In March 2013, IHRSA awarded Radka Dopitova Willson with the “Julie Main Woman Leader Scholarship” for her work to develop the Back To Life program for cancer patients and survivors.

At the award ceremony, Radka had a wonderful message for the fitness community:

I would like to challenge all of you in our health and fitness industry to offer a helping hand to cancer survivors. Tell them that there is life after cancer. Tell them that they’re worth it. Tell them that their scars are just signs of their resilience and strength. And, most importantly, tell them that you will support them to make sure that everything is going to be alright.

From her home base at the World Bank Group in Washington, DC, Radka offers the “Back to Life” class twice each week at no cost to World Bank Group employees.

The six-week “Back to Life” program has three goals:

  1) Assist in creating a personalized fitness program.

  2) Encourage a healthy lifestyle.

  3) Accelerate recovery and return to a productive life.

As a cancer survivor herself, Radka has an intimate understanding of the challenges facing the class participants.

 “I had troubles during transitioning period from a patient to a survivor,” she says. “The period after I was finished with my surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments was very difficult to navigate through as suddenly I was on my own and did not know how to transition into normal life. Very little is currently done to provide post-rehabilitation services addressing the restorative needs of cancer survivors.”

The feedback from participants has been overwhelming.

Every participant – 100% - indicated they would like to take the program again.

“Please keep this program going, we need it! Charge a price if needed,” said one participant. “The camaraderie, support, teamwork, and encouragement of one another are something that cannot be paid in dollars. This was an awesome idea to get us together. It changed my life. Thank you.”

 “Beautiful holistic program,” said another participant. “A must for cancer patients and survivors. Cannot say how much I wish to continue this program. Please arrange for follow up courses for our group!”

The health care system is expanding in many ways: more services, greater access, and evermore treatment options.

And at the frontier of this rapidly expanding system are sophisticated fitness facilities capable of providing disease-specific, exercise-based programming.

I think programs like “Back To Life” will ultimately become part of the core of what we expect from community-minded fitness facilities. What do you think? What are some other examples of disease- or condition-specific programming occurring at fitness facilities?

Physical activity is important for all ages. Our Recommended Guidelines suggest 150 minutes of physical activity per week for adults, and 60 minutes per day for children. Inactivity resulting from increased screen time in this digital age is on the rise, so it is more important than ever to stay active.

Children are active by nature, but busy schedules and sedentary hobbies often make it difficult to engage in recommended activity. Families can help re-light the fire to play by participating in fun physical activities together. Here are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

10 Activites for Families

• Take a family walk after dinner.
  
• During commercial breaks, stand up and have fun family dance breaks.
• Bring your child's favorite movie to life. For example, play your own version or Quidditch or Finding Nemo.
• Make Wednesday "Walk Backawards Wednesday." Challenge your family to walk backwards when walking or playing throughout the house.
• Have an Olympic-themed party in your backyard, complete with active events.
• Create an obstacle course or scavenger hunt.
• Make Sundays "sports day" and highlight a different sport each week.
• Ride bikes at least once a week, weather permitting.
• Go to museums instead of movie theaters for family outings.
• Have children act out their favorite book, TV show or movie.
  

What is your favorite family activity?

Childhood Obesity Awareness Month is just around the corner in September. Visit www.coam-month.org to find out what you can do to change the childhood obesity trend.

Stay Active on Campus

No college student wants to experience the "freshman 15" or the "four-year 40" - both terms for the weight gain that is all too common in the college years. In high school, many students are very physically active through sports and other activities, and they have access to more nutritious meals at home and at school. Learning how to make health and wellness a priority is an important lesson that should be taught during college. Every student should leave college with a lifelong plan for fitness.

Exercise is Medicine on Campus is bridging the gap between health care, fitness and the campus population (students, faculty, and employees) to integrate physical activity into their daily regimen and improve the quality of life on campus. The goal is for all college students to learn proper physical activity habits that they can continue throughout life. Sonoma State University used EIMC's guiding principles to create a video informing the students about campus opportunities to stay active.

Stay Active at the Office

Many adults spend most of their day sitting. A typical office worker will sit while commuting and working, during lunch and breaks, and in the evening upon returning home. In a world with an abundance of sitting opportunities, it is no wonder inactivity is on the rise.

It may be easier to become inactive on the job, but that does not mean there isn't ample opportunity to get moving in the office. So what can you do?

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Walk, run, take a class, or head to the gym at lunch.
• Get a standing desk, treadmill desk, or exercise ball in lieu of a chair.
• Walk, don't drive, to a favorite lunch spot.
• Stand when talking on the phone.

All of these activities are simple, inexpensive changes that create a healthier work environment. None is easier than increasing how often you walk. People who walk are three times more likely to reach the physical activity guidelines, even if only done 10 minutes at a time. You can easily measure your daily walking by wearing an inexpensive pedometer (often $5 or less). Aim for 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day.

For more information on the benefits of walking, check out Every Body Walk!. I challenge you to walk at least 30 minutes per day. How are you getting your activity in?

Written by guest blogger, Jake Lynch, from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

In recent years Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has seen trails evolve from being considered purely as recreational facilities to occupying a key role in the relationship between built environments and public health. But building the trails themselves is only half the battle. Longer-term work involves encouraging their use, investing residents and users with a sense of ownership, and making trails a natural, integral part of the community.

To facilitate this relationship, RTC staff must be creative, running programs that, at first glance, seem far removed from their trails mission. For example, RTC staff recently helped students at a D.C. school paint a colorful mural on a trailside wall, next to a vegetable garden. We brought along a fitness instructor who specialized in children’s activities, so the young artists took breaks from painting by running, stretching and racing along the trail. The event began a gradual process of familiarization that the trail is for them, that it connects to their school, and that it offers physical and personal freedom in an environment that can be restrictive. 

In Pittsburgh, RTC sponsors students from low-income neighborhoods to join the annual Sojourn bicycle tour. As training, volunteers from Bike Pittsburgh lead rides along local trails. To warm up, they do yoga. It’s a wonderful sight: A group of young black students in the Lion’s Pose as cyclists and joggers cruise by. Bike Pittsburgh also operates a Free Ride Recycled Bike Shop. In areas where being able to afford a bike is a major obstacle, creative initiatives like these have a real impact on the number of people riding for regular trips.

In Spartanburg, S.C., an educational scavenger hunt on the Mary Black Trail is increasing trail usage among students and seniors. Small train sculptures are hidden along the trail; kiosks, signage and iPods transmit historical facts and scavenger hunt clues. Organizers hope to bring regular educational trails trips into the school syllabus.

Across America, rail-trail organizations stage fun runs and races. An underlying purpose of these events is to establish the local trail in the collective mind of the community as a free fitness and recreation facility open to all. Staging events for people who are already active runners does little to address broader health goals, so trail organizers are innovating and expanding their reach. An annual fitness day on the Hurley Trail in New York includes a cycle-spin workshop and Zumba sessions. ‘Trail Mix’ on the W&OD Trail combines biking, walking and the area's Civil War history, plus live entertainment and sports clinics. The Morgana Run hosts "Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound."

Trails are the backbone of programs that provide incentives for students to ride or walk to school, ostensibly to reduce vehicle congestion at drop-off and pick-up times. RTC hosts Compton BikeFest, encouraging riding among children in inner-city communities, a focus of anti-obesity efforts. For trails advocates, the key to increasing physical activity is often to make it about anything but the exercise, promoting the financial savings, convenience, accessibility, freedom, social interaction and environmental aspects of riding and biking.