That's Fit

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

While spending time backstage with the mega stars of teeny tot entertainment, I had the chance to figure out how these amazing men from Australia have kept themselves in such great shape. Dancing, jumping, and flying across stages (sometimes twice a day) hundreds of times a year and well into their forties does not come easily. Murray Cook is the red Wiggle who loves to play guitar. Fortunately for him, he also loves to stretch. He took me through the series of back stretches he completes on a daily basis, and in my expert opinion ... his routine is awesome! Back injuries both minor and major seem to bother all of us at least once in our lives. Many of those injuries could be prevented with a simple and consistent stretching routine like the one Murray demonstrates here.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

A few days ago I took my two children, and their two best friends to a Wiggles concert in Kissimmee, Florida and am so grateful I did. Along with the incredible fitness video segments I shot backstage with the gorgeous blue Wiggle, Anthony Field.....it turned out to be one of my children Ginger (4) and Parker's (2) favorite experiences ever.

Before the show, my whole brood got to meet The Wiggles and have a picture taken at the official "meet and greet" session. Traditionally the session is designed for the group to spend time with special needs children. Mine are not, but we were fortunate to have the opportunity. The Wiggles perform about 200 shows each year around the world, but when it came to this special time with the meet and greet children the guys made each child feel really important; the kind of treatment that would bring any Mommy to tears. Bursting with smiles and tender voices, I was impressed at how these men related to the little ones. Hard to describe. The four I took were both shy and excited while meeting the group. Afterward, each maintained a death-grip on the Polaroid's they were given featuring themselves with the band.

Once we were seated in our 'hot potato" seats on the floor in front of the stage, the real fun began. The atmosphere was electric and the kids were ecstatic. The show is bright, colorful, busy and just full of fun! The music also happened to be perfect. Now, I've seen just about every big name performer on tour in the U.S. and there is something unique about singers/bands who actually sound in person the way that they sound on the radio or television. The Wiggles are like that. You get what you came for, you know? You get to enjoy the songs you love in the way that you know them.

Hooray! Once again, I get to go visit my favorite children's healthy heroes The Wiggles. I spent some time with the awesome foursome from Australia this summer and really enjoyed our visit. I originally chose to feature The Wiggles because of their dedication to teaching healthy habits to kids and parents alike. It's amazing how many mommies think to offer Cheetos as a snack over fruit salad. If those mommies only new how "yummy, yummy" that sweet concoction really is.

Anyway! Tomorrow I go to their concert yet again, but this time I'm taking my two little beans with me. Ginger and Parker are giddy with excitement. Ginger is actually worried she may be "too shy" when she greets them backstage. I told her to treat them like she does Jasmine and Aladdin at Disneyworld. This seemed to make perfect sense to her and calmed her little nerves.

Nonetheless. For those of you who enjoyed the spectacular pull-up video featuring Anthony Field available on the front page of Fitzness.com, you can look forward to more of the same after tomorrow. Hopefully Anthony and Paddy (Captain Feathersword) are prepared to work out with me before both of their incredibly physical evening performances. Aren't I sweet to torture them like that?

Wahoo! I just returned from my Wiggly adventure and I couldn't be more pleased. My friend Jamie (who came along to help) and I arrived at the Allstate Arena here in Chicago at about 10:15 am this morning ready to interview the the Australian children's group The Wiggles. I wasn't actually scheduled to meet with my first Wiggle until 11:00 am though, so we had a while to wait. The tour manager Trey met us at security and guided us back to the room we were to be meeting the Wiggles in. This room backstage was eerily quiet and the clock ticked slowly as I waited for the guys to arrive. We were right next to the entrance the tour bus was to use, and our door was wide open. Waiting was making me half antsy and half nervous. Lots of goosebumps on my arms which I had no explanation for.

After what seemed like forever, the bizarrely quiet halls filled with chatter and I got my first live glance. Jeff, the purple Wiggle passed by and I felt as though I'd just got a peek at Santa Claus sneaking down the chimney. One by one; Sam, Murray and Anthony passed our open door surrounded by the rest of their cast. They looked like a big team, all dressed in black warm-ups or t-shirts and shorts. My nervousness turned to eagerness and I couldn't wait for them to get dressed and return.

Now of course The Wiggles are just people. But if you have kids you'll understand the connection one could grow to these guys. My children and I sing their songs, dance their dances, and read their books. We have tons of their toys , and quite simply enjoy the heck out of them. The Wiggles are fun for us. Beyond having my professional mission with the fitness segments, I'm just super excited to make friends with The Wiggles. Make friends is exactly what I do.

Written: August 18th. 9:15 AM

Hooray! Hooray! Today is my Wiggle day. After a long wait full of anticipation, today is the day I will go to work with the Wiggles. I'm in Chicago for interviews and video shoots with Sam, Jeff, Murray, Anthony and Captain Feathersword. I'm feeling the kind of excited kids get on their way in to Disney World. A bit giddy in fact.

Traditionally, I've thought that the only person that would ever leave me star-struck would be an American President. I'm not so sure if what I'm feeling is the star-struck thing yet.....but I'm giddy which is fun. Sorta nervous too. On my way to the taxi now. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Flying to See the Wiggles

Written August. 17th. 3:00 PM

I'm writing this from a plane on my way to Chicago, IL to interview and train with The Wiggles. If you've not kept up with the progress of this whole adventure, I'll fill you in. A while back I contacted the Wiggles American Public Relations Rep, Ryan to set up some interviews with the fantastic foursome from Australia. I have two small children, ages four and two who love the Wiggles. (My profession is fitness, by the way). Over the years, while partying in the living room to the Wiggles and seeing what other children's programs had to offer.......the Wiggles have become more and more impressive to me.

We watch Dora, Little Bear, JoJo's Circus and more. The TV is on no more than 30 minutes a day, but my children do see a variety of shows. Along the way, my frustration has grown with almost all of the other kiddie shows except the Wiggles. I'm a fitness expert, so I have extremely high standards for what my children put in their mouth. It's become a tad annoying that Dora finds it a thrill to sing about cupcakes, cookies and candy all the time. JoJo can't get enough of cotton candy. Now of course, I think the shows are very cute and offer lots of cute life lessons......Fitness Mom wishes they wouldn't harp on junk food so much.

While making clear decisions about what my babies should see, I've realized that the Wiggles are all good. They constantly take the high road, and do everything they can to promote exercise and healthy eating habits. It's easy to sing about chocolate. But, the Wiggles actually sing about zucchini, vegetable soup, fruit, pasta, and drinking water. Surprising the word zucchini would have it's place in a great song? Apparently it does. They also pair these groovy tunes to energetic dance routines that children can do as well. So, while Dora isn't a bad kid, I've just become more appreciative of the reinforcement the Wiggles provide.

This weekend when I travel to Chicago, I'll have the honor of presenting the children's group The Wiggles with the 2007 Fitness Pioneers award. On behalf of boxing equipment and apparel giant Everlast and my company Fitzness International, we've chosen The Wiggles to recognize for their efforts to promote health and fitness to youths worldwide.

As a fitness expert, I spend oodles of time working to educate families on the ABC's of a healthy lifestyle. I'm always looking for tools to help accommodate these goals and make life easier for both the parents and the children involved. Normally television is considered a detriment to health, but in this case.......the result is just the opposite. Watching The Wiggles is a grand opportunity for children to learn about healthy food, wholesome values, international customs, animals, and get a workout in the process. Their hits include "Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy", "Gulp, Gulp, Drink Some Water", and "Do the Monkey". The Wiggles are not only real deal rock stars for all the little ones in the world, they're educators and fitness trainers too.

On behalf of Everlast and Fitzness International, we honor The Wiggles and wish them many more years of success.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Jeff Fatt is part of the Australian children's musical group The Wiggles. Just in case your've never heard of The Wiggles...they're the kiddie equivilent of The Beatles. They've sold a bazillion CD's and DVD's, and also have sold out yearly tours around the world. Their hit TV show appears daily on Playhouse Disney, and they're probably the healthiest thing Disney has going for them. The Wiggles sing about fruit salad, not cookies. They're shows and songs get kids up to move like a Crunch workout tape makes their Mom. Jeff is the Purple Wiggle and his silly shtick is that he loves to sleep. The kids go bonkers for it, especially mine. "Wake up Jeff!" is a classic of tomorrow.

Fitz: Tell me about your fitness routine.

Jeff: I don't really have any fitness routine, but would consider the concerts we do to be a routine in themselves. Apart from that, I really enjoy riding around on a bicycle. Not for the purpose of trying to get fitter, but just for the enjoyment of it. I will nearly always ride down to my local area to do the grocery shopping or for a meal. I also enjoy swimming.

Fitz: What's on your MP3 player?

Jeff: My iPod has just about my whole music collection. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Booker T, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Ray Charles, Beach Boys, BB King, Jazz/Blues albums featuring the Hammond Organ and lots of stuff from the 60's. I'm not up with most of today's contemporary pop music.

Fitz: Since you're the Wiggle who loves to sleep, I have to ask. How much do you get per night? Are you really a napper?

Jeff: I'm a very light sleeper, particularly on the tour bus. I usually get 6-7 hours per night. At my age, it's not that easy to sleep much more than this, so therefore I am a day napper. This really suits my job!

Fitz: Do you have a fall-back healthy meal? Something you eat when trying to progress physically?

Jeff: I don't have a fall back healthy meal, because I'm generally a healthy eater.

Fitz: What's your favorite sin food?

Jeff: It used to be Krispy Kreme donuts, but now I don't even touch them (they're too evil)! I can't get over the amount of saturated fats and high fructose corn syrup (well that's what I believe is in them). Some of my favorite sin foods would be Pavlova (an Aussie desert), kettle chips and Lindy's cheesecake in NYC. In very small amounts of course!

Fitz: Your shows are so high energy! How do you get up for it, when you're not in the mood?

Jeff: You can usually get the extra push from the audience. Everyone is just so vibed that you can't help but be in the mood.

Fitz: How many push-ups can you do?

Jeff: I haven't really tried....hang on, I'll do it now......I just did 20!

Throughout my 18 years of teaching fitness around the world, I can imagine I've taught at least 20 million people at some point or another on how to become more fit. Helping people live better and longer is what I do, what I love, and who I am. In an effort to prevent obesity and side effects in the first place, I've spent much time trying to figure out why people become un-fit in the first place. Ninety-nine percent of the time I can specifically point my finger toward each person's up-bringing.

Were sports and fitness activities a part of daily life, or was the television and video game boxes taking prominence in the home? Did Mom and Dad insist on low calorie, nutritious meals and snacks, or were bags of cookies and chips a constant in the cabinets? Kids do what they're raised to do for the most part. Addressing fitness with a passion while raising your children today will allow them to avoid: diets, eating disorders, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, GERD, RLS, and premature death in the future. What a gift to give!

Having said all this. I focus much of my attention on elevating the knowledge of both children and parents on the importance of healthy habits for today and tomorrow. I seek out tools to make this easier and I'm thrilled to announce that I'll soon spend a few days working with one of the best tools available. My unique tool of choice? The Wiggles! I'll be in Chicago August 18th and 19th to visit with and interview The Wiggles while they tour. This awesome group of Aussie men are the children's version of the Beatles around the world, and they should be considered one of a parents' weapons of choice when it comes to teaching healthy habits.

While television usually proves to be a detriment to our kids health, watching The Wiggles does the opposite. Tuning in to watch this colorful quad offers an opportunity for your kids to jump, run, dance and learn about proper nutrition. Unlike most kiddie shows, The Wiggles have never sung the praises of candy, cookies or cake. Instead they've turned 'Fruit Salad' into the coolest treat in the world.

While Dora the Explorer and Sponge Bob regard the obtaining of sugary treats in the same light as most would winning the lottery... The Wiggles constantly take the high road. My children are more easily convinced to enjoy fresh fruit when I sing the "Fruit Salad, Yummy, Yummy" song, and we all have a blast participating in their funny dance routines.

If the television must be on in your home, choosing The Wiggles is the health conscious parents best choice.