is very important for holding everything together and protecting our insides. Protein (meat and beans) and vitamin A (oranges, dark green leafy vegetables, liver, and fortified milk) are important for healthy skin.

There are many organs in our bodies. Seven of them are very involved in the use of food by our bodies. These organs are the following:

BRAIN: Controls all the functions of our bodies; tells us when we are hungry and when we are full

LUNGS: Allow us to breathe

ESOPHAGUS: Gets food to our stomachs

STOMACH AND INTESTINES: Digest our food

LIVER: Helps change food into energy so you can get physical

HEART: Pumps blood that carries the nutrients from the food we eat to all parts of the body

It is very important to eat balanced meals based on directions from the Food Guide Pyramid. Do this every day to make your body strong and healthy. Eating right is part of being physically fit.

Eating right, getting plenty of exercise, taking pride in your personal hygiene (taking a bath, brushing your teeth, washing your hair, wearing clean clothes), and having a positive outlook (self-esteem) contribute to your overall health and build a positive you!

A Healthy Practice Log is below. Place an X and the date by each action on the days done. Keep your action log until you have accomplished each of the healthy practices.

When you have completed your Healthy Practice Log, you may want to continue to keep a record of the healthy things you do each day in your 4-H journal.

More to Do to Get Physical

• SOCCER BOWL: Set up 10 empty soda cans or plastic bottles in a triangle or in a circle on a level section of your yard. You get three tries at knocking down as many of the cans or bottles as you can by kicking an inflated ball at them. Keep practicing until you can knock them all down with three tries.
• BALLON FACE RACES: For this activity, you will need some friends. Organize your friends into teams of two and give each team a partially inflated balloon. When the game starts, teammates must race to a designated finish line carrying their balloons between their heads--no hands are allowed. This is a great weekend activity to do with your family too.
• FLIGHTS OF FANCY: Have some friends, neighbors, or family members make their favorite paper airplanes. Have a contest to see
  whose plane flies the farthest. Test to see whose plane is the most accurate in flight by seeing who can get their plane closest to a marked target.
• BEACH BALL VOLLEY: Playing one-on-one or in teams, volley a beach ball over a makeshift net (a rope tied between two chairs). If you are playing with someone younger or smaller than you are, allow him or her to have one bounce before hitting the ball.
• TIC-TAC-TOSS: With chalk draw a large box on the pavement and put a tic-tac-toe grid inside it. The first player tries to toss a pebble or coin into one of the squares. If the player succeeds, he or she marks the space with an X. A marker that lands on a line is considered a miss. Then the other player tries to earn a square, marking his or her win with an O. The first to fill three squares in a row wins.
• TORTOISE TANGO: You may need some help from an adult to create your racing lanes for this activity. Use chalk to draw two parallel 3-foot-wide lanes spaced 10 feet apart on the paved surface. The length of the lanes will depend on the available area, but 50 feet makes a good distance. Mark starting and finishing lines in both lanes. Bicycle riders must travel their assigned paths as slowly as possible, keeping their feet on the pedals at all times. The LAST one to cross the finish line wins.

For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit http://www.aces.edu/counties or look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find contact information.

Published by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University), an equal opportunity educator and employer.

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