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DARE TO BE FITDate: 25.01.2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team United States
Jake's message is simple: Don't quit.
Jake is Jake Steinfeld, aka Body by Jake, and he was at Pacific Grove Middle School on Wednesday to launch Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's youth physical fitness program, the Governor's Challenge.
He exhorted a group of students to do 30 to 60 minutes of exercise three times a week for a month.
"I'm a big believer in, if you do it for a month you're going to do it for two months and three months," he said.
Flashing his familiar wide smile, the celebrated fitness guru urged the group of seventh- and eighth-graders not to quit.
"Everyone has goals and dreams," Steinfeld said, leaning his broad shoulders in to his audience. "If you feel good about yourself, you can accomplish anything you want. What do you guys really want to do?"
The governor's fitness program challenges students to participate, with prizes offered to schools with the most students participating. On a regional level, schools with the most enrolled students will receive $1,000 to purchase new gym equipment. Schools with the most kids completing the challenge will win a new fitness center, with weights and cardio machines, worth $10,000.
Growing up on Long Island, N.Y., Steinfeld was a "fat kid with a really bad stutter" until his father gave him a set of weights, he told the students. The dumbbells built not only his body, but also his confidence -- a benefit he's now trying to pass on to California school kids as chairman of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
When one of the Pacific Grove students -- a girl named Alice -- told Steinfeld that she wanted to grow up to be an engineer, the master of fitness enthusiastically led a rally to support the girl.
"Let's give Alice a 'Don't quit!'" Steinfeld said in a thick New York accent.
Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of schools, echoed Steinfeld's sentiments, adding that being fit helps kids do better in school.
"You know how the president talks about weapons of mass destruction?" he said. "These double cheeseburgers -- that's a weapon of mass destruction."
Then, it was time to turn words into actions as Steinfeld directed the kids through a series of exercises.
"It's going to be absolute chaos -- pandemonium," said Pacific Grove school Superintendent Patrick Perry from the sidelines.
Two rows of kids flung dozens of yellow Frisbees toward the basketball hoop. Next, the school's principal, Matt Bell, demonstrated 10 perfect pushups without so much as removing his tie. But order was maintained.
Steinfeld said he met Arnold Schwarzenegger as a 19-year-old contestant in the Mr. Teenage Los Angeles contest. The two hit it off.
"Now our kids are in school together," said Steinfeld.
After a brief bodybuilding career, Steinfeld went on to become one of the first people to make exercise and personal training a lucrative business. He developed a line of fitness equipment called Body by Jake, and has been a trainer to stars such as Steven Spielberg and Priscilla Presley.
More recently, he launched the first 24-hour on demand exercise TV channel and published a best-selling how-to book for entrepreneurs called "I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked, and They've Got Nothing on You!"
Last year, the governor invited his old friend to chair the Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, bringing to California a cause Schwarzenegger has long championed nationwide.
A statewide review of physical fitness released in November found that nearly half of California's ninth-grade students don't have the stamina to briskly run one mile. Fewer than a third of the nearly 1.4 million students who took the test in fifth, seventh and ninth grades met all the benchmarks in areas such as body fat, abdominal strength and flexibility.
Monterey County students scored near the state average, with 19.5 percent of fifth-graders, 24.8 percent of seventh-graders and 28.8 percent of ninth-graders meeting the fitness standards.
Adam Duker, physical activity coordinator for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties at the Nutrition Network, said the county was "100 percent behind the governor's council," adding that a number of schools in Salinas were already planning to compete.
About 10,000 kids participated in a pilot run of the Governor's Challenge last year, said Steinfeld, and this year the program hopes to double these numbers. High school students who enroll also get free access to 24-Hour Fitness facilities in their area.
"The cool thing about fitness is, it's not about Republicans or Democrats -- it's about kids," Steinfeld said.
"Can I interrupt?" asked a mop-haired boy dressed all in blue, who introduced himself as Alex. Holding out a yellow scrap of paper, he asked for an autograph.
"I'm really proud of you, Alex," said Steinfeld. "Don't quit!" |
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