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Council Members Share Fitness
Tips
Both President George W. Bush and
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson
have a vision of a "HealthierUS," an America where people
are empowered to make healthy choices. In brief, they
want each one of us to:
- Be physically active every day,
adults for 30 minutes, children for 60 minutes,
- Eat a nutritious diet,
- Get preventive screenings, and
- Avoid risky behaviors.
Some members of the President's Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports wanted to share with
you what they do on a regular basis to stay active and
keep fit. Maybe you can adapt a few of their fitness
tips to your own lifestyle and make them work for you:
 Lynn
Swann, Chairman
Lynn Swann is Chairman of the President's Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports. A former NFL player
with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mr. Swann currently works
as a host, reporter and analyst for ABC Sports and is
the National Spokesman for Big Brothers Big Sisters
of America. In spite of his busy schedule, here's
how Mr. Swann stays active:
"I work out five or six days a week
– anywhere from an hour to two hours depending on what
I'm trying to do. At a minimum, it would be 45 minutes
of cardio work and a minimum of 300 sit-ups. That's
about an hour. After that I might spend another hour
lifting weights. That would be either on my own or with
a personal trainer."
 Dorothy
G. Richardson, M.D., Vice Chair
Dot Richardson is Vice Chair of the President's
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. As a two-time
Olympic Gold medallist in softball and the current Medical
Director of the National Training Center in Clermont,
Florida, Dr. Richardson knows the importance of being
physically active. She has this to say about her
own regimen:
"My goal is to get an aerobic workout
at least three to four times a week. If I can do four,
that's best for me. I like to work every other day on
anaerobics and weightlifting. Instead of doing one body
part one day and one body part another day, I just like
to do all of my weightlifting on one day and then work
on aerobics – treadmill, biking, recline bike and getting
outside and jogging. That's a tip. You really want to
do things you enjoy doing, and create your workout according
to things you're not going to get bored with. In softball,
all I do now is coach 18 and under and I play celebrity
games. It's really fun to do those things. I do those
a few times a year. But what's really coming to the
forefront is golf. When you play it, it's so beautiful
to be out on the landscape. I play about four times
a year. It's one of those things I will probably try
to do a little bit more of."
 Denise
Austin
Denise Austin is the star of over 40 exercise videos
and DVDs, the host of two fitness shows for Lifetime
Television and the author of five fitness books.
Ms. Austin is also a columnist for Prevention magazine.
She has made a career out of being physically active,
but Ms. Austin wants you to know how she stays active
for fun:
"About three to four times a week
I do something cardio and I change it up a lot. I'm
a big believer that variety helps to surprise new muscle
groups. It keeps it fresh. I walk some days. Some days
I run. Some days I get on a stationary bicycle or just
do true aerobics. So I kind of mix up my cardio. There
are less chances of injury that way. I always finish
it off with some yoga stretches and some toning exercises.
Monday to Friday is my true, dedicated 30-40 minutes
of workout, and on the weekend I do something with our
whole family. We play tennis together. As a family we
stay active together. I make sure I squeeze it in. Usually
Tuesday and Thursday I do a little workout with weights.
I do some pilates. I do floorwork and strength training
type things. If it's bad weather and I can't go outside,
I just do my show or one of my videos."
 James
Baird, M.D.
Dr. Baird currently serves as Director of the Ohio
Department of Health (ODH). He is also an Associate
Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology at the Ohio State University College of Medicine.
How does this busy doctor stay active? This is
what Dr. Baird had to say:
"I workout three or four times a week.
I start out with some stretching, some aerobic stuff.
Then I spend a half hour on some weights. Then I go
back and spend another 30 minutes on the ellipitical
machine. So five minutes stretching, seven minutes on
the ellipitical trainer, 30 minutes of weights, another
30 minutes on the ellipitical and then five to seven
minutes stretching. That's my routine. In the summer
I swim. On other off days when I'm getting home from
work or getting up early I simply walk. It depends on
my schedule. I look at the week in advance and I see
where the holes are in my schedule."
 John
Burke
John Burke is President of Trek Bicycle Corporation,
the world-leading manufacturer of premium bicycles.
He also serves as President of the Bikes Belong Coalition,
an organization founded by leaders within the bicycle
industry with the mission of "putting more people
on bikes more often." An avid runner, golfer and
tennis player, Mr. Burke also coaches elementary school
basketball and participates in the Boys and Girls Club
mentoring program. In addition to all his other activities,
Mr. Burke also makes time to cycle:
"I rode my bike 1,500 miles this summer.
Pretty good. I'm thinking about whether I should
go for 2,000 or not."
 Paul
R. Carrozza
Paul Carrozza and his wife Sheila founded RunTex,
now the Nation's largest store devoted exclusively to
running. In addition to RunTex, Mr. Carrozza also founded
RunTex University and RunTex Events. He is co-founder
and sponsor of RunTex Marathon Kids Program, which has
successfully helped over 100,000 children achieve endurance
and learn to enjoy running. Is running a part
of Mr. Carrozza's personal workout strategy? Continue
reading to find out:
"I play full-court basketball once
a week. I run about 10 times a week – they range from
three to 12 miles. I keep the same routine you keep
in college, which is one day of long intervals, one
day of short intervals, one day of hills and one day
of steady pace and then a long run. I also do technique
drills three times a week, which are kind of like you'd
see warming up for a basketball team or football team.
Then I do circuits once a week, where I do a mile.
Every 100 meters you do sit-ups, step ups, push ups
or jumps for four laps on a track. That helps to give
my whole body muscle balance, it helps avoid injuries
and keeps my good posture. I train literally about three
hours a day. Well, I do about an hour and a half in
the morning and an hour at night. So, two and half hours
a day."
 Katherine
Cosgrove
Katherine Cosgrove is the founder and owner of F.I.T.
Bodies. "F.I.T." is an acronym which stands
for "frequency, intensity and time," and is
one of the many principles Ms. Cosgrove incorporates
into her approach to health and wellness. For her own
fitness practices, Ms. Cosgrove follows this routine:
"I workout daily. I run four to five
miles, four times a week. I do spinning class twice
a week, and usually an ellipitical or something the
other day of the week. With that, I do weights or yoga
(either/or) daily as well. It's not that intense. Some
days are more intense than others. But I surely can
find an hour or an hour and a half a day to make myself
a healthier person."
 Amanda
Cromwell
Amanda Cromwell currently plays in the Women's United
Soccer Association (WUSA) as a Defender/Midfielder for
the Atlanta Beat. Prior to her acquisition by the Atlanta
Beat she played for the Washington Freedom. She
is also the head women's soccer coach at the University
of Central Florida, and is the owner and director of
the Central Florida Soccer Academy. Here is what
Ms. Cromwell does to get ready for all those strenuous
games:
"When I'm in season, we train two
or two and a half hours a day. We'll do some weight
training. We might do scrimmage, fitness work, speed
agility, and working on footwork. It changes depending
on whether it's preseason or in season."
 Pamela
M. Danberg
Pamela Danberg is President of the Dwarf Athletic
Association of America and is actively involved with
the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), serving
on their Board of Directors. Ms. Danberg competed in
the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul, Korea, where she
earned a silver medal in swimming (50m breaststroke).
To stay active Ms. Danberg does the following:
"In the morning I try to do 10 minutes
of limbering and stretching. Then, during the day, I
try to get over to the gym and do 30 minutes at least
on the treadmill. It ends up being more realistically
two to three times a week versus everyday. Weekends,
I do a little bit of catchup. I swim also. I kind of
alternate between swimming and the gym."
 Danny
Gable
Danny Gable is currently Assistant to the Director
of Athletics at the University of Iowa after stepping
down as head wrestling coach in 1997 after 21 years
in that position. A former Gold medal winner himself
in wrestling (1972 Summer Olympics – Munich, Germany),
Mr. Gable was head coach for the 1980, 1984 and 2000
Olympic wrestling teams and assistant freestyle coach
for the 1976 and 1988 Olympics. Mr. Gable uses
the following routine to stay active and fit:
"I went through 40 years of wrestling
so my body's been pushed to the extreme. I'm always
in recovery mode. I normally get out of bed and I use
a hot tub. I sit there for a while, then I get into
a hot sauna. After that I take a nice cool shower and
I'm ready for the day. By the time the afternoon comes
I will go to a physical fitness center and I'll either
do some things on the mat or I'll do a lot of stationary
biking. I also do the cross-trainer. Then I do light
weightlifting on the days I don't actually get on the
mat. When I'm all done I relax again by sitting in the
sauna or whirlpool."
 Charles
Moore
Charles Moore is Executive Director of the Committee
to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy, a privately funded
organization which strives to raise the level and awareness
of corporate giving. An Olympic gold medallist in 400m
hurdles in the 1952 Summer Olympics, Mr. Moore served
as Director of Athletics of his alma mater, Cornell
University, from 1994 to 1999. Mr. Moore has also served
as Public Sector Director of the United States Olympic
Committee and Chairman of that organization's Audit
Committee. Mr. Moore believes in variety in his
workout program. Here's what he typically does:
"I do stretching and cycling. I do
a lot of work with weights, a lot of work with machines,
and a lot of work on balance – stepping up and down
on a platform. It's a lot of deep-knee bending. It's
quite a varied and balanced format. I do that for an
hour or so – an hour workout for me is enough. I do
it always in the morning, which is easiest for me because
I can start the day and I am a whole, new person already.
It's meant a lot to me."
 Derek
Parra
Derek Parra is the first Mexican-American to compete
and medal in the Olympic Winter Games, winning two medals
in speed skating at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in
Salt Lake City, Utah: a Silver medal in the 5,000m and
a Gold medal in the 1,500m. When he's not on the ice,
Mr. Parra works at Home Depot where he is part of the
United States Olympic Committee's Olympic Job Opportunities
Program. Here's how Mr. Parra keeps in shape and
stays ready for competition:
"In the summer I do mostly bike riding
or anything aerobic like running along with some skating.
In the fall and winter it's a lot more skating. So there's
at least two to three hours of skating every day plus
a strength or aerobic workout, depending on the day.
We'll skate during Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
morning workouts and race on Saturday and Sunday. The
afternoon workouts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday include
a strength workout. Tuesday's an aerobic workout.
It changes throughout the year because there's a period
during the year when we're building in the summer and
racing in the winter. I try to work out at least
six hours a day, sometimes seven."
 Lloyd
Ward
Lloyd Ward was named Chief Executive Officer of
the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) on October
21, 2001. He is the first African-American to serve
the USOC as its chief executive. He is also a member
of the Executive Leadership Council, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Ward captained the Spartan basketball team at Michigan
State University and is also a black belt in karate.
Mr. Ward has learned the trick to fitting in his workouts:
"I typically workout one hour, six
days a week. Half the time aerobic and half the time
strength. I build that in just like I build in a meeting
I have anywhere else in my life. Part of my aerobics
is running for 30 minutes, about four miles or I'll
do karate. So I alternate daily."
So now that you know what our Council
members are doing, what's stopping you? Shut down
your computer and get out and try something that gets
more than just your fingers moving across a keyboard.
While you're at it, take a family member with you or
convince a friend or colleague to join in. Fitness
is always more fun when you share it!
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