Think about it. Not only do your kids spend about 1,150 hours a year at school, but childhood is the best time to make healthy choices a habit.

It only makes sense, then, to involve everyone in the school community (students, teachers, parents, and community members) in promoting healthy eating, physical activity, and mental health.

This article describes what a healthy school community is, gives you information about the benefits of improved health, and suggests ways for you to help promote a healthy school community.

What Is a Healthy School Community?

In a healthy school community, everyone is a partner, including students, teachers, parents, and community members. Involving all of these partners in health means that the school community can affect the health of parents, grandparents, and other family members as well as the health of students.

Your child receives the same health message whether he or she is at home, in school, or in the community. Kids also learn ways to stay healthy (especially through physical activity, healthy eating, and good mental health) and how to make good decisions about their health.

Healthy school communities also offer

• lots of health promotion (schools that do a really good job of promoting health may be called comprehensive school health (CSH) schools);
• health policies or guidelines, e.g., healthy eating guidelines to control what is sold in school stores and vending machines;
• a wellness-focused curriculum in the classroom; and
• a supportive social environment and school culture that promotes physical and emotional well being for students, staff, and parents.

It doesn’t take a lot to create a healthier school. Some changes include

• scheduling more physical education and physical activity;
• offering healthy lunches or healthy foods for sale in school cafeterias;
• banning the sale of soft drinks and increasing water and 100% juice sales;
• providing healthy eating and active living education;
• involving parents and community members in school activities; and
• offering training for school staff on how to develop a healthy school community.

Why Promote this Kind of School?

Schools can promote both learning and healthy living. Consider these facts:

• 95% of young people are enrolled in schools;
• schools have always promoted physical activity, healthy eating, and positive social behaviour (so schools are not taking on new responsibilities);
• well planned school programs can promote physical activity, healthy eating, mental health (e.g., by reducing bullying), and reducing TV viewing time.
• physical activity (including physical education and other types of activity) andhealthy eating programs can lead to better academic performance;
• healthy children and youth are better able to learn, live, work, and play.

What Can You Do?

You can help your children’s school become a healthy school. For starters, ask some of these questions at your parent advisory council.

How does our school community support health promotion through its policies, student learning, and supportive environments?

Are all partners involved (students, parents, staff, community members)?

Are our kids getting the same messages about health at home, at school, and in the community?

A healthy school community involves all partners and sends children the same message in the home, school, and community. Children who attend a healthy school can make informed, healthy decisions that affect their own lives and the lives of their families. As a parent, you can certainly play an active role in promoting a healthy school community.

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

As a parent, you may have heard the term “daily physical activity” or “DPA.” This article will give you:

* More information about what daily physical activity means.
* Why it’s important.
* How it can work in your child’s school.
* How to support your school’s efforts to encourage kids to be more physically active in school.

What Daily Physical Activity Means

Daily physical activity requires all students in Grades 1 to 9 to be physically active for at least 30 minutes daily in activities organized by the school. One of the goals of DPA is to help students develop active, healthy lifestyles.
Daily physical activity should:

* Include different activities (of different intensities).
* Consider each student’s ability.
* Use resources within the school and the larger community.
* Allow students to have a choice in the physical activities offered.

Why Daily Physical Activity is Important

America’s Physical Activity Guides for children and youth recommend at least 90 minutes a day of physical activity. Being active for 30 minutes a day at school covers a third of the activity kids need. (The remaining 60 minutes can be logged at home or in the community in either organized activity or free play time.)
Active children are more likely to:

* Feel better about themselves and their physical ability (and cope better with stress).
* Do better in math, reading and memorization.
* Be more creative and ready to learn.

Children who have participated in physical education during the school day are also more likely to be active in their leisure time.

How Daily Physical Activity Can Work in Your Schools

Many schools find that daily physical activity works best when it’s a scheduled event each day. It’s also a good idea to make daily physical activity part of a comprehensive plan that includes healthy food choices and education about physical activity and healthy eating and should involve both the home and community.

Each school can implement daily physical activity in ways that meet its unique needs. Below are two examples of ways to implement daily physical activity.

* Middle School (Grades 6 to 8). Children have physical education every other day for 51 minutes. On days when physical education is not scheduled, students do 30 minutes of activity around the school; such as activity stations created in hallways, foyers, classrooms that students circulate through over a 30-minute period. A committee of students helps to decide the activities and also helps to set up and take down equipment.
* Elementary (Kindergarten to Grade 6). Teachers are provided with activity kits to use with the class outside. Children have physical education every day for 35 minutes. A lead teacher demonstrates activities at each staff meeting. Parent volunteers help to create colour-coded lesson plan cards from the lead teacher’s activities that are distributed to all staff who teach physical education.

How You Can Support Daily Physical Activity

Physical activity helps kids to learn better and stay healthy at school, in the community and at home. As a parent, you can support daily physical activity by encouraging effective daily physical activity at your child’s school and by being active at home. You can support daily physical activity in the following ways:

* Ask your school principal how daily physical activity works in your child’s school and encourage your child to participate in activities organized through the school.
* Encourage the parent council to support daily physical activity by helping to provide equipment, resources and professional development.
* Encourage communication of information about physical activity to parents and families.
* Complete the daily physical activity triangle (home, school, community) by being physically active yourself and being active with your kids at home and in the community.

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

When you went to school, chances are you took physical education, although you probably just called it “gym.”

This article explains some of the differences between physical activity and physical education. It outlines the different benefits each provides and helps you understand your role as a parent in supporting physical activity and physical education in your child’s school.

What are Physical Activity and Physical Education?
Is there a difference between physical activity and physical education? You bet! To start with, quality physical education always includes physical activity, but the reverse isn’t always true.

Physical activity is any movement of the body that expends energy. For example, a spin class at your local fitness centre is physical activity.

Physical education is an important part of the school curriculum. It’s designed to help children and youth develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be active and healthy for life. A child in a quality physical education class develops an understanding of physical movement, called “physical literacy,” that leads to lifelong, healthy, active behaviours.

The Alberta curriculum identifies four general outcomes for physical education (the ABCDs):
A: Activity
B: Benefits health
C: Co-operation
D: Do it daily … for life!

These outcomes are all connected. They are achieved through involvement in physical activity, which is the main building block of physical education.

What Are the Benefits?
Physical activity can lead to:

* higher levels of personal fitness and health
* a feeling of belonging
* appreciating a wide variety of activities
* lifelong participation

Physical education can lead to:

* Developing a personal level of fitness that supports active living.
* Developing basic skills that support participation in a wide variety of physical activities.
* Establishing lifelong habits of active living.

What Is My Role as a Parent?
Parents have a key role to play in supporting physical activity and physical education. Start by developing your own habits for lifelong participation in physical activity. Being active at home, at school and in the community sends kids a consistent message.

All Grade 1-9 students should have a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity a day at school. This can happen through physical education or through other physical activity opportunities provided by the school. And don’t forget that’s only part of it. To get their full 90 minutes of physical activity a day, children need to do a total of 60 more at home and in the community.

What you can do:

* Support the implementation of daily physical activity in the school community.
* Advocate for daily physical education as a worthwhile, important subject.
* Ask the administration and staff of the school about the quality and frequency of physical education.

Although physical activity and physical education are closely related, physical education goes beyond participation. It helps your kids develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to lead an active, healthy lifestyle.

Physical activity should be an integral part of your kid’s education as part of physical education. Try to ensure that the school devotes enough time and expertise to it. Ask your kids about their physical activity and physical education experiences in school and support healthy habits for life!

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

Are boys and girls interested in the same kinds of physical activity?

Do all boys like hockey, and all girls like dance? The short answer is “no.”

That said, interests and participation in physical activity do tend to differ depending on gender.

If we want to encourage both boys and girls to be more physically active, we need to keep gender differences in mind.

This article gives you information about how girls and boys participate in physical activity. The article also explores how to encourage both genders to try new and different activities.

1. Girls and Physical Activity

How Are Girls Active?
Girls tend to engage in less vigorous physical activities than boys. The amount of time girls spend being active tends to take a sharp dive when they hit their teen years.

Girls are also less likely to participate in team sports than boys, but are more likely to participate in aerobics or dance.

Encouraging Girls to Be Active
To support girls in being more active at school or at home, make sure you have instructors who focus on building skills and encouraging success.

Provide opportunities for girls to be physically active. Monitoring the quality of their experiences could include verbal feedback, smiles and laughter, as well as informal surveys and opinion polls in a phys-ed class.

Participate along with your girls to build their confidence and support involvement in a wide range of physical activities.

2. Boys and Physical Activity

How Are Boys Active?
Boys tend to engage in more vigorous physical activities. Like girls, boys’ total time being active drops sharply in their teen years (but this happens a little later for boys than girls).

Boys may be drawn more to team sports and tend to be more focused on individual, rather than social goals.

Encouraging Boys to Be Active
Any program designed to increase boys’ physical activity should offer a balance of activities (not just floor hockey). Boys also need a variety of activities to fully develop into physically active adults.

Boys can enjoy dance and gymnastics just as much as girls if they are involved in decision making, such as choosing the music.

3. How Do I Ensure That Both Boys and Girls Are Active in School?

Physical activity opportunities in schools appear in four forms:

* physical education
* daily physical activity (DPA)
* intramurals
* extra-curricular activities

Start with the following suggestions in each category to ensure an equal chance for all kids to be active.

Physical Education
Both co-ed and classes separated by gender are good ways to meet the different needs of boys and girls. If possible, allow students to choose the kind of phys-ed class where they feel the most comfortable.

In either case, be sure that both genders have the chance to participate successfully in a wide range of activities.

Daily Physical Activity
Offer a variety of activities to engage and motivate students. For instance, offer games, dance, gymnastics and individual activities.
Include activities in different environments (outside the gym or field) such as swimming, skating or rock climbing.

For example, line dancing in the gym to student-selected music allows a large number of students to get their bodies moving!

Intramurals
Kids will be more engaged if they have a say in the activities. Ensure that intramurals are not all about floor hockey. Ask students, both boys and girls, what they’d like to do.

Engage student leadership groups to help plan activities and ensure a balance of activities.

Extra-Curricular Activities
Make sure that your school has equal opportunities for boys and girls to participate in all types of sports. For example, rugby is an excellent sport for girls who love physical play.

Explore the idea of junior teams or clubs that teach basic skills and allow a wider variety of participants to compete.

Although boys and girls have general physical activity preferences, the fact is that both genders can enjoy any physical activity if given the chance.

The important things are to be sure kids have some say in how the activities are run and to have a wide variety of activities available.

Girls and boys are naturally wired to enjoy all types of physical activity — let’s make sure they get the chance!

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

If you have a disability, you may be less active and therefore at greater risk of having diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary heart disease.

So it’s important to find ways to overcome any barriers you face as you try to become physically active. These barriers may include affordability and a lack of access, transportation and information.

This article outlines the benefits of physical activity for people with disabilities and ways to adapt various activities to meet special needs.

Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity not only improves mental health but also provides opportunities for social interaction.

Depression rates are higher among people with disabilities. For example, 80 per cent of people with multiple sclerosis experience depression at some point. Physical activity can help you fight depression, improve your mood and reduce anxiety and stress.

Improving your fitness level may also give you an enhanced sense of control. Physical activity can

* Allow you to focus on your abilities, not your disability.
* Give you more energy and strength to do things on your own, such as grocery shopping or housework.

Participants in activity groups for people with disabilities report that these programs:

* Help them to feel they’re not alone in their struggles.
* Provide a social outlet where people can discuss common experiences, talk about solutions to various challenges and just have fun together.

Exercising in a social setting also increases your motivation to participate. Even if you go to your exercise class mainly to chat with your friends, at least you’re still being somewhat active! And if you see your friends improving, chances are you’ll be inspired to make the same improvements.

Adapting Activities for People With Disabilities
If an activity doesn’t work for all abilities, it can usually be adapted so everyone can participate.

Sports that you can play in a wheelchair include rugby, tennis, golf, basketball and track. People with disabilities can also dance (in wheelchairs), ride horses, go canoeing or kayaking, swim, row and take aquasize, yoga or tai chi classes.

Winter activities might include sledge hockey, and adapted versions of cross-country and downhill skiing. There are many other possibilities for creative adaptations of this kind.

People with disabilities benefit from physical activity, and the barriers to being active are coming down. A wide variety of activities have been adapted so people of all abilities can participate. So go out and get active!

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

In the sports world, winning teams develop a game plan to win. When you want to make a change in your life, such as getting active, you also need a game plan to help you succeed.

This article will help you to set goals for becoming more active in a way that’s safe for you. The article also describes how the places where you live, learn, work, and play can support physical activity, making it easier for you to stick to your game plan.

Being active means you will be more healthy, have more energy, meet other people, and feel better about yourself. Now that you know why you want to get more active, you need a plan to get started.

Setting Goals

Remember, you can’t expect too much too soon. If you haven’t been active for 10 years, you can’t expect to run a marathon after a few weeks of exercise. Here are some tips to help you set goals that you can achieve.

• Think about how much time you need and when you can be free for activity each day.
• Ask your family and friends to support you.
• Find out if you have a neighbour, friend, or work mate who would like to join you.
• Find out about easy, fun ways to be active near where you live and work.

It’s a good idea to think about your goals for becoming active, so you can get from where you are now to where you want to be. Lots of people find SMART goals helpful.

S: Specific

M: Measurable

A: Attainable

R: Realistic

T: Timeframe

For example, you could set a goal of going for a brisk, 30-minute walk, five days a week, all year long. This goal is a SMART goal because it lets you decide when you will walk (early in the morning, during your noon hour, or after you’ve put the kids to bed), ensures that you do enough walking to make it worth doing, and gives you two days off.

Safety First!

Make sure it’s safe for you to exercise. Physical activity is safe for most people, but if you’re unsure, answer these questions to see if you should check with your doctor before starting. (See the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire in the LEARN MORE section below.)

Safety also means wearing the right gear such as

• comfortable shoes, sneakers, or boots;
• clothing suited to the weather (layers are a good idea in cool weather);
• sunscreen and a hat (even when it is cloudy); and
• safety gear when needed (e.g., helmet, knee pads, wrist guards).

It’s important to drink the right type and amount of fluid. According to sport scientists, you should drink about two glasses of fluid (about 500 mL) two hours before exercising, and enough fluid during exercise to replace the water you lose through sweating.

Water is fine to drink if you are exercising for less than an hour. Sport drinks or juice mixed with water are only needed if you participate in intense exercise that lasts more than an hour. These drinks give you the sugars (calories) and salt you lose during exercise. But you don’t want those extra calories if you don’t need them.

With a Little Help from Your Friends…

When setting up your game plan, remember that it’s easier to get active when the places where you live, learn, work, and play support physical activity. For instance, it will help you stick to your game plan if:

• your friends and family are active;
• your neighbourhood is a safe place to walk, bike, and play;
• your schools and workplaces provide opportunities to be active;
• your community has walking and biking trails, parks, and playgrounds that are pleasant, well lit, and safe;
• you know what activity to do and have the skills to enjoy doing it; and
• you have enough money to take lessons, go to facilities, and join clubs.

Getting involved in your school, workplace, and community to make them places that support active living is a good way to help yourself and others stay active.

Getting Ahead of the Game

Putting together an activity game plan is an important first step for getting started. A game plan helps you become active, so that you can be safe and have a good time. Check out our tips for staying active, so that you can be prepared for little setbacks. Make a game plan to win at making active living part your way of life!

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

Daily physical activity is always important, even during pregnancy. Research has shown that pregnant women without complications can and should do aerobic and strength-conditioning exercises.

Physically active pregnant women do not increase risks for their babies. Nor does moderate physical activity when you’re breast feeding affect the quantity or quality of breast milk or affect your baby’s growth. Just be sure to ask your doctor to perform a PARmed-X for pregnancy to determine your readiness for physical activity.

This article explains the many physical, psychological and social benefits of making physical activity a part of your pregnancy. It also describes the types of activity most suitable for pregnant women and offers tips for starting and maintaining a routine.

Benefits
Regular physical activity during pregnancy can:

• strengthen the muscles you need for labour and delivery
• control mood swings
• improve circulation and posture
• reduce some of the discomforts of pregnancy (swelling, leg cramps, shortness of breath, backache, varicose veins and constipation)
• help you feel less fatigued
• promote healthy weight gain
• decrease your risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy

Suggested Types of Activity
Continuing activities you have been doing is usually OK, but you should consult with your physician to be sure. If you want to start being physically active while pregnant, try these activities:

• walking
• stationary cycling
• yoga
• swimming and water aerobics
• low-impact aerobics
• pre-natal exercise classes

Contact sports are not recommended for pregnant women. It’s important to avoid activities that could cause you to lose your balance or fall. Other activities to avoid during pregnancy include activities that:

• involve bouncing/balancing/single-leg standing
• may result in a loss of balance or falling
• involve excessive bouncing or jarring movement
• cause your body temperature to rise dramatically
• inline skating and water skiing

Check out the programs or classes at local fitness and recreation centres. Being active with others can be more fun and motivate you to continue your routine even after your baby is born.

Tips and Precautions
Don’t overdo any form of physical activity. Include warm-up and cool-down exercises in your routine. Monitor your heart rate throughout and try to stay within the target heart rate range recommended by your doctor. Stop exercising immediately if you feel dizzy, light-headed or short of breath. Don’t overheat, and stay hydrated.

Use the following talk test to measure your intensity. If you can’t talk and exercise comfortably at the same time, you should slow down.

Change activities to suit your changing body. Choose activities that are kind to your back. Avoid exercises and positions that put additional stress on stretched abdominal muscles or compress your spinal joints. Avoid lying on your back, beginning about 16 weeks after gestation. A qualified fitness instructor can give you other tips about ways to change your physical activities during pregnancy. With the guidance of your physician and qualified fitness professionals, you can have a healthier pregnancy. If you are pregnant or hoping to be soon, plan now to make physical activity part of your daily routine both during your pregnancy and after the birth.

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

Physical activity is good for you, even in your later years. In fact, it is one of the best investments you can make in the second half of your life.

Retired people should try to be more physically active than ever, since a regular physical activity routine can improve their health and enhance their quality of life. Physical activity for older adults:

• Provides an enjoyable pastime.
• Helps to maintain independence.
• Prevents disease.
• Helps to manage the symptoms of an existing disease and slow down the progression.
• Supports a faster recovery from surgery or a fall.

Enjoying Your Later Years
We no longer believe that retirement means just sitting back and taking it easy. Too much time in the easy chair, and you won’t be able to get out of it!

Being moderately active for as little as 30 to 60 minutes a day will increase the quality and quantity of your life. Considering that there are 1,440 minutes in every day, that’s a pretty good deal.

Regular physical activity will allow you to keep doing the things you enjoy, or better yet, to try something new. When you play with the grandkids, you’ll be able to keep up with them. You’ll be able to travel, volunteer, dance, canoe, hike, play baseball or coach a team. Age doesn’t have to stop you from having fun.

Managing and Preventing Disease
According to the World Health Organization, sedentary living (that is, being a couch potato) is the greatest health risk for older adults. Now is the time to get moving, even if you never have before.

Regular physical activity can slow down or even reverse the progression of a chronic disease. And it’s one of the best ways to manage the symptoms of a disease. For example, arthritis sufferers can find pain relief in gentle movement of the joints. As the fitness experts say, “Motion is the lotion for your joints!” Keeping your muscles strong also helps to make the joints stronger and healthier.

Investing in Your Health
The time and money required to support a regular physical activity program can give you great returns. How much is it worth to maintain your health and independence? Where would you prefer to spend your time and money? On enjoying life? Or on being sick?

Remember, your body cannot “store” fitness. Activity has to be a regular part of your daily or weekly routine.

Physical activity is just as important in your older years as it was when you were young. But it is never too late to start, and you will benefit at any age.

Physical activity will help you enjoy life and manage disease. It is one of the smartest investments you could ever make, and you don’t have to wait 20 years to start cashing in. You will start to see benefits within weeks!

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

Workers doing physically demanding jobs need to have the balance, energy and strength to work safely.

This article suggests ways to get enough sleep and physical activity to help you feel at your best throughout your busy shift schedule.

Shift Work
Shift workers don’t work from “nine to five” on weekdays. These workers rotate between day and night shifts or may only work nights.

Some people work 12-hour shifts rather than an eight-hour work day.

Many people enjoy shift work, as it allows them longer periods of time off to be with their families or to pursue other interests.

For others, shift work is just part of their job. For example, shift workers often do critical work in hospitals, policing, emergency response, transportation and the oil and gas industry (to name a few areas). In these settings, round-the-clock service (24/7) is needed.

In some cases, if life gets out of balance, shift work can affect workers’ health and safety.

Sleep and Shift Work
Most shift workers don’t get enough sleep. They often work when other people sleep and sleep when the rest of the world is awake.

The human body has a 24-hour cycle of wakefulness and sleepiness regulated by an internal clock.

This cycle means that we are naturally wakeful in the morning when it gets light and naturally sleepy when it gets dark at night.

When you’re tired because you didn’t get enough sleep, you may think and move slowly, make more mistakes and have difficulty remembering things. So, getting a good sleep is important for safety and other reasons.

Getting more physical activity and eating right can be a good strategy for getting a better sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation has lots of helpful tips for staying alert on the job and for sleeping. Here are some of their suggestions:

* Try to exercise during breaks.
* Talk with co-workers while you work.
* Try to work with a “buddy.”
* Take short breaks throughout your shift to use the employee lounge, take a walk, shoot hoops in the parking lot or climb stairs.
* Try to eat three normal meals per day. Eat healthy snacks, avoiding foods that may upset your stomach.
* If you consume caffeine (coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, gum, mints), do so early in the shift, such as before 3 a.m. for the night worker.
* Don’t leave the most tedious or boring tasks to the end of your shift when you will probably feel the most sleepy.
* Exchange ideas with your colleagues on ways to cope with the problems of shift work.
* It’s a good idea to avoid exercising before going to bed, because exercise raises energy and your body temperature. You should exercise at least three hours before sleeping.

Physical Activity to Feel Better, Physically and Mentally
If you do shift work, you may benefit from physical activity because:

* Physical activity is refreshing and gives you energy.
* Physical activity increases alertness.

So, exercising before work is a good idea. Finding the time to be physically active may be difficult but is worthwhile even if you feel tired already. You may have more energy after you exercise than before!

Taking an active break during your shift can make you less sleepy and help you focus.

Often, we are more likely to be active with someone else or with a group of co-workers. Try getting your co-workers interested in going for a walk during your break rather than heading for the cafeteria.

Working Physical Activity Into Your Day
The key to regular physical activity is finding something you enjoy and can fit into your day and then making it a part of your life.

In larger towns, fitness centres are now open 24/7 to allow everyone to use them. Sports leagues can be flexible and allow for people to play late at night or even during the day if enough people are available.

Some companies offer incentives for workers to be more active. For example, they may provide on-site equipment or facilities.

Companies may also offer support (rebates, financial assistance or health spending accounts) for a fitness club membership, swimming pool passes or other physical activities.

Employers are becoming more aware of the link between fitness and productivity and are more open to helping workers exercise at work.

It helps to find a convenient location to be active on the way to or from work. For example, some people leave early for work so they can stop in at the YMCA, swimming pool or recreation centre. Others stop off on the way home.

Sometimes, employers will help workers to be more active, especially if they see that this will improve their ability to work.

For many people, having a partner or group of friends to be active with can make a big difference to whether they actually do it. There may be someone else who works your shift who would also like to be more active and is open to doing something together.

A fast 30-minute walk outdoors every day is all you need to do to be active enough for health benefits. Walking with friends also allows for a visit.

Finding activities that you can do with your family will benefit all of you and help you spend time together.

Research has shown that wearing a pedometer is a good reminder to be active and that people who use them are more active than non-users. Pedometers can be bought in drugstores and sports stores in your area.

Shift workers face challenges from living their lives on a different schedule than the rest of the world, but they also have time available to them when others do not.

By using some creativity and determination, it’s possible to get enough sleep, eat in a healthy way, and enjoy physical activity in your day if you work on shift.

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

The active living movement has encouraged us to be more physically active in our daily lives to maintain or improve our health.

People with mobility difficulties (paraplegia, quadriplegia, osteoporosis, arthritis, obesity or those who are frail and worried about falling or have lower limb injuries) have greater challenges in making active living part of their lives.

For those of us with mobility difficulties, being active may sometimes require more planning and organization. But it’s worth it. Physical activity is key to a good quality of life and offers both short- and long-term health benefits.

This article gives you information about the general benefits of physical activity and the specific benefits of cardiovascular, strength and flexibility activities for people with mobility issues.

Benefits of Physical Activity
People have mobility issues for different reasons, but everyone can benefit from being active. Physical activity:

• Improves cardiovascular fitness and endurance.
• Helps develop and maintain joint flexibility, muscular strength, balance and social and psychological well-being.

For example, physical activity can help people with arthritis to decrease their pain and weakness from arthritis and improve their overall well-being.

Physical activity programs can also help to maintain or develop functional independence as we age.

Other health benefits of physical activity for people (with and without obesity) include the following:

• Reduces the risk of diabetes and some cancers.
• Helps control weight.
• Improves bone density.

Cardiovascular Activities
Cardiovascular activity can increase your overall energy level and improve the function of your heart, lungs, circulation and muscles.

Cardiovascular or endurance physical activity can be difficult for people with limited mobility. Below are some ways to improve your cardiovascular fitness level.

Participating in these activities for at least 10 minutes at a time is key. At first, you may not be able to be active for 10 minutes at a time.

If this is the case, do what you can comfortably and progress to 10 minutes of exercise in a row.

Once you can do 10 minutes, you can either exercise for up to 15 minutes or do two bouts of 10 minutes of exercise at different times of the day.

Try going to a fitness centre and using a stationary bike, rowing machine or arm ergometer (a machine that measures the work you do during exercise) for your cardiovascular activity.

Swimming pools are another great place for your activity. Swimming or participating in aquafit classes may help you to develop your cardiovascular fitness.

People with mobility issues may prefer swimming pools with a sloped entrance into the water. The slope allows you to wheel or walk into the pool with or without help.

If you like being active at home or in your neighbourhood and you can find a safe surface for walking or wheeling, follow an aerobic fitness video or dance around the house to your favourite tunes.

These activities are great ways to increase your heart rate and improve your cardiovascular system while having fun.

Strength Activities
Strength activities challenge your muscles by pulling, pushing or holding muscle contractions.

Strength training is a great way to keep muscles and bones strong and improve balance and posture.

If you have osteoporosis, do isometric strength training exercises. In this type of exercise, you contract the muscle but don’t move the joint.

This type of exercise helps develop strength when joint movement is too painful.

To make sure the exercise is safe for you, make an appointment with a personal trainer or your physical therapist for specific strength-training exercises.

Here are some ideas for ways to improve your strength.

At a fitness centre:

• Do free weight exercises standing up or sitting down.
• Use resistance training machines that you can sit on.
• Do dynaband/tubing exercises with a fitness leader or personal trainer.

If you don’t know how to use the machines or free weights, make an appointment with a personal trainer to ensure that you are doing the exercises safely.

In a pool:

• Do movements using the water as resistance. You can ask an instructor to help you with this creative way of strength training.
• You might also want to develop a personalized program with a personal trainer.

At home:

• Follow exercise videos or programs from the Internet, VCR tapes, DVD or TV that lead you through a full-body strength program using a dynaband, soup cans or hand weights.
• Ask a personal trainer to develop a fitness program that you can do at home with tools that you already own. Using your muscles while doing daily activities will also help improve your overall strength.

Flexibility Activities
Flexibility activities include activities that help you move your joints and muscles more easily.

Improving your flexibility can help you bend down to tie your shoe, brush your hair, get up and down off the floor or tub and reach items from the top shelf in the cupboard.

Do stretching exercises slowly and smoothly, with no bouncing or jerking. Stretching should not be painful.

Tai Chi and chair yoga are activities that improve your flexibility. You can often do both of these activities standing up or sitting down.

Fitness centres often offer fitness classes that include stretching as one part of the class or a full class on stretching.

Personal trainers can help you to develop a personalized stretching program to do with some help or on your own.

At home, you can do other activities to maintain flexibility, such as gardening, mopping or sweeping.

Physical activity can be adapted to fit all abilities and disabilities.

Those of us with mobility issues can be active and make cardiovascular, strength and flexibility activities part of our life.

Physical activity can be done at a fitness centre or pool or in your home or neighbourhood.

To make sure that you are doing the exercises or activities correctly, talk with an exercise instructor, personal trainer or your physical therapist.

Source: HealthyAlberta.com