Goverment revises exercise recommendations

[Chad Cilli]

http://health.yahoo.com/news/reuters...lines_usa.html

I'm just shaking my head in disbelief. I agree that kids should go out and play as opposed to focused athletic training, but to say, "We don't want the kids in the gym lifting weights." It's clear they still don't understand.

[George Mounce]

You can find the PDF here: http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/g...s/default.aspx

[Garrett Smith]

Chad,
I think that the "weights" statement was meant to be oriented towards childrens' exercise being fun, not a bunch of sets and reps indoors. That's the way I would take it. If my daughter sees me lifting and wants to join me in the garage, I'll use my best judgement in that situation...heh.

[Dave Van Skike]

Originally Posted by Garrett Smith

Chad,
I think that the "weights" statement was meant to be oriented towards childrens' exercise being fun, not a bunch of sets and reps indoors. That's the way I would take it. If my daughter sees me lifting and wants to join me in the garage, I'll use my best judgement in that situation...heh.

Word.

physicality should be fun, not suckful. I don't really want to see my kids doing "workouts", there are more important things to practice like rock throwing, creek jumping, sprinkler escapes and pillow fight drills. nothing should look like "work" ...not even work.

[Derek Maffett]

The guidelines, meant to be akin to the "Food Pyramid" nutritional advice...

Sigh...

[Chad Cilli]

I totally agree with you guys, and I got that impression from the article as well. I don't have kids, but I still think kids should be having fun and playing instead of structured physical training. I remember when I was a kid, my brother and I used to lift weights for fun. My dad had a bar and plates in the basement, and it was competition to see who could lift more or do more reps.

However, my issue goes beyond just this article. There seems to be an aversion to allowing kids to lift weights. I know growing up, people told me that lifting weights would stunt my growth. And while, yes, there is a risk to kids hurting themselves with improper form, there are worse things that kids could be doing than lifting weights in a gym.

As for the rest of the article, I know I don't workout 2.5 hours a week. I mean, maybe if you count my rest time between attempts on heavy days. But let's say I do Fran, Helen, Diane, Grace, Angie, and Jackie one week. I wouldn't even have an hour total time. They're specifying a quantity but completely disregarding quality. I could probably argue that my half hour walk to Pitt's campus is exercise. I go there and back sometimes 5 days a week. I still wouldn't call that 5 hours of exercise.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but articles like this really get under my skin. Just like how Derek responded to the Food Pyramid advice. You could flip the pyramid upside down, and it would be healthier.