Kenney Myers

Author | Actor | Producer | Kickboxer | Entrepreneur

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20 Blogs Pinpointing the Health Benefits of Swimming and Water Exercises

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swimmingIf you’re looking for the fountain of youth, you just might find it by taking up swimming. This low-impact exercise has a plethora of benefits. It’s a great workout for people of all ages, it’s easy on the joints, it gives the body a total body workout and  it’s a great alternative exercise for people who are injured or who are recovering from an injury. To learn more about the benefits of swimming and water exercise, check out these 20 blog articles.

Low-Impact

Swimming or exercising in the water relieves pressure off of your joints, making it a great alternative for people whose bodies can’t handle high-impact exercises. Because it’s so low-impact, it’s a great way for people who are overweight or injured to start or continue to stay active. Read more about swimming as a low-impact exercise option in these five blog entries.

Total Body

As you glide through the water, you are using your arms to pull your body and your legs to propel you through the water. These two actions together make swimming a total body workout that nearly anyone can do.  These five blog posts will explain why swimming is so beneficial.

Any Age

Swimming is a great workout for people of all ages, and it’s a workout that helps improve your overall health and well-being. Despite being such a low-impact sport, swimming allows both kids and adults alike to get their heart rate up and burn off extra calories. In addition to swimming, water aerobics and water running or walking are great low-impact options for people of all ages. In these five blog articles learn why swimming can be so beneficial at any age.

Heart Healthy

Swimming is an aerobic sport, meaning your heart rate increases and you take in more oxygen while doing it.  You can increase your metabolism, decrease high blood pressure and reduce your cholesterol by participating in a regular swimming exercise routine.  In these five blog entries you will find more reasons why swimming is so heart healthy.

10 Ways to Calculate and Track Calories You’ve Burned

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foodjournalWhen it comes to losing weight or maintaining your current size, one of the most reliable methods is simply to ensure that you’re burning more calories than you’re taking in each day. For those with a relatively low level of experience in the area of tracking calories, however, the prospect of managing the equation can be daunting. In all actuality, keeping up with the number of calories you’ve burned and calculating your daily totals can be quite simple. These ten tips will help you monitor your calories, both consumed and burned, to ensure that you’re staying healthy and making the right choices in terms of your diet and activity level.

  • Be Honest with Yourself – It’s so easy to fudge the numbers a bit in order to make yourself feel better about cheating your diet or skipping an exercise session, but you’re not accurately tracking the number of calories you’ve burned as opposed to how many you’ve consumed if you’re not honest with yourself.
  • Determine Your Ideal Calories Burned to Calories Consumed Ratio – Before you start working to track your caloric burn, you need to know the magic number for your body to achieve results. When you have a concrete goal, you can meet it more easily and ensure that your tracking efforts pay off. It does no good to track the numbers if you’re not sure where you need to be, so make sure that you do your homework. You can use an online calorie counter to determine this number.
  • Put Your Smartphone to Work for You – There are so many things that your smartphone can do for you, and calorie tracking is no exception. There are a plethora of both paid and free apps on the market that will help you keep up with how many calories you burn over the course of a day, and they can be one of the less complicated options available.
  • Invest in a Heart Rate Monitor – While some devices can be quite expensive, a heart rate monitor is one of the most reliable tools at your disposal when it comes to keeping up with the number of calories you burn over the course of an exercise session. Shop around to find the best model within your price range, but don’t dismiss these items out of hand as an unnecessary expense.
  • Wear a Pedometer – You certainly burn calories while you’re actively working out, but you’re also burning them throughout the day as you expend energy. Wearing a pedometer will let you know just how far you walk each day, help you track the amount of calories burned and give you an accurate view of just how active you really are.
  • Use Online Calculators Carefully – There are a multitude of online calorie calculators to be found on the Internet, but they should be used carefully because they’re not all accurate. Be sure that the one you’re using is from a reputable source and hosted on a website you trust.
  • Examine Exercise Equipment – Most cardio workout machines will have a calorie tracking function built into them, even if they’re not always easy to find. Check the equipment you use for just such a feature, and record the number displayed at the end of your workout.
  • Keep an Exercise Journal – Using the results from your heart rate monitor, pedometer and the calorie tracker embedded in cardio machines in conjunction is far more accurate than using any one of these systems alone, but you’ll need a dedicated place to record that information for review. Keeping a journal not only allows you to track your calories, but also serves as an inspirational tool.
  • Keep a Food Journal – It’s not enough to track the number of calories you’ve burned; you also need to track the amount of calories you consume. Recording everything you eat or drink in a dietary journal will allow you to compare your caloric intake to the amount you burn through exercise and activity, so don’t neglect this crucial step in the tracking process.
  • Speak With Your Healthcare Provider – The single most reliable source when it comes to healthily and effectively losing weight is your doctor or primary care provider, who will also be able to give you accurate advice regarding the best methods of tracking your daily calorie burn. By reviewing your options and listening carefully to your doctor’s advice, you’ll be able to build a safe and effective fitness plan.

How to Choose the Right Sport for Your Child

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kidssportsAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity rates have more than doubled in the past 30 years. In fact, the obesity epidemic has gotten so bad that one out of three children in the U.S. were overweight or obese as of 2010. Obesity does not have to be a lifelong sentence for poor health, however. Playing active sports is a great way for children to stay healthy, make friends and have fun.

The Importance of Sports

In today’s age of fast food, video games and cell phone use, sports are more important than ever. According to Livestrong.com, sports offer children a number of benefits in addition to physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle.

  • Sports help children make friends and learn social skills as they work with their teammates to achieve a common goal. Children communicate on and off the field about a wide-range of topics not limited to the sport at hand. They learn to take turns and encourage others to do their best.
  • Sports also help children develop healthy self-esteem as they work hard to reach goals they set for themselves. Sports allow children to take pride in their hard work and measurable accomplishments. They also give children a sense of security and belonging within the team family.
  • Though sports and academics can often compete for a child’s time, playing sports actually helps a child’s academic performance. The skills learned on the field, including perseverance, concentration and goal-setting, can help children succeed in the classroom as well.

Choosing the Right Sport

  • Choosing the right sport for a child is easy when the child is already interested in a particular one. If the child does not seem interested, however, it may be up to the parents to come up with a few good options. Here are a few guidelines to help parents find the best sports for their children:
  • Take the child’s interests and abilities into account: Children who love playing in the water may want to sign up for swimming. Children who have lots of energy and who are always running around may love an active game like soccer. Children with an interest in superheroes and fighting bad guys may be interested in martial arts.
  • Take the child’s age into account: Smaller children need easier sports and activities, while older children need activities that will give them more of a challenge. Toddlers can benefit most from unstructured playtime spent running, throwing and jumping. Children between ages six and nine are usually ready for fun team sports such as T-ball, tennis or gymnastics. Adolescents are best suited for sports with complex strategies such as football, basketball and volleyball.
  • Give children a chance to try out a sport before committing to it: Children may not know which sports they will enjoy before they are given a chance to try them out. Some sports, such as tennis, swimming and running, can be practiced together as a family. Other sports, such as gymnastics, football and martial arts, can be experienced through an inexpensive seasonal program offered by a local parks and recreation department.
  • Consider the commitment: Each sport has varying levels of commitment in terms of money and time. A family already pressed for time may not want to sign their children up for a traveling hockey league or a soccer team that practices several times a week. Also, some sports are more expensive than others. Sports such as hockey and baseball may require players to buy a lot of their own equipment, which can be a pricey investment if the child does not end up sticking with the sport.

How to Help Children Succeed in Sports

Once children find a sport they are interested in, there are many ways parents can help their children succeed in their particular sport of choice. Parents should make sure children have all the necessary equipment for the sport and that the equipment is in good shape. They should make sure they bring their children to all practices and games on time so the children will have a chance to play and improve their skills. Parents should also make sure their children eat a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep so they will be healthy and alert enough to play.

With all of the benefits sports offer to children, it should come as no surprise that so many families stay busy involving their children in so many different sports activities. Finding and playing the right sport is a great way for children to stay happy, healthy and active.

How to Survive Sharing a Vacation Home With Another Family

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vacationingVacation: a chance to get away, let your hair down and relax for a few days while your kids play. Sharing that vacation with another family can be a great way to cut costs and share babysitting duties so that every set of parents gets a real break. However, that also means a greater chance of butting heads with someone if you aren’t prepared for new situations. Spending time with your friends is a lot different than living with them, even on a short-term basis in a vacation home. If you want to survive sharing a vacation home with another family — and more than that, actually have a good time — there are a few things to keep in mind:

Set Ground Rules

This is probably one of the biggest ways to make sure everybody has fun and nobody steps on anybody’s toes. For example: What kind of schedule do you like to keep? Even on vacation, you’ll probably follow a daily pattern that looks like the one from your normal life. If you like to hang out or party into the night, or just stay up late watching TV, that’s fine, but don’t ask the members of the other family to join you if they don’t want to. If they want to hit the sack, respect their wishes and keep your volume at a reasonable level. By the same token, if you’re the early riser, give the other family a heads-up and ask for an understandable curfew for parties or dinners. And when you get up before them in the morning, don’t do anything that’ll make too much noise. That means organizing quieter playtime with your kids or heading out of the vacation home until everybody’s up and running.

It’s not about imposing your will on others, but about making room for everybody’s routines. Nobody should feel pressured or left out.

Count Your Cash

In other words, figure out costs ahead of time. Some costs will naturally be yours because they’re for items just for you and your family: food and snacks, fuel, clothing, etc. Other costs, though, might make sense to share because they’re going toward things that benefit everyone, like house supplies, food for a group meal and so on. The best (really, the only) way to deal with this is to establish going in who will pay for what. If you want to tally every cent or just assume that everything will come out fine based on a division of labor, it’s your call. But there’s nothing worse than the tension that comes from being on vacation and feeling like you’re being taken advantage of by your fellow travelers. Clear, honest communication before you travel is key.

Know How You Like to Vacation

Are you an itinerary-driven person who uses vacations as a chance to really explore and get out? Or are you more inclined to lie about the house and rest? Or would you rather just play it by ear? Guess what: If you expect everybody else to meet your needs and vacation like you do, you could be in for a really tense few days.

The solution: Do a little light soul-searching before you go. Maybe you’re a go-getter and so is one of the other parents; great, you two can hit the town and see the sights. Maybe you’d rather sit by the pool or take a nap; great, don’t be afraid to stay in and tell people you just want to relax. Vacation, weirdly, can take a lot of effort to do well, and it’s possible to mess up everyone’s chance at fun if you don’t know what you really like to do.

Share the Kids

This is why you’re really sharing a vacation home: to have another set of parents to watch your kids. Don’t get greedy, though. It’s not fair to expect the other family to watch your kids while you relax or sight-see if you don’t offer to return the favor. Vacation is a chance to recuperate from the working world and get a change of scenery, and part of that means helping out the other family. Chat before the trip about equitable ways to split responsibility for the kids; maybe you and your partner could get a date night to yourselves, then reciprocate for the other parents. Maybe afternoons are trade-offs. There are plenty of ways to work it. The point is just to remember that everyone’s there to have a good time, and it’s up to you (and everybody else) to help make that happen.

Reasons Kids Benefit from Playing Team Sports

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teamsportsTeam sports can be traced all the way back to the Native Americans, with the first organized collegiate sport between young men starting in the 1850s between Harvard and Yale. Since then, athletics have become a way of life and an integral part of growing up. Sports in adolescence is becoming more prevalent, and parents are entering kids into sports at younger ages, wanting their kids to experience the many advantages from playing on an organized team.

There are, in fact, myriad benefits a child can receive from playing team sports, ones that can be parlayed into adolescence and adulthood, into relationships and the workplace. Sports are a place where a child can excel and receive scholarships and honors; but they are also a place where a young one can learn many skills that extend far beyond the physical benefits. These skills and benefits range from mental health betterment to learning to work with others, as well as basic life readiness.

Physical Health

The topic of obesity is a prominent one in today’s society, and the importance of exercise is touted more than ever. The health benefits of a child playing sports are far-reaching. Not only does he have fun exercising, but he also has a structured form of activity where he can learn skills such as coordination and agility, and he is able to hone these skills by doing repetitive drills. The physical aspect of sports helps children build muscle and improve motor skills. Research has shown that kids who play team sports are stronger and all-around healthier.

Mental Health

The mental health benefits go hand-in-hand with the physical rewards earned from playing team sports. Athletics promote self-esteem, self-confidence and courage. Children learn what it takes to reach a goal and about their own strengths and abilities. They learn how to deal with the losses in appropriate ways, which can lead to better emotional control off the field. Team sports have been found to enhance a child’s brain development and possibly raise IQ.

Team sports are significantly important to young girls entering adolescence. A very self-conscious time for girls, they are often bombarded with unattainable physical images in magazines, on television and on the Internet. Sports can help young girls realize self-worth outside their appearance and direct their focus toward goals that are more rewarding on the inside.

Working with Others

Team sports teach children how to work well with others. While on a team, children must think of a group as a whole instead of just as themselves as individuals. They learn to be happy for their teammates’ successes in addition to their own, because every person’s success benefits the team. They learn to interact with peers and respect their fellow teammates and coaches. They are able to learn empathy for others.

Playing sports is a way for kids to learn from positive mentors other than parents. On a team, a child learns to respect the coach and honor his final decisions. That sense of organization, teamwork and following a skilled leader will help him in the classroom and the workplace as he grows.

Life Skills

A child or adolescent playing a team sport has the ability to learn essential life skills that he will carry throughout adulthood. Sports often provide valuable learning experiences and teach hard work, patience, persistence, focus and discipline. Children are taught how to respond appropriately to setbacks and failure. They realize that having a strong work ethic toward the sport will bring about good results. They have to learn how to balance school and athletics and, as they get older, part-time jobs as well. In fact, it has been shown that kids who participate in team sports are more likely to be hard-working students and better future workers as adults.

Tips for Parents

It is important for parents to be involved from the beginning to ensure their children are having a positive experience playing sports. While the benefits are numerous, there is still the possibility that a zealous coach or bully can sour the experience for the child. Also, it may take many tries to find the right sport, but knowing why a child wants to play helps guide the child toward the activity that makes the most of his talents. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends age six as the earliest to enter a child into sports, as free play is most important before then. After age six, the child will likely want to have fun and make new friends in a sport.

Team sports can develop a large range of skills and give a child confidence, self-esteem and independence. With the right focus of both parents and coaches, athletics give children a way to discover their talents in a healthy environment. With the social, physical and mental health benefits, as well as life experience, team sports can lay the foundation outside of school to ensure a child is on his way to becoming a well-rounded, self-assured adult.

10 Kens With Famous Faces You’d Recognize

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DFree / Shutterstock.com
DFree / Shutterstock.com

Everyone has those moments where they see a famous face but can’t quite place the name. These are the actors, singers and players that seem to always be part of the cultural landscape, yet have the ability to leave you stumped as to who they are. See if you can recognize some of these famous Kens before reading the descriptions.

  • Kenneth Branagh – Yes, he is a world famous actor, so it should come as no surprise that you recognize him. However, Branagh is one of the most accomplished character actors in the world, meaning that he can pull off most any role. If you happened to watch the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, specifically the short movie “Isles of Wonder,” you would have seen Kenneth take on the role of famed engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
  • Ken Shamrock – As one of the most well-known hall of famers in mixed martial arts, Ken Shamrock is instantly recognizable to fans of the sport. He also is featured heavily in professional wrestling, and is credited with opening the door for future cross-overs between the two franchises. Shamrock has a very distinct look, and although you may not follow wrestling or MMA, you are sure to recognize this iconic figure.
  • Ken Starr – Starr’s claim to fame was his role in the investigation of the Whitewater real estate investments of Bill Clinton. His name was all over the media at the time, however, many will recognize his face without being able to place the name. Ironically, it is the face of Monica Lewinski, whose affair with Bill Clinton was exposed by Starr, which most people will automatically associate with the investigation.
  • Kenneth Hutchinson – Let that name swirl around in your brain for a second. Okay, have you figured it out yet? If not, maybe the name “David Soul” will give you a clue. Yes, this Ken is better known as one half of the duo Starsky and Hutch. As his full name was rarely mentioned in the show, it is understandable that most people will recognize the face but not the name.
  • Ken Kirzinger – This is one face you definitely would not have wanted to see in a dark alley in 2003. Ken Kirzinger played the masked psycho-killer Jason Voorhees in “Freddie Versus Jason.” An accomplished stuntman, Kirzinger insisted on doing all his own stunts for the movie, despite protests from the director. Other roles included playing Jared Bender in the popular television series, “Supernatural.”
  • Ken Jenkins – As actors go, Ken Jenkins has had a long and colourful career. However, he really came into his own when he took on the role of Dr. Bob Kelso in the hit comedy series Scrubs. Kelso was the head of medicine at Sacred Heart, and was also notorious for being cheap, uncaring and abusive to both hospital staff and his long-suffering wife.
  • Kenneth Wolstenholme – “They think it’s all over… it is now” – a phrase any soccer fan of worth will instantly recognize. Kenneth Wolstenholme uttered his most recognized catchphrase in the closing minutes of the 1966 FIFA World Cup between England and Germany. The phrase was born from supporters invading the pitch, just before Geoff Hurst scored a fourth goal for the England side.
  • Ken Venturi – Even if you’re not a fan of golf, after 35 years as an analyst of the sport for CBS, Ken Venturi had a face that was instantly recognizable. Ken was also a pro in the early years of the PGA and just missed out on winning the Masters against Arnold Palmer on two occasions. Venturi passed away on May 17, 2013 at the age of 82. He had retired from CBS back in 2002 and was living with his third wife, Kathleen, at the time of his death.
  • Reginald Kenneth Dwight – Take note of this name – it’s a frequent quiz master favourite. Reginald Kenneth Dwight is none other than Elton John. It’s not a name that the singer has used for a long time, and Elton John does sound much better. The name “Elton John” was created by amalgamating the first names of his idols, Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.
  • Ken Robinson – If you’ve been paying attention to the Internet, and especially the “Ted Talks” channel, you may have spotted Sir Ken Robinson’s meteoric rise to fame. Robinson hosted a Ted Talk on creativity and how educators are stifling children, rather than nurturing them. The talk captured the imaginations of people from all over the world, and soon Sir Ken Robinson was declared the number one authority on creative thinking.