Get Active

Jill Munro has been in aquatics for 18 years, and has been the Aquatics Supervisor at YWCA Vancouver for the past 3 years. She has loved the water since she was a Splashdown Park tower guard at 13 yrs old, so we figured there was no better person to speak to about getting your feet wet.

First let's clear up the Type I and Type II diabetes story. Although they share similarities, the 2 types of diabetes differ significantly.

Type I Diabetes Explained

Getting your family outside to exercise needn't involve any more effort than strapping on a pair of shoes and opening your front door. Here are some suggestions for fun walking activities designed to get everyone moving and enjoying the great outdoors:

Use the dog as an excuse. If you don't have a dog, borrow one, then head out to the nearest dog-friendly beach or park for a hike. Let Fido act as motivator to get your kids off the couch.

When the snow falls thick and heavy, it can seem like getting out there and exercising is impossible. Thing is, there are a lot of winter activities that you can do with the family that are actually high-impact calorie burners. Here are 7 fun ways to play in the snow, bond with your family and burn some fat:

Because the best way to stay fit is to have fun while working out, we spoke with Linda Marsella, who teaches swing dancing at the Joy of Dance Studio, in Toronto, about the benefits of taking up this energetic dance.

It is well established and widely known that obesity (even at low levels) is associated with an increased risk of heart disease. The more interesting question is why. I find few of my patients know why. The word Doctor comes from the latin word doctoris which means teacher; but somewhere along the road we stopped teaching our patients. 

When I ask patients why obesity causes heart disease, the most common answer patients share with me is that “the fat makes our heart work too hard” or that “the fat clogs up the arteries” and this is just not the case.

Being more active starts with just moving your body, and what better way is there to get motivated than through play? Here are 4 games that make exercise fun, and don't cost a penny.

1) Musical bumps

We spoke with Craig Copeland, avid hiker and co-author (with wife Kathy) of the Where the Locals Hike and Hiking from Here to WOW series of books, about the joys of hiking. When Copeland and his wife moved to Calgary (from the US), they fell in love with the Canadian Rockies and took every opportunity that they could to hike them.

There are thousands of workout DVDs out there, so how do you choose the one that is right for you?

Follow your interest

Sandy Morris is a Judo Instructor at Kelowna Judo Club. Since she was 13 years old she has enjoyed the physical combat, wrestling grappling and groundwork this sport provides. We figured she was the perfect person to give us the lowdown on what it takes to start Judo.

How easy is it to start if you have never tried Judo before?