If you're a walker, then Prevention's list of the country's most walkable cities probably caught your eye. Here's another list for you, only this time the American College of Sports Medicine took things up a notch.

Rather than focus on just one aspect -- walk-ability or pollution, for example -- the ACSM rated the most populous metro areas by what they call the American Fitness Index. It's a snapshot of a city's wellness in regards to preventative health care, chronic diseases, access to health care and community resources and policies. Basically, it measures how a city promotes wellness among its citizens, and how healthy those citizens are.

Let's take a look at the top three:

• Washington, D.C.: Topping the list is our nation's capital. A high number of residents there eat five or more fruits and vegetables a day, they have access to farmer's markets, they're more likely to bike or walk to work and a lower number of residents are currently smoking. According to the AFI, D.C. could use more parks and playgrounds, however.
• Minneapolis, MN: Folks in Minnesota aren't eating as many fruits and veggies, but they do have plenty of parkland for outdoor exercise. They've also made great use of recreation centers and have a high requirement for mandated physical education classes.
• Denver, CO: Denver residents don't have good access to farmer's markets, but they do have a higher level of residents who are at least moderately active and have a lower obesity rate.

Interested in reading more? Read AFI's full report, or find your own city on AFI's quick view map.

What did you think about the AFI? Was your city on the list? How did it rank? And did any cities surprise you?

Source

Drum roll please -- the Top 20 Fitness Trends for 2009 have been released by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Guess what? They look fairly similar to the 2008 list. But one good thing -- a trend is far more entrenched than a fad, so if you like the 2009 list, they're here to stay awhile.

More than 1,500 ACSM-certified fitness professionals worldwide provided their input to reveal the following trends for 2009:

• Educated and experienced fitness professionals: Whether it's your aerobics, yoga or another instructor, choose professionals certified by accredited organizations. Accreditation by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies is the gold standard.
• Children and obesity: Kids are on the fitness radar, now we need to attract them into a safe harbor of lifelong fitness to combat the obesity epidemic.
• Personal training: Hopefully the days of Joe Trainer credentialed solely by big biceps is a thing of the past at most health clubs.
  
  

Check out the 2009 Top 20 here -- wobble boards (pictured) and BOSU balls are rising stars, the core continues strong, and wellness coaching made the list.

Source

The American College of Sports Medicine has tallied the statistics to rank 15 of America's largest metropolitan cities. Which cities were deemed the fittest? Which fell at the bottom, and why?

The goal of the fitness index is to give a quick glimpse of the health status of America's metropolitan areas. Ultimately the ACSM hopes to help cities achieve a higher level of physical activity and healthy eating habits. The reports about each city include strategies for improvement. The top five cities were:

• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Boston, MA
• Washington D.C.
• Atlanta, GA

Source

Because of noncompliance to past recommended guidelines, the American College of Sports Medicine has issued new recommendations for healthy adults aged 18 through 65.

The ACSM previously suggested that adults perform one hour of moderate-intensity exercise per day, seven days a week. But, 90 percent of Americans basically told the ACSM to screw, opting instead for a less rigorous exercise program or none at all. In response, the ACSM has revised their exercise recommendation, to include performing at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (such as a brisk walk), five days a week or intense exercise (such as jogging) three days per week for 20 minutes. A combination of moderate-intensity and intense exercise is also acceptable. In addition, the ACSM recommends the incorporation of two days of resistance training; completing 8 to 12 repetitions of 8 to 10 different resistance training exercises.

Let's hope it sticks this time. If not, I suppose it's back to the drawing board for the ACSM.

Source