Charlotte
Thursday, May 26,1988
LIFESTYLES
Page 8A
Getting In Shape—A Major Temptation
By LORA VANDERHALL
Lifestyles Editor
"Feeling fit is something we all
desire, but it’s rare that we ex
amine how we're really feeling
inside or take a real look at oiu:
bodies, head to toe, without
adornment. When folks ask us
how we're doing, we answer a
perfimctory "Fine"—though we
may feel exhausted or depressed
or haven't had a week when we
didn't take some drug to dull an
ache. So many of us are out of
touch with our bodies. We look
at ourselves without really see
ing. We spend time gazing in the
mirror, fixing our hair and
makeup and searching out the
Just-right clothes to hide the
parts of our bodies we're imcom-
fortable with. But we don't often
deal with our naked truth."
Susan L. Taylor
Editor-in-Chlef
Essence Magazine
Health and fitness are areas
that many of us put on a back
burner until It Is threatened.
The thought of exercising tends
to make me tired but it's some
thing that I and millions of oth
ers like me, should give some se
rious thought and ACTION.
Hectic schedules, family com
mitments and laziness are some
of the reasons we use for excus
es.
Ahmad Daniels and Ruth
McLean are two people who
have made health and fitness
high priorities in their lives.
Ahmad became involved with
running in 1960 when he was 12.
'The summer of 1960 was not an
ordinary one for me. The Sum
mer Olympics was going on and
for the first time Black Ameri
cans like Wilma Rudolph and
Abebe Blkialla had won med
als," said Daniels.
He was very impressed with
these accomplishments and
that motivated him to start run
ning.
Some of Ahmad's friends be
came involved with running and
they challenged children in oth
er neighborhoods.
All through high school and
the Marine Corps he continued
to run.
In 1977 while living in New
York he ran in the New York
Marathon. He ran the mara
thon, 26.2 miles, in 3 hours and
36 minutes.
By 1980 he had improved that
time to 2 hours and 54 minutes.
Any time under 3 hours is con
sidered excellent in track and
field.
Ahmad says running a mara
thon is a lot like life. "The first
lap may be good, the second lap
you may be out of breath but by
the third lap you are exhilerated
and full of life."
"For tlie past 11 years I have
averaged a minimum of 45 miles
per week," said Daniels.
Sharing his new found love for
■til
Pholo/CALVIN FERGUSON
Ruth McLean and Ahmad Daniels—Experts on Health and Fitness
running was important to him.
He began to train others inter
est in running.
The Wellness Approach has
become a very important part of
his training and everyday living.
Wellness is the process of con
tinually striving to ones level of
optimum health. "The Wellness
Approach allows you to do
something because you like to
do it," added Daniels. Most pro
gressive health educators also
adhere to this approach.
Eating the right foods is a ma
jor part of being healthy. "I fol
low the American Heart Associ
ation's recommendations and 1
eat 55% carbohydrates, 30% fat
and 15% protein," said Daniels.
"Diets don't work. It has to be a
eating habit that you will be
comfortable with for the rest of
, your life," he added.
Eating foods such as steamed
vegetables, pasta, baked fish or
chicken and raisins and nuts
helps Ahmad stay in shape.
Watching cholesterol levels is
also essential to good health.
Daniels, 39, has maintained
the same weight he had in high
school, 22 years ago.
'You learn by doing and exer
cising can become a positive ad
diction," said Daniels.
Ruth McLean is another good
example of what discipline and
exercise will do for you.
By day she is a media special
ist at Olympic High School but
by night she is an Instructor at
Living Well Fitness Center, Free
dom Drive.
She has been teaching at
Olympic for the past 6 years but
she has been teaching for the
past 27 years.
"1 started exercising seriously
in 1970 when the doctor told me
my daughter had a heart mur
mur. He said she needed to ex
ercise to Increase her chance of
living a normal life," she said.
With that threat hanging over
her she start going to the spa
with her daughter. "I needed to
loose some weight myself. 1 had
huge hips and I weighed 183
lbs., and 1 wore a size 18," she
added.
Today she maintains 120 lbs.
and she wears a size 8. It has
not been easy but she has man
aged to educate herself and
stick to an exercise and diet rou
tine.
Ruth has been an Instructor at
Living Well for the past 18 years.
She has taught a variety of
classes but she is currently
teaching aerobics, low Impact
aerobics and weight training.
She starts her day at 5 a.m.
daily with exercise. "I usually
ride my bike, do aerobics or go
swimming," she added. After
school each day she work at the
spa from 5-9 p.m. Ruth says
she enjoys working with the la
dles that come to the spa. " I
have been able to get some of
them on the right track. Some
have really made exercise a pri
ority instead of staying home,"
said Ruth. She is currently
working with Sarena Mobley,
Miss Black North Carolina.
Eating the right foods that
work together to fill you up is
also Important. 'You should al
ways have raw vegetables and
fruits ready for in between
snacks," she added. She also
says you must learn will power
and let it become a part of you.
Getting motivated for exercise
is very hard to do but it Is a pro
cess you must go through to be
come fit. "A good motivation for
those thinking about starting an
exercise program is to look into
your closet and see how many
clothes you can't fit."
Ruth Is the mother of two chil
dren, Cassandra,30, and
James, 28,
It is never too late to let health
and fitness become a priority. A
balanced lifestyles Includes
health-—mental, physical and
spiritual. Which one Is missing
in your life?
WestFest
Road Race
Planned
By LORA VANDERHALL
Lifestyles Eklitor
WestFest '88 will begin with a
5K Road Race on Saturday, June
4.
The race will start at 9 a,m,
near the comer of French Street
and Beatties Ford Road, The
race Is unique because it is mn
through West Side neighbor
hoods.
The race was held In 1986 but
was not held in 1987.
The sponsors for the race are
Prime Time Rentals and the
Dmg Ekiucatlon Center.
Ahmad Daniels, of the Drug
Education
Center and
race organlz-
er, says,
"When people
use drugs they
want to In- ^
crease their
highs and de
crease their
lows, but mn-
nlng can do
the same
thing for you
without harm
ing the body."
The overall male and female
winners wlU each receive a VCR
and $125.00, second place
$75.00 and third place 50.00 .
Tee Shirts will be awarded to the
top three in each category. The
categories are 19-29, 30-39,40-
49 and 50 and over.
The registration fee is $6 by
May 27 or $7 the day of the race.
Registration the day of the race
will be fiom 7 a.m. until 8:30 a.m.
For additional Information call
375-3784.
!Y.
By Michele A. Salcedo
You've made the decision. You
are going to get into shape once
and for all. Your intentions are
the best. You've bought a work
out wardrobe that not only
makes you look terrific but is the
highest tech, from the fabric that
keeps you cool when you're
warm and warm when you're
cold to the shoes that absorb
the shock of each stride and
lunge. During the first few days,
you tackle your new program
with the zeal of a religious con
vert, working out no less than 45
minutes a day, pumping as much
iron as you can, mnning as far
and as fast as possible, taking
as many classes at the health
club as you can fit in, playing as
many sets of tennis as you have
time for. After all, more is better,
right? No pain, no galn-no? You
vow to look better than Raquel
Welch or Tom Selleck or to drop
in the effort. You keep up this
program for three days, maybe a
week
Then, as sure as the swallows
return to Capistrano, excuses
start to filter Into your head:
"I really hate to exercise."
"I can't move. Why go through
all this pain.?"
"This Is so boring!"
"It's too hot, rainy, windy, cold,
sunny, (etc.)."
"I'm too tired."
"I don't have the time."
"Oh no! I'm building muscles. I
want to look at Arnold
Schwarzenegger, not like him."
You've hit a slump , and now
your will seems as flabby as
your abs. You just can't seem to
make exercise part of a regular
routine.
"There's no way to be motivated
three hundred sixty-five days a
Tips On Staying Psyched Up For Exercise
year," says Gigl Fernandez, the
rising young women's tennis-
circuit star who both Martina
Navratilova and Billie Jean King
think will be among the ten best
players within the next couple
of years.. "But It's easy to get
motivated if you enjoy what
you're doing."
'The secret," confides Olympi
an Carl Lewis, "is, don't give up
and always have fun. Keep the
activity organized, but not so or
ganized that spontaneity is lost.
Keep the situation so you have
fun and go at 3^ur own pace."
The secret was passed to him
by Jesse Owens, a role model for
Lewis when he was just ten years
old. Owens won four gold med
als in the 1936 Olympics. Carl's
goal in the 1984 Summer Games
was to do the same; he did.
"A lot of people think it's hard
to start a program," declared
Carl's sister, Carol Lewis, who
holds the American record for
the women's long jump. "Instead
of using their old sneakers and
starting slow, they Invest in new
shoes and think they have to
start running twenty miles a
week because the guy next door
is. You're not In a race with any
one. Start out with what you
have to do. Put blinders on."
DESIGN A SOUND PRO
GRAM Unless your exercise
program meets your needs, there
will be very little incentive for
you to stay with it for any length
of time. Exercise should make
you feel good physically and
mentally. If you're thinking of
donning the sweats for the first
time or "once more with feeling,"
consider these steps when de
signing a personalized program
so that your enthusiasm builds
as you progress.
*Learn about what you're
doing. "Learn about your body,
about movement, about exer
cise, advises Barb Sllta, an exer
cise specialist who runs the Get
Fit community exercise program
and the Cardiac Rehabilitation
Program at Northern Michigan
University.
• Understand what you want
from a program. Dr. Laura
Hitchcock, director and founder
of the Sports Psychology Center
in Bethesda, Maryland, advises
athletes to "think over the rea
son for participating. Be clear
about why you're doing it, wheth
er for social contacts, health and
fitness, to fight depression, as a
stress manager, to acquire new
skills, to win, to receive recogni
tion, or to know what it feels like
to push your body to the limit."
Carefully write down the rea
sons for selecting a particular
• Choose an activity that's
right for you. 'You must really
enjoy the sport and find it fun,"
advises Dr. Jerry R. May, co-
chairman of the U.S. Olympic
Sports Psychology Advisory
Panel and clinical psychologist
to the U.S. Ski Team. "As soon as
It loses the fun, the athlete won't
perform as well."
SET GOALS YOU CAN USE
AS TOOLS This Is the advice of
Dr. Hitchcock. "Don't think of
goals as written in blood," she
says. "They can be changed at
any time if they don't work."
Goals are inner-directed. They
are the achievements you want
for yourself.
•Keep your goals realistic.
"Especially at the beginning of a
program," emphasizes Dr. Law
rence Czelusta, a podiatrist and
physical therapist in San Anto-
See Keep On Page 9A
Carl Lewis