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While doing my regular Friday morning recovery bunch ride, I spoke with a 13-year-old who was riding with his father’s friend.

We enjoyed a great chat as we rode along Beach Road enjoying the bay views. It was perfect riding conditions with a slight breeze to balance off any heat generated from exercising.

Well, the 13-year-old was quite amazing. He personified what our children and teenagers should be doing, that is, exercising and eating a balanced diet.

While most of his friends were still in bed, he was up at 4:40 AM getting ready for his morning 30km ride. Interestingly, he told me that most of his friends don’t exercise at all but spend their time playing PS2 late into the night followed by a late sleep-in the next morning.

I asked him whether he spent much time on the Internet or playing video games. He wasn’t that interested even though he got a game console for Christmas a few years ago.

But the most amazing thing he told me was that his parents don’t cycle. His inspiration to ride came from  older brothers who also raced bicycles. From the tender age of 4 he started competing in racing on small tracks especially designed for kids looking for fun rather than the usual full-blown competitive bike racing experienced by his older siblings.

For 5 years he did a lot of mountain biking and BMX. He recently made the transition to a road bike and now rides 3 -4 times a day. His parents are perfect role models – his father regularly goes to Queen Victoria Market to by fruit and vegetables so there’s always a plentiful supply of fresh produce at home.

Most impressive is that he prepares his own lunch every day – a sandwich and a few pieces of fruit. When I asked what his friends had for lunch it was usually take away food from the Tuck Shop – hot dogs or hamburgers with morning tea/recess usually consisting of, in his words, “sugary roll ups.”

Unfortunately, when I asked him about the exercise habits of his fellow school friends, their greatest activity seems to be playing video games. While some kids try to balance their gaming addiction with swimming, the overall consensus was that most did little or no exercise while consuming the types of food that predispose them to health risks later in life.

The 13-year-old also commented that chocolate and similar types of food were “treats” and so should be consumed infrequently. A great lesson, whether it’s children or adults, is that we need to consume these treats on the odd occasion rather than every day.

This 13-year-old also claimed the benefits of getting involved in a regular exercise regime was that he had plenty of energy in the morning and overall felt a lot better than sitting around doing nothing.

While this level of activity and intensity is at the other end of the exercise spectrum for a young teenager, it does give some great insight into the types of positive behaviors missing in our children’s lives in general.

They don’t necessarily have to go out and race bicycles. Just riding around the local park, kicking a football or playing chasey with their friends keeps them active and provides an alternative focus to eyeballing a computer screen.

Written by Andrew Talati

Inspired Cadel’s second place rides in 2007 and 2008, and his 2011 Tour De France win, there’s been an increase in people getting on bicycles.

This is more evident with the creation of a new acronym – MAMIL, or Middle Aged Men In Lycra. While not the world’s most flattering term, it does highlight a growing trend.

While there have been many references to cycling being the new golf, you can’t ignore the blistering facts.  Cycling is currently undergoing a revolution in Australia.

The local distributor of BMC, maker of Cadel’s winning bike, has sold out of all the BMC paraphernalia like cycling jerseys and caps.

Gaelene Snelling, Vice President of St Kilda Cycling Club (SKCC), said, “There has been an explosion in the last two years.” The club has swelled from 350 in August 2009 to 650 in August this year.

Cycling Victoria – the governing body for both recreational and competitive cycling – has also seen a dramatic 300% increase in club memberships since 2007.  They now boast a staggering 8000 members.

It was amazing to see the huge crowd that turned out to honour Cadel when he made a brief detour to Australia before heading to the US for further racing. Usually such large crowds are reserved for footie parades or Olympians.  We’ve never seen them turn out for a single individual from a foreign cycling race.

With obesity and overweight numbers increasing, cycling offers an awesome way to keep fit, socialise with your friends and get outside the house or office.

At the turn-of-the-century cycling participation rates were extremely high as bicycles represented the primary means of transportation around Melbourne. With the advent of the motor vehicle and improved public transportation, the poor old bike was relegated to being a children’s activity.

We can look forward to continued growth with increasing participation in those riding bicycles and hopefully a corresponding decrease in those diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle )

Written by Andrew Talati

A new study by Michigan State University found that people who exercise with their dog have improved health outcomes.
The findings showed that dog owners were 34% more likely to achieve the recommended minimum levels of exercise, which is benchmarked at 150 minutes per week (although there is a growing body of evidence suggesting this should be 210 minutes or half an hour per day).

The study used information gathered from a 2005 Michigan behavioral risk factor survey that was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the Department of Community Health.

The study found that people who owned dogs were more likely to participate in some form of physical activity for at least one hour longer per week than non-dog owners. Of the 41% of the 5,902 participants in the survey who owned a dog, 61% said they walked their dog for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Owning a pet was also found to have other therapeutic benefits including improvements in mental health which is why it is quite often recommended that elderly people be given a pet as a form of companionship.

The motivating factor for dog owners to get more exercise as opposed to sitting on the couch is that it is their responsibility to walk the dog on a regular basis.

The most interesting fact to come from this study is that dog owners were almost 70% more involved in some sort of physical activity as opposed to people not owning a dog. But it’s also a little disturbing that the study also revealed that a large part of the population was not meeting the minimum guidelines of hundred 150 minutes of physical activity per week.

Interestingly the size of the dog also determined the duration of the walk ie larger dogs required significantly longer walks when compared to smaller dogs.

Many of our clients attending our boot camps bring their dog along to the session so both the dog and the owner receive a work out.

If you have a dog and it loves a good romp, why not bring them along to your next Fitstyler session. Or if you’re looking at improving the level of intensity or for something different that will improve and increase your exercise regime with your dog generally, here are a few
ideas to help you get started.

A new study by the Peninsula College of Medicine in the UK has found that there are major benefits to training in the natural environment as opposed to training indoors, in particular in improved mental wellbeing.

The study also found there were physical benefits as the study participants experienced a greater sense of energy and fulfillment with a corresponding decrease in anger, depression and other negative mindsets. However, the study was short term and did not extend to whether people’s participation in outdoor exercise continued on an ongoing basis.

An interesting part of the study was the strong relationship between exercising outdoors and the physical and mental wellbeing of the participant.

With a large percentage of the population living in densely populated urban centers around the world, our connection to the natural environment is being slowly eroded.

Engaging in any form of outdoor activity re-establishes that connection of being at one with the natural environment. Even activities as simple as walking through a park, where you can observe the trees, plant life and contrasting theatre of changing colours, depending on the time of year, makes a difference.

Our modern lives have little respite from the stressful events that we experience on a daily basis from traffic jams, crowded public transport to spending eight hours a day staring at a computer screen in the office. Why not try setting aside some time today for some outdoor exercise and you may be surprised at how much better you feel.

Well with Spring now in the air, some regular riders are returning after their winter hibernation. Actually if was yesterday morning at our local cafe (part of the whole cycling culture thing) when I caught up with a few mates I haven’t seen since May this year.

The first thing they commented on before I could even say “hello” was about how they had stacked on 10-15kgs over winter.

Well there is one thing about lycra, it doesn’t hide even the smallest ounce of fat so that extra 10 – 15kgs gives you a side profile like, mmm, like Homer Simpson.

Fortunately for these guys, the 10 – 15kgs will disappear in 6 -8 weeks or less and their lean body mass will return.

I would consider these guys amateur athletes, riding 450-550kms per week, doing specific training programs and racing A grade at the cycling club level.

Well out came the reasons why these wasn’t much riding over winter, work was busy, had heaps of stuff on yet over the summer period the work commitments subside and all the other things that restrict training time disappear, very strange.

It’s all about consistency and maintaining a healthy weight range on a weekly rather than seasonal level.

While I cheekily suggested to take a profile shot so we can compare there bellies in 3 months time, there was a serious note to all of this.

Apart from maintaining consistency with any exercise program, it’s equally important to watch the size of your waist circumference as there is a direct link between cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes by having a girth over 100cm for men and 90cm for women.

While these guys will typically burn anywhere from 1000 – 1500 calories during a training session, the health risks cannot be over looked.