GET FIT GUIDEthe acc leisure services department

The ACC Leisure Services Department Get Fit Guide

Getting started... Starting exercising can usually be done simply and easily,

but there are a few things you’ll want to consider first, to

make sure that your activity is enjoyable and safe. The

following are a few things to consider when you’re starting

a new exercise program:

If you have any major medical conditions (i.e., disease, hypertension, pregnancy, history of injury) consult your doctor before starting an exercise program. Assess yourself before you begin exercise. How long does it take you to walk a mile? What’s your resting blood pressure? How many sit ups can you do? What’s your waist circumference or body mass index (BMI)? Taking these assessments beforehand will give you benchmarks against which to measure your progress.

Set goals for what you want to accomplish. Make sure to set mini-goals along the way, if your final goal seems too far away. Develop a balanced fitness program. Incorporate cardio, strength and flexibility training to get a total body workout. Also, make sure to introduce new exercises gradually. Don’t overdo it! Be sure to include a warm up and stretching each time you exercise. Gradually increase the amount of time you exercise as your stamina increases. Be sure to give yourself scheduled days off.

Don’t be afraid to take lessons. An instructor or trainer can help ensure you’re using the proper form, which can prevent overuse injuries such as tendinitis or stress fractures.

Listen to your body! If you feel pain, nausea, shortness of breath or dizziness, take a break.

Be sure to monitor your progress and celebrate the little successes along your fitness journey.

rEady.

sET.

GET FIT.

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The family that exercises together...Be a positive role model for your children or

grandchildren! Research has shown that children

who participate in exercise with their parents or

other family members are more likely to develop

good exercise habits and continue exercising as

adults. MD Anderson Hospital in Texas offers the

following tips for getting your children to be

more active:

Be a role model: If your kids see you being physically active and having fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active throughout their lives.

Use exercise as transportation: Walk or bike with your kids to school, to visit friends or to the park.Invite everyone to go hiking, biking, roller skating, or to play basketball or soccer.

Focus on fun: Pack in lots of walking during trips to the zoo, park or miniature-golf course.

Use competition as a motivator: Kids love to compete. So, make it a contest between you and the kids to see who can run faster, do more push-ups, sit-ups or jumping jacks and give the winner non-food-related prizes. And remember, winning often motivates kids, so don’t be afraid to “lose” once in a while.

Include kids in household activities: Many household chores are also great opportunities to sneak in a little physical activity. Encourage physical activity by having your kids help out with washing the dog or the car, or mowing the lawn.

Limit TV and computer time: Offer them active options, like joining a local recreation center or after-school pro-gram, or taking lessons in a sport they enjoy. When your family does watch TV together, get everyone moving during commercial breaks by doing jumping jacks, hula-hooping or jumping rope.

Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2010. Similarly, the percentage of adoles-cents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period. In 2010, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

(Information courtesy of Centers for Disease Control & Prevention- http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm)

Obesity Fact:

Give gifts that promote physical activity: Rollerblades, bicycles, ice skates, soccer balls and even the Wii Fit make great gifts for birthdays and holidays. Even better, they encourage your kids to get moving.

(Taken from: http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/cancer-information/cancer-topics/prevention-and-screening/exercise/index.html)

In Athens, there are plenty of opportunities to be active as a family. Stroll through any of our parks. Participate in the family softball league offered during the spring at Bishop Park. Ride bikes along the Greenway. Sign up for a family paddle program or play a round of disc golf together at Sandy Creek Park. Lots of formal and informal opportunities for family fitness and togetherness are out there, and the ACC Leisure Services Department would love to have your family in our parks and programs!

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The ACC Leisure Services Department Get Fit Guide

ExErcIsE FacIlITIEsthe acc leisure services department

FITNESS ROOMSEast Athens Community Center

and Lay Park provide fitness rooms to employees and retirees free of charge. Come and work out

on your lunch hour or after work!

East Athens Community Center

Elliptical machines

Multi-purpose cross trainers

StairMasters

Stationary bikes

Treadmills

Lay ParkElliptical machines

Press machine

Stationary bikes

StairMasters

Treadmills

benefits of strength training and cardiovascular exercise

Cardiovascular Exercise Increased oxygen capacity

Improved heart & lung function Decreased body fat

Decreased blood pressure & triglycerides

Increased HDL (the good cholesterol)

Improved glucose tolerance & reduced insulin resistance

Strength Training Increased strength of muscles, tendons, and ligaments

Decreased Blood Pressure Positive changes in cholesterol

Decreased body fat and increased lean muscle mass Improved flexibility

Improved strength, balance, and functional ability in older adults

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choosE your acTIvITy

aquatics Pool locaTIoNs

Pool hours

When the weather heats up, hitting the water can be a great way to exercise. Swimming is the fourth most popular sport in the United States and offers lots of health benefits, including decreased risk of chronic illness, improved mood, maintained bone health and increased muscle tone. Swimming is a great option for people with chronic health condi-tions, such as arthritis. Swimming or water aero-bics allows greater use of affected joints without worsening your symptoms. If you’d like to give swimming or water aerobics a try this summer, visit on the of the Leisure Service Department’s five outdoor pools. For complete pool information, including summer pass details, please visit www.athensclarkecounty.com/aquatics or call 706-613-3801.

ROCKSPRINGS PARK

LAY PARK

LAY PARK

All pools will open for the season on

May 25, 2013.

BISHOP PARK

EAST ATHENS COMMUNITY CENTER

MEMORIAL PARK

• Tuesday-Friday: 1:00 - 5:30 p.m. • Saturday: Noon-5:30 p.m. • Sunday: 1:00 - 5:30 p.m.

All pools are closed on Mondays for maintenance.

Admission is $1 per person

The Bishop Park Pool is open to the public Saturdays and Sundays only.

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The ACC Leisure Services Department Get Fit Guide

DANCEDancing is great way to have fun and improve your fit-

ness at the same time. Dancing can increase your mus-

cle mass and strength, improve your flexibility, increase

your physical endurance and reduces stress. Also, an

hour of dancing can burn 300-650 calories (depending

on type of dance and your build). So, get out there and

shake your groove thing!

Leisure Services offers a lot of options for dancing. East

Athens Educational Dance Center offers dance classes

for youth and adults year-round. You can try your hand

at a variety of dance types including ballet, jazz, tap, hip

hop and praise. For more information, please visit www.

athensclarkecounty.com/dance or call 706-613-3624.

You can also visit Memorial Park on the third Saturday

evening of each month to try out contra dance, a type

of folk dancing similar to square dance. It’s a great way

to meet new people or try out a few new steps! To learn

more, visit www.athensfolk.org

FLEXIBILITY & BALANCEFlexibility and balance are vitally important, but often

overlooked, aspects of physical health. Why are flex-

ibility and balance so important? Flexibility isn’t just

about touching one’s toes or doing splits. In actuality,

flexibility is simply the amount of movement available

at each joint. Flexibility is important to staying healthy

and avoiding pain and injury. By training to develop

greater balance, you will recognize improvements in

coordination, athletic skill and posture. This in turn will

result in fewer injuries and greater stability as you age,

which can help prevent falls and keep you both strong

and independent longer.

Leisure Services offers lots of opportunities for you to

work on your flexibility and/or balance. A variety of

gymnastics programs for all ability levels are offered

for children through adults in the spring and fall at

Bishop Park. Enroll in the t’ai chi program offered year

round at Rocksprings Community Center. Send your

children or grandchildren to the Yoga Sprouts program

at Memorial Park during the school year.

TEAM SPORTSThere are many reasons for both children and adults to

participate in team sports. Children who participate

in team sports develop gross and fine motor skills,

increased cardiovascular health and endurance and

basic sport skills. Additionally, participation in team

sports helps children learn to work with others, to

develop graciousness and resilience through both win-

ning and losing, and to develop leadership abilities.

For adults, team sports serve many of the same pur-

poses that they do for youth. Adults who play team

sports also increase their cardiovascular health and en-

durance. They must continue to practice working with

others, appreciating different abilities and communi-

cating with others on a team. It’s also a good way to

meet new people or change up your exercise routine.

ACC Leisure Services offers a variety of team sports op-

tions for youth and adults. Youth basketball is offered

in the winter and youth soccer runs in both the fall

and spring. There’s even a short indoor soccer season

in the winter months. (For children who might be too

young for actual team sports, there’s also a SportsTime

skill development program.)

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Many youth football, tee-ball and baseball leagues, as

well as a swim team, operate independently but use Lei-

sure Services facilities to provide their team sports.

For adults, Leisure Services offers fall and spring softball

leagues. Once the new tennis center begins operation in

summer 2013, league play will also be offered

at that facility. Visit www.athensclarkecounty.com/

sports for more information.

activity/calories 10 minutes 100-130 LB 131-160 LB 161-190 LB 191-250 LB 221- 250 LB 251-280 LB 281-300 LB

Bicycling 60-70 70-90 90-110 110-130 130-150 150-160 160-180 Dancing 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90 90-100 Hiking 30 40-60 60-70 70-80 80-90 90-100 100-110 Resistance Training 60-70 70-90 90-110 110-130 130-150 150-160 160-180 Rollerblading 60-70 70-90 90-110 110-130 130-150 150-160 160-180 Running(8.5 min/mile) 80-110 110-130 130-160 160-190 190-210 210-240 240-250 Swimming 60-70 70-90 90-110 110-130 130-150 150-160 160-180 Tennis 60-70 70-90 90-110 110-130 130-150 150-160 160-180 Walking (3.5 mph) 30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90 Walking (4.5 mph) 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90 90-100 Weightlifting 20 20-30 30-40 40 40-50 50-60 60

©Conversions copyright Oakstone Publishing, LLC. dba Personal Best®. Adapted from Shape up America!

TENNISTennis has been called the “sport for a lifetime.” If you’re

looking for a sport to provide health benefits, it’s certainly

one to try. People who play tennis for 3 or more hours per

week have been shown to reduce their risk of death from

any cause by 50%. Additionally, people who play tennis

have higher levels of optimism and self-esteem than both

non-athletes and other athletes. Tennis also improves gross

& fine motor skills, enhances coordination, boosts your

immune system and burns a ton of calories!

If you’re interested in trying tennis, now is a great time. ACC

Leisure Services has a brand new tennis center scheduled

to open this July. The new facility will offer programs and

court space available for children through senior adults.

Additionally, tennis courts are also available at Bishop Park,

Lay Park, and Satterfield Park.

calorie counter guide based on ten minutes of activity

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The ACC Leisure Services Department Get Fit Guide

Step into fitness..Walking or running is a wonderful way to help maintain

a healthy heart. Walking and running have actually

shown similar health benefits including lowered risk of

hypertension, lower blood pressure and lower occurrence

of diabetes. The other great thing about walking or

running is that it’s a low-cost exercise option that can be

done almost anywhere!

Find a partner - there’s safety in numbers. If you must run or walk alone, go where there are other people.

Run or walk during daylight hours whenever possible. If you must exercise in the dark, wear light-reflecting or light-colored clothing. Avoid running in the streets or in deserted areas.

Be thoroughly familiar with your route. Know the location of phones, police or fire stations, and 24-hour businesses.

Listen to your instincts and be willing to vary your route if you sense you’re in danger.

Run or walk against traffic whenever possible.

Leave jewelry at home.

Ignore verbal harassment.

Always carry some form of personal identification in case of emergency.

walk.hIkE.ruN.

(Taken from e-How.com: http://www.ehow.com/how_11019_practice-safety-tips.html)

walking & running tips:

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acc trail inFormationACC Leisure Services has multiple trails, both paved and more natural terrain, for you to enjoy for walking, hiking, or running. Visit athensclarkecounty.com/trails.com for more information about trail locations and distances.

Birchmore Trail at Memorial Park

Walking Path at Bishop Park

North Oconee River Greenway

Paved Walking Track at SE Clarke Park

Sandy Creek Greenway/Cook’s Trails Lakeside Trail at Sandy Creek Park

1.3 miles

0.7 miles

4 miles

0.6 miles

4 miles

7.5 miles

Keep moving! Maintain a healthy heart while you go for a walk. ACC Leisure

Services offers several locations for walking or jogging.

WALKING TRAILS & NATURE TRAILS

additional trails at sandy creek nature centerADA Interpretive Trail

Brick Factory Loop & Log House Loop

Claypit Pond Trail

Crossridge Trail

Hooded Warbler Trail

Kestrel Trail

Kingfisher Pond Hooded Warbler Trail

Levee Trail

Oconee Trail

Pine Ridge Trail

Screech Owl Trail

0.2 miles

0.1 miles

0.5 miles

0.1 miles

0.2 miles

0.7 miles

0.3 miles

0.2 miles

0.2 miles

0.4 miles

0.4 miles

one way

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The ACC Leisure Services Department Get Fit Guide

The ACC Leisure Services Department Get Fit Guide

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