FIVE exercises for Life

At the end of last year the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine (BASEM) gave their ideas of what type of exercises should be given to children. This was highlighted on the news for the BASEM made the point that although schools have PE, children were not being taught the fundamental movements required for a good quality of life. This on the back of research also showing that for many children it is more a lack of exercise/movement than overeating which is causing the obesity problem. The BASEM has come up with 5 main exercises that children should be able to perform, works the whole body and can be done daily in a short period of time. The exercises take as little as 5 minutes and should be included in traditional PE classes.  The five exercises are: a forward lunge, a dead bug like exercise, hip hikes (side plank), a hot foot lizard ( touching hand to opposite foot) and an 8 count body builder ( press-up to a jumping squat movement). Do any of these sound familiar! You won’t be surprised to hear me say again how important it is for quality of life that people of all ages can perform functional movements and what better time to start when you are younger. Keep fit and keep functional and include exercises such as squats, lunges and press ups. These are a great way when performed correctly to work the whole body, boost metabolism and correct much of the poor postural patterns that modern life throws at us.

Kevin- 7 Feb 2011