1 . Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation (PPIE) was started in 1987 to raise money by organizing running events for local schools. Based in Pleasanton, California, a suburb of San Francisco, the non-profit organization recently hosted a family-focused fitness event for the community. “Our event helps to bring the community together,” said Mindy Louie, events and outreach manager for PPIE. “We have more than 3,000 participants, hard-working volunteers and viewers.”

This year’s fitness event took place on April 30 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. It featured races of two miles, five kilometers and ten kilometers. A new Kids Challenge consisted of a quarter-mile run to encourage younger children to participate. When asked to describe the run, 11-year-old Jeremy Louie said, “Fun, exciting and enjoyable.” Jeremy added that he was happy to help support his school.

PPIE supports all 15 schools in the Pleasanton Unified School District, which include more than 14, 500 students and 800 teachers and staff. The nonprofit organization tries to fund programs affected by budget cuts, while encouraging fitness and athleticism. To date, the PPIE has raised over $1 million for the school district.

A local runners’ group called the BURN Youth Development (B. Y. D.) participated in the fundraising. The B.Y.D. has since grown to more than 100 youth members, 30 of whom ran in April’s PPIE event. Jerry Wu, the group’s founder and lead coach, explained that the B.Y.D. was born to keep kids running. “Watching them running strongly and happily makes me smile every time,” Jerry said.

Jerry encourages teamwork and teaches the students valuable running techniques. As a B.Y.D. member, Ollie Gu, an eighth grader, was one of the top finishers in the ten-kilometer run. He completed the race in 40 minutes and 46 seconds and won first place in the 12-to-15 year-old age group. “The race was extremely rewarding,” Ollie said. “I’m looking forward to it next year.”

2 . A small study out of Skidmore College examined the advantages of morning vs, evening exercise for both women and men. Paul, professor for health at Skidmore, led the study.

“We had the groups divided into evening and morning groups,” he says. “We found women and men answered differently to different types of exercise depending on the time of the day, which surprised us.”

The study showed that for women who want to lower blood pressure (血压), the risk of heart disease or reduce fat, morning exercise works best. Those women hoping for upper body muscle (肌肉) gains or mood (心情) improvement should consider evening exercise. For the men, the findings were somewhat different: Evening exercise lowers blood pressure, the risk of heart disease, and feelings of tiredness. But similar to women, they burn more fat with morning exercise.

“For many people, the best time to exercise will depend on their chronotype,” says Heisz, author of Move the Body, Heal the Mind.

“Chronotype is your body’s natural habit to sleep at a certain time—it’s what decides whether you’re a night owl or an early bird. For the 25% of the population that considers themselves a night owl, getting both enough sleep and enough exercise can be difficult,” adds Heisz.

He continues, “Sleep—which provides your body the necessary time to recover (恢复) and make gains from exercise—should always be the first choice. When it comes to exercise, regardless of research on the advantages of certain exercises at particular times of the day, your results will not be good if it doesn’t allow enough time for sleep.”

3 . You start by running around the school track three times to warm up. This is followed by exercises or long jump for the girls and football or basketball for the boys. That is an average 45 -minute PE class— but do you really enjoy it?

For students at the Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, sports classes have experienced a welcome change. Senior 2 students now learn the traditional Chinese martial art of sword-fighting (中国剑术), making PE the most popular lesson on the timetable. “The classes used to be boring as we just did the same things again and again,” said Xiao Tong. “But now PE classes are such fun. Sword-fighting is so cool.” His classmate Wei Jie agrees. “As well as being fun, we learn about traditional Chinese culture,” she said. The usual morning exercises performed to music on the school playground have been replaced by kicking and punching practice (搏击操) to a pop music by Zheng Xiuwen. “We didn't pay much attention when we heard the old music,” Xiao explained, “But when Zheng's music is played, we get excited.” Mao Min, the PE teacher who introduced the changes, is pleased that the students now enjoy sports lessons more. “The classes encourage healthy lifestyles and I am always looking for creative ways to keep the students active,” he said. Schools offer activities according to what sports facilities (设备) they have. For example, students at the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University can choose to learn swimming, taekwondo (跆拳道) or volleyball. “I take my volleyball very seriously so I keep fit by playing it,” said Senior 2 student Zhang Zheng. “Students only try hard in sports that interest them.”

4 . Getting motivated when you don't feel like working out is so much easier when you have a workout partner!    1    Your workout partner can actually help you realize your fitness goals.

    2    You are NOT your partner’s personal trainer or coach. You are equals, pushing each other to reach a similar goal together.

If you are doubting your discipline or feel like your motivation ebbs and flows(起伏), then a workout partner can make all the difference! For both of you!

With A Workout Partner, You Show Up

You set time to meet and exercise about an hour, and you are getting dressed and planning to head out soon. When you are alone, so many things can get in the way and seem more important: the laundry, the kid's needs, fixing dinner, petting the dog...     3    With a workout partner, the time is set and it becomes about them, their time, and honoring your commitment to them.

You’ll Work Harder With A Partner

You and your workout partner will have a workout plan, and you'll know what is expected for the day.     4    It's great how it works to motivate both people! Especially when, by themselves, they may not have worked out as hard.

A Workout Partner Keeps You Focused

Your focus on the exercise at hand is multiplied when you have a workout partner. There is a purpose for your meeting, and it becomes clear how to make the goal a reality with consistent work. The hard work seems worth it when you have a partner who is working towards the same goal.    5    

5 . According to research, about 21.5 million American children between the ages of six and seventeen are involved (参与的) in a team sport.     1     But regardless of the reasons for getting involved, children can gain a lot from sports.

A 2006 report shows that taking up sports can increase both emotional and behavioral well-being in teenagers. And increased well-being can lead to higher confidence, which results in better overall performance.     2     In addition, they usually get along well with people around them and are less likely to have bad or risky behavior.

    3     Through this process, children develop social and leadership skills and learn the value of teamwork. Children involved in sports usually have stronger and better relationships with their schoolmates and a better understanding of people from different backgrounds.

Actually, sports give children an opportunity to communicate with adults in valuable and positive ways, which can help them develop closer relationships with adults. This effect is especially great when children don’t get along well with their family members.     4    

Although most effects of sports on children are good, there can be disadvantages. If the pressure to win is overemphasized (过分强调) or the expectations of parents or coaches become too great, kids may experience lots of stress.     5     To avoid these bad effects, children should not overemphasize winning but focus on developing certain skills.

9 . Swimming has been called the perfect exercise. After all, you can get all of the benefits of an aerobic (有氧的) workout without any damage to joints, and it can be done by both the very old and the very young.     1     — just you and the deep blue. So, let’s take a big breath, and dive into the benefits of swimming.

Full body workout.     2    . So, whether you swim a gentle breaststroke (蛙泳) or backbreaking butterfly, you will get a full body workout. Plus, exercising in water makes your bodywork harder, so, 30 minutes in a pool is worth 45 minutes of the same activity on land.

Destress and relax. Whether it’s work stressing you out, the kids being a nightmare, or just life in general, we all get times when we just want to SCREAM.     3    . Swimming regularly can lower stress levels, reduce anxiety and depression, and improve your sleep patterns.

Burn those calories. Swimming is one of the most effective ways to burn calories. A gentle swim can burn over 200 calories in just half an hour, more than double that of walking.     4    .

No sweat. If sweating puts you off other forms of exercise, fear not! As a swimmer, you’ll never feel sweaty no matter how hard you work because the water around you is constantly cooling you down.

    5    . While all exercise can produce greater health and longevity, studies point to swimming as one of the best choices for doing so. Researchers at the University of South Carolina looked at 40, 547 men, aged 20 to 90, for over 32 years. The results showed that those who swam had a 50 percent lower death rate than runners, walkers, or men who didn’t exercise.