GO Indoor

Tips for the Athletically Inclined F rom my seat in the stands of an indoor sports facility, I can see soccer players warming up for a game. They run drills, passing the ball back and forth to one another as they travel across the field. I witness the skill and physical fitness of the players admiringly. Standing on the sidelines, however, are participants of the game who do not at all match the physical fitness of the players. A coach looks over his clipboard of plays. He used to play, himself, but now, holding down a full-time day job, in addition to coaching evenings and weekends, he has no time to visit the gym regularly. The referee organizing a stack of penalty cards thinks about where he and the other officials will eat after the game. His eating habits haven't changed much since high school, but his activity level has, causing him to gain weight. An administrator discusses ticket sales with her colleague and contemplates taking the elevator up to her box seat rather than taking the stairs. Even the fans around me munching on candy between sips of their sugary sodas obviously enjoy the game but do not appear to be the type I would associate with athletic activity. How is it that we allow ourselves to slip into inactivity and overeating, even though we revere athletes? I know too many people who have mastered a virtual version of hockey rather than the live game and have given up playing football with their children to eating pizza and watching it on TV. You don't have to be the top player on the team in order to achieve a healthy level of physical fitness, but you may need to give up the role of a couch potato, or at least adjust your position every few minutes. Here are a few tips: No, you would not like fries with that. Many of us depend on drive-thru foods because we do not have time to make a sandwich on whole wheat bread with light mayonnaise before we leave for work in the morning, or to pack baby carrots and Baked Lays in plastic Baggies. If you absolutely need to opt for the Big Mac with 590 calories and 34 grams of fat, do not add the additional 540 calories and 26 grams of fat in a large order of fries. These two menu items alone have more than half of the total number of calories the average person should consume in an entire day. The Garden Salad, however, only has 100 calories, and, even if you choose the 170-calorie ranch dressing rather than the 35-calorie fat-free herb vinaigrette, the salad has much more nutrition in the form of vitamins and fiber. Set your alarm clock 20 minutes earlier. The surgeon general recommends 20-30 minutes of vigorous exercise most days of the week. Twenty minutes is plenty of time to increase your heart rate in order to improve cardiovascular fitness and burn fat. If you do not live in sunny Southern California, where you can jog around your neighborhood at any time of the year, buy a jump rope. If you haven't used one since elementary school, your body making the neuromuscular adaptations necessary for your brain to tell your muscles what to do will burn many more calories than your hand reaching for the snooze button. Lift weights. As we grow older, we lose lean muscle mass and gain fat. Simple exercises such as squats, push-ups, and abdominal crunches will help develop major muscle groups. Sources less expensive than a personal trainer, such as TV, magazines, and the Internet, are available for you to learn how to do these exercises safely and effect i v e l y . You can even do them while watching your favorite TV past-time. By increasing your lean muscle mass, you will also boost your metabolism, as it takes more energy to maintain muscle than to maintain fat. Your muscles will expend energy as you workout during the day, as they will when they rebuild and repair themselves at night. Not only will you get stronger, you will burn calories while you sleep. Eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Almost every time we eat, we store fat. Your body cannot immediately use the calories in the soup, salad, and breadsticks special at the Olive Garden, so it saves them for later. This is fine if you arrive at the indoor sports facility early enough to ride the stationary bike before refereeing or coaching your game. However, if you are not able to work off the extra energy you consume at lunch, try eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Taking in fewer calories more often will help your body to work more efficiently and you will not store any extra energy in the form of fat. The trips to the office refrigerator to retrieve your sliced apple and celery sticks will burn a few calories and give you a break from reading your boring Lotus notes. Coroner Report Adds More Fuel the Debate A coroner recently determined that a former England World Cup forward died from a degenerative brain disease caused by the heading of a heavy leather soccer ball. Jeff Astle, who scored in the final of The Football Association Cup in 1968 and missed an easy chance in a World Cup game against Brazil two years later, died in January at age 59. Dr. Derek Robson, a consultant neurological pathologist, told the inquest there was evidence of brain injury consistent with "repeated minor trauma." "I found that there was considerable evidence of trauma to the brain similar to that of a boxer," Robson told coroner Andrew Haigh. "It is quite probable that it was heading a heavy football that caused it. I found that most damage to the brain was at the front of the head. It is unlikely that he would have developed the condition so young if he had not headed a football repeatedly. "From the evidence, the persistent heading the ball could be a factor in the loss of Mr. Astle's faculties and his behavior." Astle scored many of his 174 goals on headers, and was regarded as one of the best at the long-range header when soccer balls were made of leather and tended to soak up rain. In the mid-70s, ball coverings became synthetic, a material that repelled water and was much lighter. The Astle family have always maintained that his death was caused by repeatedly striking a football with his head. The coroner recorded a verdict of "death by industrial disease" - which meant that his pro career had effectively caused his death. Go for the veggies! During the next few weeks you will attend many holiday gatherings and family get-togethers, just as you will attend several church functions and birthday parties during the year. Of course it's OK to eat cake and ice cream once in a while, just as it's OK to drink Coca-cola rather than water at a soccer game. You must, however, include these calories when calculating your daily intake. If you know your in-laws are taking you to the all-you-can-eat dinner buffet in the evening, eat particularly light and healthy meals during the day. If you feel the need to nibble while you mingle at your office Christmas party, fill your plate with choices from the tray of veggies–not just from the tray of cheeses from around the G O A L In d o o r • Dec.-Jan. 2002 • 27

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