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Camping and Outdoor Activities: Get Involved with Nature
Camping mixed with outdoor activity is a great way to get ourselves involved with nature. National Parks can provide an excellent backdrop for some of your outdoor activities. Activities such as hiking, fishing, cycling, horseback riding, white...
Dieting our Way to Obesity
Dieting our way to Obesity:
To say that Americans are obsessed with dieting is an
understatement! Pick up any magazine, or turn-on any source of
advertising and you're bombarded with the latest diet schemes
and food fads. More often than...
How Trampolining Can Be A Fun But Serious Sport
The sports of trampolining and tumbling are as old as man, a reflection of man's desire to defy the ever-pervading presence of gravity.
A number of cultures have devised apparatus to send an athlete into the air, i.e., an outstretched animal skin...
Is It Safe To Start An Exercise Program?
I think the real question is "How safe is it for you not to exercise?" Did you know that obesity has just replaced smoking as the number one cause of health related problems? That's incredible! Sorry to say, but that means we are a bunch of fat,...
Pree-Teens Look to Steroids as "Magic Pill" for Fashionable Figures
Healthy fitness guru joins doctors, educators, coaches, event organizers, and others in urging young people to do things the old-fashioned way…with diet and exercise In an alarming trend that has continued to grow since the early 1990's, government...
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Horsing Around Can Be Healthful
During the course of the summer, I began taking my boys to
public swim every Friday. It was a chance for both of them to
see their friends from school without me acting as sole
chaperone amidst chaotic uprising within my house. Months had
passed since we began this ritual when one of the moms and I
both noticed that my seven year old was becoming quite muscular.
Poking a bit of fun at my career in fitness, the mom asked if I
had him on protein drinks and tofu. We both laughed and I
admitted that at times he may sip my morning shake and that his
favorite hot dish from Whole Foods is the Tofu Stroganoff, but
that in general he was sneaking cookies and requesting ice cream
just like any other child. However, even after public swim
ended, the initial observation became a guessing game. What was
the key to my older boy's tonality and what specific activity
resulted in the definition of muscle tissue?
Over the next couple weeks, the answer became clear. Last
winter, my husband, being the horse-loving sole that he is,
suggested we buy my son a pony. Not only did he believe this
would bring father and son together more often, it would also
give his horse a buddy to play with in the meadow. I agreed, and
soon we found a cute little ˝ draft and ˝ Shetland mix. The two
equine were situated side by side in the barn. Then, the
discussion turned to chores. If you think it is hard to get your
child to care for a goldfish or hamster, try tending to a pony.
There is the mane and tail to be brushed, stalls to be cleaned,
poop to be shoveled, hooves to be picked, hay to be carried and
the water dishes must be checked daily to insure good health.
Add to that task list, the tolerance of being nipped
occasionally, since ponies can be testy little buggers and there
will be games of chase around the property, if any barrier gate
is not properly latched. As extensive as this list seems, my
husband and son have gotten their chores down to 20 minutes in
the morning and 30 minutes at night, with additional tender love
and care on weekends. But, this is usual workflow. I believe the
muscle tone came when my husband's ATV went on downtime for a
few weeks (and still sits as I type this). My obliged horsemen
were forced to walk down our long steep hill to the horses from
our house, care for them, fill plastic bags with the fresh
manure and then drag the heavy bags back up our steep hill
toward the neighbor's garden pile.
In general, horseback riding and care of the horse equate to
much more than sitting one's mighty bohonkus on the back of a
horse. The sport is actually a great way to teach a child
responsibility, get
them out of the house and breed a loving
relationship between human and beast. In the parent's handbook
and resource guide, Growing Up With Horses, the magazine offers
facts that fitness associated with horses is not to be
overlooked. In a term coined "Equi-cise", it was reported that
cleaning a stall and loading/unloading feed for 20-30 minutes
will burn around 180 calories for each chore. Also, sweeping the
barn aisle for 20 minutes will burn around 110 calories and
riding the horse at a canter for only 10 minutes can burn up to
another 110 calories. When I read these facts, it feels great to
put on my Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant hat, and show
people that you do not always have to hit the gym to enjoy a bit
of physical fitness. For that matter, vigorously brushing down
your horse (tail, mane and wire brushing the body) can burn as
many calories as a game of doubles tennis. For a child, this is
especially beneficial because it is a fun outdoor event that
does not have "mom is making me exercise" written all over it.
When we purchased the pony, the objective was simply to bring my
overworked husband together with his Sponge-Bob watching son.
The rewards have far surpassed this notion. My son loves his
pony, he has gained confidence by learning to ride and knowing
the ropes of caring for an animal that depends on him, he has
developed a deeper relationship with his father through hard
work and a similar interest and he maintains good physical
fitness through it all. The drugstore cowboy has come to be a
full-fledged horseman.
While horseback riding is a great option for being active, not
everyone has access to large areas in order to accommodate a
horse's roam-free demands. However, if it is something of
interest, a lot of areas offer horseback riding camps. There are
also stable jobs available and people who would love to pay a
young person to brush their horse or pony and clean the stalls.
It isn't always a glamorous sport, but it sure can weed out a
bit of the shallowness that life sometimes has to offer and in
some children it will strike a chord deep in their sole that
will passionately be carried well into their golden ages.
About the author:
Sherri L Dodd is the creator and author of Mom Looks Great - The
Fitness Program for Moms. She is an ACE-certified Personal
Trainer, Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant and Kickboxing
Instructor with over fifteen years of exercise experience. She
has lectured to groups on her fitness plan and is a freelance
writer on the topics of fitness and general nutrition as well as
the humorous side of motherhood.
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